Two teams with very similar approaches to the game took the field in Greenville tonight and the homestanding Gladiators rolled to a big victory over their county rivals. With the win, the Big Red is now 4-0 in district play and I believe 5-1 overall. With that in mind, it has been announced that the Gladiators will be hosting a JV championship game on Monday, November 6th. This game was set up a few weeks ago just to give all the area JVs more exposure and something extra to play for. Riverheads will host the game, regardless of which two teams advance. Obviously the Gladiators are well-positioned for one of the spots and my sources tell me that Waynesboro may be the most likely opponent, although the Bison might not be out of contention. Riverheads and Waynesboro still have a regular season match-up two weeks from tonight that will probably determine who plays in that event.
As for tonight's game, the similarity I referred to was that each team was determined to establish its run game as neither completed a pass all night and for that matter the Gladiators did not even attempt one. Riverheads, as has been the case all year, threw a trio of running backs at the Bison, namely Jackson Fitzgerald, Spencer Simpson, and Skyler Shiflett. All three ran with authority all game long with Simpson and Fitzgerald each scoring twice I believe and in Simpson's case, his two long TDs around the left end in front of the home fans were almost identical to one another. He also had a key fumble recovery in the second quarter that snatched momentum away from the Gap and fired up the Big Red to score two touchdowns in that quarter to break an early 8-8 tie.
First he pounced on a loose ball that the Bison QB simply could not locate. Then on the very next play, he was off and running to put RHS up 16-8 and they never looked back.
As for Fitzgerald, he did not have the long TD runs that Simpson had, but he had one run in particular that may not have been a scoring play but was absolutely amazing to watch. It started out as a simple toss sweep and the Bison appeared to have him stopped for a short gain. But he broke a couple of tackles early, and then head-butted a couple more defenders as he refused to go down and eventually turned a routine play into about a 30-yard gain. He also factored in to some of the Big Red's 5 out of 5 night on two-point conversions and even kicked the final single-point PAT for the home team.
The game was still mathematically in doubt at the break as the Bison were just two scores behind (24-8) and had already shown that they could score a two-point PAT. Not only that but they were due to receive the second half kickoff.
However, things turned sour early for the visitors when RHS crossed them up with a pooch kick that an alert Gladiator (and I believe it was the very busy Mr. Simpson) pounced on just before it went out of bounds. He then took it in for his second long TD run on the very next play to make the score 32-8 just 30 seconds into the second half. The Gladiators would go on to score twice more in the third to put the running clock in effect for a while until the Bison managed a fourth quarter TD to account for the final score.
Although the Bison came out on the losing end, they might have actually had the most impressive and still puzzling TD of the game. After RHS scored to go up 8-0 midway through the first, the Bison took the ensuing kickoff right up the middle into a huge pile. Fans kept waiting for the whistle to blow to signal forward progress had been stopped, when all of a sudden the ball carrier emerged from the pile, skirted around left end and took it about 70 yards for the first Bison TD. I wish I could remember the young man's name but all I can recall is the first name Jaden. He was by far the busiest Bison on the field tonight.
With the score tied at 8-8, the Gap briefly had momentum from that score, but that changed drastically early in the second quarter when Simpson recovered the fumbled snap and took it in on the next play. That just took the wind out of the Bison sails and it was all Riverheads from that point.
If anyone tonight felt like they did not get their money's worth, it would have to be the folks who lined the fences on the concession stand/scoreboard end of the field. They had a bird's eye view of Fitzgerald's first RHS score to make it 8-0, but after that TD, it seemed as if 90% of the action headed toward the opposite end, where the teams would eventually score all seven of the remaining combined TDs.
Since we have had some dialogue recently about officiating, I am sure you are wondering about tonight's group. Well I definitely recognized some of them and I guess it is possible it was exactly the same crew that worked Friday's varsity game against Staunton. Fortunately tonight's game was not close enough for it to matter, but we did hear a few groans from the fans when yet another aiding the runner call temporarily wiped out a Gladiator TD. Then there were two calls, one in particular, in which the guy right on top of the play did not throw a flag, yet someone much further away did. But overall it was nowhere near as controversial as Friday night's game.
