The Eagles turned out to be every bit the well-oiled machine they were expected to be tonight as they grabbed a quick early lead and never looked back. They have all the ingredients (size, speed, teamwork, you name it) and I personally do not see anyone in the Shenandoah touching them this year. For that reason, Riverheads should just put this one in the rear view mirror, pat themselves on the back for their 3-1 start, and work toward producing a winning season and hopefully some post-season success.
Javon Butler, who tied for high scorer with 15, hit a couple of early bombs to lead the way as East Rock took a modest 17-9 lead at the end of one. Speaking of bombs, one of the factors leading to Riverheads' downfall tonight was the fact that their three-point shooting left them. After draining 10 shots from behind the arc at Buffalo Gap Tuesday, the Big Red failed to connect from Bonusland at all tonight.
East Rock continued to pour it on in the second period and took a 42-19 lead into the locker room. The Gladiators to their credit came out fired up in the second half and for the first few minutes of the third quarter, they actually outplayed the Eagles and cut into the lead. But ERHS soon cranked it up again and left little doubt about the outcome. There was even some speculation in the stands about whether or not we would see the new running clock that the Shenandoah voted in this season, but if they did use it when the margin reached 30, it was hard to detect and had little impact.
Freshman Braeson Fulton led the scoring for Riverheads, as he has in all four games this season, with a dozen, and his classmate Grant Painter added nine, all scored in the second half. The Gladiators' center Austin Craft had a nice game also, matching Painter's nine points. Two players for RHS, Jalen Brown and Avery Schaefer, scored their first points of the season, and Schaefer in particular had a very nice overall game and might have earned himself a little more PT.
In JV action, the Junior Eagles displayed the same precision and relentless pressure as the varsity team and handed RHS a 52-34 loss. That would seem to indicate that the Eagles' overall program is on solid footing. Adam Painter and Zach Adams led RHS with 14 and 11 respectively.
Riverheads has a pair of games between the holidays as they travel to Parry McCluer on Tuesday and host Nelson on Thursday. Unless they allow tonight's loss to mess with their heads, each of those look like winnable games, and I think any Gladiator fan will be happy with a winning record as we head into the 2017 part of the schedule.
Javon Butler, who tied for high scorer with 15, hit a couple of early bombs to lead the way as East Rock took a modest 17-9 lead at the end of one. Speaking of bombs, one of the factors leading to Riverheads' downfall tonight was the fact that their three-point shooting left them. After draining 10 shots from behind the arc at Buffalo Gap Tuesday, the Big Red failed to connect from Bonusland at all tonight.
East Rock continued to pour it on in the second period and took a 42-19 lead into the locker room. The Gladiators to their credit came out fired up in the second half and for the first few minutes of the third quarter, they actually outplayed the Eagles and cut into the lead. But ERHS soon cranked it up again and left little doubt about the outcome. There was even some speculation in the stands about whether or not we would see the new running clock that the Shenandoah voted in this season, but if they did use it when the margin reached 30, it was hard to detect and had little impact.
Freshman Braeson Fulton led the scoring for Riverheads, as he has in all four games this season, with a dozen, and his classmate Grant Painter added nine, all scored in the second half. The Gladiators' center Austin Craft had a nice game also, matching Painter's nine points. Two players for RHS, Jalen Brown and Avery Schaefer, scored their first points of the season, and Schaefer in particular had a very nice overall game and might have earned himself a little more PT.
In JV action, the Junior Eagles displayed the same precision and relentless pressure as the varsity team and handed RHS a 52-34 loss. That would seem to indicate that the Eagles' overall program is on solid footing. Adam Painter and Zach Adams led RHS with 14 and 11 respectively.
Riverheads has a pair of games between the holidays as they travel to Parry McCluer on Tuesday and host Nelson on Thursday. Unless they allow tonight's loss to mess with their heads, each of those look like winnable games, and I think any Gladiator fan will be happy with a winning record as we head into the 2017 part of the schedule.
