The Junior Gladiators needed a quarter or so to get revved up, but they bunched five touchdowns into the action-packed middle quarters and rolled over the homestanding Indians for their second win of the young season. For a while it looked as if they had a shutout in the works but the Indians returned a kickoff down the near sidelines after the Big Red's seventh TD to give the home fans something to cheer about.
But prior to that, it was all about the Big Red and its rushing game as they did not need to attempt a pass all night. The two main weapons, as I suspect they will be most of the season, were Jackson Fitzgerald and Spencer Simpson. Each scored two TDs and Fitzgerald also handled the place-kicking duties for the Gladiators. Later in the game, when the outcome was clearly settled, a second-string running back also scored twice. I believe I caught his name as Sean Miller (or maybe Shawn?)
The Gladiators more than got the job done on defense as well, because the Indians only crossed midfield once, other than the kickoff return of course, and on that one occasion, they only crept into Riverheads territory by a few inches before the Big Red D pushed them back into their own end of the field. To say it was a total team effort would be an understatement.
In last week's JV report, I mentioned that the Gladiators had an opening in their schedule that they were trying to fill, and I am happy to report that matter has been taken care of as they will host Spotswood next Wednesday. That will give them an eighth game, which is pretty much the norm for JVs. We won't know much about the Blazers, but considering that they are a much bigger school, the Big Red could have its hands full in that one.
With tonight's game delayed a day due to the heat wave, the fans for both teams now have less than 24 hours to get psyched up for tomorrow night's varsity game, set for Riverheads at 7:00. Despite a prediction for thunderstorms, we did not see a drop of rain tonight, so as much as the farmers out there hate to hear this, maybe we will be as lucky tomorrow night.
But prior to that, it was all about the Big Red and its rushing game as they did not need to attempt a pass all night. The two main weapons, as I suspect they will be most of the season, were Jackson Fitzgerald and Spencer Simpson. Each scored two TDs and Fitzgerald also handled the place-kicking duties for the Gladiators. Later in the game, when the outcome was clearly settled, a second-string running back also scored twice. I believe I caught his name as Sean Miller (or maybe Shawn?)
The Gladiators more than got the job done on defense as well, because the Indians only crossed midfield once, other than the kickoff return of course, and on that one occasion, they only crept into Riverheads territory by a few inches before the Big Red D pushed them back into their own end of the field. To say it was a total team effort would be an understatement.
In last week's JV report, I mentioned that the Gladiators had an opening in their schedule that they were trying to fill, and I am happy to report that matter has been taken care of as they will host Spotswood next Wednesday. That will give them an eighth game, which is pretty much the norm for JVs. We won't know much about the Blazers, but considering that they are a much bigger school, the Big Red could have its hands full in that one.
With tonight's game delayed a day due to the heat wave, the fans for both teams now have less than 24 hours to get psyched up for tomorrow night's varsity game, set for Riverheads at 7:00. Despite a prediction for thunderstorms, we did not see a drop of rain tonight, so as much as the farmers out there hate to hear this, maybe we will be as lucky tomorrow night.
