In a warm up for Friday night's main event, the Junior G'Men welcomed Central tonight but sent the Baby Falcons back up I-81 on the short end of a 20-0 score. As will always be a Riverheads tradition, the Gladiators won this one on the strength of a punishing ground attack combined with a stingy defense that gave up some yardage but did not break.
Two running backs keyed the RHS offense but with different styles. Spencer Simpson looks like he will be the Big Red's guy when they need the tough yards up the middle as he scored the first Gladiator TD in the first quarter. But fans also got a glimpse of the next breakaway threat in the form of Jackson Fitzgerald. He showed a natural talent for finding the holes and scored the Big Red's other two TDs, from 47 yards out in the second quarter and from 15 yards in the fourth quarter. For good measure, he booted the PATs after each of his TDs, whereas we have been accustomed over the years to seeing the Gladiators opt for the two-point try.
As for the Big Red defense, obviously the score proves that they got the job done. The Falcons were usually willing to gamble on fourth down and the Gladiators stopped them on a number of those attempts. But if I had to signal out one player who really came to play defense tonight it would be Skyler Shiflett. Central made a valiant attempt all night long to establish a passing attack, and Shiflett was able to bat away at least half a dozen of their attempts. Then in the final moments of the game when the Falcons were trying frantically to avoid the shutout, the Gladiators got another big stop when Sean Miller intercepted deep in his own territory.
As you would expect for a first game, the Gladiators were far from perfect with their execution tonight as they were hit with some false starts and at least three holding penalties. But as of the moment, they will have two weeks to iron out those kinks before traveling to Fort Defiance on September 6th. RHS has a bye next week due to the varsity making the long trip to Tazewell over Labor Day weekend, but word in the stands is that the JVs are actively seeking another game or two, since they currently have only their six district games remaining. So don't be surprised if someone else has an opening next week also and the two find each other. But "officially" the next RHS JV game will be the trip to FD two weeks from tonight.
Despite the shut out, the Falcons had their chances. They advanced deep into Gladiator territory on three occasions and seemed to spend the entire night waiting for that one big play that would get them back in the game. It was not until Fitzgerald's game clinching score midway through the fourth that Big Red fans felt they could relax.
Central's most frustrating sequence had to be the early stages of the second half. They were trailing 13-0 at the time and ate up an impressive 6 1/2 minutes on the clock as they drove inside the Big Red 30. On a fourth down play, the Gladiator defense blew the coverage out in the right flat and left a receiver wide open. There was no one within 10 yards of him and he could have waltzed into the end zone but he just could not haul in the pass as the Gladiators dodged a major bullet. Based on the number of times his name was called, if the Falcons had a go-to guy tonight, it appeared to be running back Tyshawn Roles, who only goes 5'5" and 125. He showed some toughness and some deceptive moves but the Gladiators were able to contain him.
Overall it was a typical first game of the season and each coach will no doubt work on the weaknesses they saw tonight and fans can expect improved performances and more poise the next time their team takes the field. But for now, all eyes will be on Central's home field Friday night for the varsity game. Sounds like it will be as hot as blue blazes with at least some chance for a thunderboomer. But maybe Mother Nature will cooperate and either get that out of her system by 3 or 4:00 or hold off until 10:00 or later. That will be too big a game to be impacted by weather.
Two running backs keyed the RHS offense but with different styles. Spencer Simpson looks like he will be the Big Red's guy when they need the tough yards up the middle as he scored the first Gladiator TD in the first quarter. But fans also got a glimpse of the next breakaway threat in the form of Jackson Fitzgerald. He showed a natural talent for finding the holes and scored the Big Red's other two TDs, from 47 yards out in the second quarter and from 15 yards in the fourth quarter. For good measure, he booted the PATs after each of his TDs, whereas we have been accustomed over the years to seeing the Gladiators opt for the two-point try.
As for the Big Red defense, obviously the score proves that they got the job done. The Falcons were usually willing to gamble on fourth down and the Gladiators stopped them on a number of those attempts. But if I had to signal out one player who really came to play defense tonight it would be Skyler Shiflett. Central made a valiant attempt all night long to establish a passing attack, and Shiflett was able to bat away at least half a dozen of their attempts. Then in the final moments of the game when the Falcons were trying frantically to avoid the shutout, the Gladiators got another big stop when Sean Miller intercepted deep in his own territory.
As you would expect for a first game, the Gladiators were far from perfect with their execution tonight as they were hit with some false starts and at least three holding penalties. But as of the moment, they will have two weeks to iron out those kinks before traveling to Fort Defiance on September 6th. RHS has a bye next week due to the varsity making the long trip to Tazewell over Labor Day weekend, but word in the stands is that the JVs are actively seeking another game or two, since they currently have only their six district games remaining. So don't be surprised if someone else has an opening next week also and the two find each other. But "officially" the next RHS JV game will be the trip to FD two weeks from tonight.
Despite the shut out, the Falcons had their chances. They advanced deep into Gladiator territory on three occasions and seemed to spend the entire night waiting for that one big play that would get them back in the game. It was not until Fitzgerald's game clinching score midway through the fourth that Big Red fans felt they could relax.
Central's most frustrating sequence had to be the early stages of the second half. They were trailing 13-0 at the time and ate up an impressive 6 1/2 minutes on the clock as they drove inside the Big Red 30. On a fourth down play, the Gladiator defense blew the coverage out in the right flat and left a receiver wide open. There was no one within 10 yards of him and he could have waltzed into the end zone but he just could not haul in the pass as the Gladiators dodged a major bullet. Based on the number of times his name was called, if the Falcons had a go-to guy tonight, it appeared to be running back Tyshawn Roles, who only goes 5'5" and 125. He showed some toughness and some deceptive moves but the Gladiators were able to contain him.
Overall it was a typical first game of the season and each coach will no doubt work on the weaknesses they saw tonight and fans can expect improved performances and more poise the next time their team takes the field. But for now, all eyes will be on Central's home field Friday night for the varsity game. Sounds like it will be as hot as blue blazes with at least some chance for a thunderboomer. But maybe Mother Nature will cooperate and either get that out of her system by 3 or 4:00 or hold off until 10:00 or later. That will be too big a game to be impacted by weather.
