They’re rolling.

By defeating visiting Powhatan 50-23 at The Swamp on Friday, the James River Rapids are sitting at 5-1 with a bye week on the horizon to catch their collective breath, rest their bodies after a breakneck sprint through August and the first half of their season and, hopefully, get some of their injured guys back in uniform.

Make no mistake, though.

Slowing the pace a bit after their furious start doesn’t mean the Rapids are drifting into complacency or deviating from the mindset that has them eyeing a season unlike any that this current roster of players has experienced.

“You have to get back to the grind,” James River coach Bryan Jennings said. “We’ll watch some film. We’ll see some good stuff. We’ll see some bad stuff. We’ll talk about how we can continue to get better.

“We’ll keep ‘em in the moment. Keep ‘em focused on one day at a time, one week at a time. Don’t look too far ahead. The next big game we have is the next game: Richmond School for the Arts. That’s how we’ll approach it.”

The Rapids’ homecoming victory on this pleasant, breezy, mid-70’s evening did not come as easily as the point differential might suggest.

“Anytime you play Powhatan, you know you’re going to get a tough, hard-nosed team,” Jennings said. “Despite their record (0-5), don’t even look at that. This is a well-coached team. We knew they were going to give us a fight. They did. Hats off to them.”

The Indians’ first drive ended with Colin Sullivan’s 10-yard touchdown run and Hunter Shupp’s point-after at 8:30 of the first quarter.

The Rapids responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with Shamar Bridgeforth’s 5-yard TD run and the first of Grayson Schmidt’s six points-after at 2:08 of the first.

Cooper Hammitt’s 27-yard interception return on the first play of Powhatan’s next drive gave Jennings’ crew a lead it never relinquished.

“I saw the ball thrown across the middle,” said Hammitt, a 6-0, 205-pound senior linebacker. “Praying I caught it, and I did. Almost fell over. Glad I didn’t do that. Made it into the end zone safely.”

Unfazed, Powhatan, with Sullivan (22 carries, 112 yards) pulling yeoman’s duty, constructed a drive that reached the 9. The Rapids’ defense held fast, and Shupp’s 26-yard field goal cut the difference to 14-10.

The defensive stop was one of several that held the Indians at bay as they ran 64 plays for 290 yards to James River’s 43 plays for 277 yards.

“We struggled with the run at first,” Hammitt said, “but then we learned how to stop it, and our secondary really locked down. They run a funny offense with a lot of blockers, but we adjusted our defense to fill the gaps and make plays.”

Donovan Mayfield’s 28-yard TD pass to Ryan Turner at 1:24 of the second quarter enabled the Rapids to take a 21-10 lead into halftime.

James River’s initial third-quarter drive ended with a fumble (recovered by Kaleb Hill) on the Rapids’ 33, but Powhatan’s drive stalled at the 10.

Ever resilient, the Indians turned their bad fortune into a touchdown when Matthew Taylor deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage and into the arms of Gage Green, who took the interception 3 yards into the end zone.

With his team holding a tenuous 21-16 lead late in the third quarter, Mayfield engineered an 11-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Turner’s 7-yard TD run. 

Bridgeforth’s run off the left side for the 2-point conversion put the Rapids up 29-16 entering the fourth, and though the Indians were still in the game, Bridgeforth was just beginning his assault on their defense.

After an adroitly orchestrated, timely quarterback sack on fourth-and-5 gave the Rapids the ball on their 30, they needed just one play, Bridgeforth’s 70-yard sprint off the right side, to increase their lead to 36-16.

“It was more of a read-option than a give-off-to-me,” said Bridgeforth, a 6-2, 185-pound senior who rushed 10 times for 156 yards. “As soon as I cut up behind my right guard, William Darby, I just saw green grass and took off. It was amazing.”

True to its nature, Powhatan refused to capitulate.

At 7:17 of the fourth quarter, quarterback Russell Heinkie teamed with Chris DeShazo for a 33-yard TD, and Shupp’s PAT cut the difference to 36-23 and gave the visitors a ray of hope.

There would be no miracle finish, however.

Following an unsuccessful onside kick, Bridgeforth converted a third-and-11 into a 45-yard touchdown.

“It was another read-option,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to get the ball. Then, I didn’t think I’d make any progress on the play, but as soon as I cut it back, I saw one opponent beside me. He tried to grab me with his arms. I stiff-armed him, powered his hands down so he wouldn’t be able to catch me and cut it up the sideline.”

The Rapids’ final score came 10 seconds from the end when Taylor Cline skirted left end from 4 yards out.

“This definitely wasn’t easy,” said Mayfield, the quarterback who is a 6-1, 190-pound senior. “They had some guys who were making some plays. We’d make a stop and go down and score, but they’d come back and score. 

“Then, our defense made some stops, and Shamar made some big runs, broke some tackles, and got things going.”