A pair of extremely determined teams locked horns tonight in Quicksburg in one of the fastest-paced, most intense games we have seen this season. The hosting Generals were fired up and not about to lose their Senior Night game, whereas the visiting Gladiators had already enjoyed a pair of double-digit wins this week and were on a mission to finish the week 3-0 and more importantly, raise their season record to a respectable 10-10.
After four wild and woolly, back and forth quarters and what seemed like 72 fouls from a whistle-happy trio of officials, the Generals finally prevailed but it went right down to the final seconds before the home team could celebrate. As a result of the win, the Conference 44 website now shows Stonewall ever-so-slightly ahead of Riverheads, but the Generals still have a game left at Luray on Tuesday, and if they should lose that, who knows what impact that might have.
All we know for sure is that the two teams will meet again in a conference semi-final game on Tuesday the 14th, and that the winner of that game will likely face a trip to Altavista that Thursday. What we DON'T know at the moment is whether Riverheads will travel again to Stonewall for that semi-final game or whether they will somehow get to host it, even though Stonewall swept the season series. Fortunately we have people out there smarter than me to figure out those things!
Tonight's game started out as many have this season, rather slowly as the two teams were feeling each other out. Each enjoyed a three-point lead in the first, which ended with RHS ahead 13-10.
The pace picked up dramatically in the second quarter, primarily due to Riverheads' quick freshmen duo of Braeson Fulton and Grant Painter stepping up the defensive pressure, creating some steals, and getting some transition buckets. They had 19 points between them at the half as the Big Red took a 34-27 lead into the locker room.
Painter then stroked a triple from deep in the right corner to open the third quarter that gave RHS the largest lead (10) that either team enjoyed all night. But just when it looked like the visitors might be ready to take command of the game, the Generals caught their second wind.
They outscored RHS 19-7 over the rest of the quarter, finally taking the lead at 42-40. Riverheads tied it but the home team led 46-44 heading into the fourth.
Stonewall kept driving and took as much as a six-point lead at 52-46, only to see RHS go on a seven-point spurt to re-take the lead. Austin Craft, Riverheads' 6'6" senior center, came off the bench for the first time because the Gladiators had been utilizing a quicker, all-guard line-up to match up better with Stonewall's speed, but once he got his chance, the big fella contributed immediately with an old-fashioned three-point play to sneak the Pride in front 53-52.
Fouls were starting to mount up by this time as each team pretty much abandoned the outside game and seemed content to force the ball inside, confident that the stripes would bail them out, which they did repeatedly. Riverheads' Bradley Roberts was especially adept at drawing fouls as 7 of his team-high 15 points came from the charity stripe.
As the clock kept ticking, the remainder of the game saw SJ in front anywhere from 1 to 5 points with the Gladiators never quite able to get that key bucket or stop that would put them ahead. But they certainly had chances down the stretch.
The best one came with just over a minute left. Stonewall was leading 66-61, when Avery Schaefer drove down the lane for his only bucket of the night, and fouled out Kaelan Sorrells in the process. Schaefer missed the foul shot but the Gladiators got the rebound and kicked it out to Elijah Dunlap for a wide-open three that would have tied the score. The freshman missed it but RHS was still not quite done.
After some frantic back and forth action, the Big Red closed the gap to 67-65 and with 18 seconds left, it appeared from the visiting stands that the Gladiators had forced a turnover on an out-of-bounds call. The play was across the court, so our vantage point was not the best. One ref ruled Stonewall ball and for maybe a nano-second, it looked as if a second official was running up to overrule him, but the call stood and the Generals closed it out at the foul line.
As it has all season, RHS had a very balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures. In addition to Roberts' 15, Fulton finished with 14, Painter with 12, and Drew Bond with 11, most of which came on hard-earned points in the paint. There was no PA announcement of scoring which made it hard for me to tell who the standout might have been for the Generals. They too may have had a balanced attack.
Riverheads salvaged a split on the night with a 58-43 JV victory. Although most Gladiator games this year have featured the outside marksmanship of Adam Painter or the hustle points of Zack Adams (sometimes both coming in the same game), each of those guys had a quieter game tonight, which allowed the fans to enjoy the talents of another potential star of the future, none other than a Mr. Kaden Welcher.
The spunky eighth-grader scored the first eight points to jump-start RHS and had 10 by the end of the first quarter. He stayed hot from there and when he stroked his fourth and fifth triple of the game, each of which came in the first minute of the third quarter, he was single-handedly outscoring the entire Generals team 21-18. He received a well-deserved rest after that and his teammates easily wrapped up the win.
The Junior G-men finished 8-11 on the season and it will be interesting next year to see how they blend with the 8 guys who could potentially return from the varsity, since RHS only graduates two seniors.
