ROCKINGHAM — During a year that has seen a lot of things change for high school athletes, the Richmond Raider football team provided its 20 senior players with a sense of normalcy on Friday.
Returning to play at Raider Stadium for the first time since the 4AA West Regional Championship on Dec. 6, 2019, the Raiders handed Hoke County High School a dominating 52-14 loss on senior night.
It was Richmond’s 16th consecutive regular-season conference win dating back to the start of the 2018 conference slate.
Prior to kickoff of the Sandhills Athletic Conference game, all of Richmond’s seniors were recognized for their contributions to the program. Escorted by family members, senior players were greeted by head coach Bryan Till near the home sideline.
“It was a great night and a really big memory for our seniors who haven’t played on this field in 15 months,” Till smiled after the game. “We had a good win and all of our seniors were able to get in. Seth (Carpenter) had a big hit at the end and all the guys loved it.
“Tonight was a lot of fun and our seniors played well,” he added.
Richmond dominated both sides of the ball and collected 420 yards of offense (210 passing yards and 210 rushing yards) and scored eight total touchdowns, including five on the ground by four different players.
Senior running back Jaron Coleman had two rushing scores and picked up 46 rushing yards on 13 carries. Fellow senior wideout Tremel Jones scored an 85-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse in the first quarter, which were the most rushing yards of any player in the game.
Also adding rushing scores were junior quarterback Kellan Hood and sophomore tailback Brandon Askins, both of whom scored their first varsity rushing touchdown.
The Raiders didn’t take long to score after not playing in two weeks following its game against Jack Britt being postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
After taking the opening kickoff, the Raiders went 80 yards in five plays and capped the drive with an 11-yard rushing score by Hood just 1:13 into the game. After a missed PAT attempt, Richmond led 6-0.
Junior QB Kellan Hood runs in for his 11-yard rushing score in Friday’s win over Hoke County.
Setting up the score was a 34-yard catch and run from Hood to Jones, who scampered down to the Bucks’ 23-yard line.
The Raiders’ defense played downhill much of the game, easing past Hoke County’s front five to create pressure in the backfield on quarterback Warren Avery and a handful of running backs.
Led by the front four, including defensive tackles Kaleel Brown and J.D. Lampley, and defensive ends Derrick Everette and Jayme Allen, Richmond’s defense recorded eight tackles for loss and forced five fumbles, three of which were recovered by the Raiders.
Brown forced a fumble on a big hit late in the second quarter, which was recovered by senior defensive back Isaiah Jones. Brown also recovered a loose ball and had a big tackle-for-loss in the opening minutes of the third stanza.
Junior defensive back Jamari Broady was the other Raider defender to collect a fumble recovery, his second in two games this season.
“The fumble recoveries helped the team because it gave us momentum to go down the field and score,” Brown said. “The middle of our defensive line played well and didn’t let Hoke make long runs. Our entire defense did their job tonight.
“Getting a win and playing well on senior night is so special for us,” he added. “It’s hard to believe it was finally here.”
On Richmond’s fourth drive, leading 6-0, Coleman found a seam and raced 75 yards to the house, but a holding call brought the ball back. However, offensive coordinator Brad Denson had an answer on the next play.
At his own 15-yard line, Hood took the snap and handed it off to Coleman, who turned and flipped the ball to Jones, who was sweeping right to left on a reverse. Using his speed, Jones raced 85 yards untouched down the left sideline into the end zone to put the Raiders up 12-0 with 3:58 to go in the opening quarter.
Avery would fumble on Hoke’s next play from scrimmage, which was scooped up by Broady at the Bucks’ 22-yard line.
That started a five-play scoring drive that saw Coleman squeeze in from two yards out. A third straight missed PAT put the Raiders up 18-0 with 1:16 left in the first.
Richmond would increase its lead to 31-0 before the halftime break. On their second drive of the second quarter, the Raiders went 45 yards on six plays, resulting in an eight-yard rushing score from Coleman.
Lampley, who doubles as a tiger back, set the left edge of the line with a block, allowing Coleman to trot in for his second score of the game at the 3:50 mark to make it a 24-0 lead.
Senior running back Jaron Coleman plows ahead for an eight-yard rushing score.
Hoke County’s offense drove deep into Raider territory on the ensuing drive, and made it to the Richmond 13-yard line with the help of back-to-back 15-yard penalties on the defense.
Running back Mehki Walker took a handoff on first down, but coughed the ball up after a big hit from Brown, and Isaiah Jones was there to collect the loose ball.
Just 23 seconds and 84 yards later, Hood would throw for the first of his two passing scores to extend Richmond’s lead. It took just three plays for the Raiders to score, starting with a screen pass to Tremel Jones, who broke into open space for a 63-yard catch and run.
On the next play from Hoke County’s 26-yard line, senior wide receiver Dalton Stroman ran a fade route to the left corner of the end zone. He jumped over two defenders, Nehemiah Kershaw and Antonio Underwood, to pull down his first receiving score of the season.
