So much for our "30% chance of scattered showers." This one was delayed 40 minutes by lightning and then played in a steady shower that ended just before the game did. But the weather did not significantly impact the outcome as the Gladiators handled the Eagles 35-14. Riverheads has now won all six match-ups with East Rock since the school opened, and this was their fourth victory on the Eagles' home field.
East Rock took the opening kickoff and took the first six minutes off the clock trying to establish its ground game. The only problem is that they only moved about 30 yards in that amount of time and elected to punt from the Riverheads 40. The Gladiators received the punt on their 14 and embarked on an 86 yard drive that culminated with a short Landon Diehl run that came with 22 seconds left in the opening period.
The Gladiator D then began to take control and forced a three-and-out on the Eagles' next possession. This time Mr. Diehl was again the major workhorse but he scored a longer TD in a shorter time and the Big Red took a 14-0 lead midway through the second period.
ER then mounted a serious challenge and almost cut the score in half before the break. They moved into the red zone with plenty of time to score, but the Gladiators stiffened and a Tyler Smith interception, the first of three the Big Red would get on the night, killed the drive at the 1-yard line.
Riverheads took the second-half kickoff and moved in for touchdown number three, which came on a 4th down carry from about the five by Harrison Schaefer, who is currently the Shenandoah's leading scorer. Tristan Robson's PAT (number three of a 5 for 5 night) made it 21-0 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, we finally got to see some of the all-out action we expected we would as East Rock opened up the passing game a little more. They scored early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 21-7.
On the ensuing kick-off, Diehl took it up the sideline for about 60 yards before being knocked out of bounds and the Gladiators were right back in business. However, they then made their only turnover of the night as ER pounced on a fumble around the 15 yard line.
Trailing only 21-7 at that time and sensing some confidence building, the Eagles again took to the air and Jaylen McNeir sent one deep into coverage. However, instead of it being the play that brought the Eagles back into the game, it turned out to be one of the best plays of the season for the Big Red defense.
With two defenders on the intended receiver, Schaefer hauled in the over-the-shoulder interception around midfield right in front of the Eagle bench. He had the presence of mind to gather himself first, and then took off upfield behind a perfect wall of blockers. He made one final move around the five that took him into the end zone untouched for the back-breaking play that put the visitors ahead 28-7.
Moments later, the Big Red had yet another interception and I think it was Smith again. They took advantage of a short field and scored on about a 30 yard drive on a tough one-yard plunge from Colt Miller. That made the score 35-7 and the Eagles added a touchdown pass in the final minute to account for the final.
Although the Gladiators got decent enough production out of the running game, the weather probably hampered them somewhat on offense. But their defense was in fine form. In addition to the three picks, they sacked McNeir at least half a dozen times, with Taz Miller and Ridge Stokes making some especially great individual plays.
The victory moves the Big Red to 6-0 on the season as they return home for Homecoming next week against Page. I think everyone's big wish will be to finally have a Friday night without rain. According to my recollection, this was the third week in a row that rain impacted things for area teams and the fourth time out of the seven weekends since the season started.
East Rock took the opening kickoff and took the first six minutes off the clock trying to establish its ground game. The only problem is that they only moved about 30 yards in that amount of time and elected to punt from the Riverheads 40. The Gladiators received the punt on their 14 and embarked on an 86 yard drive that culminated with a short Landon Diehl run that came with 22 seconds left in the opening period.
The Gladiator D then began to take control and forced a three-and-out on the Eagles' next possession. This time Mr. Diehl was again the major workhorse but he scored a longer TD in a shorter time and the Big Red took a 14-0 lead midway through the second period.
ER then mounted a serious challenge and almost cut the score in half before the break. They moved into the red zone with plenty of time to score, but the Gladiators stiffened and a Tyler Smith interception, the first of three the Big Red would get on the night, killed the drive at the 1-yard line.
Riverheads took the second-half kickoff and moved in for touchdown number three, which came on a 4th down carry from about the five by Harrison Schaefer, who is currently the Shenandoah's leading scorer. Tristan Robson's PAT (number three of a 5 for 5 night) made it 21-0 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, we finally got to see some of the all-out action we expected we would as East Rock opened up the passing game a little more. They scored early in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 21-7.
On the ensuing kick-off, Diehl took it up the sideline for about 60 yards before being knocked out of bounds and the Gladiators were right back in business. However, they then made their only turnover of the night as ER pounced on a fumble around the 15 yard line.
Trailing only 21-7 at that time and sensing some confidence building, the Eagles again took to the air and Jaylen McNeir sent one deep into coverage. However, instead of it being the play that brought the Eagles back into the game, it turned out to be one of the best plays of the season for the Big Red defense.
With two defenders on the intended receiver, Schaefer hauled in the over-the-shoulder interception around midfield right in front of the Eagle bench. He had the presence of mind to gather himself first, and then took off upfield behind a perfect wall of blockers. He made one final move around the five that took him into the end zone untouched for the back-breaking play that put the visitors ahead 28-7.
Moments later, the Big Red had yet another interception and I think it was Smith again. They took advantage of a short field and scored on about a 30 yard drive on a tough one-yard plunge from Colt Miller. That made the score 35-7 and the Eagles added a touchdown pass in the final minute to account for the final.
Although the Gladiators got decent enough production out of the running game, the weather probably hampered them somewhat on offense. But their defense was in fine form. In addition to the three picks, they sacked McNeir at least half a dozen times, with Taz Miller and Ridge Stokes making some especially great individual plays.
The victory moves the Big Red to 6-0 on the season as they return home for Homecoming next week against Page. I think everyone's big wish will be to finally have a Friday night without rain. According to my recollection, this was the third week in a row that rain impacted things for area teams and the fourth time out of the seven weekends since the season started.
