Looks as if I have to bow to the superior wisdom of Gladiator Fence Patrol, who I believe was the one who said the Bison would not have a chance tonight. I had predicted that RHS might be in for a battle but instead the Big Red played perhaps its best defensive game of the year and kept a goose egg on the scoreboard for the home team. That fact alone made for a most frustrating evening for the Bison as they drove to around the five yard line twice, only to be turned away both times by the Big Red defense.
In addition to the Gladiators' performance on the field, this game was nearly perfect in other ways. First of all, the weather held off as we hoped it would and gave us an ideal night for football. Secondly the game was cleanly played with no major incidents, not too many penalties, and very few turnovers. The two student sections enjoyed a rousing game of the old fan favorite "We can't hear you!" and at least on the Riverheads side, they were also showing their support for Breast Cancer Awareness month by showing up decked out in pink.
Even my gang and I caught a break in terms of seating. As most of you know, the Bison field is designed in such a way that the visiting fans are separated into two sections, with the press box between them. This of course cuts down on the togetherness factor for those fans. But at least in our case tonight, four of the Gladiators' six touchdowns, including the three most explosive ones, were all scored at our end of the field.
Speaking of explosions, two RHS running backs in particular had amazing games and believe it or not, Super Soph Cayden Cook-Cash, the Shenandoah's leading scorer, was not one of them. Oh he had some nice runs alright, but this night belonged to senior Cole Burton, who scored four times for the Big Red, and to junior Luke Bryant, who had what was probably the most exciting Riverheads TD of the season. Junior quarterback Bennett Dunlap sneaked across the remaining Gladiator TD and place-kicker Cooper Robson was a perfect 6 for 6 on the evening. Rounding out a very efficient offensive performance were some nice runs by Aidan Miller and three crucial receptions by Landon Lightner, who also had an interception on defense.
Every game has its turning point and for this one that came rather early. The Gladiators had driven about 65 yards on their first possession, with Burton scoring from in close to make it 7-0. The Bison then proceeded to drive straight down the field, and as the clock ticked over into the opening minutes of the second quarter, they were determined to push across the equalizer. They made it down inside the five but the RHS defense stiffened and pushed them back to the 10. The drive then ended with an end zone catch by lanky receiver Luke Tinsley but he was ruled out of bounds.
So the Gladiators took over on their own 10, and on the first play from scrimmage, Bryant swept the left side, caught the blocks he needed, turned on the jets and took it all the way for what I would certainly assume was the longest TD of his career. So in a matter of seconds, the game turned from a potential 7-7 tie to a 14-0 Riverheads lead, and the home team never recovered.
Before the half ended, Burton broke some tackles and scored from about 24 yards out and Dunlap capped off a drive with the sneak as RHS took a 28-0 lead into the locker room. Even worse news for the home team was that Riverheads would be receiving the second half kickoff.
In that second half, Burton scored again, almost untouched this time, from about 55 yards out, and then capped off the evening by scoring from in-close following the Lightner interception. Between those scores, the Bison had their other deep scoring threat, but that ended in futility when Tinsley was dropped at the 10, after looking like he might be about to throw the ball on an option play.
According to the radio wrap-up of the game, Burton was the leading Gladiator rusher with around 145 yards but to put that in perspective the Riverheads D only allowed the Bison a total of 150 yards.
I believe I am correct that this victory runs Riverheads' nationally-ranked winning streak to 42 games. As Coach Casto said in his post-game interview, that streak will have to end someday but Big Red fans just hope that day will not come anytime soon.
Next week, as already addressed in other threads, the Gladiators will travel to Wilson for a 1:00 Saturday start, whereas the Bison will be home again, hosting Stuarts Draft for a routine 7:00 Friday kick-off. The Bison will try to re-group in that one and pick up their fifth win of the season toward their goal of earning a high seed for the Region 1-B playoffs next month.
In addition to the Gladiators' performance on the field, this game was nearly perfect in other ways. First of all, the weather held off as we hoped it would and gave us an ideal night for football. Secondly the game was cleanly played with no major incidents, not too many penalties, and very few turnovers. The two student sections enjoyed a rousing game of the old fan favorite "We can't hear you!" and at least on the Riverheads side, they were also showing their support for Breast Cancer Awareness month by showing up decked out in pink.
Even my gang and I caught a break in terms of seating. As most of you know, the Bison field is designed in such a way that the visiting fans are separated into two sections, with the press box between them. This of course cuts down on the togetherness factor for those fans. But at least in our case tonight, four of the Gladiators' six touchdowns, including the three most explosive ones, were all scored at our end of the field.
Speaking of explosions, two RHS running backs in particular had amazing games and believe it or not, Super Soph Cayden Cook-Cash, the Shenandoah's leading scorer, was not one of them. Oh he had some nice runs alright, but this night belonged to senior Cole Burton, who scored four times for the Big Red, and to junior Luke Bryant, who had what was probably the most exciting Riverheads TD of the season. Junior quarterback Bennett Dunlap sneaked across the remaining Gladiator TD and place-kicker Cooper Robson was a perfect 6 for 6 on the evening. Rounding out a very efficient offensive performance were some nice runs by Aidan Miller and three crucial receptions by Landon Lightner, who also had an interception on defense.
Every game has its turning point and for this one that came rather early. The Gladiators had driven about 65 yards on their first possession, with Burton scoring from in close to make it 7-0. The Bison then proceeded to drive straight down the field, and as the clock ticked over into the opening minutes of the second quarter, they were determined to push across the equalizer. They made it down inside the five but the RHS defense stiffened and pushed them back to the 10. The drive then ended with an end zone catch by lanky receiver Luke Tinsley but he was ruled out of bounds.
So the Gladiators took over on their own 10, and on the first play from scrimmage, Bryant swept the left side, caught the blocks he needed, turned on the jets and took it all the way for what I would certainly assume was the longest TD of his career. So in a matter of seconds, the game turned from a potential 7-7 tie to a 14-0 Riverheads lead, and the home team never recovered.
Before the half ended, Burton broke some tackles and scored from about 24 yards out and Dunlap capped off a drive with the sneak as RHS took a 28-0 lead into the locker room. Even worse news for the home team was that Riverheads would be receiving the second half kickoff.
In that second half, Burton scored again, almost untouched this time, from about 55 yards out, and then capped off the evening by scoring from in-close following the Lightner interception. Between those scores, the Bison had their other deep scoring threat, but that ended in futility when Tinsley was dropped at the 10, after looking like he might be about to throw the ball on an option play.
According to the radio wrap-up of the game, Burton was the leading Gladiator rusher with around 145 yards but to put that in perspective the Riverheads D only allowed the Bison a total of 150 yards.
I believe I am correct that this victory runs Riverheads' nationally-ranked winning streak to 42 games. As Coach Casto said in his post-game interview, that streak will have to end someday but Big Red fans just hope that day will not come anytime soon.
Next week, as already addressed in other threads, the Gladiators will travel to Wilson for a 1:00 Saturday start, whereas the Bison will be home again, hosting Stuarts Draft for a routine 7:00 Friday kick-off. The Bison will try to re-group in that one and pick up their fifth win of the season toward their goal of earning a high seed for the Region 1-B playoffs next month.
