In the week leading up to tonight's rivalry clash at Wilson, there was constant speculation about whether Riverheads' all-state running back Cayden Cook-Cash would be available to play and what impact that situation might have on the game. Some folks expected the Gladiators to be fine in this one, with or without him, whereas others thought Wilson had a decent chance to win, especially if he did not play.
As game day wore on, the word got out in the community that he would not be playing and sure enough he was on the sideline in a red sweatshirt, not his team jersey. No word of course on what his status may be for next week's first-ever meeting with Christiansburg.
The rain held off as expected and in fact it was a perfect night for football. In honor of the occasion the Big Red executed an almost perfect game, light years ahead of the somewhat off-kilter effort against Fort Defiance last time out. They utilized the same rotation of five running backs that had been productive in their first two wins as Austin Roberts (2 TDs), Jonathan Talbott (1 score), Brody Phillips, Brendon Fortune, and Carson Brooks all ran the ball effectively. In the second half the visitors even added a sixth running back to the mix as junior Brady Boehm gave the others some rest and showed that he deserves some more PT with a handful of nice carries.
Quarterback Levi Dunlap pushed across yet another score for the Big Red, but in perhaps the biggest surprise of the night for Gladiator fans, he also had a great night passing the ball, including a picture perfect 45-yard TD strike to Caleb Weston in a play that caught the Hornets totally off guard. Dunlap had two or three more completions in this one and a near miss to Weston that many Big Red fans thought was also a catch but he was ruled out of bounds. That ruling was just about the only controversy in a game that was unusually clean compared to some we have seen lately. In fact it was nowhere near as chaotic as Wednesday night's JV game between these two turned out to be.
So how did the Gladiators manage to dominate so effectively tonight without their star player? Well it can be summed up in one word.............fumbles. Every team is going to have one of those games in which it just seems like the mind and the body are just not in sync and that was certainly the case tonight for the Wilson offense. As efficient as Riverheads was being, Wilson was the exact opposite, especially in a nightmarish first quarter.
Wilson fumbled the ball three times in that opening stanza, and the Gladiators recovered all of them and either directly or indirectly turned those miscues into a 16-0 first quarter lead. Making matters even worse for the Green team was the fact that those mistakes were mainly self-inflicted. It is one thing when a hard-hitting defense jars the ball loose, but most of tonight's bobbles occurred during an exchange or in some cases, the ball simply slipped out of someone's hands.
One of those fumbles was on a punt snap and in that case, Wilson recovered the ball but RHS was able to tackle the punter in the end zone for a safety. That made it 9-0 at that time, and when the ensuing free kick trickled out of bounds, Riverheads was granted possession at the Hornet 45, which is when they tossed the Weston bomb to make it 16-0.
To Wilson's credit, they settled down somewhat in the final three quarters, although they did continue to fumble on occasion but were able to cover them in those instances. So was it nerves on such a big stage? Were they just too psyched up because they wanted it so badly? Whatever the case, the difference between the two teams in poise and composure tonight was night and day.
Following that early rash of turnovers that gave them the big advantage, the Gladiators were more methodical the rest of the way, pushing across a single score in each of the final three quarters. Place kicker Zac Brooks remained perfect on the season and is now 15-15 on PATs through four games.
After spending the vast majority of the first half in Wilson territory due to the series of fumbles, the Gladiators took the second half kickoff and controlled the ball for the first eight minutes of the third quarter with a nicely-executed 80 yard drive that culminated in a sneak by Dunlap. That made it 30-0 and erased any doubt about the outcome. Talbott then scored his TD in the final seconds.
The victory was RHS' first shutout of the season, and in fact only Fort Defiance last week has managed to score twice against the Big Red defense. However with high-powered offenses coming up in the form of C'burg and Staunton, not to mention Stuarts Draft down the road, that defense will certainly be tested. Speaking of SD and Staunton it sounds as if the Cougars' 23-20 win in that one was every bit the barnburner we expected it to be.
So congrats to the Big Red, not only for the victory itself, but for the huge improvement shown from last week to this. And of course I just realized I had lost sight of the fact that tonight's win actually came after a bye week, which most likely was a huge factor in the Gladiators coming out more focused. Most coaches will tell you that they want to play EVERY week to develop a rhythm, but in this case, it looks like those extra practice sessions paid off.
