Brett Hostetler pounced on a muffed punt at the 11-yard line late in the first quarter Friday night to jump-start the Gladiators to a surprisingly-easy 37-0 win over previously unbeaten Luray. Prior to that momentum-swinging play, the defenses had been stopping each other in the middle of the field and forcing one punt after another as the Bulldogs seemed more than ready to make a game of it.
Dalton Jordan pushed across a one-yard run for the opening score, and that inspired the Gladiators to drive for two more second-quarter scores, including a second one by him and a 34-yard gallop by Harrison Schaefer. Those two touchdowns sent the teams into the locker room with a 20-0 score, to wait out the lengthy Homecoming festivities.
Luray received the second half kickoff and made its best march of the night, penetrating to the
Big Red 30 yard line. But a penalty followed by a huge quarterback sack for about a 20-yard loss squelched that drive and the Bulldogs pretty much disintegrated from there.
They committed a number of penalties the rest of the way, some of which were of a sportsmanship nature as opposed to execution, as frustration took over. Riverheads got a second TD from Schaefer to lead 27-0 after three and the subs finished the game with Devin Morris scoring from a yard out following his own 37-yard scamper in which he was caught just shy of the goal line, and Rinaldo Martina added the final home team points by connecting on his first field goal of the season.
Riverheads did most of its damage with a three-prong running attack of Schaefer, Jordan, and Hostetler, and although S & J shared four of the five TDs, Hostetler had every bit as good a game, as he rushed for some hard yards of his own and came close to scoring a time or two.
Gladiator fans were also treated to a couple of crowd-pleasing plays by lesser-known offensive weapons. In the third quarter, they completed their only pass of the night on a quick look-in over the middle to rangy tight end Ridge Stokes. The play was only supposed to gain about 8-10 yards and maybe pick up a first down, but somebody forgot to tell Mr. Stokes that, and he rambled for about another 15 yards with two or three defenders draped all over him.
Then in the fourth quarter Coach Casto inserted Cameron "Moose" Lee, a popular sophomore transfer from Fort Defiance, into Jordan's fullback slot. On one of his first carries, he burst through a huge hole and seemed well on his way to a score, before the last possible defender dragged him down around the 20. That drive ended with the Martina field goal from 30 yards out.
The Gladiators will have another "Battle of the Unbeatens" next Friday when they travel to arch-rival Buffalo Gap to tangle with the Bison. The Gap started out a little bit slow tonight before eventually subduing Wilson 41-7 and that big win should fire them up for a visit from RHS.
In the other two 'Doah games, Stuarts Draft rolled over East Rock 35-14 in a result that surprises me, if it doesn't anyone else, and Page picked up its third win in a row with an easy romp over Stonewall. So other than Riverheads winning its Homecoming game, the theme tonight was the visiting team coming out on top.
In Valley District action, the big surprise was Spotswood having to come from two touchdowns behind to edge by Waynesboro 21-20. Turner Ashby beat Lee and Broadway beat Fort, each by margins of roughly two scores.
Dalton Jordan pushed across a one-yard run for the opening score, and that inspired the Gladiators to drive for two more second-quarter scores, including a second one by him and a 34-yard gallop by Harrison Schaefer. Those two touchdowns sent the teams into the locker room with a 20-0 score, to wait out the lengthy Homecoming festivities.
Luray received the second half kickoff and made its best march of the night, penetrating to the
Big Red 30 yard line. But a penalty followed by a huge quarterback sack for about a 20-yard loss squelched that drive and the Bulldogs pretty much disintegrated from there.
They committed a number of penalties the rest of the way, some of which were of a sportsmanship nature as opposed to execution, as frustration took over. Riverheads got a second TD from Schaefer to lead 27-0 after three and the subs finished the game with Devin Morris scoring from a yard out following his own 37-yard scamper in which he was caught just shy of the goal line, and Rinaldo Martina added the final home team points by connecting on his first field goal of the season.
Riverheads did most of its damage with a three-prong running attack of Schaefer, Jordan, and Hostetler, and although S & J shared four of the five TDs, Hostetler had every bit as good a game, as he rushed for some hard yards of his own and came close to scoring a time or two.
Gladiator fans were also treated to a couple of crowd-pleasing plays by lesser-known offensive weapons. In the third quarter, they completed their only pass of the night on a quick look-in over the middle to rangy tight end Ridge Stokes. The play was only supposed to gain about 8-10 yards and maybe pick up a first down, but somebody forgot to tell Mr. Stokes that, and he rambled for about another 15 yards with two or three defenders draped all over him.
Then in the fourth quarter Coach Casto inserted Cameron "Moose" Lee, a popular sophomore transfer from Fort Defiance, into Jordan's fullback slot. On one of his first carries, he burst through a huge hole and seemed well on his way to a score, before the last possible defender dragged him down around the 20. That drive ended with the Martina field goal from 30 yards out.
The Gladiators will have another "Battle of the Unbeatens" next Friday when they travel to arch-rival Buffalo Gap to tangle with the Bison. The Gap started out a little bit slow tonight before eventually subduing Wilson 41-7 and that big win should fire them up for a visit from RHS.
In the other two 'Doah games, Stuarts Draft rolled over East Rock 35-14 in a result that surprises me, if it doesn't anyone else, and Page picked up its third win in a row with an easy romp over Stonewall. So other than Riverheads winning its Homecoming game, the theme tonight was the visiting team coming out on top.
In Valley District action, the big surprise was Spotswood having to come from two touchdowns behind to edge by Waynesboro 21-20. Turner Ashby beat Lee and Broadway beat Fort, each by margins of roughly two scores.