Senior kicker Mack West split the uprights and gave the Raiders a 31-point with 1:18 left in the half. Lampley capped the opening two quarters with big tackle for loss in the backfield.
“My hat is off to the offensive staff for their scheming,” Till said of the wealth of scoring. “We got the extra week to work on some things we normally wouldn’t get to work on. It was great to see the reverse work and it was called at a great time.
“Once we got in a rhythm rushing the ball, we started doing it more effectively,” he continued. “The savvy that Kellan had to dump the ball off late on some plays was incredible. He drew the defense to him and opened up a lot of passes, including the final touchdown to Tremel.”
Brown struck again on Hoke County’s second play of the third quarter, falling on a fumble that Avery let go, giving Richmond the ball at the Bucks’ 10-yard line. Two runs by Coleman put the Raiders at the four-yard line, and on third down, Hood rolled left and connected with Tremel Jones on a screen for a touchdown pass.
Trailing 38-0, Hoke County got on the board with a 59-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kasheim Teller to Kamonte Williams along the right side.
On the ensuing kickoff, a short kick landed in the hands of Stroman, who found a wedge and broke open to the house for a 75-yard kickoff return. It was the first kickoff return touchdown of his career.
“It was a good kick and I was able to catch it,” Stroman explained. “I had a lot of good blocks in front of me, and a shoutout to Kelay Lindsey for setting up a good one. I was just trying to run and not get caught.
“It’s a blessing to be out here on senior night celebrating with my parents and teammates,” he added.
Senior wide receiver Dalton Stroman (2) scored a kickoff touchdown Friday, the first of his career.
Up 45-7, Askins and junior running back Nasir Crumpton carried the Richmond offense the rest of the way. After a punt, the two backs carried the ball three straight times each to put the Raiders at the Hoke County 22-yard line.
That’s when Askins rang the bell, taking a handoff from Hood and rounded the left edge to muscle his way in for the game’s final score. That also started the running clock, which rolled the remainder of the game.
The Bucks added their final score, a two-yard rush from Teller, with 2:41 left in regulation.
Richmond’s defense held the Bucks to just 109 total yards of offense on 55 plays, and held three different running backs to negative yards. Avery and Teller combined to go 7-of-20 through the air for 92 yards, and the two also tallied the team’s 17 rushing yards.
“Up front, at times, we looked really, really well,” Milton Swinnie, Richmond’s defensive line coach, said. “We were using our hands and moving our feet. But there were times we got complacent, but I was very pleased with how we challenged the guys at halftime and they responded well.
“It looked like Kaleel was in the backfield all night, which is what we challenged him to do,” he added of Brown. “He soaks up double teams, but he penetrates and snags off blocks. Him and J.D. are good at that and it was good for him to have a good senior night.”
Hood was 14-of-18 passing with 210 passing yards to four different receivers, and added 22 rushing yards. Tremel Jones caught five of his six targets for 97 yards, Stroman snagged seven of his eight attempts for 78 yards, and both had two catches for over 20 yards.
Till said the second half was a much-improved effort on both sides of the ball, but said there are some issues the team needs to correct.
“We still need to work on execution,” Till said, noting an early fumble, a fumble on a fake punt and penalty issues. “There’s a lot to clean up, but it’s stuff we’re better at than what we showed tonight.
“On defense, we have to be smarter so we don’t hurt our team,” he added. “We want to be aggressive, but big hits don’t mean anything if it costs the team 15 yards. Again, the aggressiveness was there all night, and when we cleaned it up on defense, we played much better.”
Richmond (2-0) will look to play in back-to-back weeks for the first time this season when it travels to Lumberton High School (1-1) next Friday. The Pirates will play Pinecrest High School on Saturday.
Also recognized before the game were Richmond’s five senior cheerleaders: Carissa Byrne, J’Niya Covington, Macy Faw, Elena Hall and Hannah Hinshaw.
Members of the Richmond band and color guard were also honored: Omari Bethea (tuba), Mickey Hernandez (drum line), Alexis Wheeler (clarinet), Phoenix Darrien (color guard) and Jamya Stanback (color guard).
Below is a list of Richmond’s seniors, in order by jersey number:
Tremel Jones, WR (1); Dalton Stroman, WR (2); Amir Webb, CB (3); Jarod Morrison, WR (15); Dominick Leviner, FS (17); Isaiah Jones, FS (18); Jaron Coleman, RB (22); C.J. Tillman, LB (24); Jamarion Short, LB (28); Mack West, P (30); Derrick Everette, DL (34); Kaleel Brown, DL (47); Evan Ingram, DL (48); Seth Carpenter, LB (49); Caleb Wilson, OL (55); Jaleel Davis, OL (62); Josh Mabe, OL (64); Turner Howell, OL (67); Austin Moore, OL (75) and Trevor Moss, K (86).
