The visiting Gladiators lost three critical fumbles in tonight's game and the Junior Eagles made sure that all three directly impacted the game as the home team held on to win 14-12 in each team's season opener.
The Gladiators struck first but not without a price as two key players went out on injuries in back to back plays. First running back Colston Wheeler went down with a leg injury late in the first quarter and was eventually fitted for crutches.
However, Gage Hutton stepped up on behalf of his teammate on the very next play and rambled down the far sideline for about 50 yards for the first of two Gladiator big plays. It momentarily appeared that he had scored but he was ruled out of bounds around the 20. It was not obvious at the time but he too spent the rest of the game on the bench and the word in the stands was that it was concussion protocol.
His big run did inspire his teammates and after several more plays, Cason Croft squeezed into the end zone from two yards out to give RHS a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter. As the clock ticked down to the halftime break the Big Red was in a good position to hold that lead but when ER pinned them deep with a well-placed punt, disaster struck with the first of those fumbles.
The Eagles pounced on it around the 6 and then needed just two plays to score. They attempted a single point PAT but the snap was bobbled and they tried to throw a pass for two. The pass was incomplete but Riverheads was called for PI and the Eagles then went successfully for two to take an 8-6 lead with just 21 seconds left in the half.
The entire second half was all about ER's ball control. They ate up half the third quarter clock on a drive but Riverheads stopped them on downs and took over around their own 40. Still trailing just 8-6 with a chance to re-take the lead, the Gladiators instead coughed up the ball for the second time.
That led to ER's second long drive of the half, which carried into the fourth and ate up most of the clock. Finally they punched across their second TD on a quarterback keeper to go up 14-6. The kicker tried his luck again and this time the process went smoother but the kick was wide left.
They had left Riverheads with only 2:13 on the clock and although it was early in the season, there was no reason to think the Big Red was a big play team. But to everyone's surprise, quarterback Trent Donathan lofted a 40-yard pass down the RHS sideline, which Croft caught in a crowd and took it in for the score.
That of course set the stage for a potential tying conversion and the possibility of overtime. The Gladiators ran their patented double reverse and it briefly appeared that the ball carrier had broken the plane. Instead the end result was the third and most damaging fumble of the night, which the Eagles gladly pounced on to seal the hard-fought win.
For the rest of the season, all Gladiator JV games will be Thursday night affairs and some will involve Middle School/JV doubleheaders, which the Augusta County schools voted in this year. The first of those is a couple of weeks away but first the Gladiators will host Altavista next Thursday the 4th.
As for the RHS varsity, as covered in my preview a few days ago, they open at home Friday night against Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy in a first-time ever encounter.
The Gladiators struck first but not without a price as two key players went out on injuries in back to back plays. First running back Colston Wheeler went down with a leg injury late in the first quarter and was eventually fitted for crutches.
However, Gage Hutton stepped up on behalf of his teammate on the very next play and rambled down the far sideline for about 50 yards for the first of two Gladiator big plays. It momentarily appeared that he had scored but he was ruled out of bounds around the 20. It was not obvious at the time but he too spent the rest of the game on the bench and the word in the stands was that it was concussion protocol.
His big run did inspire his teammates and after several more plays, Cason Croft squeezed into the end zone from two yards out to give RHS a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter. As the clock ticked down to the halftime break the Big Red was in a good position to hold that lead but when ER pinned them deep with a well-placed punt, disaster struck with the first of those fumbles.
The Eagles pounced on it around the 6 and then needed just two plays to score. They attempted a single point PAT but the snap was bobbled and they tried to throw a pass for two. The pass was incomplete but Riverheads was called for PI and the Eagles then went successfully for two to take an 8-6 lead with just 21 seconds left in the half.
The entire second half was all about ER's ball control. They ate up half the third quarter clock on a drive but Riverheads stopped them on downs and took over around their own 40. Still trailing just 8-6 with a chance to re-take the lead, the Gladiators instead coughed up the ball for the second time.
That led to ER's second long drive of the half, which carried into the fourth and ate up most of the clock. Finally they punched across their second TD on a quarterback keeper to go up 14-6. The kicker tried his luck again and this time the process went smoother but the kick was wide left.
They had left Riverheads with only 2:13 on the clock and although it was early in the season, there was no reason to think the Big Red was a big play team. But to everyone's surprise, quarterback Trent Donathan lofted a 40-yard pass down the RHS sideline, which Croft caught in a crowd and took it in for the score.
That of course set the stage for a potential tying conversion and the possibility of overtime. The Gladiators ran their patented double reverse and it briefly appeared that the ball carrier had broken the plane. Instead the end result was the third and most damaging fumble of the night, which the Eagles gladly pounced on to seal the hard-fought win.
For the rest of the season, all Gladiator JV games will be Thursday night affairs and some will involve Middle School/JV doubleheaders, which the Augusta County schools voted in this year. The first of those is a couple of weeks away but first the Gladiators will host Altavista next Thursday the 4th.
As for the RHS varsity, as covered in my preview a few days ago, they open at home Friday night against Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy in a first-time ever encounter.
