Gladiators Slay ‘Cats, 62-20 Fridley Steps Up At Quarterback After Injury To Tyree
Facing a powerful running offense, the Rockbridge County High School football team suffered a 62-20 road loss to Shenandoah District rival Riverheads on Friday night in Staunton.
With the loss, their 18th consecutive setback, the Wildcats fell to 0-8 overall and 0-6 in the district. The Wildcats allowed their highest point total by an opponent this season.
RC faced a major setback when sophomore quarterback Taylan Tyree suffered a broken ankle late in the first quarter, but junior Carson Fridley had a solid performance stepping in for Tyree. Fridley completed 8-of-12 passes with several interceptions for 100 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed for about 40 yards.
“He stepped up when we needed him to,” said RC head coach Zack Rhodenizer of Fridley. “Overall, I was really pleased with how hard he played. He’s an electric guy.”
Before Tyree was injured, he reached the end zone early, slipping in from one yard out to give the Wildcats a touchdown with 3:50 to go in the first quarter. The score was set up by a 71-yard kickoff return by Fridley.
The Gladiators (5-2 overall, 3-2 district) were tough to stop, however, racking up 293 rushing yards and scoring six rushing TDs in the first half to take a 42-13 halftime lead. Skyler Shiflett scored the first TD for Riverheads on a 1-yard run and then broke loose for a 46-yard run. With 34 seconds left in the first quarter, Jackson Riverheads sprinted 91 yards down the sideline for a TD to extend the Gladiators’ lead to 21-7.
In the second quarter, Gage Hutton scored on an 8-yard run for Riverheads, and Ryan Payne ran for two TDs, from 15 yards out and then from six yards out.
Fridley scored a TD for the Wildcats on a 48-yard run in the second quarter, breaking several tackles on his way to the end zone.
To start the second half, Xavier Stuart of Riverheads bobbled the opening kickoff, recovered the ball and raced 90 yards for a TD. The Gladiators scored one TD through the air when quarterback Kendal Edwards connected on a 90-yard pass to Trevor Lima with 3:33 left in the game.
The Wildcats added one more score, with just one second left, when Fridley completed a 12-yard TD pass to Cole Fine.
For the game, Fine was on the receiving end of five passes for 49-yards, including a 24-yard reception. “Cole continues to run good routes and make good catches,” said Rhodenizer, noting Fine made a big fourth down conversion. “He continues to work hard and show up on Friday night.”
Harvey Presnell led the RC receivers with three catches for 58 yards, while Jhordane Campbell rushed for 30 yards.
Stepping up to make tackles for the Wildcats were linebackers Reilley Culton and Shayde Tomlin. For most of the game the RC defense missed Tyree at strong safety. Tyree also punts for the Wildcats, so Kolin Bennington stepped up to take on punting duties.
The Wildcats will play their final home game of the regular season on Friday at 7 p.m. when they face district rival Fort Defiance (2-5, 1-4).
The Indians are coming off a bye and, following a 34-14 win over Waynesboro on Sept. 11, have lost four consecutive games, all in the district. However, Rhodenizer knows they’ll be a challenging team, with talented running backs.
“[Fort] Coach Mike Yew does a good job up there,” said Rhodenzier. “They’ve got some good players.”
Before Friday’s kickoff, the Wildcats will honor their six seniors: John Clement, Maliq Corbin, Pat Looney, Piercen Knick, Brenden Staley and Cam Whitlock.
