In a tune-up for Friday night's varsity match-up in Greenville, the Junior Bison rolled past RHS this evening, mainly on the speed and elusiveness of freshman running back Zane Emurian. He broke loose in the first half and scored twice from about 50 yards each time and may have been the guy who returned the second half kick-off that essentially put the game away for the Bison. That return went up the far sideline from where I was sitting and I did not catch the number or the announcement but style-wise it looked like him. Mason Snyder scored the remaining TD for the home team.
In case you are doing the math, you have likely already figured out that the Bison only scored those four TDs, but they were able to pad their lead by going a perfect 4 for 4 on two-point conversions. Those have a way of making a game seem more lopsided than it really was.
Riverheads took the opening kickoff and ran 5 minutes off the clock before turning it over on downs in Bison territory. Three or four plays later, Emurian burst up the middle for his first score.
The Gladiators tied things up early in the second quarter, thanks to a 50 yard run of their own from Lukus DeVore. He was brought down around the 11 but the Big Red was able to punch it in and tie things up with a successful conversion.
It looked like the teams would go to the locker room tied, but with just over a minute left, Emurian was at it again as he weaved and bobbled his way to another long TD. The second-half kick-off return, which may or may not have been him, made the score 24-8. Riverheads scored again to close the gap to 24-14, but when they missed that conversion, that left it still a two-score game, and Snyder's score from about 30 yards out added an insurance TD later in the third.
I was told that the Bison had only lost once heading into this game and tonight was Riverheads' only loss in the district this season. Therefore there is a chance the two could meet again next month in the JV championship event, which will be held at Waynesboro this year.
But for now, let's see what happens tomorrow night in Red Pride Country, where both teams need a win to hold on to their playoff positions. A Riverheads win sets them up for a huge showdown at Stuarts Draft next week, which could be the game that decides the district title. The Bison are probably mathematically out of the title picture, but their final three games are against RHS, SD, and Staunton, three teams with only one district loss each, and they would like nothing better than to spoil the party for one or more of those teams.
In case you are doing the math, you have likely already figured out that the Bison only scored those four TDs, but they were able to pad their lead by going a perfect 4 for 4 on two-point conversions. Those have a way of making a game seem more lopsided than it really was.
Riverheads took the opening kickoff and ran 5 minutes off the clock before turning it over on downs in Bison territory. Three or four plays later, Emurian burst up the middle for his first score.
The Gladiators tied things up early in the second quarter, thanks to a 50 yard run of their own from Lukus DeVore. He was brought down around the 11 but the Big Red was able to punch it in and tie things up with a successful conversion.
It looked like the teams would go to the locker room tied, but with just over a minute left, Emurian was at it again as he weaved and bobbled his way to another long TD. The second-half kick-off return, which may or may not have been him, made the score 24-8. Riverheads scored again to close the gap to 24-14, but when they missed that conversion, that left it still a two-score game, and Snyder's score from about 30 yards out added an insurance TD later in the third.
I was told that the Bison had only lost once heading into this game and tonight was Riverheads' only loss in the district this season. Therefore there is a chance the two could meet again next month in the JV championship event, which will be held at Waynesboro this year.
But for now, let's see what happens tomorrow night in Red Pride Country, where both teams need a win to hold on to their playoff positions. A Riverheads win sets them up for a huge showdown at Stuarts Draft next week, which could be the game that decides the district title. The Bison are probably mathematically out of the title picture, but their final three games are against RHS, SD, and Staunton, three teams with only one district loss each, and they would like nothing better than to spoil the party for one or more of those teams.
