It took the Big Red less than two minutes to get the party started tonight as they rolled to a very workmanlike beatdown of the Colonels. It was certainly a cold night compared to most of the season and for that reason the running second half clock that ended the game by 8:50 was probably a blessing for both teams.
As usual, the Gladiators did it on the ground. They only attempted two passes all night, with one harmlessly intercepted at the 2 yard line and the other completed from Tyler Smith to Moose Lee for about a 45 yard gain. The rushing attack was led by junior Devin Morris, who scored three times, one of which was an 81 yard sweep around right end. Senior Dalton Jordan, who just refused to be brought down on several occasions, added two scores, and Smith and freshman Zac Smiley rounded out the TD parade. Place kicker Peyton Skillman was a perfect 7 for 7 on PATs.
Altavista had one solid chance to score and appeared ready to do so to close out the first half, but the Gladiators stopped them on a 4th and 1 from the 7 yard line. Other than that, they were pretty much punchless, although they did have an effective weapon with a quick kick that caught RHS by surprise more than once as they used it as a strategy to flip field position.
The first time they tried it, they pinned the Big Red all the way down to the 8 yard line. But the Gladiators were still able to take it the distance. In fact Riverheads moved the ball so efficiently tonight that they had very few penalties, never had to punt, and seldom faced a fourth down play.
With this win, the Gladiators earned a date with another familiar foe, the William Campbell Generals, who will travel to Greenville next Friday for the Region B, Division 1 championship. The winner of that will then battle the Region A winner for the right to advance to Salem.
Gladiator fans with their cell phones and the PA announcer also kept close tabs on the Lee at Central and Luray at Clarke County games on the 2-A level. As you guys have no doubt heard by now, both road teams won those games, which makes the Shenandoah look mighty tough and sets up a re-match in Staunton next Friday night between those two powerhouses.
That one should be a doozy and if anyone wants to kick around the idea of moving it to Saturday so more people can attend it, I can assure you that you would get my 7 bucks! If not, the cell phones will be buzzing even more next week.
As usual, the Gladiators did it on the ground. They only attempted two passes all night, with one harmlessly intercepted at the 2 yard line and the other completed from Tyler Smith to Moose Lee for about a 45 yard gain. The rushing attack was led by junior Devin Morris, who scored three times, one of which was an 81 yard sweep around right end. Senior Dalton Jordan, who just refused to be brought down on several occasions, added two scores, and Smith and freshman Zac Smiley rounded out the TD parade. Place kicker Peyton Skillman was a perfect 7 for 7 on PATs.
Altavista had one solid chance to score and appeared ready to do so to close out the first half, but the Gladiators stopped them on a 4th and 1 from the 7 yard line. Other than that, they were pretty much punchless, although they did have an effective weapon with a quick kick that caught RHS by surprise more than once as they used it as a strategy to flip field position.
The first time they tried it, they pinned the Big Red all the way down to the 8 yard line. But the Gladiators were still able to take it the distance. In fact Riverheads moved the ball so efficiently tonight that they had very few penalties, never had to punt, and seldom faced a fourth down play.
With this win, the Gladiators earned a date with another familiar foe, the William Campbell Generals, who will travel to Greenville next Friday for the Region B, Division 1 championship. The winner of that will then battle the Region A winner for the right to advance to Salem.
Gladiator fans with their cell phones and the PA announcer also kept close tabs on the Lee at Central and Luray at Clarke County games on the 2-A level. As you guys have no doubt heard by now, both road teams won those games, which makes the Shenandoah look mighty tough and sets up a re-match in Staunton next Friday night between those two powerhouses.
That one should be a doozy and if anyone wants to kick around the idea of moving it to Saturday so more people can attend it, I can assure you that you would get my 7 bucks! If not, the cell phones will be buzzing even more next week.
