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Riverheads host TA in first scrimmage

longtimerhsfan

VaPreps All Region
Dec 12, 2006
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Tonight the Big Red unveiled its 2023 squad in front of a sizeable crowd that also featured a respectable contingent of fans from Bridgewater. As is usually the case with scrimmages, it was all about getting to know the players, which is sometimes tougher in scrimmages because they might not necessarily be wearing what will be their ultimate numbers.

Also it seems like no two scrimmages ever have the same format. Tonight the teams played two 12 minute quarters pretty much under game conditions. There was a chain crew, flags were thrown and score was kept. No kicks or punts were contested and the whistle would blow anytime a quarterback was touched.

After a 10 minute break, they played a 10 minute quarter (just one) followed by each team getting 10 untimed downs. The first half was "won" by RHS 21-6 but neither team scored in the remaining sessions.

TA took the field first and you could tell immediately that their game plan was to establish the short passing game. They have a receiver (number 80 tonight) who reportedly has West Virginia interested in him. He caught a number of passes on the evening but another receiver (10) was also impressive. They moved the ball into Gladiator territory but the Big Red D stopped them around the 40.

Riverheads then proceeded to score twice by the end of the first quarter to move ahead 14-0. You might think that CCC scored one or both but actually both TDs were scored by Austin Roberts. He was a receiver last year but had a couple of nice runs tonight, especially his first in which he swept left end, then completely reversed his field and took it around the right side for the score. CCC was of course used a good bit and had a couple of nice runs, but did not score on the evening.

TA scored its only TD in the second quarter, helped along by a Gladiator interception. Riverheads then scored its final TD in the 10- minute third quarter. By that time, it was hard to tell who was playing which string but I was told the TD was scored by Brady Boehm. Apologies if I have the name wrong.

As for the 10 play untimed drives, TA got the better of that as they made it down to about the 10 yard line before running out of downs. Riverheads then advanced only to about midfield on its untimed series.

There was also a JV scrimmage preceding this one but I was late arriving and cannot tell you much about that one. I saw RHS scored a touchdown late in the game but from what I heard in the stands, the Knights pretty much dominated that one.

RHS will host its second scrimmage next Saturday against Fauquier. I can't recall those teams ever having met anytime in any sport. That will then set the stage for the Big Red's much-anticipated season-opening trip to Woodstock, which is set for the 25th.
 
Great recep...as always. Any idea if any other Shenandoah teams had scrimmages last night or today?
 
Tonight the Big Red unveiled its 2023 squad in front of a sizeable crowd that also featured a respectable contingent of fans from Bridgewater. As is usually the case with scrimmages, it was all about getting to know the players, which is sometimes tougher in scrimmages because they might not necessarily be wearing what will be their ultimate numbers.

Also it seems like no two scrimmages ever have the same format. Tonight the teams played two 12 minute quarters pretty much under game conditions. There was a chain crew, flags were thrown and score was kept. No kicks or punts were contested and the whistle would blow anytime a quarterback was touched.

After a 10 minute break, they played a 10 minute quarter (just one) followed by each team getting 10 untimed downs. The first half was "won" by RHS 21-6 but neither team scored in the remaining sessions.

TA took the field first and you could tell immediately that their game plan was to establish the short passing game. They have a receiver (number 80 tonight) who reportedly has West Virginia interested in him. He caught a number of passes on the evening but another receiver (10) was also impressive. They moved the ball into Gladiator territory but the Big Red D stopped them around the 40.

Riverheads then proceeded to score twice by the end of the first quarter to move ahead 14-0. You might think that CCC scored one or both but actually both TDs were scored by Austin Roberts. He was a receiver last year but had a couple of nice runs tonight, especially his first in which he swept left end, then completely reversed his field and took it around the right side for the score. CCC was of course used a good bit and had a couple of nice runs, but did not score on the evening.

TA scored its only TD in the second quarter, helped along by a Gladiator interception. Riverheads then scored its final TD in the 10- minute third quarter. By that time, it was hard to tell who was playing which string but I was told the TD was scored by Brady Boehm. Apologies if I have the name wrong.

As for the 10 play untimed drives, TA got the better of that as they made it down to about the 10 yard line before running out of downs. Riverheads then advanced only to about midfield on its untimed series.

There was also a JV scrimmage preceding this one but I was late arriving and cannot tell you much about that one. I saw RHS scored a touchdown late in the game but from what I heard in the stands, the Knights pretty much dominated that one.

RHS will host its second scrimmage next Saturday against Fauquier. I can't recall those teams ever having met anytime in any sport. That will then set the stage for the Big Red's much-anticipated season-opening trip to Woodstock, which is set for the 25th.
CCC had a very impressive punt
 
There was a solid contingent of Central Woodstock coaches around the field last evening doing a little early season scouting. For the varsity group it was a good test run and I am sure the staff seen what they needed to. TA’s JV had some absolute monsters on their line so their run in the Valley district looks to be fairly safe for the foreseeable future. A few players dinged up on both sides of the ball either prior to the scrimmage or during play.

For the JV, there were sustained drives but only the one homerun shot from the Gladiators. I am pretty sure they ran a little different format where possessions were a set number of plays before changing. TA’s JV had the advantage on the edges and scored on several long runs after catches.

It was great to see these young men back out there doing Friday night things……
 
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How is riverheads plan on replacing key players in key positions? Donlap? Cody? Replacing another running back like Bryant in the backfield is hard especially with the chemistry him and CCC had. Has to be weird for CCC to play without him
 
How is riverheads plan on replacing key players in key positions? Donlap? Cody? Replacing another running back like Bryant in the backfield is hard especially with the chemistry him and CCC had. Has to be weird for CCC to play without him
I believe the Roberts kid will fill in nicely at RB and “Donlap” is still the QB ;)
 
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Well yes and no.......The first Dunlap brother to play QB was Elijah who graduated three years ago. Then Bennett took over in his freshman year when Elijah was injured. He played until Elijah could return and then he (Bennett) was the starting QB for the last three years. But he has now graduated and this year's quarterback, at least the one that started Friday, will be junior Levi, who has been waiting in the wings. He has never started a varsity game. The Gladiators this year also have sophomore Ethan Mulcahy, who was the starter on last year's JV team. It remains to be seen if he will be Dunlap's back-up or whether there might be some alternating, or for all we know there may not be a starter named yet.
 
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