MODESTO — It was a night of firsts for the River Islands football program on Friday at Roy Blakely Field.

The visiting Riptide varsity saw its first points, its first shutout and its first win in a 12-0 blanking of Modesto Christian with an offensive resurgence led by two second-half touchdowns from Alex Henry III.

“It was all about the adjustments in that second half,” Riptide coach Nick Hardenbrook said. “Seeing what they are giving to us and making those quick adjustments. We were running one of our bread-and-butter plays, and we had to change up the way we were moving. That right there scored both touchdowns and got us going and got our run game going.

“Alex is a monster. Every time I get to talk about him, I say how special he is. Those knees – nobody can stop that.”

With the offense gaining just 45 first-half yards for River Islands (1-1), Henry III nearly eclipsed that total on his first touch of the second half, breaking through four separate groups of defenders on the way to a 40-yard touchdown gallop. He finished with 17 carries for 121 yards with another score on an 8-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

“We never gave up,” Henry III said. “They were talking a lot of trash and playing dirty, and it didn’t affect us.

“All I think of out there is to just keep running.”

The Riptide defense gave the Crusaders (0-1) fits, holding them to 21 yards, while forcing 16 penalties for 107 yards.

Ty Phan helped spearhead the River Islands defensive effort, grabbing two interceptions.

“I just saw the ball in the air and I caught it,” Phan said. “I saw when the quarterback threw it and I knew I had to make a move.”

Henry III made eight tackles with Jayden Yong and Andre De Leon adding four stops apiece. Jordan Acaya chipped in an interception.

The Riptide travel to Stockton next Friday to take on Chavez at 7 p.m.