WADESBORO — An explosive first half that saw Richmond Senior High School score 33 points was overshadowed by flared tempers on the field with just under a minute left in the second quarter during Friday’s non-conference football game at Anson High School.
For the “safety” of both teams, the game was called by the officials along with the agreement of Richmond head coach Bryan Till and Anson head coach Ralph Jackson with 59.8 seconds left in the first half following an altercation that led to the ejection of one player from each team.
Despite the early ending, Richmond was awarded the victory.
“Because of the altercation, they (the officials) wanted to end the game to be safe,” Till said. “They’re calling it 33-0 at halftime. They’re going to eject those two guys (involved) and for the safety of the second half, they’re going to call the game.
“The kids who got into it will receive ejections. That was clear to everybody,” Till noted of the on-field incident. “But because of what was going on there, (the officials) said ‘we’re done with this game as long as you all are good with being done with it.’ Coach Jackson was, I was, and neither one of us want to miss the playoffs because of another altercation in the game.
“If you get three players on the field off the bench, you can miss the playoffs,” he explained.
The extracurricular activity following a sack on Anson senior quarterback Wesley Lear was just a blip during an otherwise Raider controlled game. Through nearly two full quarters of play, the Richmond offense was out-performing the Bearcats’ 309 total yards of offense to just 86 yards.
Richmond earned the No. 1 ranking in 4A East play earlier this week in HighSchoolOT.com’s power rankings, and the Raiders showed up to the “Battle of the Pee Dee River” like one of the best teams in the state.
Meeting on the gridiron for the first time since 2016, it was the 42nd clash in the rivalry. Richmond’s win proved to be its 40th all-time against Anson. Dating back to 1994, this year’s win made it 23 straight victories for the Raiders over their Wadesboro neighbor.
The Raider offense, led by junior quarterback Caleb Hood, would score on all five of its possessions in the game. Hood connected with three different receivers for three passing touchdowns and ended his night a perfect 6-for-6 with 126 passing yards. The three scores moved his touchdown total to five scores in two games.
On Richmond’s opening drive, a seven-play, 75-yard march, Hood hit junior wide receiver Tremel Jones over the middle of the field for a 39-yard catch and run score. Inside the 20-yard line, Jones broke out of tackle attempts by Anson’s Ja’Quan McNeil and Shamond Ingram. Junior kicker Mack West made the PAT to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead with 5:04 left in the first quarter.
Following a four-and-out by Anson on the ensuing drive that saw sophomore nose tackle JD Lampley record his first career sack, and senior linebacker Gavin Russell record a tackle for loss, Richmond would take just four plays to go 47 yards to make it a two-score game.
A 23-yard run by senior running back Jaheim Covington put the Raiders into Anson territory. Two plays later, Hood lobbed a pass up to junior wide receiver Dalton Stroman who jumped up over Anson’s Ra’nes Little to score his third touchdown of the season. Stroman caught the ball just inside the front left corner of the end zone for a 30-yard score.
Richmond’s defense would record its second shutout in as many games and hold Anson to just five first downs in the game, and forced the Bearcats to punt on all five of their drives. Senior linebacker Joerail White would notch a tackle for loss, and Russell added a sack against Lear. Senior safety Xavion Lindsey broke up a Lear pass near the goal line in the second quarter.
Junior running back Jaron Coleman opened the game up with an electric 95-yard rushing score on the first play of Richmond’s third drive. Coleman hit a hole in the line up the middle before breaking out to the left and down the sideline untouched. With 10:54 remaining in the second quarter, Richmond had a 21-0 advantage.
Hood would end his scoring on Richmond’s fourth drive, seeing the Raiders go 54 yards on five plays. Junior wideout Jakolbe Baldwin hauled in a 34-yard reception on the second play, and three plays later Hood hit Baldwin on a four-yard toss to the back right corner of the end zone. It was Baldwin’s first touchdown of the season.
To cap Richmond’s scoring, Covington finished off a six-play drive with a three-yard push up the middle with 2:01 left in the second quarter. He now has three rushing scores on the young season.
Jones led all receivers with three receptions and 58 yards. Baldwin finished the night with 38 yards on two catches and Stroman had 30 yards on one reception. Out of the backfield, Coleman’s sprint saw him collect a game-high 95 yards and Covington chipped in with 62 yards on 12 touches.
“I thought we did a lot of things well,” Till said. “It’s kind of hard to reflect on the game given the circumstances. We got put in some tough situations with penalties but we kept playing. I was proud of the resiliency of our kids.
“The offense was extremely explosive. Jaron is really fast and fun to watch,” he added. “Defensively, we made them one-dimensional. (Lear) was getting the ball off really fast and I was really impressed with that young man.”
The Raiders will continue their non-conference slate next Friday in Week 3 when they welcome in David W. Butler High School, which is currently ranked as the No. 6 team in HighSchoolOT.com’s power rankings.
It will be the seventh-straight year the two teams have played, and the Raiders and Bulldogs have split the past two years during Till’s tenure. Both road teams won, seeing Richmond upset Butler last season 30-19 in Week 4.
The Bulldogs are 1-1 and are coming off a 33-17 loss against Mallard Creek High School on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Raider Stadium.
