Riverheads and their neighbors to the south tuned up for Friday's first-ever varsity game with a Middle School/JV doubleheader in Greenville. In the opener, the Maury River Middle School Eagles handed the Gladiator Middle-Schoolers their first loss in quite some time with a 14-0 shutout. I only saw the second half but it was clear to me that there was a huge size difference which likely contributed to the win. Looking across the way, I could see one kid on the Maury sideline that looked like an honest-to-goodness 300 pounder.
However the one TD that I saw scored came on a nicely-executed 39 yard pass play that looked as good as anything a varsity team could do. After the visitors scored that TD early in the third quarter, Riverheads did get its run game cranked up and drove into the red zone, where a score would have made things interesting. But the Eagles slammed the door on them and took home the win.
The JV game on the other was a clinic by Riverheads, by far their best overall game of the season as they throttled the visitors 49-14. For all practical purposes, the game was over by the end of the first quarter as the running back duo of Colston Wheeler and Cason Croft combined for three scores and a pair of two-pointers to make the score 22-0.
The defense then took over as the Big Red scored four more TDs, each one directly coming from a defensive gem. They intercepted two passes, covered a pooch kick, and blocked a punt, and marched in for the score after each one.
Their two second-quarter TDS had us headed to a 36-0 halftime score but Riverheads was flagged on the last play of the half. Maury took full advantage and scored on a 36 yard TD pass, essentially a Hail Mary, on the final untimed play of the first half.
Riverheads scored twice in the second half, including yet another long run from Wheeler, who scampered in untouched from 53 yards out. The Eagles then closed out the scoring late in the game with a scoop and score on one of Riverheads' very few mistakes of the evening.
If I understood the PA announcer correctly, the two Gladiator teams will go their separate ways next Thursday night as the Middle Schoolers will travel to Stuarts Draft and the JV team will head to Alleghany. There will then be a final home doubleheader on the 30th vs. Staunton.
However the one TD that I saw scored came on a nicely-executed 39 yard pass play that looked as good as anything a varsity team could do. After the visitors scored that TD early in the third quarter, Riverheads did get its run game cranked up and drove into the red zone, where a score would have made things interesting. But the Eagles slammed the door on them and took home the win.
The JV game on the other was a clinic by Riverheads, by far their best overall game of the season as they throttled the visitors 49-14. For all practical purposes, the game was over by the end of the first quarter as the running back duo of Colston Wheeler and Cason Croft combined for three scores and a pair of two-pointers to make the score 22-0.
The defense then took over as the Big Red scored four more TDs, each one directly coming from a defensive gem. They intercepted two passes, covered a pooch kick, and blocked a punt, and marched in for the score after each one.
Their two second-quarter TDS had us headed to a 36-0 halftime score but Riverheads was flagged on the last play of the half. Maury took full advantage and scored on a 36 yard TD pass, essentially a Hail Mary, on the final untimed play of the first half.
Riverheads scored twice in the second half, including yet another long run from Wheeler, who scampered in untouched from 53 yards out. The Eagles then closed out the scoring late in the game with a scoop and score on one of Riverheads' very few mistakes of the evening.
If I understood the PA announcer correctly, the two Gladiator teams will go their separate ways next Thursday night as the Middle Schoolers will travel to Stuarts Draft and the JV team will head to Alleghany. There will then be a final home doubleheader on the 30th vs. Staunton.
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