Riverheads 45- Franklin 0 Halftime
- Thread starter RedPride07
- Start date
I'll take your word for it. Pending a Sussex win the energy in Staunton will be off the charts next week.
Gretna, goochland, riverheads are only small schools east of 81 that i would even call close to electric like swva games.
The Gladiators threw everything they had at Franklin tonight........and that was just the first quarter! They then rolled to a 59-6 final in their highest scoring game of the season and will now host Sussex next week for the Region B championship.
The Big Red kept its perfect streak alive of scoring on the opening possession as they won the toss, elected to receive, and found the end zone in about a minute and a half. It was not one of the usual suspects however as sophomore Aiden Miller took it in from 23 yards out.
The second TD also did not come from a source Franklin might have prepared for as fullback Noah Smiley (also just a sophomore) took it right up the middle, almost untouched, from about 38 yards out. Finally on the third drive of the opening quarter, leading scorer Zac Smiley tallied his only TD of the game from about 10 yards out to make it 21-0. Again tonight he was used sparingly but as some of our Augusta County rivals can tell you, he can score 5 or even 6 times per game if needed.
The Gladiators then spent the rest of the first half putting on an aerial display, something Riverheads fans have not seen a whole lot of in recent years. The combination of Elijah Dunlap to Braeson Fulton, who just signed his baseball scholarship to JMU today, clicked for not one, not two, but THREE consecutive touchdown passes, averaging about 45 yards.
The first one understandably caught the Broncos by surprise as each play to that point had been on the ground. But when Dunlap found Fulton over the middle, he was so wide open he could have stopped to check his e-mails before trotting into the end zone.
On the ensuing kickoff, a lackadaisical Bronco return man just watched the ball land in front of him and by the time he tried to react, he was surrounded by red. Riverheads recovered the fumble and the second passing TD followed the first by something like 20 seconds of clock time. This time it was a little better defended but Fulton high-pointed it and took it in from about 39 yards.
Their third strike came midway through the second quarter on a fade pattern that Fulton hauled in over the shoulder from about 40 yards out. It was in the far corner from my vantage point but it certainly looked like an impressive catch. Peyton Skillman, who was perfect on PAT's, then added a 20 yard field goal in the waning seconds for a 45-0 halftime score.
With the running clock thankfully in play, the subs took over in the second half. Miller added a second TD from about 25 yards out on a great run in which he faked out about three or four would-be tacklers. Isaac Hartless, who could probably start on some area teams, wrapped up the Riverheads scoring from about 15 yards out in the fourth. Although he didn't score tonight and has yet to record his first career TD, the Gladiators also got some hard-running carries out of junior fullback Chapman Smith.
Franklin QB Myroen Barrett punched in a score from about three yards out in the final seconds to avoid the shutout. An aggressive Gladiator rush blocked the extra point kick.
As for the chippiness mentioned above, I can't provide any specifics but each team had at least one UC penalty called on them and at one juncture there was a very long discussion with a Franklin coach that was never explained to the crowd. But unless I missed something, it was certainly not a dirty game, just one in which the visitors understandably got frustrated.
If Franklin had a fundamental problem, and I am not the expert Xs and Os guy that some of you are, I would say it came down to timing and execution. At least three or four of their shotgun snaps went askew and the aforementioned failure to field a kick just should not happen at this point in the season. But looking down their roster I see as many freshmen as seniors, so my guess is that this team will get better with time.
Gotta give proper respect however to their cheerleaders. They had a very sparse and very quiet crowd, but those ladies did not let a minute pass by that they weren't doing "something" to attempt to fire their team up.
So things should start to get interesting next week. Sussex sounds like a quality opponent and elsewhere around the state, it looks as if Essex, Patrick Henry, George Wythe, and Galax, just to name a few, sound like they are in it to win it.
The Big Red kept its perfect streak alive of scoring on the opening possession as they won the toss, elected to receive, and found the end zone in about a minute and a half. It was not one of the usual suspects however as sophomore Aiden Miller took it in from 23 yards out.
The second TD also did not come from a source Franklin might have prepared for as fullback Noah Smiley (also just a sophomore) took it right up the middle, almost untouched, from about 38 yards out. Finally on the third drive of the opening quarter, leading scorer Zac Smiley tallied his only TD of the game from about 10 yards out to make it 21-0. Again tonight he was used sparingly but as some of our Augusta County rivals can tell you, he can score 5 or even 6 times per game if needed.
The Gladiators then spent the rest of the first half putting on an aerial display, something Riverheads fans have not seen a whole lot of in recent years. The combination of Elijah Dunlap to Braeson Fulton, who just signed his baseball scholarship to JMU today, clicked for not one, not two, but THREE consecutive touchdown passes, averaging about 45 yards.
The first one understandably caught the Broncos by surprise as each play to that point had been on the ground. But when Dunlap found Fulton over the middle, he was so wide open he could have stopped to check his e-mails before trotting into the end zone.
On the ensuing kickoff, a lackadaisical Bronco return man just watched the ball land in front of him and by the time he tried to react, he was surrounded by red. Riverheads recovered the fumble and the second passing TD followed the first by something like 20 seconds of clock time. This time it was a little better defended but Fulton high-pointed it and took it in from about 39 yards.
Their third strike came midway through the second quarter on a fade pattern that Fulton hauled in over the shoulder from about 40 yards out. It was in the far corner from my vantage point but it certainly looked like an impressive catch. Peyton Skillman, who was perfect on PAT's, then added a 20 yard field goal in the waning seconds for a 45-0 halftime score.
With the running clock thankfully in play, the subs took over in the second half. Miller added a second TD from about 25 yards out on a great run in which he faked out about three or four would-be tacklers. Isaac Hartless, who could probably start on some area teams, wrapped up the Riverheads scoring from about 15 yards out in the fourth. Although he didn't score tonight and has yet to record his first career TD, the Gladiators also got some hard-running carries out of junior fullback Chapman Smith.
Franklin QB Myroen Barrett punched in a score from about three yards out in the final seconds to avoid the shutout. An aggressive Gladiator rush blocked the extra point kick.
As for the chippiness mentioned above, I can't provide any specifics but each team had at least one UC penalty called on them and at one juncture there was a very long discussion with a Franklin coach that was never explained to the crowd. But unless I missed something, it was certainly not a dirty game, just one in which the visitors understandably got frustrated.
If Franklin had a fundamental problem, and I am not the expert Xs and Os guy that some of you are, I would say it came down to timing and execution. At least three or four of their shotgun snaps went askew and the aforementioned failure to field a kick just should not happen at this point in the season. But looking down their roster I see as many freshmen as seniors, so my guess is that this team will get better with time.
Gotta give proper respect however to their cheerleaders. They had a very sparse and very quiet crowd, but those ladies did not let a minute pass by that they weren't doing "something" to attempt to fire their team up.
So things should start to get interesting next week. Sussex sounds like a quality opponent and elsewhere around the state, it looks as if Essex, Patrick Henry, George Wythe, and Galax, just to name a few, sound like they are in it to win it.
I thought the passing game was very impressive last night and it will bail us out when we get behind the sticks down the road
No doubt in my mind Sussex’s can come in here and upset the gladiators I for one don’t believe anything is a guarantee
Their address might say staunton but riverheads isn't technically in staunton. That is Greenville where they are. They are a good 10-15+ minutes from actual staunton.
it was impressive last night, hope we don't get behind the sticks and have to get bailed out with the pass, but having a good passing game to go with a great running attack == hard to stop and hard to defend
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