For a game that only had one score, tonight's RHS/BG tussle had more plot twists than a Hitchcock movie. The homestanding Bison finally won 7-0 but not before Riverheads drove inside the five-yard line, not once but twice. But the home team came up with the big defensive stop both times, which enabled their 80-yard touchdown drive to stand up. With the big win, the Gap is now 2-0 in Shenandoah District play, while Riverheads is an uncharacteristic 0-2.
Although tonight's game was Riverheads' best defensive effort of the season, the Gladiators most likely left the field quite frustrated over what could have been. In the first half alone, the Big Red had a handful of things go their way........a 40 yard naked bootleg by quarterback Kendal Edwards, a pair of holding penalties against the Gap, a surefire touchdown pass that a Bison receiver could not haul in, and a fumble recovery at midfield.
The Edwards' run gave the visitors by far their best chance to score. He was brought down on the 11 and subsequent plays moved the ball to the two. But just when the Bison needed it the most, they stepped it up with a goal line stand to deny Riverheads the early lead.
Although the Bison ultimately won, it was once again Riverheads that had the first big play of the second half, when Edwards found Trevor Lima over the middle for about a 35-yard gain. But the Big Red could not advance it any further and had to punt. That punt momentarily looked like it had been downed around the 1, but the Bison were instead awarded possession at the 20.
From there they moved confidently downfield and covered the 80 yards on a steady diet of Argenbright and Reed, with Reed ultimately scoring from about 7 yards out. The winning score came with around 8 minutes left.
The Gladiators managed two more possessions and pulled out all the stops to try and score. An Edwards pass to Skyler Shiftett earned them a first down, the bootleg worked again but for a shorter gain, and they even pulled a gadget hook and lateral play out of the bag.
As a result of all that desperation, the Big Red found themselves once again inside the five with less than a minute to play. We will never know if they would have gone for two and the win, or if they would have found themselves in overtime for the second time this season, because the Bison ended the suspense by falling on a Gladiator fumble around the three-yard line.
Statistically the game was rather even with each team somewhere around the 200 yard mark in total offense. To the Bison's credit, they managed to string together enough plays to score the winning TD, whereas for Riverheads it was certainly a case of missed opportunities.......two very promising ones.
Despite the loss, the Gladiators have to feel that they made progress tonight, especially on the defensive end, after surrendering an average of 28 points in their first three games. Next week they will host Wilson, a team that has its own issues after a 44-7 drubbing at the hands of Turner Ashby tonight.
As for the Bison, their 2-0 league start keeps pace with Stuarts Draft, which knocked off Fort Defiance tonight. The Bison will now travel to the Fort next week to see if they can make it 3-0. Alleghany and Waynesboro were the other two winners tonight in district action, defeating Staunton and Rockbridge respectively.
A big shout out to Mother Nature tonight. There were storms around in the afternoon and pre-game, but nothing fell during the game itself.
Although tonight's game was Riverheads' best defensive effort of the season, the Gladiators most likely left the field quite frustrated over what could have been. In the first half alone, the Big Red had a handful of things go their way........a 40 yard naked bootleg by quarterback Kendal Edwards, a pair of holding penalties against the Gap, a surefire touchdown pass that a Bison receiver could not haul in, and a fumble recovery at midfield.
The Edwards' run gave the visitors by far their best chance to score. He was brought down on the 11 and subsequent plays moved the ball to the two. But just when the Bison needed it the most, they stepped it up with a goal line stand to deny Riverheads the early lead.
Although the Bison ultimately won, it was once again Riverheads that had the first big play of the second half, when Edwards found Trevor Lima over the middle for about a 35-yard gain. But the Big Red could not advance it any further and had to punt. That punt momentarily looked like it had been downed around the 1, but the Bison were instead awarded possession at the 20.
From there they moved confidently downfield and covered the 80 yards on a steady diet of Argenbright and Reed, with Reed ultimately scoring from about 7 yards out. The winning score came with around 8 minutes left.
The Gladiators managed two more possessions and pulled out all the stops to try and score. An Edwards pass to Skyler Shiftett earned them a first down, the bootleg worked again but for a shorter gain, and they even pulled a gadget hook and lateral play out of the bag.
As a result of all that desperation, the Big Red found themselves once again inside the five with less than a minute to play. We will never know if they would have gone for two and the win, or if they would have found themselves in overtime for the second time this season, because the Bison ended the suspense by falling on a Gladiator fumble around the three-yard line.
Statistically the game was rather even with each team somewhere around the 200 yard mark in total offense. To the Bison's credit, they managed to string together enough plays to score the winning TD, whereas for Riverheads it was certainly a case of missed opportunities.......two very promising ones.
Despite the loss, the Gladiators have to feel that they made progress tonight, especially on the defensive end, after surrendering an average of 28 points in their first three games. Next week they will host Wilson, a team that has its own issues after a 44-7 drubbing at the hands of Turner Ashby tonight.
As for the Bison, their 2-0 league start keeps pace with Stuarts Draft, which knocked off Fort Defiance tonight. The Bison will now travel to the Fort next week to see if they can make it 3-0. Alleghany and Waynesboro were the other two winners tonight in district action, defeating Staunton and Rockbridge respectively.
A big shout out to Mother Nature tonight. There were storms around in the afternoon and pre-game, but nothing fell during the game itself.