All eyes will now be on Greenville next Friday night when the Blue Demons (I believe that is the team name I have heard) will be in town for the first-ever meeting between Riverheads and C'burg. With tonight's impressive effort to build on and the possible return of CCC, the Gladiators just might be hitting their stride at just the right time.
As game day wore on, the word got out in the community that he would not be playing and sure enough he was on the sideline in a red sweatshirt, not his team jersey. No word of course on what his status may be for next week's first-ever meeting with Christiansburg.
The rain held off as expected and in fact it was a perfect night for football. In honor of the occasion the Big Red executed an almost perfect game, light years ahead of the somewhat off-kilter effort against Fort Defiance last time out. They utilized the same rotation of five running backs that had been productive in their first two wins as Austin Roberts (2 TDs), Jonathan Talbott (1 score), Brody Phillips, Brendon Fortune, and Carson Brooks all ran the ball effectively. In the second half the visitors even added a sixth running back to the mix as junior Brady Boehm gave the others some rest and showed that he deserves some more PT with a handful of nice carries.
Quarterback Levi Dunlap pushed across yet another score for the Big Red, but in perhaps the biggest surprise of the night for Gladiator fans, he also had a great night passing the ball, including a picture perfect 45-yard TD strike to Caleb Weston in a play that caught the Hornets totally off guard. Dunlap had two or three more completions in this one and a near miss to Weston that many Big Red fans thought was also a catch but he was ruled out of bounds. That ruling was just about the only controversy in a game that was unusually clean compared to some we have seen lately. In fact it was nowhere near as chaotic as Wednesday night's JV game between these two turned out to be.
So how did the Gladiators manage to dominate so effectively tonight without their star player? Well it can be summed up in one word.............fumbles. Every team is going to have one of those games in which it just seems like the mind and the body are just not in sync and that was certainly the case tonight for the Wilson offense. As efficient as Riverheads was being, Wilson was the exact opposite, especially in a nightmarish first quarter.
Wilson fumbled the ball three times in that opening stanza, and the Gladiators recovered all of them and either directly or indirectly turned those miscues into a 16-0 first quarter lead. Making matters even worse for the Green team was the fact that those mistakes were mainly self-inflicted. It is one thing when a hard-hitting defense jars the ball loose, but most of tonight's bobbles occurred during an exchange or in some cases, the ball simply slipped out of someone's hands.
One of those fumbles was on a punt snap and in that case, Wilson recovered the ball but RHS was able to tackle the punter in the end zone for a safety. That made it 9-0 at that time, and when the ensuing free kick trickled out of bounds, Riverheads was granted possession at the Hornet 45, which is when they tossed the Weston bomb to make it 16-0.
To Wilson's credit, they settled down somewhat in the final three quarters, although they did continue to fumble on occasion but were able to cover them in those instances. So was it nerves on such a big stage? Were they just too psyched up because they wanted it so badly? Whatever the case, the difference between the two teams in poise and composure tonight was night and day.
Following that early rash of turnovers that gave them the big advantage, the Gladiators were more methodical the rest of the way, pushing across a single score in each of the final three quarters. Place kicker Zac Brooks remained perfect on the season and is now 15-15 on PATs through four games.
After spending the vast majority of the first half in Wilson territory due to the series of fumbles, the Gladiators took the second half kickoff and controlled the ball for the first eight minutes of the third quarter with a nicely-executed 80 yard drive that culminated in a sneak by Dunlap. That made it 30-0 and erased any doubt about the outcome. Talbott then scored his TD in the final seconds.
The victory was RHS' first shutout of the season, and in fact only Fort Defiance last week has managed to score twice against the Big Red defense. However with high-powered offenses coming up in the form of C'burg and Staunton, not to mention Stuarts Draft down the road, that defense will certainly be tested. Speaking of SD and Staunton it sounds as if the Cougars' 23-20 win in that one was every bit the barnburner we expected it to be.
So congrats to the Big Red, not only for the victory itself, but for the huge improvement shown from last week to this. And of course I just realized I had lost sight of the fact that tonight's win actually came after a bye week, which most likely was a huge factor in the Gladiators coming out more focused. Most coaches will tell you that they want to play EVERY week to develop a rhythm, but in this case, it looks like those extra practice sessions paid off.
All eyes will now be on Greenville next Friday night when the Blue Demons (I believe that is the team name I have heard) will be in town for the first-ever meeting between Riverheads and C'burg. With tonight's impressive effort to build on and the possible return of CCC, the Gladiators just might be hitting their stride at just the right time.
