Riverheads /Essex
- Thread starter Gladiatorfencepatrol
- Start date
42-6 halftime, game is actually closer than the score, Riverheads had a few breaks go their way, Essex moved the ball fairly well with the pass but couldnt sustain the drives.
#1 is a very good receiver and showed that on a phenomenal catch down the left sideline for the Essex score.
Great td catch by number 1, essex had some speed and some athletes, just not enough of them,
Congratulations “AGAIN” Riverheads. Lol. Hell of a team.
Good season Essex.
Good season Essex.
Number 1 and 3 will be back next year, so they will have another run, 1 was giving all he had and looked like he was going to just fall over, that td catch was very impressive, I even hollered that on my megaphone after that catch
Kam Robinson is #1 and my cousin. He’s the nephew of former Essex star Sterling Hammond
As someone has already touched on, Essex moved the ball well at times today, and had their opportunities, including two trips inside the five yard line that did not produce scores. Instead their two scores came on a phenomenal Robinson reception that I will get to in a bit and a nice quarterback draw in the fourth quarter.
Adrenaline was no doubt pumping in the early stages as the first quarter as mistakes were plentiful. For starters, Essex jumped offside on the first two plays of the game, giving RHS a pretty easy first down. The Gladiators then moved into scoring position but made a mistake of their own as the ball was knocked loose around the goal line.
Fortunately, Cayden Cook-Cash pounced on it for the first TD of the game. That scored was credited at the time to quarterback Bennett Dunlap but that was later amended as CCC scored his first of three consecutive TDs.
Following that opening score, Essex moved the ball well and marched into RHS territory, looking like they might tie the score. But a reception down the far sideline somehow turned into about a 70 yard CCC score. I can't wait to see the replay on that one, but word in the stands was that he simply took it away from the Essex receiver. Whatever happened, he had clear sailing to the end zone for a 14-0 Gladiator lead.
RHS finally scored on a sustained drive, with CCC again doing the honors to make it 21-0, still in the first quarter. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when they failed to cover a pooch kick and the opportunistic Gladiators were in business again in Essex territory. The Big Red took to the air to score that time as a 40 yard completion to Landon Lightner made the score 28-0 after one period.
As ugly as the first period had been, the second quarter settled down nicely and featured some precision football on the part of both teams. First Essex got its passing game going and moved down inside the five yard line, but the Gladiators stiffened and took over on downs.
Needing to go about 94 yards for their next TD, the Big Red covered that distance in a little bit over two minutes. Cole Burton, easily the star of the quarter for Riverheads, rambled for 40 yards to put the Pride out almost to midfield. Alternating carries between him, CCC and Luke Bryant, the Gladiators made it 35-0 on a short Burton carry.
As we neared halftime, the Trojans had their highlight reel play of the day. It was a deep sideline toss to Robinson and as the ball was in the air, it looked as if it would be overthrown. Instead he stuck out one paw, hauled in it and never broke stride on his way to the end zone. The game replay should be worth watching just for that catch.
That score left RHS less than two minutes to work with, but they made it to paydirt thanks to another CCC run and Lightner's second catch of the day. Burton then scored on a short run to make the halftime count 42-6.
Essex used up over half the third quarter on their second drive that carried inside the five yard line. That one ended in a way that had some heads shaking on the home side and maybe on Essex as well. A pass went into the end zone and Robinson was manhandled by Lightner, leading to an interference call.
Most fans assumed that pass interference in the end zone would result in a first down, as it always seems to do on the TeeVee, but instead it was simply a half-the-distance penalty, setting Essex up with a 4th and goal from around the 3. The Gladiators then held at the 1 and took over.
They then went on to score TD number 7 on the day, courtesy of senior running back Aidan Miller. That score ended the third with the scoreboard reading 49-6.
Ball scored on his nice run as the fourth quarter opened to make it 49-12, and back-up Riverheads QB Chris Brooks tossed what I believe was his first career TD pass to Aiden Hearn, for what I believe was his first career TD reception. That play covered about 15 yards and closed out the scoring, although Essex had one more long run that carried into RHS territory in the final seconds.
So as expected the game matched Essex' natural athleticism against Riverheads' discipline and depth, and I would not be surprised to read that each team passed the 300 yard mark in total offense.
