Riverheads High School seeks to conquer eighth straight state championship

After winning seven consecutive VHSL Class 1 state football championships, Riverheads High School might have expected to hit a few speed bumps on the way back to a title game during its first year in Class 2.

Instead, it’s been a pretty smooth road for the school from Greenville in Augusta County, which has steamrolled its way through the postseason despite moving up a division. Awaiting Riverheads at Salem Stadium in Saturday’s Class 2 title game is an undefeated Radford squad. Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m.

The Riverheads Gladiators (13-1) have won all four of their playoff games by at least two touchdowns, producing an average margin of victory of 31.5 points. They pummeled Poquoson 37-7 in the state semifinals last weekend.

And yet head coach Ray Norcross — in his second year at the helm, but with five decades’ worth of experience as a Riverheads player and assistant coach under his belt — believes that the Gladiators are still seeking the esteem of the rest of Class 2 football.

“I think sometimes people confuse respect with acknowledgement,” Norcross said. “You earn respect, and I certainly feel like we earned it in [Class 1]. There’s nothing we’ve done in [Class 2] yet that’s worthy of us gaining people’s respect.”

(The Gladiators’ seven straight state titles in Class 1 is already a VHSL record; Washington High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota holds the national record, with 14 in a row between 1952 and 1965, according to Max Preps.)

Although that could certainly change on Saturday, the Bobcats (14-0) are anything but a pushover. Radford’s 29-24 victory over Three Rivers District rival Glenvar in the Region 2C championship was its only one-possession game all season long. The Bobcats bounced Graham, the 2022 Class 2 winner, 22-10 in the state semifinal round.

While the school boasts a proud gridiron tradition — longtime head coach Norm Lineburg, for whom Radford’s stadium is named, guided the team for 37 years and won a pair of state titles — the Bobcats are returning to the championship game for the first time since falling to Essex in the Group A Division 2 final back in 2009.

Third-year Radford coach Michael Crist is well-versed in his program’s history. His father, former Blacksburg mentor Dave Crist, coached against Lineburg for years, and the families knew — and respected — each other well.

“Coach [Lineburg] had laid the foundation for this program and built it to what it was,” Crist said. “I’ve always viewed it as my job to continue the traditions, and kind of build on what was in place.”

The teams’ resumes speak for themselves. Riverheads’ only blemish was an 8-7 setback in the season opener against last year’s Class 2 runner-up, Central Woodstock, and the Gladiators avenged that loss in rather emphatic fashion with a 41-14 blistering of the Falcons in the Region 1B championship. For its part, Radford won all 10 of its regular-season contests by at least 27 points, and the Bobcats average a quite healthy 45.5 points per game.

It’s no surprise, then, that two of the most gifted players in the state will be looking to lead their teams to glory in Salem on Saturday.

For Radford, that’s Elon University-bound Landen Clark. The senior quarterback has thrown for 3,109 yards and 36 touchdowns while rushing for 1,083 yards and 25 more scores. He’s also recorded more interceptions (10) from his safety spot on defense than he’s thrown as a QB (seven), returning five of those picks to the house.

Riverheads’ trademark power running game is helmed by Cayden Cook-Cash, who’s rushed for well over 1,300 yards this year despite missing three regular-season games due to injury.

According to Crist, Clark’s “elite skill set” — his ability to run, make any throw on the field and contribute on defense — isn’t even his top attribute. “The most important thing, and I think the separator from Landen Clark and everybody else, is his desire to compete and win,” Crist said.

But the Radford coach seems to think just as highly of the Gladiators’ star running back. “Cayden Cook-Cash is one of the best players in the state at any level,” Crist said.

The supporting casts aren’t half-bad, either. Clark’s favorite target, Max Kanipe, has racked up 1,380 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns, while Jonathan Talbott has complemented Cook-Cash’s contributions with over 1,100 rushing yards of his own.

So while both defenses have been impressive throughout the season, expect some points to be accumulated on Saturday.

“We have to score on the end of our drives in order to make this a competitive game,” Norcross said. “As good a team as Radford is, they will score. Hopefully, we can hold up our end on a great state championship game.”

The two squads’ recent trajectories are a little different. While the program left behind by Lineburg is almost always competitive — the Bobcats went 8-4 in Crist’s first season, and then reached the second round of the playoffs with a 10-2 mark in 2022 — its opponent has won eight state titles since Radford’s last appearance in a championship game some 14 years ago.

The Bobcats have put in the requisite hours in the weight room and on the practice field to earn their spot on the season’s final weekend.

“Our kids have worked tremendously hard. Work doesn’t guarantee success, but it gives you the opportunity,” Crist said. “To be rewarded for that doesn’t always happen in sports. To have that opportunity would be special for the kids.”

Meanwhile, despite a long spell of dominance in postseason football, the Gladiators aren’t taking anything for granted as they look to continue their run in a bigger division.

“We’re glad to be in this game, but we’re certainly not satisfied with just making an appearance,” Norcross said. “We go down there with the idea that we want to win and bring a state championship back to Augusta County.”