These two teams have been going at it for over 60 years, so you would think we would have seen everything by now, but tonight's game between these two arch-rivals may have topped them all in terms of weirdness. The visiting Bison walked away with the four-point win but not before we saw a whole boatload of momentum swings and a pair of technical fouls in the final seconds, one on each coaching staff.
The first one was called on Bison head coach Chad Ward and looked as if it might finally give RHS that first district win the Gladiators have been searching for. But within seconds after that momentum swing, a technical was called on one of the Gladiator assistants, and that gave the Bison the break they needed to escape with the win.
The irony of both technicals is that neither one appeared to be warranted, at least not based on what we could see from the home stands across the way. After all, we have all seen those complete meltdowns on TV that more often than not DON'T result in anyone being T'd up and although such outbursts are less common in high school ball, I am sure everyone in attendance tonight could say they have seen much worse behavior locally that was let go.
In each case, the coach in question was expressing his disagreement over a call, but you just did not see the body language or foot-stomping or whatever that you normally associate with technicals. Not only that but both coaching staffs had been remarkably calm prior to the late fireworks so it was not a case of constant harassment building up to the two T's. So we can only assume that certain bad words were uttered in each case.
The score was tied at 53 when Coach Ward received his. I think his argument was about a possession issue on an out of bounds call, but I could be wrong on that detail. Anyway, JP Crawford stepped to the line and calmly drained both shots to put the Big Red ahead. As it turned out, those would be the last Gladiator points.
Riverheads was awarded the ball after the two foul shots, which could have helped them salt the game away. Instead they turned the ball over and a foul was called that initially looked like it would be player control. That may have been the issue that led to the second T because next thing we knew, a Bison player was headed to the line for two free throws, followed by another player shooting two more.
I can't remember every little detail of what happened, but the final analysis was that the Gap found itself with a 58-55 lead and Riverheads had one final chance at a three to tie the game and force overtime. Although they had hit seven of them by that time, the one they needed the most bounced off and the Bison wrapped up the game with one final charity toss.
Prior to all that late drama, the game had more plot twists than a Hitchcock movie. After a 10-9 Riverheads first quarter, the Bison appeared to take complete control of the game in the second quarter. In fact if not for a Grady Campbell banked-in triple that beat the first half horn, Riverheads would have had a 12-point hole to climb out of. Instead his shot cut the halftime lead to 29-20 and no doubt sparked a Gladiator comeback.
Riverheads chipped away at the lead and finally caught the visitors at 44-44 midway through the final period on a twisting lay-up by point guard Henley Dunlap. He would go on to lead the Big Red tonight with 28 points. I have not yet had the chance to check to see if that was a career high, but it was most certainly a season one.
Speaking of him, he had two separate issues with cramping tonight and after one of those, we saw the best exhibit of sportsmanship we have seen all season. As soon as he landed against the wall and appeared to be in trouble, BG's Gary Logan Hewitt rushed over to him and began to assist with relieving the cramp. He was only there a few seconds before the Gladiator trainer came along to take over but his gesture garnered a nice round of applause from fans on both sides.
A time out followed that 44 -all tie, and RHS quickly stole the ball, laid it in, and then scored again to take their biggest lead of the night at 48-44. They then regained possession and had a chance to pad the lead even further. Instead the Bison made another charge and went on a 9-2 run to move ahead 53-50. Dunlap's third triple of the night tied things up at 53 to set the stage for the frantic finish.
Even before tonight, the Gladiators knew they were finishing in the basement, which had been determined by Tuesday's one point loss at Waynesboro. But they still wanted this win badly as something to build on for next season. They do have one more game at Staunton Monday night, but they will certainly be underdogs in that one.
So hopefully they can use this season's half-dozen or more close calls as motivation to come back better and stronger next year, because they had no seniors on this year's team, so a rise up in the ranks next season would appear to be almost guaranteed.
Tonight's JV game ironically was also decided on a late call by the officials. Riverheads had led most of the way but the Bison had come alive down the stretch and were leading 30-26, and appeared ready to sweep the series from RHS and keep the Junior G-men also winless in the district.
But Gladiator guard Kendall Edwards swished a three pointer to close the gap to just one and moments later, an intentional foul, followed by a technical, was called on the Bison. Riverheads sank three of the four shots to squeak out a 32-30 win. Ironically that was the exact score that the Bison won by when the teams met on their home floor.
Surely both Gladiator teams will do the best they can in the Paul Hatcher gym on Monday, but the reality of the season for both teams was a lack of size, lack of numbers, some injuries along the way, and lack of experience. Maybe a transfer portal will open for the Big Red during the off-season or maybe they can hogtie a couple of 6'5" guys that are walking the hallways and don't yet know they will be basketball players next season.