Gladiator fans were of course keeping up with the Galax score, so those two will collide in Salem next week for the state title. It will be the fifth meeting in the last seven years between the two schools, with all but one of those games being for the championship trophy. Galax won the first ever meeting between the two back in 2015, but Riverheads has won the last three clashes.
I have a recap I have prepared of Riverheads' 9 trips to the state finals and here in the next day or two, I will post those details so Gladiator fans can test their memories. Hope all Essex fans had a safe trip home and we will likely see you again in the future.
Adrenaline was no doubt pumping in the early stages as the first quarter as mistakes were plentiful. For starters, Essex jumped offside on the first two plays of the game, giving RHS a pretty easy first down. The Gladiators then moved into scoring position but made a mistake of their own as the ball was knocked loose around the goal line.
Fortunately, Cayden Cook-Cash pounced on it for the first TD of the game. That scored was credited at the time to quarterback Bennett Dunlap but that was later amended as CCC scored his first of three consecutive TDs.
Following that opening score, Essex moved the ball well and marched into RHS territory, looking like they might tie the score. But a reception down the far sideline somehow turned into about a 70 yard CCC score. I can't wait to see the replay on that one, but word in the stands was that he simply took it away from the Essex receiver. Whatever happened, he had clear sailing to the end zone for a 14-0 Gladiator lead.
RHS finally scored on a sustained drive, with CCC again doing the honors to make it 21-0, still in the first quarter. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when they failed to cover a pooch kick and the opportunistic Gladiators were in business again in Essex territory. The Big Red took to the air to score that time as a 40 yard completion to Landon Lightner made the score 28-0 after one period.
As ugly as the first period had been, the second quarter settled down nicely and featured some precision football on the part of both teams. First Essex got its passing game going and moved down inside the five yard line, but the Gladiators stiffened and took over on downs.
Needing to go about 94 yards for their next TD, the Big Red covered that distance in a little bit over two minutes. Cole Burton, easily the star of the quarter for Riverheads, rambled for 40 yards to put the Pride out almost to midfield. Alternating carries between him, CCC and Luke Bryant, the Gladiators made it 35-0 on a short Burton carry.
As we neared halftime, the Trojans had their highlight reel play of the day. It was a deep sideline toss to Robinson and as the ball was in the air, it looked as if it would be overthrown. Instead he stuck out one paw, hauled in it and never broke stride on his way to the end zone. The game replay should be worth watching just for that catch.
That score left RHS less than two minutes to work with, but they made it to paydirt thanks to another CCC run and Lightner's second catch of the day. Burton then scored on a short run to make the halftime count 42-6.
Essex used up over half the third quarter on their second drive that carried inside the five yard line. That one ended in a way that had some heads shaking on the home side and maybe on Essex as well. A pass went into the end zone and Robinson was manhandled by Lightner, leading to an interference call.
Most fans assumed that pass interference in the end zone would result in a first down, as it always seems to do on the TeeVee, but instead it was simply a half-the-distance penalty, setting Essex up with a 4th and goal from around the 3. The Gladiators then held at the 1 and took over.
They then went on to score TD number 7 on the day, courtesy of senior running back Aidan Miller. That score ended the third with the scoreboard reading 49-6.
Ball scored on his nice run as the fourth quarter opened to make it 49-12, and back-up Riverheads QB Chris Brooks tossed what I believe was his first career TD pass to Aiden Hearn, for what I believe was his first career TD reception. That play covered about 15 yards and closed out the scoring, although Essex had one more long run that carried into RHS territory in the final seconds.
So as expected the game matched Essex' natural athleticism against Riverheads' discipline and depth, and I would not be surprised to read that each team passed the 300 yard mark in total offense.
Gladiator fans were of course keeping up with the Galax score, so those two will collide in Salem next week for the state title. It will be the fifth meeting in the last seven years between the two schools, with all but one of those games being for the championship trophy. Galax won the first ever meeting between the two back in 2015, but Riverheads has won the last three clashes.
I have a recap I have prepared of Riverheads' 9 trips to the state finals and here in the next day or two, I will post those details so Gladiator fans can test their memories. Hope all Essex fans had a safe trip home and we will likely see you again in the future.
