Each and every football game has plenty of occasions when the fans on one side or the other voice their displeasure with those guys in the striped shirts. But how many times have you seen a game end (or at least APPEAR to end), only to see fans on BOTH sides stick around yelling in unison for the referees to come back for an encore? Well it happened that way tonight in Staunton before the Riverheads JVs were finally able to escape with a wild 28-26 win, which I believe handed Staunton its first loss of the season.
You won't believe this story but it happened. The teams had battled tooth and nail for four quarters that mainly pitted Riverheads' ground and pound game against Staunton's impressive big-play capability. The Gladiators miraculously tied the game at 20-20 with only 24 seconds left when they pushed across a touchdown and then converted their first two-point conversion of the evening. After Staunton was unable to do anything with those final few seconds, fans logically settled in for the overtime.
But there was only one problem........Mr. Big, the guy in the white hat, announced loudly enough for everyone in the stadium to hear that the game was over and he and his cohorts headed for the end zone. Fans on both sides understandably started to howl in disbelief because they knew perfectly well that overtime was imminent and most of them were savvy enough to even know how it would be conducted. RHS fans especially knew what to expect since they had defeated Fort Defiance in an overtime tussle just this past spring.
With the protests getting louder by the second, someone in authority from the Staunton sideline (not sure if it was their JV coach, or Varsity coach Jake Phillips, or AD David Tibbs, or maybe some combination thereof) followed the Fab Five into the end zone to have a discussion about the matter, which went on for a good 10 minutes. Finally we could tell enough from body language to know that yes, we were going to get the overtime that we all knew was required.
Shortly thereafter, a PA announcer who was not the one we had heard all evening, came on and stated that the referees were simply unaware that overtime was required for JV games. I won't editorialize on that point but will let you draw your own conclusions.
So we had a coin toss, Staunton won and wisely chose to go on defense as anyone would, and the teams headed for the desired end of the field for what proved to be a most intense ending to the game. But before I go into that, I have to introduce you to the man, or should I say MAN, that impacted this game more than I have ever seen any one player do in any level of football.
He wore number 20 for Staunton and I believe his name was something like Marc Grerrard. Sorry for any spelling errors. As the game wound down, I overheard a Staunton expert saying that this was his first year ever playing football.
To say that he was Mr. Everything for Staunton tonight would be a gross understatement. He scored three of their touchdowns, including one on the first play from scrimmage and another on about a 90-95 yard run, he kicked their two PATs and also kicked off after each score, and like they say over at UVa, he was a "football player" who seemed comfortable at any position he was asked to play. He played some QB tonight, he took direct snaps, he was a wideout, you name it.
And then there was his defense!!! He was ALL OVER the field and he chased down one Gladiator after another when they appeared to be wide open and possibly headed for paydirt. The fact that Riverheads still managed to score four times with him in the game was a miracle. He is THAT good folks and he should be a major factor for The Storm as early as next season. I am sure Coach Phillips is counting the days.
To recap regulation play, RHS received the kickoff but was stopped on downs. In no time at all, Grerrard scored from 60 yards out on a pass play. Riverheads then started to assert its ground game, and moved into scoring position as the first quarter ended. They had to go the air to get the job done but a Levi Dunlap to Austin Roberts pass landed JUST inside the corner of the end zone to tie things up.
Just before halftime, Brody Phillips intercepted for RHS and the Gladiators drove for a go-ahead score. But just when it appeared that the visitors would take a 12-6 lead into the locker room, Staunton returned the kickoff all the way (surprisingly by number 1, not 20) and they instead took the halftime lead by a 13-12 count.
After a scoreless third quarter that mainly featured RHS driving to regain the lead, Marc G instead broke out of the pack, cut to his right, and took it to the house from at least 90 yards away. His second extra point of the night gave Staunton its largest lead at 20-12. Riverheads needed two more drives to score the equalizer and again had to go to the air as Dunlap's second TD pass found the end zone. They had failed on their first two PATs but this time managed to squeeze one across the goal line setting up the frantic finish.
As for the overtime, RHS had the first chance to score. They scored on third down I believe it was, and then pushed across the two-point conversion. To no great surprise the Staunton half of the overtime was almost all Marc G. On first down, he broke to the right and carried tacklers with him, and just to show that he must watch a LOT of football on TV, he reached out and stretched the ball across the goal line for the TD. That obviously set the stage for a tying two pointer and the same guy along the sidelines who had said it was his first year playing football predicted that RHS was now in good shape because Staunton had not attempted a two-point PAT all year.
Sure enough, after making one highlight reel play after another, the roof caved in on the Staunton star as he mishandled a shotgun snap and by the time he caught up to it, he was out beyond the 30 where a swarm of Gladiators were able to end the game and the celebration was on.
My apologies to RHS fans if it sounds like I favored the wrong team in this particular report but it was obvious to anyone in the stadium how special Marc G was tonight. But a win is a win and the Gladiators earned it by not panicking and sticking to their own game plan. When they went down 20-12 they could have folded and on that final tying touchdown drive, any number of things could have gone wrong.
With the win, RHS is now 6-1 and they will wrap up their season next Wednesday at Stuarts Draft. Unless I miss my guess, Coach Casto and his varsity staff have already opened up a file on you-know-who because the schedule being what it is, the next time Riverheads will face him will be right back on this same field next October in a varsity uniform.
