Home Local Sports “Kount” Down: top Richmond football games of all-time Nos. 20-16

“Kount” Down: top Richmond football games of all-time Nos. 20-16

Deon "Kount" Cranford lists his top 25 Raiders football games of all-time, continuing with Nos. 20 through 16.
Photo courtesy of Jimmy McDonald.

ROCKINGHAM – Sports contributor Deon Cranford continues his Richmond Senior High School top 25 football games of all-time, with his second installment.

In rescinding order, here are Nos. 20 through 16:

No. 20 Bending but not breaking…

2004 – Mount Tabor at Richmond

Anyone who played Richmond in 2004 knew exactly what they needed to do to beat Richmond – find some way to stop Raider tailback Norman Whitley.  When Mount Tabor visited Raider Stadium in the fourth round of the 2004 state 4AA playoffs, the Spartans came in with a plan to do exactly that.

Throughout they majority of the game, they kept nine to 10 players in the box on defense to keep Whitley out of the game and to force the Raiders to find another way to score.  So Richmond switched from a ground attack to an aerial assault, as Raider quarterback Brent Smith passed for a season-high 259 yards.

His two touchdown passes, combined with Nate Robinson’s 45-yard fumble return, helped Richmond take a 28-7 lead.  However, the Spartans wouldn’t go away as they scored 21 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes sending the game into overtime.

In overtime, the game would go into the hands of Robinson. Richmond got the ball first, and on the second play, Smith threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Robinson to give the Raiders a 35-28 lead.

The game appeared to end when Robinson, now on defense, picked off a pass during Mount Tabor’s overtime possession.  However, he was penalized for pass interference which gave the Spartans new life.  Robinson picked off another pass in the end zone, but he was once again penalized for pass interference and the game went on.

After three more plays, which included a couple of sacks, the Spartans found themselves in a fourth-and-long situation.  On the final play, Raider Brandon Breeden knocked down Mount Tabor quarterback O.C. Wardlow’s final attempt and the Raiders could finally breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the victory.

Other Notes:  Because of the penalties, Mount Tabor ran 10 plays in overtime and the Raider defense still managed to keep them from picking up the 10 necessary yards. 

 

No. 19 Raiders garner another title win!

1998 Richmond vs. Garner at UNC’s Kenan Stadium 

An estimated 22,000 people were on hand to watch the Richmond Raiders and the Garner Trojans battle for the 1998 4A state title.  Unfortunately for the Trojans, it wasn’t much a battle.  Garner received the opening kickoff and put together an impressive drive to score the game’s first touchdown.  The PAT was no good, but the Trojans had an early 6-0 lead with just under nine minutes on the first quarter clock.

That was the last time that Garner would see the end zone, and it watched helplessly as the Raiders rushed for nearly 300 yards and scored six unanswered touchdowns en route to a 36-6 win for the school’s sixth state title. 

While the blowout win was impressive, Marcus Ellerbe was the headline.  Ellerbe rushed for 196 yards on just 11 carries and scored four touchdowns.  He had touchdown runs of 93, 46, 13, and three yards.  He also had a 55-yard touchdown run that was wiped out because of a penalty. 

Other Notes: At the time, Ellerbe’s 93-yard touchdown run was the longest touchdown run in a 4A state title game.  For obvious reasons, he was named the game’s MVP.

 

No. 18 Defense wins championships…

West Charlotte at Richmond – 1978 

In 1978, Richmond squared off against the Lions of West Charlotte High School for the state title game at Raider Stadium.  Two schools that would, over the course of time, be known for high scoring offenses, found themselves with very little show offensively.  The two teams combined for a pitiful 151 total yards (West Charlotte 84, Richmond 67).

In the first quarter, Richmond’s Chuck Bishop completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Julius Henry giving the Raiders a 6-0 lead, after the PAT was missed. The Lions roared back late in the second quarter, driving deep into Richmond territory.  The Raider defense held West Charlotte just short of the goal line as the halftime horn sounded and the Raiders went into the break up 6-0.

Both offenses continued to struggle in the second half.  With the clock ticking away in the fourth quarter, West Charlotte’s opportunities were running out as each change of possession saw the Lions getting pushed back deeper and deeper into their own territory. 

The Lions got the ball one last time in the final moments of the game, but their heels were at their own goal line.  While trying to gain some breathing room, the Lions fumbled the ball and Richmond’s Jeff Holiday recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown to ice the game and secure Richmond’s first ever state title.

Other Notes: Bishop’s touchdown pass to Henry was Richmond’s only completed pass of the game.  Richmond’s Frank Smith missed a field goal on the Raiders’ first possession.  Richmond had to defeat West Charlotte in the postseason in order to win five of their seven current state titles (1978, 1988, 1997, 1998 and 2008).

 

No. 17 Stealing another title from the Lions…

1988 State Title game at Wake Forest’s Groves Stadium

The 1988 Raiders had home field advantage when they defeated West Charlotte a decade earlier to earn the school’s their first state title.  When the two teams met in the state championship game 10 years later, the Raiders had to face the Lions at a neutral site, Groves Stadium on the campus of Wake Forest University.

The location didn’t seem to matter too much, as the Raiders put together first half scoring drives of 75 and 58 yards, and also added a 31-yard field goal with 1:56 left in the first half to defeat the Lions 17-0. 

There were no points scored in the second half.  The first of Richmond’s two scoring drives was slow and methodical, taking 10 plays and ending on a three-yard touchdown run by Raider quarterback Mike Thomas. 

The second scoring drive was anything but slow.  Richmond went 58 yards in two plays, taking only 46 seconds off of the clock.  After a one-yard pick-up, Mike Thomas pitched to Eric Thomas who broke a couple of tackles and ran 57 yards for the touchdown. 

The defense played its part too. Not only did it keep the Lions off of the scoreboard, but it also managed to stop West Charlotte twice inside of the 10-yard line.

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Other Notes: Richmond has appeared in six state title games that were played at a neutral site.  All of them were played at UNC’s Kenan Stadium except for this game, which was played at Wake Forest University.

 

No. 16 Are you ready for some football?

1980 – Scotland at Richmond

Monday night football — not something that has happened often between Scotland and Richmond, but when it does, the game seems to be worthy of MNF status.

This Monday night matchup between the Scots and the Raiders saw regulation end with the scored tied 7-7.  Both teams kept the ball on the ground most of the game, and the Scots continued that trend in overtime running on three straight plays.  The Raider defense held, and on fourth down, the Scots took a 10-7 lead following a 23-yard field goal.

During Richmond’s overtime opportunity, the Raiders used their first two plays to move the ball to the one yard line. Raider quarterback Gary Bishop followed his linemen straight up the middle for the game’s winning score on third down.

Scotland’s field goal in overtime marked the first time in eight meetings that the Scots scored more than a touchdown on Richmond in a single game.

Other Notes: Richmond completed only one pass in this game.  The Scots won four out of the next six seasons (1981, 1982, 1983 and 1986).



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