Congratulations Riverheads on the win. Great program and great fans! It's hard to stop that team. Essex had to play mistake free football and they didn't.
I do think Essex should have used #1 more on the offensive side of things. Good things happen when you get the ball in his hands
I do think Essex should have used #1 more on the offensive side of things. Good things happen when you get the ball in his hands
That young man is a beast. I actually thought they would use him in the slot some but when he lined up there, it was generally a screen to the wide guy. Tremendous hands and body control for a Jr. I know we hear about a few WR from Region A but this man (Yes he is) that I watched today has to be one of the better ones out that way.
I thought essex would have tried a lob pass to #1 atleast once and let him go up and get it when they were inside the 10 or so instead of the QB runs but Riverheads defense held there ground when it mattered.
That’s what we talked about where I was standing, especially when they were on the right hash going into the scoreboard end.
#6 is Michael Brimmer. He’s a Jr.
I believe everyone will be surprised at how close the final offensive #s were for such a lopsided score. Other than those two stops inside their 5, Riverheads had great field position seeming to start most of their drives in Essex territory or on their side near midfield. #1 injured his left arm making that TD saving tackle near midfield in the 2nd quarter and that may have influenced the Essex play calling thereafter although I believe he made that TD catch with his left hand!!!
Essex is one hell of a team with unnecessary talent all over and had RH not been around they'd be my pick to win it all. But I'm not in agreement that it was closer than the score. Yes they moved it on RH and yes they made it look easy early on. But I can't just say "well some tough breaks hurt them" RH made those tough breaks. CCC ripped the ball out and took it home this RH D is no joke folks. They made those TOs happen by playing team ball and following assignments. I get we don't want to admit that they are what they are but it's clear just how damn good they really are. #6 in a row should only be a week away and barring and B's like the C word or a tragic injury it should come easily. I've seen RH and Galax both in person and RH is just a different breed of nasty. And CCC is in my mind the best player in 1A by a wide margin and the boy is a sophomore hahahaha What the actual F@*#?
With the win today rhs is tied for first with the winning streak at 49, since the top team got beat tonight, they are tied with bixby which has already finished up there season, so if they can win next week they will have the top current winning streak in the nation by themselves, galax will be a handful for rhs, so take care of business next week and u will be at 50 and 6 straight, GO BIG RED
I shortchanged Mr. Burton in my review so to correct that memory lapse, his second TD was not "short" by any means but was instead a wide open 50 yard run on a direct snap in which he was not even close to being touched. Sorry about that but when you have that much action to remember, you forget things. According to the professional stories that I have now read on the game, he accounted for about 200 yards rushing and receiving of RHS' more than 400 yards.
Also worth mentioning was quarterback Bennett Dunlap's 5 for 6 effort and 123 yards passing. One of those was the correctly-reported 40 yard strike to Lightner and other key completions set up scores.
As for Essex, one paper reports that Ball passed for over 250 yards, which does not come as a surprise. Both teams return a lot of talent so we might be having this same type discussion this time next year.
Last but not least, incredible news about the win streak now being tied for first in the country. Let's hope we can add to that next Saturday and have the top spot all to ourselves heading into next season, but of course that news (about the win streak) will also find its way to Galax and give them that much more motivation to knock off the Big Red.
Also worth mentioning was quarterback Bennett Dunlap's 5 for 6 effort and 123 yards passing. One of those was the correctly-reported 40 yard strike to Lightner and other key completions set up scores.
As for Essex, one paper reports that Ball passed for over 250 yards, which does not come as a surprise. Both teams return a lot of talent so we might be having this same type discussion this time next year.
Last but not least, incredible news about the win streak now being tied for first in the country. Let's hope we can add to that next Saturday and have the top spot all to ourselves heading into next season, but of course that news (about the win streak) will also find its way to Galax and give them that much more motivation to knock off the Big Red.
Congrats to Riverheads. You guys have one heck of a program. Gotta root for the Maroon Tide next week because I have lots of friends in Galax, but a congrats to Riverheads and hats off to Essex. Sometimes you just get beat by a better team and we know that well at Radford with the likes of Appomattox and Glenvar in our region.
