Playoff preview: Riverheads, Clarke ready for Region 2B semifinal clash Friday night

GREENVILLE — The last two times Riverheads has taken the field it has put up at least 60 points, maybe a sign that this offense is peaking at the right time of the season.

The defense has been solid all season, giving up fewer than 13 points a game, and that includes giving up 35 to Waynesboro, a number that still irks Riverheads Head Coach Ray Norcross, a former defensive coordinator.

Both units appear to be in playoff form, which could be bad news for any upcoming opponent for the second-seeded Gladiators. Next on that list is Clarke County in the Region 2B semifinals Friday night in Greenville. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

"We've improved quite a bit in the last four weeks," Norcross said of his 10-1 Gladiators. "Our injuries have seemed to heal up. We're finally back to full strength. We've been working really hard on all three aspects of the team in order to get them ready for this playoff run."

Clarke is certainly no slouch. The Eagles come into the game Friday with a 9-2 record and fresh off a 21-7 win over the region's No. 3 seed Buckingham.

Clarke Coach Casey Childs said his team wasn't playing very well, and had a few injuries, when it lost to Strasburg on Oct. 20. Since then they have put together three wins in a row by a combined score of 93-14.

"Since coming back from (Strasburg) we were able to get some guys back," Childs said. "Last week we went on the road to Buckingham and beat a very good team. They were 9-1 and had some tremendous athletes, to say the least. So we're happy where we are, but you're only as good as your last game."

Both teams are used to the playoffs. Riverheads has won seven straight Class 1 state championships before moving up to Class 2 this year. None of its current players has ever lost a postseason game. With the exception of the COVID spring season, Clarke has reached the playoffs every year since 2007 and played for a state title back in 2015.

Riverheads' Cayden Cook-Cash, a Division 1 college talent that has received offers from the University of Virginia and the University of Maine, has scored 11 touchdowns in the last two games, mixing in scores both as a running back and linebacker. Against Madison in the first round of the playoffs he scored twice on defense, once on a 55-yard interception return and once on a 20-yard fumble return. Those were in addition to four rushing touchdowns, including one for 91 yards.

"I would say Cayden is as close to 100% as he's been since the very first game," Norcross said. Cook-Cash has battled injuries and missed time this year, but he seems to be healthy for the playoffs.

Norcross said Cook-Cash's doctors reported that a foot injury suffered earlier in the season wasn't as bad as they had first feared. That is great news for Cook-Cash and the Riverheads football team. Norcross said it speaks volumes about the senior's character and commitment to the Gladiators that he didn't want to sit out the rest of the season as he prepared for college.

"He's a tremendous player and he's getting the offers that he's getting for a reason," Childs said. "He combines the size and ability and speed all in one. It's something you don't see a whole lot of in the 2A level. You've got to focus on him. The issues is, he's not all they have. They have.a lot more."

Childs is correct, Riverheads isn't a one-person team. Sophomore running back Jonathan Talbott earned second-team all district honors and carried a bulk of the load when Cook-Cash was out. Now, the two give Riverheads a mighty one-two punch that is hard to stop.

And the offensive line is one of the best around, placing three players — Payton Snell, Mitchell Withrow and Storm Bertch — on the all-district teams. Quarterback Levi Dunlap is solid under center and can throw the ball when needed.

The offense should be fine Friday. It could be the defense that is tested most against a single-wing attack that Riverheads hasn't seen since Buffalo Gap ran it several years ago. Clarke is scoring 31.2 points a game.

The formation was invented by Pop Warner and is still used by some high school teams. It's all about deception and power with an unbalanced line causing issues for opponents.

"The single wing is so old that it's new," Norcross said. "There's not many people who run that but Clarke is one of those who runs it very well."

Norcross said assignment football is crucial for his defense if it wants to slow down Clarke.

"There's so much action going on behind their line," Norcross said. "Misdirections, guys going in both directions. If you're not confident in what you do and you don't hold to your assignments they can break a big play on you with a number of players."

Will Booker and Tanner Sipe have both accounted for more than 1,000 yards this season for Clarke. Booker has 1,147 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns on the ground. He's also caught 10 passes for 142 yards. Sipe has run for 621 yards and nine touchdowns and thrown for another 397 yards on 30-for-55 passing.

Carson Chinn is the team's leading tackler with 135 out of the middle linebacker spot.

The teams have three common opponents this season. Riverheads beat Buffalo Gap 42-13 while Clarke beat the Bison 40-7. Both teams have also played Madison County, with Riverheads winning 69-14 and Clarke winning 42-7. Both teams lost to unbeaten Central Woodstock, the region's top seed. Riverheads fell 8-7 to open the season while Clarke lost 20-7 in early October. The winner Friday may get another crack at Central, who plays Strasburg in the other regional semifinal.

Riverheads and Clarke haven't played one another since 2008, but Childs and Clarke know what they are facing coming into Augusta County Friday night.

"I think you'd have to have your head under a rock not to know about Riverheads," Childs said. "We're fully aware of everything Riverheads has accomplished. They're just.a tremendous program with tremendous players."

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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Riverheads, Clarke ready for Region 2B semifinal clash Friday night