Once again the Riverheads coaching staff calmly took the Gladiators into the locker room at halftime, said what needed to be said, and the evidence spoke for itself as the Big Red COMPLETELY turned the game around in the second half as they rallied from a 10-7 (almost 13-7...more on that in a moment) halftime deficit and caged the Cougars 28-10.
Tonight's game was the first of two meetings this season between the two and this one did not count in the district standings but you could not tell that to the fans as a HUMONGOUS crowd turned out for this one. We got lucky and dodged the slight chance of rain that might have been in the forecast.
However, what we could not escape tonight, and I guess it was nobody's fault, was a malfunctioning scoreboard. It went on and off the entire game and only rarely did it seem to be functioning. It was keeping up with the score and time alright, but just the display part was a nightmare. Since both teams and their fans had to contend with it, it was no advantage either way, but it would have been agony if the game had gone down to the wire, which at times looked like it might.
As I have already hinted, this was a story of two halves and the homestanding Cougars had RHS on the ropes for the entire first half. They were controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage and their running back duo of Nice and Grigsby were each reeling off big chunks of yardage, whereas on defense, the Cougars were stopping almost anything the Gladiators tried to establish.
SD got the first break when RHS went three and out on its first possession. The Cougars got a risky, but well-executed punt return that carried them across midfield for their opening possession. They only needed to go about 40 yards to hit paydirt and Grigsby did the honors.
Riverheads then tied the score on its second possession, helped along by a penalty against the Draft. Bennett Dunlap found his favorite receiver Landon Lightner in the left corner of the end zone and Cooper Robson's extra point tied the game at 7-7.
SD continued its dominance in the second quarter and pushed the ball into the red zone. But the Gladiators forced a field goal, which gave the Cougars a 10-7 lead. Then with about 3 minutes left before halftime, the scenario repeated itself and once again a talented Cougar kicker drilled the ball straight down the middle for a 13-7 lead.
However, the Gladiators were called for roughing and SD elected to take the points off the board and try for a TD. Although it may not have been "the" turning point of the game, it was one of them as the Gladiators intercepted a pass to thwart the drive and leave the score at 10-7. However, as the teams headed to the locker rooms, everyone on the field knew how badly the Cougars had outplayed the Big Red thus far and that the visitors were lucky to be as close as they were.
So we all waited patiently to see if the Big Red braintrust had made any adjustments or if it was just going to be more Cougar domination in the second half. That question was pretty much answered on the opening kickoff when Grigsby was absolutely obliterated by a crushing solo tackle on his own 20. I believe I heard that Ryan Farris did the honors for RHS.
You could tell from the intensity of that hit that the team had gotten fired up and that play certainly got the Big Red fans back into the game as well. The Gladiator D stopped the Cougars on a three and out and in no time, Luke Bryant was in the end zone to give Riverheads a lead it would not relinquish.
The Cougars seemed to be shell-shocked by this sudden turnaround and they failed to match the Gladiators' level of intensity. If SD had any play on offense in the second half that went for more than 10 yards, then I don't remember it. Meanwhile, when Bryant rambled about 40 yards untouched for his second TD to put the Big Red up 21-10, it was all over but the shouting.
Notice I have not mentioned Triple C yet. Well that is because the Cougars did bottle him up better than anybody has yet this season. But he did his part in the fourth quarter as he intercepted a deflected pass in Cougar territory and eventually scored an insurance touchdown.
So victory number 40 in a row is in the books, but hats off to the Cougars for how hard they made Riverheads work for this one. Although it will be November before they meet again, you can bet that players on both sides are already thinking about the return match. And by the way, despite the intensity of this one, I can again say, as I have with most games this year, that there was nothing dirty about this one and you saw guys helping each other off the turf and maybe even a hug or two here and there. That's the way it should be in a neighborhood rivalry.
Next up for RHS is the longgggg road trip to Tazewell next Saturday for a 1:00 kickoff. The Cougars will try to rebound Friday night when they host James River.
Tonight's game was the first of two meetings this season between the two and this one did not count in the district standings but you could not tell that to the fans as a HUMONGOUS crowd turned out for this one. We got lucky and dodged the slight chance of rain that might have been in the forecast.
However, what we could not escape tonight, and I guess it was nobody's fault, was a malfunctioning scoreboard. It went on and off the entire game and only rarely did it seem to be functioning. It was keeping up with the score and time alright, but just the display part was a nightmare. Since both teams and their fans had to contend with it, it was no advantage either way, but it would have been agony if the game had gone down to the wire, which at times looked like it might.
As I have already hinted, this was a story of two halves and the homestanding Cougars had RHS on the ropes for the entire first half. They were controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage and their running back duo of Nice and Grigsby were each reeling off big chunks of yardage, whereas on defense, the Cougars were stopping almost anything the Gladiators tried to establish.
SD got the first break when RHS went three and out on its first possession. The Cougars got a risky, but well-executed punt return that carried them across midfield for their opening possession. They only needed to go about 40 yards to hit paydirt and Grigsby did the honors.
Riverheads then tied the score on its second possession, helped along by a penalty against the Draft. Bennett Dunlap found his favorite receiver Landon Lightner in the left corner of the end zone and Cooper Robson's extra point tied the game at 7-7.
SD continued its dominance in the second quarter and pushed the ball into the red zone. But the Gladiators forced a field goal, which gave the Cougars a 10-7 lead. Then with about 3 minutes left before halftime, the scenario repeated itself and once again a talented Cougar kicker drilled the ball straight down the middle for a 13-7 lead.
However, the Gladiators were called for roughing and SD elected to take the points off the board and try for a TD. Although it may not have been "the" turning point of the game, it was one of them as the Gladiators intercepted a pass to thwart the drive and leave the score at 10-7. However, as the teams headed to the locker rooms, everyone on the field knew how badly the Cougars had outplayed the Big Red thus far and that the visitors were lucky to be as close as they were.
So we all waited patiently to see if the Big Red braintrust had made any adjustments or if it was just going to be more Cougar domination in the second half. That question was pretty much answered on the opening kickoff when Grigsby was absolutely obliterated by a crushing solo tackle on his own 20. I believe I heard that Ryan Farris did the honors for RHS.
You could tell from the intensity of that hit that the team had gotten fired up and that play certainly got the Big Red fans back into the game as well. The Gladiator D stopped the Cougars on a three and out and in no time, Luke Bryant was in the end zone to give Riverheads a lead it would not relinquish.
The Cougars seemed to be shell-shocked by this sudden turnaround and they failed to match the Gladiators' level of intensity. If SD had any play on offense in the second half that went for more than 10 yards, then I don't remember it. Meanwhile, when Bryant rambled about 40 yards untouched for his second TD to put the Big Red up 21-10, it was all over but the shouting.
Notice I have not mentioned Triple C yet. Well that is because the Cougars did bottle him up better than anybody has yet this season. But he did his part in the fourth quarter as he intercepted a deflected pass in Cougar territory and eventually scored an insurance touchdown.
So victory number 40 in a row is in the books, but hats off to the Cougars for how hard they made Riverheads work for this one. Although it will be November before they meet again, you can bet that players on both sides are already thinking about the return match. And by the way, despite the intensity of this one, I can again say, as I have with most games this year, that there was nothing dirty about this one and you saw guys helping each other off the turf and maybe even a hug or two here and there. That's the way it should be in a neighborhood rivalry.
Next up for RHS is the longgggg road trip to Tazewell next Saturday for a 1:00 kickoff. The Cougars will try to rebound Friday night when they host James River.
