Although this was a six-hour affair, I only got there for the second half of it, so I will report on what I saw.
James River was leading Fort Defiance 11-8 with about 10 minutes left to go. They scored another TD to win the scrimmage 17-8 and threatened to score once again. So almost the entire portion that I saw was played at the Fort end of the field.
While waiting for the main event (Riverheads vs. Appomattox), I circulated a little bit and was told that Appo had beaten Central Woodstock in their scrimmage, but I heard different opinions on how the Raiders looked. One person said he was not impressed, while another one said he was, but that is football for you I guess.
That would seem to leave a scrimmage between Central and James River but I heard or saw nothing about that one. You would think Central could take the Knights but who knows?
So right on schedule at 2:45, the home team took the field against the defending 2-A state champs. RHS chewed up the first seven minutes of the clock entirely on the ground before being stopped around the Appo 30 by a holding penalty. The Raiders then moved the ball quickly down the field on a nice pass over the middle and a long run, but on their third play, they coughed it up around the RHS 20.
The first quarter ended shortly thereafter in a scoreless deadlock. Midway through the second quarter, Appo caught the first break of the game as a Riverheads runner fumbled deep in his own territory and the Raiders picked it up and ran it in for the score. The PAT made it 7-0.
However, Riverheads drove the field 70 yards on the ensuing possession (each new possession starts on the 30 in scrimmages) for the equalizer. Again they did all their damage on the ground with Harrison Schaefer scoring the TD. Rinaldo Martina tied the score at 7-7 for the Big Red.
Neither team scored again in regulation and they ended the scrimmage with each one getting 12 untimed downs instead of the customary 10. Again with each team starting from its own 30, this pretty much ended in a dead heat, as each one made it to just outside the other's red zone before running out of downs. Therefore the final score was a 7-7 tie.
So I would be hard-pressed to name a winner in this one. You could argue that a sustained drive shows a coach more than a fumble return and if the Gladiator D kept as potent an offense as Appomattox out of the end zone, then the RHS staff had to be pleased with that. But of course that is the Riverheads perspective on the situation.
To be objective, Appo showed more big-play capability than RHS, but they shot themselves in the foot a few times with penalties or turnovers. They could never string together two or three big plays in a row to get into any kind of rhythm.
The day wrapped up with a two-quarter scrimmage between Riverheads and Fort Defiance. They then elected not to play any untimed downs. In that one, Fort moved the ball effectively on their first drive only before the Big Red stopped them on downs. The rest of that scrimmage belonged to the home team as Schaefer scored a pair of TDs, along with one each from Cameron "Moose" Lee and Devin Morris to give RHS a 28-0 win.
Riverheads as expected showed every weapon it had, as I assume the other teams did as well. The Gladiators used at least four quarterbacks and probably a dozen or more running backs. They never had anyone really break away for the big one as the fans like to see, but that will come in time I am sure. And in typical Riverheads fashion, there were very few balls put in the air today, and to my recollection, not more than one connected, if any of them did.
The bright spots on the RHS offense would have to be senior Brett Hostetler, who was primarily a defensive force last year, but had some nice runs today, as did the aforementioned Mr. Lee, who is ironically a transfer from Fort Defiance. He is only a sophomore and is a bruising fullback who seemed to enjoy running roughshod over his former teammates.
Best wishes go out to a couple of injured players.....Appo's number 12, Jaylen Holland, was actually taken out by the rescue squad with what appeared to be an ankle injury, and then late in the Fort scrimmage, Riverheads' number 43, Clay Falls, hurt his knee and had to leave the game.
The Gladiators swing into "real action" next Friday night against new rival R E Lee. The Big Red pounded the Leemen in Staunton last year 45-9 in their first-ever meeting, but new Lee Coach Scott Girolmo turned them around by season's end and took them to the playoffs, so next week's game may be anything BUT a runaway.
James River was leading Fort Defiance 11-8 with about 10 minutes left to go. They scored another TD to win the scrimmage 17-8 and threatened to score once again. So almost the entire portion that I saw was played at the Fort end of the field.
While waiting for the main event (Riverheads vs. Appomattox), I circulated a little bit and was told that Appo had beaten Central Woodstock in their scrimmage, but I heard different opinions on how the Raiders looked. One person said he was not impressed, while another one said he was, but that is football for you I guess.
That would seem to leave a scrimmage between Central and James River but I heard or saw nothing about that one. You would think Central could take the Knights but who knows?
So right on schedule at 2:45, the home team took the field against the defending 2-A state champs. RHS chewed up the first seven minutes of the clock entirely on the ground before being stopped around the Appo 30 by a holding penalty. The Raiders then moved the ball quickly down the field on a nice pass over the middle and a long run, but on their third play, they coughed it up around the RHS 20.
The first quarter ended shortly thereafter in a scoreless deadlock. Midway through the second quarter, Appo caught the first break of the game as a Riverheads runner fumbled deep in his own territory and the Raiders picked it up and ran it in for the score. The PAT made it 7-0.
However, Riverheads drove the field 70 yards on the ensuing possession (each new possession starts on the 30 in scrimmages) for the equalizer. Again they did all their damage on the ground with Harrison Schaefer scoring the TD. Rinaldo Martina tied the score at 7-7 for the Big Red.
Neither team scored again in regulation and they ended the scrimmage with each one getting 12 untimed downs instead of the customary 10. Again with each team starting from its own 30, this pretty much ended in a dead heat, as each one made it to just outside the other's red zone before running out of downs. Therefore the final score was a 7-7 tie.
So I would be hard-pressed to name a winner in this one. You could argue that a sustained drive shows a coach more than a fumble return and if the Gladiator D kept as potent an offense as Appomattox out of the end zone, then the RHS staff had to be pleased with that. But of course that is the Riverheads perspective on the situation.
To be objective, Appo showed more big-play capability than RHS, but they shot themselves in the foot a few times with penalties or turnovers. They could never string together two or three big plays in a row to get into any kind of rhythm.
The day wrapped up with a two-quarter scrimmage between Riverheads and Fort Defiance. They then elected not to play any untimed downs. In that one, Fort moved the ball effectively on their first drive only before the Big Red stopped them on downs. The rest of that scrimmage belonged to the home team as Schaefer scored a pair of TDs, along with one each from Cameron "Moose" Lee and Devin Morris to give RHS a 28-0 win.
Riverheads as expected showed every weapon it had, as I assume the other teams did as well. The Gladiators used at least four quarterbacks and probably a dozen or more running backs. They never had anyone really break away for the big one as the fans like to see, but that will come in time I am sure. And in typical Riverheads fashion, there were very few balls put in the air today, and to my recollection, not more than one connected, if any of them did.
The bright spots on the RHS offense would have to be senior Brett Hostetler, who was primarily a defensive force last year, but had some nice runs today, as did the aforementioned Mr. Lee, who is ironically a transfer from Fort Defiance. He is only a sophomore and is a bruising fullback who seemed to enjoy running roughshod over his former teammates.
Best wishes go out to a couple of injured players.....Appo's number 12, Jaylen Holland, was actually taken out by the rescue squad with what appeared to be an ankle injury, and then late in the Fort scrimmage, Riverheads' number 43, Clay Falls, hurt his knee and had to leave the game.
The Gladiators swing into "real action" next Friday night against new rival R E Lee. The Big Red pounded the Leemen in Staunton last year 45-9 in their first-ever meeting, but new Lee Coach Scott Girolmo turned them around by season's end and took them to the playoffs, so next week's game may be anything BUT a runaway.
