In one of the most intense, and highly controversial, games we have ever seen at Riverheads the Junior G'men pushed across the winning TD with just 42 seconds left to turn back Wilson 30-23 in a seesaw affair that saw several lead changes, more flags than anyone thought possible, and a late-game coaching ejection. With the win the Gladiators are now 3-1 on the season and will be off next week. I believe they travel to Staunton two weeks from tonight for their next contest.
Although there were some outstanding performances, it was unfortunately one of those games in which everyone in attendance left the game feeling as if the referees had decided it as opposed to the players, and based on what we saw, it might be hard to argue that point. But to give credit where it is due right up front, RHS running back Jackson Fitzgerald had the game of his young life as he scored all four Gladiator TDs, added a pair of two-point conversions, and personally scored 28 of the Gladiators' 30. On the other side, Wilson had its own tough running back in the person of Clinton Coffey who scored the first two Hornet TDs and was all over the field all night long.
As for the officiating, ironically it was the Riverheads fans who had the biggest beefs in the first half, but that role was certainly reversed down the stretch as Wilson fans probably could not believe what they witnessed, especially over the final deciding minutes of the game. By my calculations, Wilson had either five or six major penalties called on them in the final three minutes of the game, and shortly before Riverheads scored its winning TD, the Hornet coach had seen enough and protested loudly enough that he was given the old heave ho. More on that in a moment......
Wilson took the opening kickoff and used up half the first quarter on a long drive, but when faced with a fourth down around the RHS 30, a shotgun snap sailed over the QB's head and Riverheads took over. The Gladiators then drove it in for the first Fitzgerald TD. He scored from about 20 yards out and added the conversion for an early 8-0 home team lead.
Wilson needed just a play or two to score the equalizer when Coffey broke loose for what was probably the most impressive play of the night, scoring from about 55 yards out. The conversion tied things at 8-8 very early in the second quarter.
Riverheads then launched its second scoring drive but that is when the flags started to fly. Justified or not, the refs flagged the Gladiators at least half a dozen times overall for false starts or illegal motion. But by far the most questionable call against the home team came on the two point PAT try after Fitzgerald's second TD. After he made it 14-8, Skyler Shiflett took a handoff and it appeared to everyone on the home side that he had not only scored, but had done so rather easily.
There was no signal at all given for a few seconds and finally the try was ruled no good. Even the home guys in the press box could be heard going ballistic because it just seemed so obvious that he had scored. The teams later headed to the locker room with the score still at 14-8, but when Wilson took a pair of one-point leads in the second half, there were times when it looked like that ruling on the two-pointer might be the difference in the game.
Wilson scored on its first second-half possession (Coffey again) and this time they decided to go for the kick. It was good to give the Hornets their first lead of the game at 15-14. The teams then traded TDs, and each one added a successful two-point try to make it 23-22 Wilson. Fitzgerald of course scored for RHS and I believe Ainsley McAllister did the honors for Wilson, but I could be wrong on that.
Wilson scored that go-ahead TD with about 4 minutes left in the game and at that point had the momentum on their side. When the Gladiators found themselves still in their own territory and facing a third and long, things still looked rosy for the Green Team. But in the space of what seemed like 30 seconds, the game changed drastically in favor of Riverheads when the Hornets were hit with back to back 15 yarders, the first for a face mask and the second for a horse collar tackle.
In all fairness to the refs, the horse collar was the right call and was clear to anyone watching. Face mask violations of course can be harder to see so I can't comment on that one. But those two penalties quickly put the Big Red in scoring position.
Moments later they were down around the 8 yard line and the clock had ticked down to around a minute left when Wilson was hit with yet another face mask penalty. This one took place all the way across the field as far as you could get from the home side but obviously the Hornet staff saw whatever happened or didn't happen and to say they did not agree with the call would be an understatement!
That face mask call led to at least two unsportsmanlike calls against the visitors and maybe even three and, as already mentioned, one Hornet coach, presumably the head honcho, was asked to leave the field. Or of course TOLD to, since we know who gets the final word on these things.
All those penalties moved the Big Red closer to the goal line which resulted in Fitzgerald's fourth TD of the game being his shortest and easiest. Quarterback Kendal Edwards sneaked the PAT across for the final two points of the night.
We were still not through with the drama or the flagfest as a short kickoff gave Wilson reasonable field position. They managed to get into RHS territory and on a desperation pass attempt, they were flagged one final time for offensive pass interference. However in that case, the violation was so blatant that even the most rabid Wilson fan could not have argued with it. If the refs had not called that one correctly, the rescue squad in the end zone would have had several Gladiator fans needing to be revived. The push-off by the Wilson receiver was THAT obvious. After a few seconds discussion about exactly how to adjudicate that final penalty, we moved back down field and one final incompletion mercifully ended the game.
In some ways it was business as usual since these two rivals have been at it for over 60 years now, so it is expected that every game in every sport is going to be a barnburner. But the ending being what it was, you could hardly blame the Hornet fans if they felt that this one was stolen from them...much like the Gladiators might have felt if Wilson's one point lead had held up because of that denied two points back in the second quarter. But then again for all we fans know, it is quite possible that every single call made against either team all night long was exactly the right call. Too bad we don't get to watch 10 minutes of replays in high school sports!
So it is in the books now and they will have many more controversial battles in the years to come. In fact we all know what is coming up next on Friday night, so you can bet that at least one or two raised eyebrows will be seen that night. CCC was up and about tonight so who knows if he will play Friday night. Best way to find out is to roll over to Fishersville and watch for yourself!