The Bison's next order of business is to try and sweep Waynesboro Monday night. If successful, they will finish in fifth place all alone. As we have been reading here on Preps, the information about the regional rankings is pretty hard to find, but my guess is that the Bison will be qualifying for the 1-B field, so best of luck to them when that time comes.
The first one was called on Bison head coach Chad Ward and looked as if it might finally give RHS that first district win the Gladiators have been searching for. But within seconds after that momentum swing, a technical was called on one of the Gladiator assistants, and that gave the Bison the break they needed to escape with the win.
The irony of both technicals is that neither one appeared to be warranted, at least not based on what we could see from the home stands across the way. After all, we have all seen those complete meltdowns on TV that more often than not DON'T result in anyone being T'd up and although such outbursts are less common in high school ball, I am sure everyone in attendance tonight could say they have seen much worse behavior locally that was let go.
In each case, the coach in question was expressing his disagreement over a call, but you just did not see the body language or foot-stomping or whatever that you normally associate with technicals. Not only that but both coaching staffs had been remarkably calm prior to the late fireworks so it was not a case of constant harassment building up to the two T's. So we can only assume that certain bad words were uttered in each case.
The score was tied at 53 when Coach Ward received his. I think his argument was about a possession issue on an out of bounds call, but I could be wrong on that detail. Anyway, JP Crawford stepped to the line and calmly drained both shots to put the Big Red ahead. As it turned out, those would be the last Gladiator points.
Riverheads was awarded the ball after the two foul shots, which could have helped them salt the game away. Instead they turned the ball over and a foul was called that initially looked like it would be player control. That may have been the issue that led to the second T because next thing we knew, a Bison player was headed to the line for two free throws, followed by another player shooting two more.
I can't remember every little detail of what happened, but the final analysis was that the Gap found itself with a 58-55 lead and Riverheads had one final chance at a three to tie the game and force overtime. Although they had hit seven of them by that time, the one they needed the most bounced off and the Bison wrapped up the game with one final charity toss.
Prior to all that late drama, the game had more plot twists than a Hitchcock movie. After a 10-9 Riverheads first quarter, the Bison appeared to take complete control of the game in the second quarter. In fact if not for a Grady Campbell banked-in triple that beat the first half horn, Riverheads would have had a 12-point hole to climb out of. Instead his shot cut the halftime lead to 29-20 and no doubt sparked a Gladiator comeback.
Riverheads chipped away at the lead and finally caught the visitors at 44-44 midway through the final period on a twisting lay-up by point guard Henley Dunlap. He would go on to lead the Big Red tonight with 28 points. I have not yet had the chance to check to see if that was a career high, but it was most certainly a season one.
Speaking of him, he had two separate issues with cramping tonight and after one of those, we saw the best exhibit of sportsmanship we have seen all season. As soon as he landed against the wall and appeared to be in trouble, BG's Gary Logan Hewitt rushed over to him and began to assist with relieving the cramp. He was only there a few seconds before the Gladiator trainer came along to take over but his gesture garnered a nice round of applause from fans on both sides.
A time out followed that 44 -all tie, and RHS quickly stole the ball, laid it in, and then scored again to take their biggest lead of the night at 48-44. They then regained possession and had a chance to pad the lead even further. Instead the Bison made another charge and went on a 9-2 run to move ahead 53-50. Dunlap's third triple of the night tied things up at 53 to set the stage for the frantic finish.
Even before tonight, the Gladiators knew they were finishing in the basement, which had been determined by Tuesday's one point loss at Waynesboro. But they still wanted this win badly as something to build on for next season. They do have one more game at Staunton Monday night, but they will certainly be underdogs in that one.
So hopefully they can use this season's half-dozen or more close calls as motivation to come back better and stronger next year, because they had no seniors on this year's team, so a rise up in the ranks next season would appear to be almost guaranteed.
Tonight's JV game ironically was also decided on a late call by the officials. Riverheads had led most of the way but the Bison had come alive down the stretch and were leading 30-26, and appeared ready to sweep the series from RHS and keep the Junior G-men also winless in the district.
But Gladiator guard Kendall Edwards swished a three pointer to close the gap to just one and moments later, an intentional foul, followed by a technical, was called on the Bison. Riverheads sank three of the four shots to squeak out a 32-30 win. Ironically that was the exact score that the Bison won by when the teams met on their home floor.
Surely both Gladiator teams will do the best they can in the Paul Hatcher gym on Monday, but the reality of the season for both teams was a lack of size, lack of numbers, some injuries along the way, and lack of experience. Maybe a transfer portal will open for the Big Red during the off-season or maybe they can hogtie a couple of 6'5" guys that are walking the hallways and don't yet know they will be basketball players next season.
The Bison's next order of business is to try and sweep Waynesboro Monday night. If successful, they will finish in fifth place all alone. As we have been reading here on Preps, the information about the regional rankings is pretty hard to find, but my guess is that the Bison will be qualifying for the 1-B field, so best of luck to them when that time comes.
