RAEFORD – It was far from a perfect performance, but Richmond Senior’s JV football team overcame an atrocious start and picked up a 30-6 road victory against the Hoke County Bucks.
With a combination of penalties and negative yardage plays, Richmond moved backwards a combined 34 yards on its first two offensive possessions before punting the ball away to the Bucks. However, after a couple of big-play scores on its next two possessions, the offense found its rhythm.
“We have that big play ability in our passing game,” said head coach Patrick Hope. “If we can just shore up everything in the run game and our operations, I think we’re going to be pretty good before it’s all over.”
The opening moments of the game had one bright spot for the Raiders as sophomore Jamarion Bryant returned the opening kickoff 52 yards to the Hoke County 39-yard line. What followed however, was not as exciting. Richmond collected 20 yards in penalties on its first drive, and the three plays it managed to run, netted a loss of five yards.
Facing fourth and 21 from the midfield line, the Raiders sent in freshman punter Jacoby Martin. Martin masterfully booted the ball away from the Bucks’ return man and it rolled dead at the Hoke County 7-yard line.
The Richmond defense, which limited the Bucks to just 54 offensive yards in the first half, forced a three-and-out to keep Hoke pinned back in the shadow of its own goalpost. On the punt attempt, the snap was high and sailed back into the end zone. The Hoke punter covered it up, but the safety put Richmond ahead 2-0.
Richmond and Hoke each went three-and-out on their ensuing possessions, both losing yards in the process, but Hoke’s punting performance did not improve. Martin switched from punter to punt blocker when he knocked down the Hoke punt attempt and fellow freshman Jacob Wall pounced on the loose ball setting the Raiders up at the Hoke 35-yard line.
Richmond was hit with a holding call on its first play following the turnover pushing the Raiders back to the 50 yard line, but followed with its first big play of the game.
With the help of his offensive line, sophomore Emoni McBride waited patiently in the pocket until Bryant could get downfield. Bryant remained double covered throughout the play, but McBride’s pass still came his way. That’s when a little Raider Magic visited Raz Autry Stadium.
As Bryant and the two Hoke defenders all attempted to make the catch, the ball deflected off of one of the Bucks bounced straight toward a wide-open Javian Drake at the 12-yard line, who carried it to paydirt untouched. The conversion attempt was no good and the Raiders finished out the quarter with an 8-0 advantage.
Javian Drake celebrates after his touchdown against Hoke County on Wednesday.
Once again, Hoke went three-and-out on the ensuing possession and was held to negative five yards. This time, the Bucks managed to get a punt off and the Raiders had their worst starting field position of the game at their own 29 yard-line.
After a short gain play, an incomplete pass, and a holding penalty put Richmond in a third and 15 situation from its own 25, the Raiders were forced to go for the long ball yet again.
This time, the pass from McBride found its target, sophomore Jadden Jenks. Jenks caught the ball near midfield and was hit almost immediately. He bounced off the Hoke defender, kept his balance, and found nothing but green grass and blockers in front of him.
The 75-yard touchdown catch and run along with a successful two-point conversion run by McBride put the Raiders ahead 16-0.
After a long kickoff return put the Bucks in Raider territory, Hoke quickly answered with a 46-yard touchdown strike on its first play from scrimmage. The two-point conversion failed, but Richmond’s lead was cut to 16-6 with 5:44 left until the break and the Hoke County fans finally had something to be excited about.
The momentum remained with the Bucks as the Raiders fumbled the ball away on their first play following Hoke’s score, setting up the home team at the Richmond 37-yard line. The Bucks marched 23 yards in three plays to the Raider 14-yard line.
The Richmond defense, which had been attacking the ball in an effort to force fumbles throughout the first half, were now just focused on keeping the Bucks out of the endzone.
With some excellent pass coverage and two quarterback sacks by freshmen Johnny Lunceford and Lareese Swinnie, the Bucks turned the ball over on downs at the 33-yard line.
“Our defense works tackling and turnovers almost every day,” explained Hope. “I knew they were ready to get their confidence back after the second Pinecrest game and the open date. So, they came out a bit more aggressive. Almost too aggressive early on because they didn’t wrap up. They figured it out near the end of the first half.”
The Raiders managed just nine yards on its first three plays following the turnover and made the decision to go for it on fourth and one from their own 42-yard line.
The ball was given to sophomore Taye Spencer who charged towards the pack of linemen and pushed forward for what appeared to be a first down. The officials didn’t see it that way and the ball was awarded to the Bucks in Raider territory.
With just a little over minute remaining in the half, the Raider defense was called upon again to make a big stop. On the Bucks’ first play, freshman David McNair ended the threat quickly with his first of two interceptions of the game. The Raiders ran out the clock and went into the break ahead 16-6.
The third quarter brought more of the same. On Hoke’s opening possession, Lunceford met a Buck ball carrier near midfield, stripped it from his arms, and ran it back to the Hoke 25-yard line.
From there, Spencer, who was held to -4 yards on five carries in the first half, finally caught his stride. He carried the ball twice, the first for 18 yards and then the remaining seven to the end zone for Richmond’s first rushing score of the game.
McBride, who finished the game 7-of-9 passing for 147 yards and two touchdowns, connected with Bryant on the conversion attempt giving the Raiders a 24-6 lead with 7:20 left in the third quarter.
The third quarter ended with a trio of turnovers. The Bucks fumbled the ball on the first play following the touchdown, Richmond was intercepted on its next possession, and Hoke followed with an 11-play, 48-yard drive that ended with a turnover on downs.
The Raiders went three-and-out to start the fourth quarter and after a Martin punt, the Bucks took over at their own 25-yard line. On the Bucks’ first play, McNair picked off his second pass of the game, setting the Raiders up at the Hoke 37-yard line, but that drive ended in an interception.
Freshman David McNair (22) returns his second interception of the game up the field.
Following another three-and-out by the Bucks, Richmond started at its own 42-yard line. On the first play, Spencer found a hole and exploded for a 58-yard run setting off a celebration on the Raider sideline. However, a late holding call nullified the run. The penalty was the 20th flag of the game.
The questionable call fired up the Raider offense and they refused to be denied. Sophomore Emmanuel Gilliam, who shared time with McBride as the signal caller, sprinted 16 yards on a keeper to the Hoke 30-yard line.
Jaliel Green took it from there. The agile freshman broke two tackles and tiptoed down the sideline for an impressive touchdown run. The conversion attempt was no good, but the Raider lead grew to 30-6.
“From a play calling standpoint, we just had to stop being stubborn and go where they weren’t,” said Hope of his running backs’ early struggles and later success. “As stuff opened up for Taye and Jaliel towards the end of the ball game, we played around with some different combinations up front. We’re still trying to find the right mix.”
After one more defensive stop, the Raiders were able to run out the game’s final minute and a half and head to the bus with a win.
The Raiders finished the night with 262 yards of total offense with the four touchdowns being scored by four different players. With two quarterbacks, four ball carriers, four different players recording receptions, and several linemen and defensive players rotating in and out of the game, it was evident that utilizing as many players as possible was a goal for the Raider coaching staff.
“We’re still trying to get guys playing time in this short season,” Hope explained. “We don’t know how many games we’re going to get to play. We just wanted to make sure we got everyone on the field.”
With the victory, the Raiders improve to 2-1 on the season. The next opponent on the schedule would have been Lumberton High School, but the Pirates opted not to field a junior varsity team this season.
According to Hope, the school is currently looking outside of the conference to find an opponent for next week. The Richmond Observer will provide an update if an addition to the schedule is made.
