The Riverheads Middle School and JV teams enjoyed another successful evening as they rolled past Staunton by scores of 30-6 and 46-6.
The Middle Schoolers took a 22-0 halftime lead but Staunton, which is to say the Shelburne Highlanders, strung together a series of passing plays that led to an 11 yard scoring toss to put them on the board. That score however fired up the Gladiators' top running back Kalvin Huffer, because he almost single-handedly led the Big Red down the field for their final TD of the evening. On several plays, he dragged defenders an extra 5 or 10 yards after the initial contact. The win leaves RMS with a record of 4-3 on the season.
The JV game was all about explosive big plays as the Gladiators only needed 18 seconds to take command of the game. That was because Colston Wheeler took the opening kickoff straight up the middle and appeared ready to score before a determined Storm defender brought him down at the two. However, he carried it in on the first play from scrimmage as well as the two-point conversion for a quick 8-0 lead.
Moments later the Gladiators tackled a Storm ball carrier in the end zone for a safety, and followed that up with another TD and two-pointer to make the score 18-0 after one. Staunton then scored its only TD to close to within 18-6.
But before the half, the Gladiators added a pair of long TDs to put the game completely out of reach. The first one came from Jackson Stuples, who richly deserved it. First he scampered about 40 yards downfield, only to see it come back on a holding penalty. Moments later, he got a second chance and ran almost the exact same play but this time took it to the house to make the score 24-6.
In the waning seconds of the second period, quarterback Trent Donathan got into the big-play parade as he took off around right end on a naked bootleg. Instead of getting the usual short yardage one of those is designed for, he rolled down the far sideline untouched, then cut back across the grain to complete a 57 yard scoring play. That made the halftime score 32-6 and the Gladiators coasted from there to the 46-6 final.
The two victorious teams will be right back in action Monday night as they will travel to Waynesboro for their final regular-season games. I am told that the Gladiator JVs will then qualify for a unique exhibition game against the best team from the Valley District. It won't be a "regional" game but more of a bragging rights kind of thing. I am not sure who the opponent will be but the Valley District team will host that game next Thursday.
So for all you former players who remember the aches and pains from playing just one game a week, imagine these youngsters playing three games within a span of eight calendar days!
The Middle Schoolers took a 22-0 halftime lead but Staunton, which is to say the Shelburne Highlanders, strung together a series of passing plays that led to an 11 yard scoring toss to put them on the board. That score however fired up the Gladiators' top running back Kalvin Huffer, because he almost single-handedly led the Big Red down the field for their final TD of the evening. On several plays, he dragged defenders an extra 5 or 10 yards after the initial contact. The win leaves RMS with a record of 4-3 on the season.
The JV game was all about explosive big plays as the Gladiators only needed 18 seconds to take command of the game. That was because Colston Wheeler took the opening kickoff straight up the middle and appeared ready to score before a determined Storm defender brought him down at the two. However, he carried it in on the first play from scrimmage as well as the two-point conversion for a quick 8-0 lead.
Moments later the Gladiators tackled a Storm ball carrier in the end zone for a safety, and followed that up with another TD and two-pointer to make the score 18-0 after one. Staunton then scored its only TD to close to within 18-6.
But before the half, the Gladiators added a pair of long TDs to put the game completely out of reach. The first one came from Jackson Stuples, who richly deserved it. First he scampered about 40 yards downfield, only to see it come back on a holding penalty. Moments later, he got a second chance and ran almost the exact same play but this time took it to the house to make the score 24-6.
In the waning seconds of the second period, quarterback Trent Donathan got into the big-play parade as he took off around right end on a naked bootleg. Instead of getting the usual short yardage one of those is designed for, he rolled down the far sideline untouched, then cut back across the grain to complete a 57 yard scoring play. That made the halftime score 32-6 and the Gladiators coasted from there to the 46-6 final.
The two victorious teams will be right back in action Monday night as they will travel to Waynesboro for their final regular-season games. I am told that the Gladiator JVs will then qualify for a unique exhibition game against the best team from the Valley District. It won't be a "regional" game but more of a bragging rights kind of thing. I am not sure who the opponent will be but the Valley District team will host that game next Thursday.
So for all you former players who remember the aches and pains from playing just one game a week, imagine these youngsters playing three games within a span of eight calendar days!