Meanwhile let's turn our attention to Thursday night's varsity contest in Greenville, accelerated due to the rain. Let's hope everyone can stay dry and safe for that one.
You won't believe this story but it happened. The teams had battled tooth and nail for four quarters that mainly pitted Riverheads' ground and pound game against Staunton's impressive big-play capability. The Gladiators miraculously tied the game at 20-20 with only 24 seconds left when they pushed across a touchdown and then converted their first two-point conversion of the evening. After Staunton was unable to do anything with those final few seconds, fans logically settled in for the overtime.
But there was only one problem........Mr. Big, the guy in the white hat, announced loudly enough for everyone in the stadium to hear that the game was over and he and his cohorts headed for the end zone. Fans on both sides understandably started to howl in disbelief because they knew perfectly well that overtime was imminent and most of them were savvy enough to even know how it would be conducted. RHS fans especially knew what to expect since they had defeated Fort Defiance in an overtime tussle just this past spring.
With the protests getting louder by the second, someone in authority from the Staunton sideline (not sure if it was their JV coach, or Varsity coach Jake Phillips, or AD David Tibbs, or maybe some combination thereof) followed the Fab Five into the end zone to have a discussion about the matter, which went on for a good 10 minutes. Finally we could tell enough from body language to know that yes, we were going to get the overtime that we all knew was required.
Shortly thereafter, a PA announcer who was not the one we had heard all evening, came on and stated that the referees were simply unaware that overtime was required for JV games. I won't editorialize on that point but will let you draw your own conclusions.
So we had a coin toss, Staunton won and wisely chose to go on defense as anyone would, and the teams headed for the desired end of the field for what proved to be a most intense ending to the game. But before I go into that, I have to introduce you to the man, or should I say MAN, that impacted this game more than I have ever seen any one player do in any level of football.
He wore number 20 for Staunton and I believe his name was something like Marc Grerrard. Sorry for any spelling errors. As the game wound down, I overheard a Staunton expert saying that this was his first year ever playing football.
To say that he was Mr. Everything for Staunton tonight would be a gross understatement. He scored three of their touchdowns, including one on the first play from scrimmage and another on about a 90-95 yard run, he kicked their two PATs and also kicked off after each score, and like they say over at UVa, he was a "football player" who seemed comfortable at any position he was asked to play. He played some QB tonight, he took direct snaps, he was a wideout, you name it.
And then there was his defense!!! He was ALL OVER the field and he chased down one Gladiator after another when they appeared to be wide open and possibly headed for paydirt. The fact that Riverheads still managed to score four times with him in the game was a miracle. He is THAT good folks and he should be a major factor for The Storm as early as next season. I am sure Coach Phillips is counting the days.
To recap regulation play, RHS received the kickoff but was stopped on downs. In no time at all, Grerrard scored from 60 yards out on a pass play. Riverheads then started to assert its ground game, and moved into scoring position as the first quarter ended. They had to go the air to get the job done but a Levi Dunlap to Austin Roberts pass landed JUST inside the corner of the end zone to tie things up.
Just before halftime, Brody Phillips intercepted for RHS and the Gladiators drove for a go-ahead score. But just when it appeared that the visitors would take a 12-6 lead into the locker room, Staunton returned the kickoff all the way (surprisingly by number 1, not 20) and they instead took the halftime lead by a 13-12 count.
After a scoreless third quarter that mainly featured RHS driving to regain the lead, Marc G instead broke out of the pack, cut to his right, and took it to the house from at least 90 yards away. His second extra point of the night gave Staunton its largest lead at 20-12. Riverheads needed two more drives to score the equalizer and again had to go to the air as Dunlap's second TD pass found the end zone. They had failed on their first two PATs but this time managed to squeeze one across the goal line setting up the frantic finish.
As for the overtime, RHS had the first chance to score. They scored on third down I believe it was, and then pushed across the two-point conversion. To no great surprise the Staunton half of the overtime was almost all Marc G. On first down, he broke to the right and carried tacklers with him, and just to show that he must watch a LOT of football on TV, he reached out and stretched the ball across the goal line for the TD. That obviously set the stage for a tying two pointer and the same guy along the sidelines who had said it was his first year playing football predicted that RHS was now in good shape because Staunton had not attempted a two-point PAT all year.
Sure enough, after making one highlight reel play after another, the roof caved in on the Staunton star as he mishandled a shotgun snap and by the time he caught up to it, he was out beyond the 30 where a swarm of Gladiators were able to end the game and the celebration was on.
My apologies to RHS fans if it sounds like I favored the wrong team in this particular report but it was obvious to anyone in the stadium how special Marc G was tonight. But a win is a win and the Gladiators earned it by not panicking and sticking to their own game plan. When they went down 20-12 they could have folded and on that final tying touchdown drive, any number of things could have gone wrong.
With the win, RHS is now 6-1 and they will wrap up their season next Wednesday at Stuarts Draft. Unless I miss my guess, Coach Casto and his varsity staff have already opened up a file on you-know-who because the schedule being what it is, the next time Riverheads will face him will be right back on this same field next October in a varsity uniform.
Meanwhile let's turn our attention to Thursday night's varsity contest in Greenville, accelerated due to the rain. Let's hope everyone can stay dry and safe for that one.
