After going 2-1 on a tough road swing through the other three county schools, the Gladiators finally returned home to the friendly confines of the Coliseum and rolled over visiting Fort Defiance behind an impressive five-touchdown effort from transfer running back Jonathan Talbott, who has been the Big Red's go-to guy most of the season.
He scored twice in the first quarter, once from 14 yards and the other untouched from 62 yards in a one-play drive that followed an Indian punt. RHS added the two point conversion after each TD as the first quarter ended 16-0.
The Gladiators then broke it open in the second quarter with two more Talbott TDs, one on the ground and one on about a 25 yard pass play from quarterback Ethan Mulcahy, who also is playing his first season at Riverheads. The remaining Gladiator TD of the quarter was scored by fullback Spencer Simpson from about 10 yards out. Those second quarter scores made the halftime tally 38-0, which was good news for the fans who were more than willing to see that running clock in the second half, due to the frosty night.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors after the break as a punt snap sailed out of the end zone for a safety that made the score 40-0 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. On the ensuing free kick, Talbott scored perhaps his most impressive touchdown of the night. He hauled in the punt around midfield, bobbled it momentarily, and appeared to be swarmed over by a host of Indians. But he bounced off tacklers hard enough for you to feel it in the stands and then broke free around left end for the score. The PAT made it 48-0 at that point.
With the Gladiator second string defense taking the field the rest of the way, the Indians were finally able to get on the board as they scored all their points in the second half. But they handed Riverheads a golden scoring opportunity when they turned it over around their own 25.
I believe that Gladiator TD was scored by the back up quarterback Kendal Edwards. After the Fort scored its TDs to trim the margin to 56-20, RHS added one more when Simpson broke loose and got to the corner, then outraced the defense for an 80 yard scoring romp.
With the win, the Big Red is now 5-1 on the season. Next Wednesday they will finish out their run through the Shenandoah District teams as Staunton will travel to Greenville. That could be a good one because last we heard The Storm JVs were in a 16-14 dogfight out at Buffalo Gap, the same place where Riverheads escaped two weeks ago with a wild 46-42 win.
Next week's game with Staunton was originally going to be the RHS JVs last game of the season, but I have been told that they have added a final non-district tilt at the end of the season (at home) against Virginia Episcopal School, a private academy from the Lynchburg area. This was added to fill out the schedule since there were no JV games scheduled against some of the teams the varsity played, such as Tazewell and Lord Botetourt.
Next up for Gladiator and Indian fans will be the Friday night varsity game at the Fort, which sounds like it might be a few degrees warmer. That one should be interesting as the Fort is coming off their near-upset of unbeaten Staunton last Friday.
He scored twice in the first quarter, once from 14 yards and the other untouched from 62 yards in a one-play drive that followed an Indian punt. RHS added the two point conversion after each TD as the first quarter ended 16-0.
The Gladiators then broke it open in the second quarter with two more Talbott TDs, one on the ground and one on about a 25 yard pass play from quarterback Ethan Mulcahy, who also is playing his first season at Riverheads. The remaining Gladiator TD of the quarter was scored by fullback Spencer Simpson from about 10 yards out. Those second quarter scores made the halftime tally 38-0, which was good news for the fans who were more than willing to see that running clock in the second half, due to the frosty night.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors after the break as a punt snap sailed out of the end zone for a safety that made the score 40-0 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. On the ensuing free kick, Talbott scored perhaps his most impressive touchdown of the night. He hauled in the punt around midfield, bobbled it momentarily, and appeared to be swarmed over by a host of Indians. But he bounced off tacklers hard enough for you to feel it in the stands and then broke free around left end for the score. The PAT made it 48-0 at that point.
With the Gladiator second string defense taking the field the rest of the way, the Indians were finally able to get on the board as they scored all their points in the second half. But they handed Riverheads a golden scoring opportunity when they turned it over around their own 25.
I believe that Gladiator TD was scored by the back up quarterback Kendal Edwards. After the Fort scored its TDs to trim the margin to 56-20, RHS added one more when Simpson broke loose and got to the corner, then outraced the defense for an 80 yard scoring romp.
With the win, the Big Red is now 5-1 on the season. Next Wednesday they will finish out their run through the Shenandoah District teams as Staunton will travel to Greenville. That could be a good one because last we heard The Storm JVs were in a 16-14 dogfight out at Buffalo Gap, the same place where Riverheads escaped two weeks ago with a wild 46-42 win.
Next week's game with Staunton was originally going to be the RHS JVs last game of the season, but I have been told that they have added a final non-district tilt at the end of the season (at home) against Virginia Episcopal School, a private academy from the Lynchburg area. This was added to fill out the schedule since there were no JV games scheduled against some of the teams the varsity played, such as Tazewell and Lord Botetourt.
Next up for Gladiator and Indian fans will be the Friday night varsity game at the Fort, which sounds like it might be a few degrees warmer. That one should be interesting as the Fort is coming off their near-upset of unbeaten Staunton last Friday.
