The Gladiators made sure their 190+ trip down into SW VA paid off as they eased past the Bulldogs 35-7 for a fourth straight win in the series, two on each field. Since this is the first year of a two-year cycle for most teams with their scheduling, I am not sure if they will meet again or if today's game was the end of the line for these two.
As expected, CCC was not available for this game, so the Gladiators took a "run by committee" approach to replacing him as opposed to expecting any one guy to get the job done. In fact on their opening drive, they ran four different backs (Austin Roberts, Brody Phillips, Jonathan Talbott, and Brendan Fortune) and even threw in a couple of QB sneaks from Levi Dunlap. They did not score on that opening drive, although four of those five would eventually score one way or another.
Tazewell failed to score as well on its opening drive, but the Big Red got the job done on its second possession, as they continued the same general game plan, with Dunlap eventually squeezing it across from the half yard line late in the first quarter. Zac Brooks added his first of five perfect PATs to give RHS the early 7-0 lead.
As things turned out, CCC's injury last week was not the only one to impact this game, because Tazewell's starting quarterback injured his shoulder early in the game on a nice long run and never returned to action. I read someplace that he was one of 17 returning starters for the Dogs, so their fans had to have high expectations for this game, if not the entire season, and the talk around town tonight is most likely "wonder what would have happened if he hadn't been hurt?"
Riverheads' second TD came in the second quarter from an unexpected source. One of the aforementioned backs was briefly taken out of the rotation and Carson Brooks filled in for him. On his second carry from around the Bulldog 25, he ran the ball like a man possessed and capped it off with an emphatic dive across the goal line for his first career TD. He would even score a second time later but it was called back on a penalty. Moral of the story.......The Gladiators now apparently have yet another member of that "committee" and we may hear more from Mr. Brooks as the season progresses.
If there was a turning point in this game it may have been the opening drive of the third quarter. Tazewell took the kickoff and drove it down into the red zone. But an untimely fumbled snap enabled the Big Red to hold them off. Needless to say a 14-7 score at that point could have been a big momentum swing in favor of the home team.
Instead Riverheads proceeded to take a 21-0 lead in a most un-Riverheads fashion as Dunlap faked a handoff, rolled out to his left, and lofted a beautiful pass to Phillips that just barely cleared the defender and the sophomore scored to complete the 40 yard play. It was only Dunlap's second pass of the game after not attempting any last week at Central, but best of all it answered the question that the Gladiators CAN throw when they need to.
As the clock ticked over to the fourth quarter, the Dogs finally got on the board as the back up QB completed about a 35 yard pass. It was pretty much the same play we had just seen from RHS and even occurred at the same end of the field.
That left the issue still in doubt at 21-7, but the Gladiators marched right down the field to score TD number four. Talbott almost scored it on a long dash down the RHS sideline, but eventually scored from the one to make it 28-7.
A few minutes later the Big Red added the dagger on the freakiest play of the day. Tazewell mishandled a routine handoff and the ball seemed to lay on the ground for about five seconds in the backfield with no one on either team trying to fall on it. Finally an opportunistic Mr. Roberts burst through the line, picked it up on a bounce and took it to the house untouched for about a 45 yard scoop and score.
With the win, the Gladiators are now 1-1 on the season, but more importantly, their frequent flyer miles can be put to rest for the balance of the regular season as all eight remaining games will be played within Augusta County. Since their first two games were on the road, that means that five of those eight will be at home. The first of those will be Friday night when the 0-2 Fort Defiance Indians will come calling. The Big Red then has its bye week on the 15th, and it remains to be seen whether CCC will be ready to return to action later in the month.
As expected, CCC was not available for this game, so the Gladiators took a "run by committee" approach to replacing him as opposed to expecting any one guy to get the job done. In fact on their opening drive, they ran four different backs (Austin Roberts, Brody Phillips, Jonathan Talbott, and Brendan Fortune) and even threw in a couple of QB sneaks from Levi Dunlap. They did not score on that opening drive, although four of those five would eventually score one way or another.
Tazewell failed to score as well on its opening drive, but the Big Red got the job done on its second possession, as they continued the same general game plan, with Dunlap eventually squeezing it across from the half yard line late in the first quarter. Zac Brooks added his first of five perfect PATs to give RHS the early 7-0 lead.
As things turned out, CCC's injury last week was not the only one to impact this game, because Tazewell's starting quarterback injured his shoulder early in the game on a nice long run and never returned to action. I read someplace that he was one of 17 returning starters for the Dogs, so their fans had to have high expectations for this game, if not the entire season, and the talk around town tonight is most likely "wonder what would have happened if he hadn't been hurt?"
Riverheads' second TD came in the second quarter from an unexpected source. One of the aforementioned backs was briefly taken out of the rotation and Carson Brooks filled in for him. On his second carry from around the Bulldog 25, he ran the ball like a man possessed and capped it off with an emphatic dive across the goal line for his first career TD. He would even score a second time later but it was called back on a penalty. Moral of the story.......The Gladiators now apparently have yet another member of that "committee" and we may hear more from Mr. Brooks as the season progresses.
If there was a turning point in this game it may have been the opening drive of the third quarter. Tazewell took the kickoff and drove it down into the red zone. But an untimely fumbled snap enabled the Big Red to hold them off. Needless to say a 14-7 score at that point could have been a big momentum swing in favor of the home team.
Instead Riverheads proceeded to take a 21-0 lead in a most un-Riverheads fashion as Dunlap faked a handoff, rolled out to his left, and lofted a beautiful pass to Phillips that just barely cleared the defender and the sophomore scored to complete the 40 yard play. It was only Dunlap's second pass of the game after not attempting any last week at Central, but best of all it answered the question that the Gladiators CAN throw when they need to.
As the clock ticked over to the fourth quarter, the Dogs finally got on the board as the back up QB completed about a 35 yard pass. It was pretty much the same play we had just seen from RHS and even occurred at the same end of the field.
That left the issue still in doubt at 21-7, but the Gladiators marched right down the field to score TD number four. Talbott almost scored it on a long dash down the RHS sideline, but eventually scored from the one to make it 28-7.
A few minutes later the Big Red added the dagger on the freakiest play of the day. Tazewell mishandled a routine handoff and the ball seemed to lay on the ground for about five seconds in the backfield with no one on either team trying to fall on it. Finally an opportunistic Mr. Roberts burst through the line, picked it up on a bounce and took it to the house untouched for about a 45 yard scoop and score.
With the win, the Gladiators are now 1-1 on the season, but more importantly, their frequent flyer miles can be put to rest for the balance of the regular season as all eight remaining games will be played within Augusta County. Since their first two games were on the road, that means that five of those eight will be at home. The first of those will be Friday night when the 0-2 Fort Defiance Indians will come calling. The Big Red then has its bye week on the 15th, and it remains to be seen whether CCC will be ready to return to action later in the month.
