LAURINBURG — Following Thursday’s season finale victory, head coach Patrick Hope told the Richmond junior varsity football team it “shined bright in the biggest game of the season.”
Adding “that’s what diamonds do,” Hope congratulated the JV Raiders on their 28-7 win over Scotland High School.
The victory also gave the JV Raiders a second-place finish in the final Sandhills Athletic Conference standings.
A turnaround season for Richmond, which finished with six more wins than a season ago, ended with a near shutout of the JV Fighting Scots on the road.
Aside from one drive in the second quarter, the JV Raiders kept Scotland off the board in the first quarter and the entire second half, and forced four punts, two turnovers on downs and made two interceptions.
Richmond’s offense used its productive running game to find the end zone three times Thursday. Freshman running back Ty Covington scored twice, including the final touchdown of the game.
Freshman tailback Donovan Jones found paydirt one time and Richmond’s other score was a passing touchdown from sophomore quarterback BJ Hinson to freshman CJ Covington.
A 13-play drive came up empty for the JV Raiders on the game’s opening series, which milked over eight minutes off the clock. Turning it over on downs near the red zone, Richmond’s defense was on the field for just six plays before forcing a punt.
The JV Raiders scored the first of their two first-half touchdowns on the next possession. Starting at the Richmond 47-yard line, the JV Raiders needed just three plays to score.
On second down, sophomore quarterback Collin Hill made a “great read” and handed the ball to Ty Covington, who found a hole in the middle of the line and hit a burst of speed to rush 52 yards to the end zone.
The final play of the first quarter was capped by a successful extra point attempt by freshman kicker Jake Gardner, who was 4-for-4 in the game, to make it 7-0.
Scotland moved into Richmond territory on its next series, but a tackle-for-loss by sophomore Kaleb Brown slowed the offense.
Sophomore Shamir Jones made back-to-back tackles on third and fourth down to force a turnover. The fourth-down play saw the linebacker trail a rushing attempt and bring the ball carrier down from behind.
Hinson led the next scoring march for the JV Raiders, an 11-play, 65-yard drive.
Switching between Ty Covington and Jones in the backfield to pick up positive yards, Hinson completed a 20-yard pass and catch to sophomore Jasiah Cooper in the left flat.
Facing second-and-15 at the JV Scots’ 21-yard line, Jones gave the JV Raiders a two-possession lead. Taking a handoff around the left edge, Jones outran the defense for an easy score.
Gardner’s PAT was true to put Richmond ahead 14-0 with 4:25 remaining in the half.
A short kickoff gave Scotland good field position and led to its only touchdown in the game. Going 38 yards in 10 plays, the JV Scots connected on fourth down for an 11-yard passing score.
The PAT cut Richmond’s lead to 14-7 with 12.6 ticks on the clock, which held until halftime.
Both teams failed to do anything on the first three combined drives to begin the third quarter. Sophomore linebacker Elijah Ingram picked up a timely quarterback sack on the JV Scots’ second series.
Richmond opened its lead back to two possessions on its second try.
Going 82 yards on a dozen plays, the JV Raiders chipped away with several positive-yardage plays.
On fourth-and-11 from the JV Scots’ 31-yard line, Hinson aired out a pass to CJ Covington on a go route down the left sideline. Pulling in the reception, Covington crossed the goal line untouched.
Gardner’s PAT pushed Richmond’s lead to 21-7 as the clock read 1:09 to go in the third stanza.
The JV Raiders’ first of two second-half interceptions came early in Scotland’s next series. Sophomore defensive back Kyngston Kirby caught a pass over the middle near the Richmond 35-yard line.
Getting a wall of blockers, Kirby returned the ball all the way to the Scotland eight-yard line. A personal foul penalty, however, backed Richmond up to the 19-yard line and led to a turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter.
After another Scotland punt, Richmond rallied to score one more time. The six-play, 53-yard march began with a sweep and a pitch to sophomore Jasiah Cooper.
Ty Covington carried the ball three straight times, the final touch being a 12-yard touchdown up the middle of the field.
For good measure, Gardner split the uprights and made it a 28-7 lead with 6:21 to go in the game.
Sophomore defensive back Alijah Flowers cemented the victory with an interception three plays later. Making an athletic grab near the sideline at midfield, Flowers turned north and returned the ball all the way to the Scotland 25-yard line.
Although that series ended in a fumble, Richmond’s only turnover in the game, sophomore Messiah Robinson and freshman Messiah Marshall combined for a sack in the closing minutes.
Sophomore linebacker Keith Cummings followed that with a tackle on fourth down to give Richmond the ball back. Hinson took three consecutive kneels to end the season with a win.
The JV Raiders finished the season with a 8-2 overall record. Against SAC opponents, Richmond went 5-1, good enough for a second-place finish.
The team’s only conference loss came to Pinecrest High School in week six.
The Richmond Observer will post a photo gallery of Thursday’s regular-season finale Friday.