Thanks for the head start guys. Gladiatorgrad, I see that you posted your comment about Riverheads offense at 9:00, which was only about 10 minutes before the game ended. So I have to disagree with you, because by that point in the game, they were doing fine on offense. Granted they had trouble in the first quarter as the Indians forced a pair of punts, and after each one, they took it in for a score to grab a quick 13-0 lead.
But after the first quarter, the game was about as even as you could hope for, as neither team could stop the other. They each scored three TDs over the final three periods.
Needless to say the Indians came out and played inspired football tonight, no doubt motivated by finally being healthy. The running back Hebb saw his first action of the season and had a good game.
However the real key to the Indian victory was that Riverheads had absolutely NO answer for the Miller/Armentrout passing combination. Not only that but on the Indians' first possession, they reached into their bag of tricks and actually reversed those rolls with Armentrout throwing a TD pass to Miller.
But for the rest of the game, Armentrout was unstoppable. Not only did he catch a dozen or more passes, and that may be conservative, but he chalked up some impressive yards after catch numbers. Once Riverheads fell behind 13-0, the teams see-sawed between a one-score and a two-score game with Riverheads never able to tie it up and the Fort never able to stretch it to three scores.
Each time it looked like the Gladiators might have a chance for a key stop, the dynamic duo would convert a third or fourth down play to keep the drive alive. The Indians also played turnover free ball and penalties were almost a non-factor tonight for both teams, as it was a very clean game.
Another key factor in the win was the kicking of Fort's Zane Sayre. He put the ball in the end zone after most of the Indian scores, which forced the Gladiators to go 80 yards for all three of their scores. Of course for Riverheads that meant their typical three yards/cloud of dust offense, with Jonathan Talbott and Brady Boehm each scoring in the second quarter to keep the Big Red within striking distance.
Everyone in the stadium knew that if RHS could stop the Indians on their first possession of the third quarter, it might switch Big Mo over to the Gladiator side. However the Indians did not play along and instead scored TD number 4 to go up 28-14. That time they added a two-point PAT to make up for an earlier missed kick.
Following that Indian score, the Gladiators drove right back down the field for their third score and in a very atypical Riverheads fashion, scored through the air as Levi Dunlap found a wide open Chris Dotson for his first career touchdown. That closed the gap to 28-21 with plenty of time for a stop on defense, but as already mentioned, the Indians were up to the challenge every time. To the best of my recollection, they scored on every single possession, except for their last one when they were quite happy to take a knee and start celebrating.
With the win, the Indians have at least temporary control of the district at 1-0, but that is only because the other five teams have yet to play a district game. However, it is much too soon to assume that the Fort will have clear sailing just because they knocked off the perennial champs. As we have been discussing thus far this season, Buffalo Gap and Wilson are off to a much better than expected start, and Stuarts Draft has put up some great stats.
So this early in the game, you have to say that as many as five teams could still take the district title. But of course it is really all about playoff points so with that in mind, won't it be interesting if these two teams meet again in the playoffs? Can anyone say Central?
So congrats to the Indians for a well-executed game plan and therefore a well-deserved victory. But you can bet this loss will not define Riverheads' season. If anything it could give them some motivation moving forward. Next week they travel to Rocktown before celebrating Homecoming on the 27th against Wilson. As already mentioned, this year's Hornets will be anything BUT the kind of cupcake you are supposed to whip up on for Homecoming.
