The defense played better this week tighten up their pass defense a little bit they will be alright. They will make a run again this year not saying they will win but definitely a contender.
Riverheads 38 Glenvar 21
- Thread starter Baseball215
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Riverheads looked better tonight than I expected. After watching Glenvar last week, I thought Riverheads was in for a long night. Defense still has some growing to do. The offense is a lot to deal with
First and foremost, prayers for the injured Glenvar player. I couldn’t see clearly what happened but he was immobilized and taken by ambulance away from the field so it looked to be fairly serious.
To the game, I know longtime will have details but there were several things that stood out to me.
1. Glenvar is a class program and has some very solid players. Nothing but positives to say About the players and fans. By the way, their band was pretty good as well.
2. The Riverheads D played better but seemed to have a propensity for playing a bit shallow considering the arm strength of Glenvar sophomore QB which lead to a couple of very nice TDS. That said, we found at least one DB that can cover and the LB’s played much better in the second half.
3. The offense still had a couple of minor things like missed blocking assignments, but there was good effort across the board.
4. It’s still just the second week of a very long season so anything can and will happen.
I will comment on the officiating and say there were a few missed calls but overall a good game by the zebras.
Now it’s back to the drawing board to plan for East Rock. Enjoying this one with an eye on next week in Elkton.
To the game, I know longtime will have details but there were several things that stood out to me.
1. Glenvar is a class program and has some very solid players. Nothing but positives to say About the players and fans. By the way, their band was pretty good as well.
2. The Riverheads D played better but seemed to have a propensity for playing a bit shallow considering the arm strength of Glenvar sophomore QB which lead to a couple of very nice TDS. That said, we found at least one DB that can cover and the LB’s played much better in the second half.
3. The offense still had a couple of minor things like missed blocking assignments, but there was good effort across the board.
4. It’s still just the second week of a very long season so anything can and will happen.
I will comment on the officiating and say there were a few missed calls but overall a good game by the zebras.
Now it’s back to the drawing board to plan for East Rock. Enjoying this one with an eye on next week in Elkton.
Since a couple of comments have mentioned the Big Red defense, I will start by saying that the Gladiator D tonight quite frankly went from pitiful to brilliant, all during the course of this one game. Which means the credit has to go to the coaching staff for either saying the right things on the sideline or making the right personnel changes.
Whatever the case, the Big Red was burned and burned badly on a couple of pass plays and was also suckered in on a gutsy faked punt call by Glenvar. But just when it looked like the Highlanders might make a comeback and perhaps win for their fallen player Brandon Wright, RHS finally clamped down and stopped them on three crucial plays that decided the game.
To tell the story in chronological order, the Big Red took the opening kickoff and only needed a minute and a half to dent the scoreboard. Starting from their own 20, they covered the distance all on the ground with Zac Smiley doing the honors from 47 yards out on a nice broken field run in which he stiff-armed at least two defenders to reach the end zone. He would go on to rush for about 180 + yards and earned the local radio station's Player of the Game honors.
Glenvar came back to tie the score with the first of its three TD passes, a screen pass from Aiden Wolk to James Street that went for about 55 yards down the far sideline in front of a delirious Glenvar fan base. That tied the score at 7-7 and for a while it appeared that would be the halftime score.
But then in a crazy sequence that saw three touchdowns scored in a period of only 26 seconds, the Gladiators took a 21-14 lead into the locker room. Just prior to that chain of events was when the injury occurred to Wright and after a 15-minute delay, it appeared as if Glenvar was indeed going to stop RHS in his honor and grab some momentum.
But Riverheads shocked the visitors with a nice 39 yard pass over the middle to Braeson Fulton that put the Gladiators inside the red zone. Fullback Trevor Roberts bulled over from 9 yards out with exactly 1 minute to go to put RHS ahead 14-7.
Glenvar then scored on the first play from scrimmage when Nicholas Seabolt got so far behind the Gladiator defense that he could have stopped for a cup of coffee before crossing the goal line. That play covering about 65 yards tied the score at 14 and appeared to turn Big Mo in the direction of the visitors, especially considering that they would be receiving the second half kickoff.
But Mr. Fulton had other ideas as he produced one of the most electrifying plays we have seen at Riverheads in many a moon. He fielded the kickoff around the 5 yard line, swept to his left, waited for the wall to form, put on a spin move and streaked down the sideline for the go-ahead TD with 34 seconds still showing on the first half clock.