One more thing......kudos to the Stonewall Jackson concession stand, which continues to reign as the finest in the area. Every time you go there, they have something new and different and it was the talk of the visiting stands tonight, with lines around the corner at every break in the action. Keep up the good work!
After four wild and woolly, back and forth quarters and what seemed like 72 fouls from a whistle-happy trio of officials, the Generals finally prevailed but it went right down to the final seconds before the home team could celebrate. As a result of the win, the Conference 44 website now shows Stonewall ever-so-slightly ahead of Riverheads, but the Generals still have a game left at Luray on Tuesday, and if they should lose that, who knows what impact that might have.
All we know for sure is that the two teams will meet again in a conference semi-final game on Tuesday the 14th, and that the winner of that game will likely face a trip to Altavista that Thursday. What we DON'T know at the moment is whether Riverheads will travel again to Stonewall for that semi-final game or whether they will somehow get to host it, even though Stonewall swept the season series. Fortunately we have people out there smarter than me to figure out those things!
Tonight's game started out as many have this season, rather slowly as the two teams were feeling each other out. Each enjoyed a three-point lead in the first, which ended with RHS ahead 13-10.
The pace picked up dramatically in the second quarter, primarily due to Riverheads' quick freshmen duo of Braeson Fulton and Grant Painter stepping up the defensive pressure, creating some steals, and getting some transition buckets. They had 19 points between them at the half as the Big Red took a 34-27 lead into the locker room.
Painter then stroked a triple from deep in the right corner to open the third quarter that gave RHS the largest lead (10) that either team enjoyed all night. But just when it looked like the visitors might be ready to take command of the game, the Generals caught their second wind.
They outscored RHS 19-7 over the rest of the quarter, finally taking the lead at 42-40. Riverheads tied it but the home team led 46-44 heading into the fourth.
Stonewall kept driving and took as much as a six-point lead at 52-46, only to see RHS go on a seven-point spurt to re-take the lead. Austin Craft, Riverheads' 6'6" senior center, came off the bench for the first time because the Gladiators had been utilizing a quicker, all-guard line-up to match up better with Stonewall's speed, but once he got his chance, the big fella contributed immediately with an old-fashioned three-point play to sneak the Pride in front 53-52.
Fouls were starting to mount up by this time as each team pretty much abandoned the outside game and seemed content to force the ball inside, confident that the stripes would bail them out, which they did repeatedly. Riverheads' Bradley Roberts was especially adept at drawing fouls as 7 of his team-high 15 points came from the charity stripe.
As the clock kept ticking, the remainder of the game saw SJ in front anywhere from 1 to 5 points with the Gladiators never quite able to get that key bucket or stop that would put them ahead. But they certainly had chances down the stretch.
The best one came with just over a minute left. Stonewall was leading 66-61, when Avery Schaefer drove down the lane for his only bucket of the night, and fouled out Kaelan Sorrells in the process. Schaefer missed the foul shot but the Gladiators got the rebound and kicked it out to Elijah Dunlap for a wide-open three that would have tied the score. The freshman missed it but RHS was still not quite done.
After some frantic back and forth action, the Big Red closed the gap to 67-65 and with 18 seconds left, it appeared from the visiting stands that the Gladiators had forced a turnover on an out-of-bounds call. The play was across the court, so our vantage point was not the best. One ref ruled Stonewall ball and for maybe a nano-second, it looked as if a second official was running up to overrule him, but the call stood and the Generals closed it out at the foul line.
As it has all season, RHS had a very balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures. In addition to Roberts' 15, Fulton finished with 14, Painter with 12, and Drew Bond with 11, most of which came on hard-earned points in the paint. There was no PA announcement of scoring which made it hard for me to tell who the standout might have been for the Generals. They too may have had a balanced attack.
Riverheads salvaged a split on the night with a 58-43 JV victory. Although most Gladiator games this year have featured the outside marksmanship of Adam Painter or the hustle points of Zack Adams (sometimes both coming in the same game), each of those guys had a quieter game tonight, which allowed the fans to enjoy the talents of another potential star of the future, none other than a Mr. Kaden Welcher.
The spunky eighth-grader scored the first eight points to jump-start RHS and had 10 by the end of the first quarter. He stayed hot from there and when he stroked his fourth and fifth triple of the game, each of which came in the first minute of the third quarter, he was single-handedly outscoring the entire Generals team 21-18. He received a well-deserved rest after that and his teammates easily wrapped up the win.
The Junior G-men finished 8-11 on the season and it will be interesting next year to see how they blend with the 8 guys who could potentially return from the varsity, since RHS only graduates two seniors.
One more thing......kudos to the Stonewall Jackson concession stand, which continues to reign as the finest in the area. Every time you go there, they have something new and different and it was the talk of the visiting stands tonight, with lines around the corner at every break in the action. Keep up the good work!
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