The season was a little shorter than usual due to circumstances beyond their control but first-year coach Bucky Cox and his Junior Gladiators made the most of it and wrapped up the campaign tonight with a solid 36-8 win over Staunton that came within 2 1/2 minutes of being a shutout. The Big Red had completely dominated the first half and taken a 36-0 lead into the locker room. That set the running clock into motion and the game was about to finish with that score when the subs fumbled a QB snap that laid on the ground for a few seconds before an opportunistic Storm player scooped it up and took it about 50 yards to get the visitors on the board.
But before that mishap, the game was all Riverheads. Freshman running back Jonathan Talbott opened the scoring for RHS in a big way as he returned the opening kickoff down the near sideline for a TD that only took 13 seconds. Once he broke the initial line of containment, he cut to his right and The Storm was no match for his speed.
On their next possession, the Gladiators executed a picture-perfect 7 1/2 minute drive, all on the ground, that according to our PA announcer (everybody's favorite Leland McCray) featured an amazing SIX first downs. Spencer Simpson got the honors as he scored that touchdown on the last play of the opening quarter.
Actually that touchdown and for that matter the game as a whole was 'kind of a drag" tonight for Riverheads but in a good way. Allow me to explain..........On that score as well as a dozen other running plays tonight, the Gladiators' three main ball-carriers (Talbott, Simpson, and Chase Donathan) simply REFUSED to go down and between the three of them, they probably gained an extra 50 yards of offense tonight simply by dragging defenders with them long after the initial contact. That says a lot about their determination.
Simpson scored a second touchdown in the second quarter and Donathan got his only score in the same frame, again by refusing to give up on the play until he crossed the goal line. But the highlight score of the night, and maybe even for the season, was turned in by the Big Red defense, specifically by Talbott.
Early in the second, with the score still 14-0, The Storm tried a screen pass from around their own 30 yard line. Talbott sniffed it out beautifully, stepped in front of the intended receiver, and took it in for the score. You diehard Gladiator fans might remember Zac Smiley scoring in a similar fashion a few years ago in a state final down in Salem.
That score made it 22-0 and pretty much took the wind out of the Staunton sails. The aforementioned TDs by Simpson and Donathan wrapped up the scoring for the home team and the subs handled the mop up duty in the second half.
The two varsity teams now meet in Staunton Friday night in what should be a wide open affair before RHS closes out the (varsity) regular season at home against Stuarts Draft the following Friday. You may recall that the SD and Riverheads JV teams moved their game ahead to an earlier date and played back in September. The Cougar Cubs, who I believe wrapped up their season also tonight with a perfect record, handed RHS its only loss that evening.
At one point, Riverheads had arranged for a non-conference JV game to be played next week against Virginia Episcopal School, but that has now been canceled, leaving tonight as the season finale. Congrats to Coach Cox and his staff on a job well-done and it appears that the Big Red football program will be more than ready for the Class 2 wars next fall.
But before that mishap, the game was all Riverheads. Freshman running back Jonathan Talbott opened the scoring for RHS in a big way as he returned the opening kickoff down the near sideline for a TD that only took 13 seconds. Once he broke the initial line of containment, he cut to his right and The Storm was no match for his speed.
On their next possession, the Gladiators executed a picture-perfect 7 1/2 minute drive, all on the ground, that according to our PA announcer (everybody's favorite Leland McCray) featured an amazing SIX first downs. Spencer Simpson got the honors as he scored that touchdown on the last play of the opening quarter.
Actually that touchdown and for that matter the game as a whole was 'kind of a drag" tonight for Riverheads but in a good way. Allow me to explain..........On that score as well as a dozen other running plays tonight, the Gladiators' three main ball-carriers (Talbott, Simpson, and Chase Donathan) simply REFUSED to go down and between the three of them, they probably gained an extra 50 yards of offense tonight simply by dragging defenders with them long after the initial contact. That says a lot about their determination.
Simpson scored a second touchdown in the second quarter and Donathan got his only score in the same frame, again by refusing to give up on the play until he crossed the goal line. But the highlight score of the night, and maybe even for the season, was turned in by the Big Red defense, specifically by Talbott.
Early in the second, with the score still 14-0, The Storm tried a screen pass from around their own 30 yard line. Talbott sniffed it out beautifully, stepped in front of the intended receiver, and took it in for the score. You diehard Gladiator fans might remember Zac Smiley scoring in a similar fashion a few years ago in a state final down in Salem.
That score made it 22-0 and pretty much took the wind out of the Staunton sails. The aforementioned TDs by Simpson and Donathan wrapped up the scoring for the home team and the subs handled the mop up duty in the second half.
The two varsity teams now meet in Staunton Friday night in what should be a wide open affair before RHS closes out the (varsity) regular season at home against Stuarts Draft the following Friday. You may recall that the SD and Riverheads JV teams moved their game ahead to an earlier date and played back in September. The Cougar Cubs, who I believe wrapped up their season also tonight with a perfect record, handed RHS its only loss that evening.
At one point, Riverheads had arranged for a non-conference JV game to be played next week against Virginia Episcopal School, but that has now been canceled, leaving tonight as the season finale. Congrats to Coach Cox and his staff on a job well-done and it appears that the Big Red football program will be more than ready for the Class 2 wars next fall.