An odd little clock snafu gave the Highlanders three extra seconds to work with but it did not help as they failed to score and the teams left the field with RHS ahead 21-14. But that lead did not last long as the Highlanders came out fired up in the third quarter and found Seabolt again for a nearly identical TD, forcing some of the Gladiator faithful to grumble and call out loudly for a personnel change. Little did we know that the scoring play would be Glenvar's last of the night and that the Gladiator defense was about to do a 180 and put the game away in impressive fashion.
First RHS drove into the red zone but had to settle for a field goal, Peyton Skillman's first of the season. That 31 yard boot put RHS ahead 24-21 but more importantly it handed the ball to the explosive Glenvar offense, which at that time still had Riverheads on its heels.
The Gladiators first gave them a break on a roughing the passer call and then when it looked like RHS might have stopped them, the Highlanders reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out a fake punt on 4th and 7 from about their own 37. Not many coaches would have tried that in that situation but it worked and kept the drive alive.
As the third quarter wound down, they were driving and faced a 4th and about a foot at the Riverheads 40. Then came what I would term the play of the game. Needing only that length of the football to continue driving for their first lead of the night, the Gladiators instead brought the house and smashed the runner for about a two-yard loss.
Not only did Riverheads stop that drive but to add icing to the cake, they scored quickly again themselves to grab a two-score lead. The key plays of that drive were a nice screen pass to Deacon Moore, one of only two Gladiator pass completions on the night, and a punishing 25 yard TD gallop by Roberts in which he just bowled over several would-be tacklers.
The Gladiators added one more score in the fourth, as Smiley scored from about 10 yards out. It momentarily appeared that Glenvar had intercepted to stop the drive but a roughing the passer penalty allowed Riverheads to push across the clinching score.
Predictably Glenvar kept passing in a desperate attempt to catch up but Aiden Miller intercepted one in the end zone and D'ante Gray picked off another around his own 15 and returned it about 60 yards to put the final nail in the coffin. The Gladiators were content to run out the clock from there and take the hard-earned 17-point win.
Definitely a great game and the key was that Glenvar could not stop the RHS running game as the Big Red amassed almost 400 yards on the ground. So it was a classic case of "slow and steady winning the race" as the Gladiators probably possessed the ball for at least 70% of the game, keeping Glenvar's quick-strike attack from doing more damage.
Riverheads now heads to East Rockingham next week for a grudge match. The Gladiators had beaten the Eagles eight straight times until last year, when ER stunned the Big Red with a 28-0 shutout, the first time anyone had laid a goose egg on Riverheads in quite a few years. So next week will be all about payback.
Meanwhile, hats off to the Glenvar Highlanders, definitely one of the best 0-2 teams you will find anywhere around. They WILL be heard from yet this season.
Whatever the case, the Big Red was burned and burned badly on a couple of pass plays and was also suckered in on a gutsy faked punt call by Glenvar. But just when it looked like the Highlanders might make a comeback and perhaps win for their fallen player Brandon Wright, RHS finally clamped down and stopped them on three crucial plays that decided the game.
To tell the story in chronological order, the Big Red took the opening kickoff and only needed a minute and a half to dent the scoreboard. Starting from their own 20, they covered the distance all on the ground with Zac Smiley doing the honors from 47 yards out on a nice broken field run in which he stiff-armed at least two defenders to reach the end zone. He would go on to rush for about 180 + yards and earned the local radio station's Player of the Game honors.
Glenvar came back to tie the score with the first of its three TD passes, a screen pass from Aiden Wolk to James Street that went for about 55 yards down the far sideline in front of a delirious Glenvar fan base. That tied the score at 7-7 and for a while it appeared that would be the halftime score.
But then in a crazy sequence that saw three touchdowns scored in a period of only 26 seconds, the Gladiators took a 21-14 lead into the locker room. Just prior to that chain of events was when the injury occurred to Wright and after a 15-minute delay, it appeared as if Glenvar was indeed going to stop RHS in his honor and grab some momentum.
But Riverheads shocked the visitors with a nice 39 yard pass over the middle to Braeson Fulton that put the Gladiators inside the red zone. Fullback Trevor Roberts bulled over from 9 yards out with exactly 1 minute to go to put RHS ahead 14-7.
