Freshman Luke Bryant raced untouched into the endzone with the opening kickoff and that was just the beginning as the Big Red mauled the homestanding Indians tonight. It now looks as if the RHS JVs are on a collision course with Buffalo Gap, which is also undefeated. The two will meet during the last week of the season.
Following Bryant's score, his primary running mate, eighth-grader Cayden Cook-Cash tight-roped down the sidelines from about 45 yards out for the second Gladiator TD. If this had been a big-time TV game, they would have played the replay a half dozen times to see if he stepped out of bounds but there was no mention of it and the score stood. The Gladiators then added four more scores before halftime, including a real back-breaker on a Bryant fumble recovery which padded the lead to 46-0 at the break.
The Indians scored on their first possession of the second half against the Gladiator reserves, and Riverheads closed out its scoring with a deliberate field goal that was kicked on second down to avoid scoring another TD. They tried another against the wind in similar circumstances late in the game but missed it. The Indians then scored a final TD on a long run up the home sideline.
The game was over early enough to allow fans to go inside and watch the conclusion of the girls volleyball match between two of the district's top teams. The Indians ended up winning that one in five sets to remain undefeated in district play but Riverheads made them work for it.
RHS had taken the first set 25-22 and when I walked in they were in control of the second set, leading 23-20. But the Indians staged a rally and after ties at every single point from 23-29, the Fort finally pulled out a 31-29 victory to even the score.
In set number three, RHS took a series of five-point leads, the last at 10-5 before the Fort rallied. They took their first lead at 15-14 and pulled away to a 25-19 victory. Needing to get home and sensing that the Indians would likely win, I left at that point but I have since read that RHS evened the match with a 25-22 win before Fort prevailed 15-7 in the tie-breaker.
With the win, the Fort now holds a two-game lead over both RHS and Wilson. I don't think there is a district tournament in volleyball but when the playoffs come along later in the season, those three will certainly make the field in their respective classes and any one of the three will be capable of bringing state-level gold back to the county.
Following Bryant's score, his primary running mate, eighth-grader Cayden Cook-Cash tight-roped down the sidelines from about 45 yards out for the second Gladiator TD. If this had been a big-time TV game, they would have played the replay a half dozen times to see if he stepped out of bounds but there was no mention of it and the score stood. The Gladiators then added four more scores before halftime, including a real back-breaker on a Bryant fumble recovery which padded the lead to 46-0 at the break.
The Indians scored on their first possession of the second half against the Gladiator reserves, and Riverheads closed out its scoring with a deliberate field goal that was kicked on second down to avoid scoring another TD. They tried another against the wind in similar circumstances late in the game but missed it. The Indians then scored a final TD on a long run up the home sideline.
The game was over early enough to allow fans to go inside and watch the conclusion of the girls volleyball match between two of the district's top teams. The Indians ended up winning that one in five sets to remain undefeated in district play but Riverheads made them work for it.
RHS had taken the first set 25-22 and when I walked in they were in control of the second set, leading 23-20. But the Indians staged a rally and after ties at every single point from 23-29, the Fort finally pulled out a 31-29 victory to even the score.
In set number three, RHS took a series of five-point leads, the last at 10-5 before the Fort rallied. They took their first lead at 15-14 and pulled away to a 25-19 victory. Needing to get home and sensing that the Indians would likely win, I left at that point but I have since read that RHS evened the match with a 25-22 win before Fort prevailed 15-7 in the tie-breaker.
With the win, the Fort now holds a two-game lead over both RHS and Wilson. I don't think there is a district tournament in volleyball but when the playoffs come along later in the season, those three will certainly make the field in their respective classes and any one of the three will be capable of bringing state-level gold back to the county.
