Rushing, rushing, and more rushing. That's Riverheads and how they win Championships.
By defeating the Galax Maroon Tide 45-14 in the Class 1 Final on Saturday at Salem Stadium, the Gladiators won their 50th consecutive game. It's the nation's longest winning streak. They have now won six straight state titles - a VHSL record - and it's their ninth State Championship overall.
The last loss in a State Championship game for the Big Red Machine was in 2015 to Galax in a 7-6 nail-biter. The last loss in the regular season was September 2018 by a count of 28-0 to Class 2 member East Rockingham.
These Gladiators didn't just win every game to go unbeaten for the third straight year, they obliterated the competition. Riverheads outscored foes 633-148 on the season, an average of 49-11 per contest, which includes a 62-38 rout of perennial Class 3 contender Lord Botetourt on the road. Their closest game was a 28-10 win over Stuarts Draft, which played in back-to-back Class 2 State Finals prior to this season.
For Riverheads Head Football Coach Robert Casto, it all starts and ends in the trenches with his offensive line, which paved the way for 483 total yards with 439 of them coming on the ground.
"Give our offensive line all the credit," Casto said. "Galax is a physical bunch of kids. They played hard and we played hard."
Sophomore running back Cayden Cook-Cash put on a performance in the school's last game of the season. He scored four touchdowns, carrying the ball 18 times for 226 yards. Fellow running back Luke Bryant, a junior, had 176 yards on 15 rushes and scored a touchdown. Defensively, the Gladiators (14-0) held Galax to just 27 yards rushing on 22 carries for the first three quarters.
Riverheads got its first score when Cook-Cash bolted away for a 38-yard score with 3:42 to go in the opening quarter. Cook-Cash would hit paydirt again with 6:17 left in the first half as he rammed his way in from three yards out and Cooper Robson's kick made it 14-0 at intermission. Holding the powerful Gladiators to just two scores in the first half felt in some ways like an achievement for Galax.
But the third quarter saw the ground and pound attack of the Gladiators wear the Maroon Tide defense down. Cook-Cash scampered 62 yards to up their lead to 21-0 with 9:56 to go in the third.
Galax (11-3) did respond while down 21-0, finally scoring when quarterback Ian Ashworth sneaked in from the one-yard line and Alberto Vera point after made it 21-7 with 5:24 left in the third period.
Riverheads' next possession stalled and Robson hit a 21-yard field goal for a 24-7 lead. After stopping the next Galax possession, Riverheads struck again, this time on their first play from their 24,. Bryant took the handoff and went around the left end, down the Riverheads sideline for a 76-yard score to give his team a 31-7 cushion with only 59 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
After another defensive stop, Riverheads scored again with 8:58 left in the contest. This time Cook-Cash found the end zone on a nine-yard off-tackle run, and with Robson's kick, the score was 38-7.
The Maroon Tide would score, mainly moving down the field via the pass. Javonte Reeves took a pitch out and went around right end, turning upfield and down the Galax sideline on a 36-yard touchdown run to trim the deficit to 38-14 with six minutes remaining.
The final score came when Riverheads saw Aidan Miller rumble in from the 10-yard line with just two minutes to play.
"They have a heck of a program and team," said Galax Head Coach Shane Allen of the Gladiators. "We fought and I'm proud of our guys. Nobody expected us to be here."
And everyone expects the dominance from Riverheads, which out-gained the Maroon Tide 483-271 on the day, to continue. The Gladiators have now eliminated Galax from the playoffs four times since 2016, including on three occasions in the Stat Final, scoring no fewer than 31 points in any of those victories.
Inside the Numbers:
Riverheads - 7, 7, 17, 14 =45
Galax - 0, 0, 7, 7 = 14
Rushing- Riverheads- Cook-Cash 18-226, Bryant 15-176, Burton 5-19, Miller 3-13, Dunlap 1-3, Smiley 1-2, Galax - Reeves 14-83, Ashworth 19-60, Tucker 2- (minus 1)
Passing - Riverheads - Dunlap - 2-5-0 Ints.-0- Tds- 44 yds., Galax - Ashworth - 14-22-1 INT.- 0 Tds.- 129 yds.
Receptions- Riverheads - Burton 1-31, Lightner 1-13, Galax - Alderman 4-46, White 4-23, Cox 2-14, Tucker 2-16, Olinger 1-25, Barnes 1-5
First Downs - Riverheads- 22, Galax - 14
Fumbles/lost - Riverheads 0, Galax 0
Penalties - Riverheads - 2-20. Galax - 5-42
Total Yds- Riverheads - 483, Galax - 271
Punts/ Avg.- Riverheads - 1 / 33.0, Galax - 4 / 48.5
Turnovers - Riverheads - 0, Galax 1
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