Augusta County teams have learned over the years that winning any game in any sport at Buffalo Gap is tough. So when you can win two in the same night and by shutout too, you have truly had a good night. Such was the case tonight for Riverheads in the Middle School/JV doubleheader as the little guys prevailed 18-0 and the JVs completed the sweep with a 14-0 victory.
I only got to see the second half of the Middle School game. RHS was leading 12-0 when I arrived and the second half could not have started any worse for the home-standing Bison. Their first four plays were two bad snaps, a false start penalty, and a sack in the backfield. That left them facing something like 4th and 32 and by the time RHS fielded the punt, they were three yards closer than where the Bison had started the half. It only took two or three plays to score their third TD and 7th-grader Kalvin Huffer got the honors on a 20 yard sweep around right end. Neither team threatened after that.
The Big Red's JV win was all about ball control. They had two long drives in the first half and although the Bison did manage to stop them inside the five-yard line on the first of those drives, they succeeded in possessing the football for something like 16 of the first 20 minutes. They pushed across the score on a one-yard plunge from Cason Croft but failed on the PAT to take a 6-0 lead at the break.
BG then had its best chance of the night to get in the game when they took the second half kickoff around their own 40 and seemed much more energetic than they had been in the first half. They marched into Gladiator territory but just when it looked like they might tie things up or even take the lead, Porter Humphreys saved the day for the Big Red when he busted through the line and sacked the quarterback to force the Bison into a fourth and long.
They failed to convert and Riverheads then embarked on the game-clinching drive which carried over into the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. I did not catch who scored the TD but I am pretty sure that Croft ran in the PAT. He, along with Jackson Stuples and Gage Hutton, were the leading ball carriers on the evening.
For the Middle School team, they are now 1-1 on the season and will host Wilson next Thursday. The Gladiator JVs are 2-1 and that only loss was just by two points at East Rockingham. Obviously they too will play Wilson next Thursday.
But next up for Gap/Riverheads fans will be the varsity game Friday night in Greenville. Each team lost its district opener last week, so someone will be dropping down to 0-2 in Shenandoah play and neither team wants that. Not that you ever need a real reason for those two to get up for a game!
I only got to see the second half of the Middle School game. RHS was leading 12-0 when I arrived and the second half could not have started any worse for the home-standing Bison. Their first four plays were two bad snaps, a false start penalty, and a sack in the backfield. That left them facing something like 4th and 32 and by the time RHS fielded the punt, they were three yards closer than where the Bison had started the half. It only took two or three plays to score their third TD and 7th-grader Kalvin Huffer got the honors on a 20 yard sweep around right end. Neither team threatened after that.
The Big Red's JV win was all about ball control. They had two long drives in the first half and although the Bison did manage to stop them inside the five-yard line on the first of those drives, they succeeded in possessing the football for something like 16 of the first 20 minutes. They pushed across the score on a one-yard plunge from Cason Croft but failed on the PAT to take a 6-0 lead at the break.
BG then had its best chance of the night to get in the game when they took the second half kickoff around their own 40 and seemed much more energetic than they had been in the first half. They marched into Gladiator territory but just when it looked like they might tie things up or even take the lead, Porter Humphreys saved the day for the Big Red when he busted through the line and sacked the quarterback to force the Bison into a fourth and long.
They failed to convert and Riverheads then embarked on the game-clinching drive which carried over into the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. I did not catch who scored the TD but I am pretty sure that Croft ran in the PAT. He, along with Jackson Stuples and Gage Hutton, were the leading ball carriers on the evening.
For the Middle School team, they are now 1-1 on the season and will host Wilson next Thursday. The Gladiator JVs are 2-1 and that only loss was just by two points at East Rockingham. Obviously they too will play Wilson next Thursday.
But next up for Gap/Riverheads fans will be the varsity game Friday night in Greenville. Each team lost its district opener last week, so someone will be dropping down to 0-2 in Shenandoah play and neither team wants that. Not that you ever need a real reason for those two to get up for a game!
