CAMERON — The Richmond Raider defense extended its streak of not allowing a single point to 10 consecutive quarters on Friday.
For the first time this season, the Richmond Senior High School football team notched back-to-back wins, shutting out Union Pines High School 26-0 on the road.
The scoreless stretch made it the first time since the 2019 season that the Raiders recorded consecutive shutouts, which came against Purnell Swett and Pinecrest high schools.
Also, the 10 quarters of not allowing an opposing offense to score is the longest stretch since head coach Bryan Till began his tenure in 2017.
As they continued to gain momentum in Sandhills Athletic Conference play, the Raiders used three rushing scores and three positive turnovers to blank the Vikings. Richmond added a field goal and a safety in the win.
Similar to last week’s win at Hoke County, the Raiders’ defense set the tone early. On Union Pines’ second possession, senior defensive end Jacoby Martin tailed quarterback Austin Mooring on a bootleg left for a safety. Setting the edge was junior linebacker Joe Parsons.
The quick two points, which came with 5:22 left in the first, was set up by a high snap. One of several in the game by the Vikings (2-5, 1-2 SAC), the loss of eight yards allowed Martin to get Richmond on the board.
Richmond started the ensuing drive at the Union Pines’ 38-yard line and the offense took just five plays to score.
A bad snap and a false start pushed the Raiders to second-and-25 at the 42-yard line, but a leaping catch in space by sophomore wide receiver Jayden Hamilton (four catches, 84 yards) from sophomore quarterback Domonic Tillman resulted in a 24-yard gain.
On the next play, senior running back Jaliel Green recorded Richmond’s only first-half touchdown. From the 18-yard line, Green muscled out of a herd of defenders to win a foot race inside the front right pylon.
Junior kicker Billy West’s successful point-after attempt gave the Raiders a 9-0 lead with 3:10 to go in the opening quarter.
Richmond’s defense, which limited the Vikings to 33 yards of offense in the opening two quarters, used a pass break-up and a miscue to end the next series on a turnover on downs.
Rolling over from the first to the second quarter, senior defensive back Marquan Martin had a pass defensed in the end zone on first-and-goal.
A stop by junior nose tackle Tate Simpson for no gain was followed by another high snap. The loss of 16 yards ended with a tackle-for-loss of Mooring by sophomore linebacker Terande Spencer.
Going for it on fourth down, Mooring’s pass attempt intended for Caleb Milton fell incomplete.
Catches by Hamilton (37 yards) and sophomore wideout Keonta Pegues (six yards) on the next series put the Raiders in the red zone. Hamilton made his catch in double coverage along the sideline.
A 27-yard field goal attempt was no good, but after another three-and-out forced by Richmond’s defense, West split the uprights from 19 yards to make it a 12-0 lead.
Tillman (14-of-24, 184 yards) collected 37 of his 59 rushing yards on a read option to move the sticks just prior to the three-point play.
Both teams traded picks to close the half, first by Richmond’s senior defensive back David McNair. But a tipped pass three plays later was grabbed by Union Pines’ Zion Kiser.
Receiving the second-half kickoff, the Raiders added to their lead on a six-play, 54-yard scoring drive. Green (16 carries, 127 yards), who recorded his second straight two-touchdown performance, broke loose for a 23-yard gain to move inside the 15-yard line.
Ending the series with his second rushing score of the game, Green plowed ahead from five yards out. West’s PAT extended Richmond’s advantage to 19-0 with just over nine minutes to go in the third.
Union Pines had a chance to score on its next possession, getting inside the red zone. A combined tackle-for-loss by Parsons and Spencer on Mooring on first down led to three consecutive incompletions from Richmond’s 20-yard line by quarterback Anthony Goswick.
The next two series resulted in turnovers by both teams, first by the Raiders on a fumble following a completion inside of Union Pines’ 20-yard line.
Green exited the game on that drive with an apparent injury, which saw junior tailback Jordan Bostick carry the rushing responsibilities the rest of the game.
Just four snaps into the Vikings’ drive, a forced fumble was snatched up by senior defensive back Jamison Jones with 1:41 to go in the third.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Vikings driving in the Raiders’ territory, junior defensive back AJ Covington came up with a timely interception.
Picking Goswick’s pass at the Richmond four-yard line, Covington recorded his first varsity interception to help preserve the shutout.
A drive later, Bostick (16 rushes, 58 yards) put the icing on the cake for the Raiders. Completing an eight-play, 52-yard march, he ran to the left side and scored from seven yards.
A 27-yard catch and run from Pegues (four catches, 51 yards) helped move the ball across midfield. West was true again on the PAT to score the game’s final point with 1:23 left in regulation.
The game clock ran out with the Vikings trying to move the ball at their own 35-yard line.
Richmond collected 21 first downs in the win while holding Union Pines to nine. Running 67 plays, the Raiders racked up 415 yards of total offense (231 rushing, 184 passing).
The defense surrendered more yards in the final two stanzas but held the Vikings to just 139 yards of total offense (71 passing, 68 rushing).
Junior wide receiver Nicholas Griggs was one of three Raiders to catch four passes from Tillman, adding 44 receiving yards.
Improving to 3-5 overall and 3-1 against SAC opponents, Richmond will return to Raider Stadium for its final home game of the regular season next Friday.
Set to host Lee County High School (4-3, 1-2 SAC), the third-place Raiders will also recognize their 22 seniors on senior night. Kickoff will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Friday’s win over Union Pines on Saturday.
Sports editor’s note: Scorekeepers Bennie Howard and Reggie Till contributed to this article.
