ROCKINGHAM — What started out as a slow first half for the Richmond Senior High School junior varsity football team turned into the program’s 30th-straight win.
The JV Raiders opened their 2019 season at home against non-conference Anson High School Thursday and overcame a small halftime deficit to defeat the Bearcats 21-8.
In a game that saw both teams struggle with maintaining possession of the ball and 15 combined fumbles, 10 of which were by Richmond (four lost), it was two second-half touchdown receptions by sophomore wide receiver Javares Stanback that broke the game open.
Entering the night, the JV Raiders hadn’t lost a game since the season finale in 2015. Hope picked up his 21st career win in the same amount of games. Anson put the pressure on Richmond early and even threatened to end the streak by taking an 8-7 lead into the halftime break.
“It was a first game and first games are normally really tough in terms of all the operational things like snaps, special teams and getting things down on offense and defense,” Hope explained. “We told the team early it was going to look like a first game and that we were going to have these little hiccups.
“Once we got a half in us and we could make adjustments, we would be better and we were able to do that tonight,” he added.
The Raider offense used two quarterbacks in the season debut, seeing sophomore Harley Honeycutt and freshman Emmanuel Gilliam split snaps. But it was Honeycutt who would help the Raiders find the end zone, as he finished the night 10-of-16 passing for 213 yards and three passing touchdowns.
After a scoreless first quarter by both teams, Richmond would score on its sixth drive. On third-and-15 at his own 14-yard line, Honeycutt took the snap and connected with sophomore wide receiver Chandler Orr down the right sideline for an 86-yard score. Freshman Irwin Campos tacked on the PAT and the Raiders held a 7-0 lead with 3:37 to go in the half.
Anson would respond on its first play on the ensuing drive, as its running back would find a hole in the line and sprint 75 yards to the house. A two-point conversion run up the middle was good, giving the Bearcats an 8-7 lead less than a minute after Richmond scored.
On their second drive of the third quarter, the Raiders would march 41 yards on eight plays, resulting in the first of Stanback’s two touchdowns. Facing a fourth-and-14 on Anson’s 16-yard line, Honeycutt dropped back and found Stanback in the end zone to give Richmond a 13-8 advantage.
Campos’ kick was blocked, but sophomore defensive lineman Ahmad Morrison had plans to make it up. On Anson’s first play of the next drive, Morrison sacked the quarterback in the end zone, resulting in a safety and two points.
Honeycutt and Stanback would hook up again in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to put the Raiders up by two possessions. This time, Honeycutt hit Stanback in stride down the left sideline for a 60-yard touchdown with 11:30 to go in the game to make it a 21-8 ball game.
“Harley has done a great job throwing the ball all year and our offensive line was giving protection even with the pressure Anson was bringing,” Hope said. “So Harley being confident in the pocket and taking those deep shots to single Javares up, and even Chandler on the touchdown earlier, really helped us out.
“The offensive line did a great job being able to close out the game taking 10 minutes off the clock,” he added.
The Raider defense limited Anson to just 74 yards of total offense, four first downs and recovered two of Anson’s five fumbles. On the Bearcats’ final two drives, the Raiders also picked off two passes.
Sophomore defensive back Cason Douglas helped stall a driving Anson offense that was approaching the red zone. On fourth-and-eight, Douglas picked off a pass attempt to the right corner of the end zone and returned it to seven-yard line.
Douglas’ pick would set up a 13-play Raider drive that milked 5:19 off the clock. Following a turnover on downs by Richmond, Anson threw another pick, this time to sophomore Traveon Short with 50 seconds remaining to secure the win.
“(The interceptions) were big because they gave us extra possessions,” Hope closed. “Whenever you can take the ball away and take away a scoring opportunity from the opponent, it’s always great. That also allowed us to slow things down a bit.”
Stanback finished as the game’s leading receiver, picking up 105 yards on five receptions. Freshman running back Xavier Wall had a game-high 71 rushing yards on nine attempts, and Orr’s lone catch saw him add 86 yards and a score.
Sophomore linebacker Gabe Altman, sophomore defensive back Kelay Lindsey, sophomore defensive tackle Jayme Allen and Morrison all finished the game with one tackle for loss.
The Raiders will now begin preparation for David W. Butler High School in Week 2. Last year, Richmond defeated the Bulldogs 19-6 at home. The game will be played at Butler next Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. start time.