Next up will be the varsity game at the Gap on Friday night and at this point, it looks like the weather will be great for that. The Gladiators then host Stuarts Draft the following Friday for the game that should decide the Shenandoah title.
As for tonight's game, the similarity I referred to was that each team was determined to establish its run game as neither completed a pass all night and for that matter the Gladiators did not even attempt one. Riverheads, as has been the case all year, threw a trio of running backs at the Bison, namely Jackson Fitzgerald, Spencer Simpson, and Skyler Shiflett. All three ran with authority all game long with Simpson and Fitzgerald each scoring twice I believe and in Simpson's case, his two long TDs around the left end in front of the home fans were almost identical to one another. He also had a key fumble recovery in the second quarter that snatched momentum away from the Gap and fired up the Big Red to score two touchdowns in that quarter to break an early 8-8 tie.
First he pounced on a loose ball that the Bison QB simply could not locate. Then on the very next play, he was off and running to put RHS up 16-8 and they never looked back.
As for Fitzgerald, he did not have the long TD runs that Simpson had, but he had one run in particular that may not have been a scoring play but was absolutely amazing to watch. It started out as a simple toss sweep and the Bison appeared to have him stopped for a short gain. But he broke a couple of tackles early, and then head-butted a couple more defenders as he refused to go down and eventually turned a routine play into about a 30-yard gain. He also factored in to some of the Big Red's 5 out of 5 night on two-point conversions and even kicked the final single-point PAT for the home team.
The game was still mathematically in doubt at the break as the Bison were just two scores behind (24-8) and had already shown that they could score a two-point PAT. Not only that but they were due to receive the second half kickoff.
However, things turned sour early for the visitors when RHS crossed them up with a pooch kick that an alert Gladiator (and I believe it was the very busy Mr. Simpson) pounced on just before it went out of bounds. He then took it in for his second long TD run on the very next play to make the score 32-8 just 30 seconds into the second half. The Gladiators would go on to score twice more in the third to put the running clock in effect for a while until the Bison managed a fourth quarter TD to account for the final score.
Although the Bison came out on the losing end, they might have actually had the most impressive and still puzzling TD of the game. After RHS scored to go up 8-0 midway through the first, the Bison took the ensuing kickoff right up the middle into a huge pile. Fans kept waiting for the whistle to blow to signal forward progress had been stopped, when all of a sudden the ball carrier emerged from the pile, skirted around left end and took it about 70 yards for the first Bison TD. I wish I could remember the young man's name but all I can recall is the first name Jaden. He was by far the busiest Bison on the field tonight.
With the score tied at 8-8, the Gap briefly had momentum from that score, but that changed drastically early in the second quarter when Simpson recovered the fumbled snap and took it in on the next play. That just took the wind out of the Bison sails and it was all Riverheads from that point.
If anyone tonight felt like they did not get their money's worth, it would have to be the folks who lined the fences on the concession stand/scoreboard end of the field. They had a bird's eye view of Fitzgerald's first RHS score to make it 8-0, but after that TD, it seemed as if 90% of the action headed toward the opposite end, where the teams would eventually score all seven of the remaining combined TDs.
Since we have had some dialogue recently about officiating, I am sure you are wondering about tonight's group. Well I definitely recognized some of them and I guess it is possible it was exactly the same crew that worked Friday's varsity game against Staunton. Fortunately tonight's game was not close enough for it to matter, but we did hear a few groans from the fans when yet another aiding the runner call temporarily wiped out a Gladiator TD. Then there were two calls, one in particular, in which the guy right on top of the play did not throw a flag, yet someone much further away did. But overall it was nowhere near as controversial as Friday night's game.
Next up will be the varsity game at the Gap on Friday night and at this point, it looks like the weather will be great for that. The Gladiators then host Stuarts Draft the following Friday for the game that should decide the Shenandoah title.
