is the coming-of-age story of a closeted high school football player discovering his identity. The story is strongly-based on writer, director and editor Benjamin Howard's high school years playing football.
It's personal to Howard's life experiences, but also to San Diego. Howard said the film is like a love letter to his upbringing in East County. Some scenes in the film were located in places authentic to where the moments took place in Howard's life. "To quote the movie, when he cares about something, wants to be the best at it, and he brings a lot of himself to it. It's really raw, really honest work," Jake Holley, lead actor in Riley said.“To see him recognized this way, couldn’t be prouder, no doubt about it,” CBS 8 sports anchor John Howard said.
"It'll strike a chord and it'll remind us all about those moments that we all had coming of age and finding connection and finding relationships and really finding meaning," Anderson said.