First of all, yes it rained so life was normal in Luray tonight. But fans got a totally unexpected game in this "battle of the unbeatens" as Riverheads clicked on all cylinders from the very beginning and smashed the Bulldogs 40-8. The Gladiator domination was so complete that Luray did not score until the final three seconds of the game against the Riverheads subs.
Things started off well enough for the home team as they dropped Harrison Schaeffer for a three-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage, but the talented junior took the next handoff on a toss sweep right and took it 68 yards to the house for the first Riverheads score less than a minute into the game. As it would turn out, explosive plays like that were the name of the game for RHS as five of their six TDs came on plays of 30 or more yards.
Moments later Landon Diehl swept the left side for a 38 yard score, and still in the first quarter quarterback Garrett Campbell scored on a 9 yard bootleg as the Gladiators took an early 19-0 lead. The only chink in their armor was the extra point as a bad snap killed the first and Tristan Robson missed his only kick of the season after the Campbell score.
As effective as the Gladiators were in the first quarter, they were their own worst enemy in the second as they committed a number of mistakes and penalties. In one especially ugly sequence, they took possession near midfield and wound up punting on a 4th and 29. Fortunately Luray could not take advantage and the 19-0 lead stood at the break.
Despite the lopsided final score, there was one crucial sequence early in the third quarter that took away a golden opportunity for Luray to make a game of it. The Dogs came out of the locker room fired up and hit Jacob Moyers for 37 yards down to the one yard line. RHS stopped them in their tracks on first down and then forced a fumble that they recovered around the six yard line.
Moments later, Schaeffer, who easily had 200 or more yards rushing in the game, took off around the left side for about a 60 yard TD gallop and within two minutes of clock time, a potential 19-7 game instead became a 26-0 RHS lead. Later in the third Diehl went untouched for about 45 yards for his second score of the game as the quarter ended with the visitors on top 33-0.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Gladiators got a break that proved this was really meant to be their night. Quarterback Campbell went out with an injury so the Big Red put in their "other" quarterback Chase Armstrong, who is by no means a back-up as the two have performed equally well this season. Despite coming off the bench cold, he proceeded to loft a perfectly thrown pass down to about the 10 yard that Ridge Stokes hauled in by the fingertips for a 45 yard scoring play that started the running clock. The Dogs then scored late in the game to avoid the shutout.
Definitely the most explosive of the Gladiators' four victories this season and perhaps their best all-around game. But they cannot rest as next week the Bison come calling in another Battle of the Unbeatens, after the Gap shut out Wilson tonight. That one should be a dandy with county bragging rights on the line.
Things started off well enough for the home team as they dropped Harrison Schaeffer for a three-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage, but the talented junior took the next handoff on a toss sweep right and took it 68 yards to the house for the first Riverheads score less than a minute into the game. As it would turn out, explosive plays like that were the name of the game for RHS as five of their six TDs came on plays of 30 or more yards.
Moments later Landon Diehl swept the left side for a 38 yard score, and still in the first quarter quarterback Garrett Campbell scored on a 9 yard bootleg as the Gladiators took an early 19-0 lead. The only chink in their armor was the extra point as a bad snap killed the first and Tristan Robson missed his only kick of the season after the Campbell score.
As effective as the Gladiators were in the first quarter, they were their own worst enemy in the second as they committed a number of mistakes and penalties. In one especially ugly sequence, they took possession near midfield and wound up punting on a 4th and 29. Fortunately Luray could not take advantage and the 19-0 lead stood at the break.
Despite the lopsided final score, there was one crucial sequence early in the third quarter that took away a golden opportunity for Luray to make a game of it. The Dogs came out of the locker room fired up and hit Jacob Moyers for 37 yards down to the one yard line. RHS stopped them in their tracks on first down and then forced a fumble that they recovered around the six yard line.
Moments later, Schaeffer, who easily had 200 or more yards rushing in the game, took off around the left side for about a 60 yard TD gallop and within two minutes of clock time, a potential 19-7 game instead became a 26-0 RHS lead. Later in the third Diehl went untouched for about 45 yards for his second score of the game as the quarter ended with the visitors on top 33-0.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Gladiators got a break that proved this was really meant to be their night. Quarterback Campbell went out with an injury so the Big Red put in their "other" quarterback Chase Armstrong, who is by no means a back-up as the two have performed equally well this season. Despite coming off the bench cold, he proceeded to loft a perfectly thrown pass down to about the 10 yard that Ridge Stokes hauled in by the fingertips for a 45 yard scoring play that started the running clock. The Dogs then scored late in the game to avoid the shutout.
Definitely the most explosive of the Gladiators' four victories this season and perhaps their best all-around game. But they cannot rest as next week the Bison come calling in another Battle of the Unbeatens, after the Gap shut out Wilson tonight. That one should be a dandy with county bragging rights on the line.
