Riverheads extends streak to 20, beats Draft

GREENVILLE — Heading into Friday night’s contest, Riverheads had not beaten Stuarts Draft since 2006 with the Cougars being responsible for the Gladiator’s last loss 19 games ago.

With a 28-point second quarter, the Gladiators rolled to a 7-0 record behind another dazzling performance by running backs Logan Moore and Jordan Jack to defeat the Cougars 56-21. The win extended the Gladiators winning streak to 20 games.

Moore led the way for the Gladiators with 276 rushing yards on 28 carries and finished with three touchdowns. Jack was right behind Moore’s performance, carrying the ball 16 times for 178 yards and four touchdowns.

“We were great tonight,” Gladiator coach Robert Casto said. “We knew what we had to do and everyone did their job.”

Moore found the end zone three times in the first half, including an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that swung the momentum in the Gladiators’ favor for good, putting them up 28-14 with 2:36 remaining until halftime.

“Anytime somebody returns a kickoff for a touchdown, it’s a game changer,” Cougar coach Rod Bowers said. “They had a great wedge set up and Logan is a threat anytime he touches the ball.”

Jack was responsible for the Gladiators’ only first quarter touchdown when he ran 6 yards around the left-side on their opening possession.

After Moore put Riverheads up 14-0 on a 6-yard touchdown carry, the Cougars were able to get on the board on a 51-yard pass and catch by quarterback Aaron Eppard and wide receiver Tyler Brydge.

The Cougars would cut the lead to seven points once again after Jack’s second touchdown of the night on Seth Stone’s 1-yard run. At 21-14, that would be as close as Draft would come to Riverheads for the rest of the night.

Leading 35-14 at halftime, Moore and Jack continued their dominance in the second half.

Jack scored twice in the half from 19 and 12 yards out, while Moore’s last rush of the game of 83 yards cemented the victory for Riverheads.

The one bright spot for the Cougars in the half came on quarterback Chris Knecht’s pass to a wide open Trey Terrell for a 95-yard score.

“It’s easy for everybody to come out and take away a few positives and negatives from the game, but it’s just a microcosm for us,” Bowers said. “Our week goes Monday through Friday and I’m proud of the way our Cougars played tonight.”