Glenvar then scored on the first play from scrimmage when Nicholas Seabolt got so far behind the Gladiator defense that he could have stopped for a cup of coffee before crossing the goal line. That play covering about 65 yards tied the score at 14 and appeared to turn Big Mo in the direction of the visitors, especially considering that they would be receiving the second half kickoff.
But Mr. Fulton had other ideas as he produced one of the most electrifying plays we have seen at Riverheads in many a moon. He fielded the kickoff around the 5 yard line, swept to his left, waited for the wall to form, put on a spin move and streaked down the sideline for the go-ahead TD with 34 seconds still showing on the first half clock.
An odd little clock snafu gave the Highlanders three extra seconds to work with but it did not help as they failed to score and the teams left the field with RHS ahead 21-14. But that lead did not last long as the Highlanders came out fired up in the third quarter and found Seabolt again for a nearly identical TD, forcing some of the Gladiator faithful to grumble and call out loudly for a personnel change. Little did we know that the scoring play would be Glenvar's last of the night and that the Gladiator defense was about to do a 180 and put the game away in impressive fashion.
First RHS drove into the red zone but had to settle for a field goal, Peyton Skillman's first of the season. That 31 yard boot put RHS ahead 24-21 but more importantly it handed the ball to the explosive Glenvar offense, which at that time still had Riverheads on its heels.
The Gladiators first gave them a break on a roughing the passer call and then when it looked like RHS might have stopped them, the Highlanders reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out a fake punt on 4th and 7 from about their own 37. Not many coaches would have tried that in that situation but it worked and kept the drive alive.
As the third quarter wound down, they were driving and faced a 4th and about a foot at the Riverheads 40. Then came what I would term the play of the game. Needing only that length of the football to continue driving for their first lead of the night, the Gladiators instead brought the house and smashed the runner for about a two-yard loss.
Not only did Riverheads stop that drive but to add icing to the cake, they scored quickly again themselves to grab a two-score lead. The key plays of that drive were a nice screen pass to Deacon Moore, one of only two Gladiator pass completions on the night, and a punishing 25 yard TD gallop by Roberts in which he just bowled over several would-be tacklers.
The Gladiators added one more score in the fourth, as Smiley scored from about 10 yards out. It momentarily appeared that Glenvar had intercepted to stop the drive but a roughing the passer penalty allowed Riverheads to push across the clinching score.
Predictably Glenvar kept passing in a desperate attempt to catch up but Aiden Miller intercepted one in the end zone and D'ante Gray picked off another around his own 15 and returned it about 60 yards to put the final nail in the coffin. The Gladiators were content to run out the clock from there and take the hard-earned 17-point win.
Definitely a great game and the key was that Glenvar could not stop the RHS running game as the Big Red amassed almost 400 yards on the ground. So it was a classic case of "slow and steady winning the race" as the Gladiators probably possessed the ball for at least 70% of the game, keeping Glenvar's quick-strike attack from doing more damage.
Riverheads now heads to East Rockingham next week for a grudge match. The Gladiators had beaten the Eagles eight straight times until last year, when ER stunned the Big Red with a 28-0 shutout, the first time anyone had laid a goose egg on Riverheads in quite a few years. So next week will be all about payback.
Meanwhile, hats off to the Glenvar Highlanders, definitely one of the best 0-2 teams you will find anywhere around. They WILL be heard from yet this season.
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How long has been since Glenvar started off 0-2??? I still think they are a good team that started the season playing two of the better 1A teams in the state. Before some gets that last statement twisted i said two of the better teams not the best. Still a lot of football to be played and anything can happen but I do believe both teams should be in the conversation come playoff time if the they stay healthy and Glenvar will still be a contender in 2A.
@MT FAN 91 i agree completely. That is a very good Glenvar team that I watched last night. They have a nice balance of run/pass. QB is very solid as a sophomore with shifty WR’s and good RB. Look to hear from them as the season progresses.
Glenvar is ranked # 10 on the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Top 10 high schools in Virginia in recent times.
Glenvar is really good team I wouldn’t be surprised if they won out the rest of season. I think definitely a final 8 team if not final 4 in 2a
There was an update online somewhere. He is ok
How in the world did Riverheads continue to be so dominant? Jeez what's in the water over there? lol
It's like you guys never seem to have down years.
