It was not the prettiest game you ever saw but the Big Red Machine topped the 40 point mark for the first time this season and had little trouble with the Bison as they posted what the media says was their 17th straight win in the series. The Gladiators are now 4-0 in district play with next Friday's big showdown with Stuarts Draft next on the docket. (And already I like the sound of next Friday's weather forecast!)
As expected the running game dominated this win for the Gladiators, although they were without the services of Austin Roberts tonight as he was nursing an injury. There were still plenty of backs to tote the pigskin but due to Roberts' absence, Triple C did have the most carries he has had this season scoring once on offense and once on a heads-up fumble recovery.
However the top scorer for the Big Red tonight was sophomore Jonathan Talbott who had his first-ever three-TD game. All came on the ground, although his second touchdown was set up by a picture-perfect 40 yard strike from quarterback Levi Dunlap, in which Talbott got behind the defender and almost took it to the house before being brought down at the two. As any good coach would do, they gave him the ball on the next play so he could score anyway.
The remaining Big Red TD was actually its first, courtesy of Brendon Fortune, who carried it in from the 10 yard line to complete an opening drive that ate up the first five minutes of the clock. After stopping the Bison on its first drive, the Gladiators scored TD number two on a 19 yard sweep from Talbott with just four seconds left in the opening period.
CCC then scored his offensive TD on a determined 30 yard run in which he broke or eluded what appeared to be several tackles before falling into the end zone. The busiest man on the field for the visitors was place-kicker Zac Brooks, who still has not missed a PAT. He was a perfect 6-6 tonight and almost added a 47 yard field goal on the last play of the half but it came up just short.
However other than the CCC score and that missed field goal, the second quarter was the most efficient one of the night for the Bison. They turned the Gladiators over twice, once by fumble and once by an interception of a Dunlap pass to Caleb Weston, and they scored their first touchdown on a kick-off return following CCC's score. Quite frankly the Gladiators helped the return man score by failing to wrap him up on the two or three clear chances they seemed to have to do so. As a result he just needed one last juke to find the end zone. The PAT failed, making the halftime score 21-6.
The Bison were due to receive the second half kickoff but any thoughts of a rally were quickly dashed when Riverheads put two quick ones on the board. CCC picked up a loose football and skirted around right end with it and Talbott would actually score twice more in the third to seal the deal for the Big Red.
Between his two scores, the Bison posted their second TD of the evening, but just like they had done in the first half, the Gladiators helped them along and made it look easy. First a 15 yard face mask put the Gap in Riverheads territory. Then a pair of wounded duck passes were not very well defended and the Gap found the end zone for its final score of the night.
Although the officials were acceptable if not downright good tonight, the Big Red was still flagged a few too many times to suit Coach Norcross, including that Bison TD sequence, so team discipline on defense may be a point of emphasis at Monday's practice. Not to imply that the news was all bad because the Big Red did have two interceptions tonight, one by Weston and one by Brady Boehm, and Christopher Dotson had some nice defensive plays, especially in that second quarter when the Bison threatened to score more than the one kickoff return TD.
So in some ways it was the game we pretty much expected to see, but in other ways it was not a very polished effort. Penalties and missed tackles will never be acceptable to a coach and two turnovers in one quarter (meaning the second) won't cut it against better teams. But a win is a win as they say, so let's move on and hope that the weatherman is accurate and that the Draft football team will be the only ill wind blowing next Friday night in Greenville.
As expected the running game dominated this win for the Gladiators, although they were without the services of Austin Roberts tonight as he was nursing an injury. There were still plenty of backs to tote the pigskin but due to Roberts' absence, Triple C did have the most carries he has had this season scoring once on offense and once on a heads-up fumble recovery.
However the top scorer for the Big Red tonight was sophomore Jonathan Talbott who had his first-ever three-TD game. All came on the ground, although his second touchdown was set up by a picture-perfect 40 yard strike from quarterback Levi Dunlap, in which Talbott got behind the defender and almost took it to the house before being brought down at the two. As any good coach would do, they gave him the ball on the next play so he could score anyway.
The remaining Big Red TD was actually its first, courtesy of Brendon Fortune, who carried it in from the 10 yard line to complete an opening drive that ate up the first five minutes of the clock. After stopping the Bison on its first drive, the Gladiators scored TD number two on a 19 yard sweep from Talbott with just four seconds left in the opening period.
CCC then scored his offensive TD on a determined 30 yard run in which he broke or eluded what appeared to be several tackles before falling into the end zone. The busiest man on the field for the visitors was place-kicker Zac Brooks, who still has not missed a PAT. He was a perfect 6-6 tonight and almost added a 47 yard field goal on the last play of the half but it came up just short.
However other than the CCC score and that missed field goal, the second quarter was the most efficient one of the night for the Bison. They turned the Gladiators over twice, once by fumble and once by an interception of a Dunlap pass to Caleb Weston, and they scored their first touchdown on a kick-off return following CCC's score. Quite frankly the Gladiators helped the return man score by failing to wrap him up on the two or three clear chances they seemed to have to do so. As a result he just needed one last juke to find the end zone. The PAT failed, making the halftime score 21-6.
The Bison were due to receive the second half kickoff but any thoughts of a rally were quickly dashed when Riverheads put two quick ones on the board. CCC picked up a loose football and skirted around right end with it and Talbott would actually score twice more in the third to seal the deal for the Big Red.
Between his two scores, the Bison posted their second TD of the evening, but just like they had done in the first half, the Gladiators helped them along and made it look easy. First a 15 yard face mask put the Gap in Riverheads territory. Then a pair of wounded duck passes were not very well defended and the Gap found the end zone for its final score of the night.
Although the officials were acceptable if not downright good tonight, the Big Red was still flagged a few too many times to suit Coach Norcross, including that Bison TD sequence, so team discipline on defense may be a point of emphasis at Monday's practice. Not to imply that the news was all bad because the Big Red did have two interceptions tonight, one by Weston and one by Brady Boehm, and Christopher Dotson had some nice defensive plays, especially in that second quarter when the Bison threatened to score more than the one kickoff return TD.
So in some ways it was the game we pretty much expected to see, but in other ways it was not a very polished effort. Penalties and missed tackles will never be acceptable to a coach and two turnovers in one quarter (meaning the second) won't cut it against better teams. But a win is a win as they say, so let's move on and hope that the weatherman is accurate and that the Draft football team will be the only ill wind blowing next Friday night in Greenville.
