The Big Red moved to 3-0 on the season tonight and if it had not been for a strange breakaway run for the Waynesboro touchdown, they might have pitched a third straight shut-out.
The running duo of Tyler Davis and Zac Smiley, each only an eighth-grader, scored all the points as the Gladiators did not even attempt a pass that I recall. RHS had a 24-0 lead by the opening minute of the second quarter.
However, shortly after their third score, Waynesboro's Tyleik Cabell somehow broke out of a gang tackle in front of his own bench and streaked 68 yards down the far sideline for the first TD the Gladiators had given up all season, after opening with a pair of 22-0 shutouts over Lee High and Central Woodstock.
Sadly the Gladiators may have paid a price for the victory as starting quarterback Elijah Dunlap was injured in the second quarter and left the field. Word in the stands was that he suffered a broken collarbone, and if so, I would assume that would be a season-ending injury.
His replacement, tiny eighth-grader Cyrus Cox, filled in admirably and saved the win, but the difference in size and athleticism between the two will be noticeable as the Gladiator season continues. They will be at Luray next week, which likely would have been a tough game with a fully healthy team.
The running duo of Tyler Davis and Zac Smiley, each only an eighth-grader, scored all the points as the Gladiators did not even attempt a pass that I recall. RHS had a 24-0 lead by the opening minute of the second quarter.
However, shortly after their third score, Waynesboro's Tyleik Cabell somehow broke out of a gang tackle in front of his own bench and streaked 68 yards down the far sideline for the first TD the Gladiators had given up all season, after opening with a pair of 22-0 shutouts over Lee High and Central Woodstock.
Sadly the Gladiators may have paid a price for the victory as starting quarterback Elijah Dunlap was injured in the second quarter and left the field. Word in the stands was that he suffered a broken collarbone, and if so, I would assume that would be a season-ending injury.
His replacement, tiny eighth-grader Cyrus Cox, filled in admirably and saved the win, but the difference in size and athleticism between the two will be noticeable as the Gladiator season continues. They will be at Luray next week, which likely would have been a tough game with a fully healthy team.