It's like you guys never seem to have down years.
Its 3 things. Casto,Casto, and Casto. Hes the main reason but they have had the same coaches for better than 20 years plus a pretty darn good defensive coordinator. That offense suits those type of kids very well and they start teaching them in little league so its second nature when they get to varsity.
It’s assignment football and there truly aren’t any sacred cows.
As an example the WB2 is a Senior and had not played since 8th grade but is starting. He had 3 TDs in the first game, a huge kick return for TD against Glenvar and was a key defender in the crucial 3rd and 4th quarter.
Talent evaluation and utilization is the key and I don’t think there are any better at putting players where they can succeed at any division in Va.
With all that said, this years team has a good deal to work on to be peaking when state play starts. The offense has a few new parts that at times seem out of time. It’s early so that should get worked out. The defense has basically been overhauled with 9 new starters. As mentioned a few times, they seemed to find their feet with a few adjustments so this week at East Rock should give us a better idea of any other little tweaks that are needed.
Just wanted to mention our starting qb is out don’t know when he will return but he also plays defense which is where he will help the most but his little brother has done a great job the last two games an made passes for completions against Glenvar that were outstanding plays
But man, in my neck of the woods we have had two HOF coaches within ten miles of each other with excellent feeder programs and even then there were a few 7-3, winning maybe one or two playoff game type seasons. The consistency is absolutely remarkable.
I thought Chilhowie had a legit shot last year and while The game was closer than 2017 and the score was somewhat deceiving as the Warriors really didn't help their own cause but you guys still rolled.
That's kinda what blows my mind. It's an old fashioned approach and you guys do a great job of never letting a team get so far ahead to make you change your offensive approach. Kinda like Giles in the past.
When was the last time Riverheads was put out before the state semis?
2014 we lost to 2A King William at home 28-27 on the only missed kick we had that year in the third round. That was the year Wilson and Glenvar played in the championship and while I would love to say we had a legit shot that year, I think we should have won that game but may not have advanced any further.
2013 was a state semi final loss to the eventual state champion Giles at their place. Still one of the coldest and I might add best atmospheres I have attended as a high school football fan.
2012 was a a second round loss to rival Wilson 22-21 where we went for two and the win instead of the tie to prolong the game. There was some controversy over the regular season game as Wilson won and there was video evidence that the go ahead play actually had the QB out of bounds by at least a yard. That decided home field in essence and the rest as they say is history.
2011 was third round home loss this time to eventual state champion Gretna with one of the best individual performances I can recall by an opponent. Number 6 for them was in the backfield at the mesh point all night and played a huge role on the offensive side of the ball as well.
2013 was a state semi final loss to the eventual state champion Giles at their place. Still one of the coldest and I might add best atmospheres I have attended as a high school football fan.
2012 was a a second round loss to rival Wilson 22-21 where we went for two and the win instead of the tie to prolong the game. There was some controversy over the regular season game as Wilson won and there was video evidence that the go ahead play actually had the QB out of bounds by at least a yard. That decided home field in essence and the rest as they say is history.
2011 was third round home loss this time to eventual state champion Gretna with one of the best individual performances I can recall by an opponent. Number 6 for them was in the backfield at the mesh point all night and played a huge role on the offensive side of the ball as well.
I am glad someone can recall but he was a beast was all I could remember. I was disappointed in the loss but very impressed with his play.
One of the more shocking points I find with Riverheads is the 6 state championships is that 5 of the 6 years they had a loss. And 3 other times (since the 1st championship) they have been undefeated and lost.
So they really seem to get better with a loss
So they really seem to get better with a loss
I believe in 2010 we don’t win the state if we don’t blow the game at draft in season opener
Its also what Red Pride nation alluded to. Casto has a knack for getting the most talent out of the kids he has. He puts kids in positions that no other coach would play them there. Prime example he always has a defensive tackle in the 5’6 150 pd range, not many other coaches would even consider that. He preaches team philosophy, no player is allowed to talk to the media during the season for any reason. He says he doesnt want any individual drawing attention. If they win the State Championship then their allowed to be interviewed. Hes a stickler on detail. They will run the same play 30 times in practice if thats what it takes to get it right. Casto coaches the line and he demands perfection.
Coaching coaching coaching! And the system they run. The kids believe in what they are doing and it pays off.
