ROCKINGHAM – Heavy storms that rolled through the area Wednesday evening cut Richmond Senior High School’s varsity football scrimmage short, but all things considered, it was a pleasing experience for head coach Bryan Till.
Just nine days away from the first official game of the year on Friday, Aug. 17, at home against Ronald Reagan High School, the Raiders varsity squad played host to Anson, Marlboro County (S.C.) and Mooresville high schools in a four-team scrimmage.
A 40-minute delay stopped play in the first scrimmage against Mooresville, when officials spotted lightning southwest of the playing field, sending teams to the locker room, baseball dugouts and school buses for cover. Richmond managed to get in full scrimmages against the Blue Devils and Anson before a severe thunderstorm warning swept over Raider Stadium roughly an hour later, ending the Marlboro County scrimmage after one offensive series.
“It was pretty upbeat, even with the rain tonight,” Till said of the event. “We only were able to get about 40 reps, but we managed to still battle in the chances we got. The kids battled when they were on the field and stayed ready. They were even dancing in the locker room during the delay, which showed they were hungry to get out there and play. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the way we did.”
The field was broken up into two, 40-yard fields so all four teams could play simultaneously. It was a full contact scrimmage, Richmond’s first of the year against other teams, which ran in the format of 20 plays of both offense and defense against each team. Possession was alternated every 10 plays.
While the first team offense and defense started their respective initial drives against Mooresville, Till noted that there was a lot of substituting occurring between the first and second teams on both sides of the ball.
In Richmond’s opening offensive series against Mooresville, a short run by rising junior running back Jaheim Covington set up a 38-yard touchdown strike by rising sophomore quarterback Caleb Hood to rising senior wide receiver Preston Coker on the third play. Coker, who had a breakout season with the track team in the spring, used his speed to burn coverage down the left sideline for the score.
After the lightning delay, the Raiders defense took its first turn of the night against the Blue Devils. They didn’t allow Mooresville to reach the end zone, and held their opponent to just seven total yards. Rising senior defensive end Rasheed Patrick made two sacks on the opening drive, albeit he wasn’t allowed to actually “tackle” the quarterback, the only non-contact rule.
In the final offensive series against the Blue Devils, Hood and rising junior quarterback Noah Altman split reps under center to drive the ball down to the five-yard line, but Richmond didn’t manage to punch it into the end zone. Hood had a nice gain on the ground, while rising senior wide receiver Bobby Terry had a 15-yard catch and run out in the right flat.
Mooresville bounced back with a 20-yard touchdown pass to close out the scrimmage.
“The big thing about tonight was that our kids were hungry to get an opportunity to play,” Till commented. “And they got that — they were cheering each on when they made big plays, and I love to see that camaraderie on the field.
“When they’re excited for each other, that’s really good for team chemistry, which was present tonight,” he added. “On the field, we had to make some adjustments, and we got some right and got some wrong. But I think our kids will get better with that — they responded and were in each other’s corner. There’s a lot of belief in what we’re trying to do.”
The Bearcats from across the Pee Dee River were the next team on Richmond’s docket, and the Raiders made pretty quick work on both sides of the ball. This time they opened up on defense and held Anson from reaching the end zone in its first 10 plays.
Rising junior running back Lacyrus Ellerbe, who is the half-brother of Covington, both of whom are the sons of former Raider great Walter “Flip” Ellerbe, had a strong performance against Anson. His back-to-back runs got Richmond down to 25-yard line, which was followed up by Hood scrambling out of the pocket, resulting in a 15-yard gain after trucking his way through two collapsing defenders.
Terry capped off the first scoring drive against Anson with a 10-yard burst up the middle, as he looks to rebound from a junior season that was riddled with injuries. After the score, Richmond reset at the 40-yard line, and Altman let loose his cannon, as he struck rising junior wide receiver Armond Martin for a touchdown down the left sideline. It would be the last touchdown Richmond would score on the night.
Anson managed to race into the end zone early in its second offensive drive against the Raiders, a long run up the middle. But Till’s defense shut down the Bearcats and didn’t allow any further damage.
“I’m really pleased with the first group of defense, even if they only had 10 plays together,” Till, the team’s defensive coordinator, said. “We used a lot of subs tonight, and there were a lot of moving pieces, but I felt like a lot of our second team guys put forth good efforts.
“Jaheim played a ton for us last year (on varsity),” Till spoke of his running back core. “And Bobby has played running back in past, and I thought his vision was really good in between tackles. Jaheim is a strong runner, as is Lacyrus — all three bring a lot to table. I’m excited to see how they gel together as a group. And the best part is that none of them back down from contact, and I love that.”
Before officials ended the event due to incoming inclement weather, Richmond was able to squeeze in one final offensive series against Marlboro County. Hood and Altman again split reps, and in their 10 plays, the Raiders were able to drive the ball down inside the Bulldogs’ five-yard line. Runs by Altman, Covington and Ellerbe all came up short, with Ellerbe’s run to the one-yard line being the final play of the night.
The Raiders won’t have to wait long for their next bit of live action, as they’ll head to Wake Forest University on Friday to square off against East Forsyth High School at BB&T Stadium. This scrimmage against the Eagles will be 100 percent football, as special teams will be incorporated (unlike Wednesday’s scrimmages). Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
“I don’t know if our scrimmages (Wednesday) really prepared us more for Friday,” Till concluded. “But the guys were able to get more reps — and it’s great to come together like it was a game day. East Forsyth will run a lot of different things, but we’ll get more intensity and hope to make plays happen.”
