Today for the first time ever. Riverheads and Fauquier County tangled on the football field. It was RHS' second scrimmage of the season and I presume Fauquier's as well.
The Big Red needed only 42 seconds to take control of this one and by the end of the first quarter, played pretty much under game conditions, the Gladiators were up 21-0 and had just intercepted a pass that would lead to their fourth touchdown. They then added a field goal late in the second quarter to take a 31-0 lead into halftime.
Fauquier had basically two problems in the early going and the combination of those problems put them in that early hole. First of all, they had a horrible time with the center/quarterback exchange. The QB mishandled the very first snap of the game, which Riverheads pounced on and took in for that first score. At least another half dozen similar miscues were either converted into turnovers or at the very least caused them to lose yardage. They appeared to have some offensive weapons in that first half, as number 28 was looking good for the visitors, but they simply could not get out of their own way, and RHS took full advantage.
The Falcons' second problem was one that will hopefully be an easier thing for the coaching staff to correct.......a discipline and sportsmanship issue. They were hit with two U/C penalties in that first quarter and one of them appeared to be for hurling an F bomb. At least that was what many of the fans in the home stands claimed to have heard.
The situation got to the point that by the 4 minute mark of that first quarter, the officiating crew called both teams into a mass huddle in the middle of the field where we can only assume the message delivered was "We are going to run a tight ship here today, so let's clean up that stuff and play football." Whatever they said, the game was indeed cleaner from that point, although ironically it was a Riverheads player who would be flagged shortly thereafter for unsportsmanlike conduct. But after that, penalties were few and far between and were for more routine violations.
In that first half, the Gladiators opened up the offense a bit and unveiled a new weapon or two that we had not seen in last week's scrimmage with TA. For example, the first TD was scored by Brendan Fortune. He is a senior veteran but for the first time this year, will play fullback although an undersized one. But that strategy worked as he burst right up the middle to score on the second play after the fumble recovery.
Starting running back Cayden Cook Cash scored the next two Big Red TD's after being held scoreless last week. The Gladiators also tried to work on their passing game and although they just completed a couple of short ones here and there, we can assume that they will be able to utilize that weapon when needed.
In the second half, played with much less structure, RHS let the subs take over and tested the waters with just about every running back on the team. By far the most impressive one of those was sophomore Jonathan Talbott. After a strong campaign on the JVs last year, he made a statement that he is ready for varsity play when he swept right end, turned on the jets, and outraced three defenders to complete a 70 yard TD gallop. Ironically he would repeat almost exactly the same play a few minutes later but that TD was called back on a penalty.
Meanwhile, Fauquier settled into the game a bit more effectively and had some fun of their own, scoring a pair of TD's against the Riverheads subs. The most fun player to watch, and apparently their crowd favorite, was a little 120 pound waterbug wearing number 16. He did not score either of their touchdowns but certainly looked like he could be a breakaway threat for the Falcons this season.
So overall a decent showing by both teams once the early issues were sorted out. The Gladiators will now turn their attention to preparation for Friday night's season opener at Central Woodstock. I am sure that one will be talked about quite a bit on here this upcoming week..........
The Big Red needed only 42 seconds to take control of this one and by the end of the first quarter, played pretty much under game conditions, the Gladiators were up 21-0 and had just intercepted a pass that would lead to their fourth touchdown. They then added a field goal late in the second quarter to take a 31-0 lead into halftime.
Fauquier had basically two problems in the early going and the combination of those problems put them in that early hole. First of all, they had a horrible time with the center/quarterback exchange. The QB mishandled the very first snap of the game, which Riverheads pounced on and took in for that first score. At least another half dozen similar miscues were either converted into turnovers or at the very least caused them to lose yardage. They appeared to have some offensive weapons in that first half, as number 28 was looking good for the visitors, but they simply could not get out of their own way, and RHS took full advantage.
The Falcons' second problem was one that will hopefully be an easier thing for the coaching staff to correct.......a discipline and sportsmanship issue. They were hit with two U/C penalties in that first quarter and one of them appeared to be for hurling an F bomb. At least that was what many of the fans in the home stands claimed to have heard.
The situation got to the point that by the 4 minute mark of that first quarter, the officiating crew called both teams into a mass huddle in the middle of the field where we can only assume the message delivered was "We are going to run a tight ship here today, so let's clean up that stuff and play football." Whatever they said, the game was indeed cleaner from that point, although ironically it was a Riverheads player who would be flagged shortly thereafter for unsportsmanlike conduct. But after that, penalties were few and far between and were for more routine violations.
In that first half, the Gladiators opened up the offense a bit and unveiled a new weapon or two that we had not seen in last week's scrimmage with TA. For example, the first TD was scored by Brendan Fortune. He is a senior veteran but for the first time this year, will play fullback although an undersized one. But that strategy worked as he burst right up the middle to score on the second play after the fumble recovery.
Starting running back Cayden Cook Cash scored the next two Big Red TD's after being held scoreless last week. The Gladiators also tried to work on their passing game and although they just completed a couple of short ones here and there, we can assume that they will be able to utilize that weapon when needed.
In the second half, played with much less structure, RHS let the subs take over and tested the waters with just about every running back on the team. By far the most impressive one of those was sophomore Jonathan Talbott. After a strong campaign on the JVs last year, he made a statement that he is ready for varsity play when he swept right end, turned on the jets, and outraced three defenders to complete a 70 yard TD gallop. Ironically he would repeat almost exactly the same play a few minutes later but that TD was called back on a penalty.
Meanwhile, Fauquier settled into the game a bit more effectively and had some fun of their own, scoring a pair of TD's against the Riverheads subs. The most fun player to watch, and apparently their crowd favorite, was a little 120 pound waterbug wearing number 16. He did not score either of their touchdowns but certainly looked like he could be a breakaway threat for the Falcons this season.
So overall a decent showing by both teams once the early issues were sorted out. The Gladiators will now turn their attention to preparation for Friday night's season opener at Central Woodstock. I am sure that one will be talked about quite a bit on here this upcoming week..........
