Pride blanks Wilson

GREENVILLE — Wilson Memorial coach Derek McDaniel said it best.

“It was an old fashioned [whoopin’]. We were taken to the woodshed,” McDaniel said after Riverheads slapped a 28-0 Shenandoah District win over the Green Hornets on Friday.

“They just pounded us and pounded us and did whatever they wanted to do to us,” he said.

The Gladiators scored in every quarter, held the Hornets to just 176 yards of offense and made very few mistakes.

Riverheads won with very little fanfare — no big plays, no long kick returns — just the patented Gladiator grind-it-out, pound-it-out, offense and a stiff in-your-face defense.

“Things are starting to mesh,” Gladiator coach Robert Casto said.  “We ran the ball very, very well — credit the offensive line — and we scored 28 points against a very good defense.  No one else has done that.  They are a good defensive team.”

Riverheads set the tone with its first possession, as Demetrius Younger and Montana Puffenbarger shredded the Wilson defense on the ground while Cameron Brown added the aerial attack.  Riverheads was a perfect 3-for-3 on third down conversions and Puffenbarger took a pitch for the final four yards for the score on the game-opening drive.  Brandon Campbell kicked the extra point for an early 7-0 lead.

Wilson tried to answer, but a drive to the RHS 29-yard line was snuffed by a couple of good defensive stands.

The hosts immediately went back to work on the offense as Puffenbarger carried four times for 38 yards and Brown competed two passes for 23 yards.  Joseph Cash got the call on fourth-and-goal and bulled in from the 1 as Riverheads took the 14-0 lead into intermission.

It was more of the same in the second half.

Wilson (2-4,0-1 Shenandoah District) moved the ball into Gladiator territory, but got no further than the Riverheads’ 44.

Another 11-play, 80-yard drive put the game out of reach.

Again it was Puffenbarger who did the work.  The junior carried four times in the series for 54 yards, but it was Younger’s 2-yard plunge to pay dirt that made the score.

After a Wilson drive to the Gladiator red zone ended with a Puffenbarger interception, Riverheads went the length of the field with a seven-minute drive for the final score.  Dustin Skillman hit the last three extra points to round out the scoring.

Puffenbarger finished with 141 yards on 19 carries while Brown hit 5-of-10 passes for 54 yards for Riverheads (4-2, 1-0 Shenandoah).

Wilson’s leading rusher was Connery Swift with 49 yards on seven carries.  Quarterback Jake Bailey completed 5-of-12 passes for 77 yards but threw the big interception in the final frame.

“We just didn’t make the plays,” McDaniel said.  “We didn’t execute offensively all night.  Riverheads just wore us down.”