ROCKINGHAM — When senior defensive end Derrick Everette fell on top of a loose ball in the closing seconds of Friday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference game, it was the seventh time the Raiders passed around the infamous gold “turnover pads.”
Behind a season-high seven turnovers, which included five fumbles and two interceptions, the No. 1 ranked Raiders flew past the Seventy-First High School Falcons to improve to a perfect 10-0, 6-0 SAC.
The 45-6 victory also served as the program’s 500th all-time win, which came on a night the Raiders honored their 35 senior players. An added bonus was Richmond’s clinching of at least a share of the 2019 SAC title, the second consecutive season they’ve done that.
“This is just a huge honor and I’m thankful to the Lord for bringing me and my family here and to be a part of that while we’re here,” third-year head coach Bryan Till said, as he recoreded his 28th win as the Raiders’ coach. “One day these kids will tell their kids about this and it’s great to be able to etch our names into the tremendous history and tradition.
“It’s an honor, and it’s kind of heavy in a good way,” he added. “And we’re thankful for all the guys who played before us to put us in this position.”
Former coach and five-time state champion winner Daryl Barnes has a program record 110 wins. Behind him are Paul Hoggard (88 wins), Ed Emory (77 wins) and Hal Shuler (56 wins). The remaining 169 win are spread out between Ron Krall, Hal Stewart, Charlie Bishop, Ed Hiatt Jack Huss, Mike Castellano and most recently, Till.
A 35-point first half that saw the Raiders score five touchdowns helped put the game out of reach early against the Falcons. After overcoming a fumble on its first play from scrimmage, the Raider offense rolled to score on their next four offensive possessions.
The Raider defense’s efforts to contain a smashmouth running game from Seventy-First worked, as Richmond not only forced the seven turnovers, but it held the Falcons’ offense to just 190 rushing yards when it had been averaging 282.3 yards per game entering the contest.
Led by an aggressive front seven including senior Gavin Russell, who had one of the two interceptions, sophomore nose tackle JD Lampley and senior defensive end Omarion Mason, the Raiders also limited tailback Kore Prentice-Koles to just 82 yards on the ground (who was previously averaging 119.5 yards per game).
“That’s a career-high for me,” Till commented on the seven turnovers. “Getting to the ball was big and the tenacity of striking and the ball and striking at the ball carrier, as it gets colder, you’ll see more and more of that.
“I was most proud of finding the ball in the air on the tipped passes,” he added. “(That requires) athleticism and change of direction you have to get going. The ball was slick, so they were all big time. Gavin’s pick, defensively, was big for us because we had let them score on the drive before.”
To kickstart the game, the Raider defense forced a punt after seeing tackles for loss come from Russell, senior Joerail White and junior CJ Tillman. A series later, a three-and-out, was Seventy-First’s second of three punts during the game.
Richmond broke the scoreless tie at the 3:15 mark of the first quarter when senior running back Jaheim Covington ran the ball three straight plays before busting the line for a one-yard push up the middle. Junior Mack West notched the point after attempt to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead.
The first turnover of the night came on the next drive as Seventy-First quarterback Jamarious Simmons lost the ball on third down at his own 48-yard line. Mason fell on it at the Falcons’ 39-yard line to give the Raiders a short field.
One play from scrimmage later, junior quarterback Caleb Hood lined a missile to junior wideout Jakolbe Baldwin, who was wide open on a go route over the middle of the field. The 39-yard pass and run score would prove to be Hood’s only touchdown of the game, as he finished 6-of-10 passing for 161 yards.
Baldwin’s sixth receiving score of the season, coupled with West’s PAT, put the Raiders up two scores with just 19.9 seconds left in the opening stanza. But junior linebacker Jah’meek Harden would open the gap just 14.7 seconds later.
Simmons again had trouble holding onto the ball, this time moving to his left on an option play. He fumbled at his own 32-yard line, and Harden managed to gain possession at the 29-yard line and raced to the house down the right sideline. At the end of the first 12 minutes, Richmond held a 21-0 lead.
The Falcons (5-5, 2-4 SAC) would score their only points of the night on their first drive of the second quarter. Going 81 yards on seven plays, which saw all positive yards on running plays, junior tailback Donovan Wright finished his 63 rushing yards on the drive with a six-yard rushing score. The extra point was botched and Russell grabbed the ball to end the play.
Covington would tack on his second tally of the night when he scored on first and goal from six yards. His scoring play was set up by a 31-yard pass play from Hood to junior receiver Dalton Stroman.
Up 28-6 with 5:50 left in the half, Lampley made a charge through the offensive line on the next play from scrimmage for the Falcons. The 6-3, 253-pound sophomore pressured Simmons and got a hand on the pass attempt, which floated into the waiting arms of Russell, who made it down to the Falcons’ 31-yard line.
The Raiders scored their final points of the half a couple of plays later when junior running back Jaron Coleman rounded the left edge of the line for a 12-yard rushing score.
Putting the exclamation on the aggressive first half of play was senior cornerback and Campbell University commit D’Marcus Harrington, who made his way through traffic and blocked a Josiah Boyd punt attempt.
The final 24 minutes of regulation would see Richmond score on a 48-yard Covington burst up the middle (11:16, third quarter) and a 31-yard field goal from senior Drew Davis (11:02, fourth quarter). Covington’s last score was his SAC-leading 18th rushing score of the season,
It was the defense that did most of the work, forcing four more turnovers. Mason recovered his second fumble of the game after another Simmons fumble on first down. With 2:44 left in the third stanza, Lampley barreled his way into the backfield and hit Donte Harper as he threw the ball, resulting in an Isaiah Jones interception at the Seventy-First 31-yard line. That turnover resulted in Davis’ first field goal of the season.
Junior defensive tackle Kaleel Brown added to the list of turnovers when he made big play inside his own five-yard line. Seventy-First’s Anthony Osbourne let the ball go on a run to the left, and Brown came up with it at the bottom of the pile. Everette iced the game with his fumble recovery in the final minute.
“We held them to six points and that says a whole lot,” Till closed. “They got some yards on us, especially at the end. But that’s big for us to hold them to six points and we’re really proud of that especially with as strong of running game that they have.”
Covington finished with a game-high 105 rushing yards on eight carries, and Richmond spread out its other 89 rushing yards amongst five players. Also having a game-high three touchdowns was Covington.
The win kept Richmond atop the SAC standings by one game over Pinecrest and Scotland high schools (both of which are 9-1, 4-1 SAC). That sets up the regular-season finale against the rival Fighting Scots next Friday on the road at Pate Stadium.
The last time the Raiders won in Laurinburg was in 2009. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
POSTGAME VIDEO INTERVIEWS: To hear from head coach Bryan Till, linebackers Jah’meek Harden and Gavin Russell, and cornerback D’Marcus Harrington and running back Jaheim Covington, click each player’s name.
ROSports will run a separate piece on all 35 seniors who were recognized ahead of Friday’s win, along with a full photo album of each senior. We will update this when it becomes available.