One final compliment goes out to Riverheads running back Lukus deVore, who is only an eighth-grader. Although I have made it sound as if Fitzgerald carried on every single play, the Gladiators were without Spencer Simpson tonight, who has been the Big Red's number two rusher. He was out with a concussion and Mr. deVore filled in very nicely for him and had a few good runs of his own.
Although there were some outstanding performances, it was unfortunately one of those games in which everyone in attendance left the game feeling as if the referees had decided it as opposed to the players, and based on what we saw, it might be hard to argue that point. But to give credit where it is due right up front, RHS running back Jackson Fitzgerald had the game of his young life as he scored all four Gladiator TDs, added a pair of two-point conversions, and personally scored 28 of the Gladiators' 30. On the other side, Wilson had its own tough running back in the person of Clinton Coffey who scored the first two Hornet TDs and was all over the field all night long.
As for the officiating, ironically it was the Riverheads fans who had the biggest beefs in the first half, but that role was certainly reversed down the stretch as Wilson fans probably could not believe what they witnessed, especially over the final deciding minutes of the game. By my calculations, Wilson had either five or six major penalties called on them in the final three minutes of the game, and shortly before Riverheads scored its winning TD, the Hornet coach had seen enough and protested loudly enough that he was given the old heave ho. More on that in a moment......
Wilson took the opening kickoff and used up half the first quarter on a long drive, but when faced with a fourth down around the RHS 30, a shotgun snap sailed over the QB's head and Riverheads took over. The Gladiators then drove it in for the first Fitzgerald TD. He scored from about 20 yards out and added the conversion for an early 8-0 home team lead.
Wilson needed just a play or two to score the equalizer when Coffey broke loose for what was probably the most impressive play of the night, scoring from about 55 yards out. The conversion tied things at 8-8 very early in the second quarter.
Riverheads then launched its second scoring drive but that is when the flags started to fly. Justified or not, the refs flagged the Gladiators at least half a dozen times overall for false starts or illegal motion. But by far the most questionable call against the home team came on the two point PAT try after Fitzgerald's second TD. After he made it 14-8, Skyler Shiflett took a handoff and it appeared to everyone on the home side that he had not only scored, but had done so rather easily.
There was no signal at all given for a few seconds and finally the try was ruled no good. Even the home guys in the press box could be heard going ballistic because it just seemed so obvious that he had scored. The teams later headed to the locker room with the score still at 14-8, but when Wilson took a pair of one-point leads in the second half, there were times when it looked like that ruling on the two-pointer might be the difference in the game.
Wilson scored on its first second-half possession (Coffey again) and this time they decided to go for the kick. It was good to give the Hornets their first lead of the game at 15-14. The teams then traded TDs, and each one added a successful two-point try to make it 23-22 Wilson. Fitzgerald of course scored for RHS and I believe Ainsley McAllister did the honors for Wilson, but I could be wrong on that.
Wilson scored that go-ahead TD with about 4 minutes left in the game and at that point had the momentum on their side. When the Gladiators found themselves still in their own territory and facing a third and long, things still looked rosy for the Green Team. But in the space of what seemed like 30 seconds, the game changed drastically in favor of Riverheads when the Hornets were hit with back to back 15 yarders, the first for a face mask and the second for a horse collar tackle.
In all fairness to the refs, the horse collar was the right call and was clear to anyone watching. Face mask violations of course can be harder to see so I can't comment on that one. But those two penalties quickly put the Big Red in scoring position.
Moments later they were down around the 8 yard line and the clock had ticked down to around a minute left when Wilson was hit with yet another face mask penalty. This one took place all the way across the field as far as you could get from the home side but obviously the Hornet staff saw whatever happened or didn't happen and to say they did not agree with the call would be an understatement!
That face mask call led to at least two unsportsmanlike calls against the visitors and maybe even three and, as already mentioned, one Hornet coach, presumably the head honcho, was asked to leave the field. Or of course TOLD to, since we know who gets the final word on these things.
All those penalties moved the Big Red closer to the goal line which resulted in Fitzgerald's fourth TD of the game being his shortest and easiest. Quarterback Kendal Edwards sneaked the PAT across for the final two points of the night.
We were still not through with the drama or the flagfest as a short kickoff gave Wilson reasonable field position. They managed to get into RHS territory and on a desperation pass attempt, they were flagged one final time for offensive pass interference. However in that case, the violation was so blatant that even the most rabid Wilson fan could not have argued with it. If the refs had not called that one correctly, the rescue squad in the end zone would have had several Gladiator fans needing to be revived. The push-off by the Wilson receiver was THAT obvious. After a few seconds discussion about exactly how to adjudicate that final penalty, we moved back down field and one final incompletion mercifully ended the game.
In some ways it was business as usual since these two rivals have been at it for over 60 years now, so it is expected that every game in every sport is going to be a barnburner. But the ending being what it was, you could hardly blame the Hornet fans if they felt that this one was stolen from them...much like the Gladiators might have felt if Wilson's one point lead had held up because of that denied two points back in the second quarter. But then again for all we fans know, it is quite possible that every single call made against either team all night long was exactly the right call. Too bad we don't get to watch 10 minutes of replays in high school sports!
So it is in the books now and they will have many more controversial battles in the years to come. In fact we all know what is coming up next on Friday night, so you can bet that at least one or two raised eyebrows will be seen that night. CCC was up and about tonight so who knows if he will play Friday night. Best way to find out is to roll over to Fishersville and watch for yourself!
One final compliment goes out to Riverheads running back Lukus deVore, who is only an eighth-grader. Although I have made it sound as if Fitzgerald carried on every single play, the Gladiators were without Spencer Simpson tonight, who has been the Big Red's number two rusher. He was out with a concussion and Mr. deVore filled in very nicely for him and had a few good runs of his own.
