ROCKINGHAM – Something that has been eight years in the making, and perhaps the last two and most important under the direction of head football coach Bryan Till, came to fruition Saturday night as the Raiders are once again regular season conference champions.
Richmond clinched the outright 2018 Sandhills Athletic Conference title in a primetime matchup against Scotland High School, pulling away late to defeat the Fighting Scots 23-8. Making the clinching win all that sweeter for the Raiders was beating Scotland to do it, as the boys from Laurinburg have run the show the last seven years, going 37-0 in conference play to win seven straight titles.
Saturday’s win also marked Till’s Raiders’ eighth-straight win, extending its longest stretch of victories since it won six in a row in 2015. Ranked as Maxpreps’ No. 3 4A team in the state, Richmond (9-1, 6-0 SAC) hasn’t lost since facing then No. 1 Wake Forest High School in the second week of the season. Defeating the Fighting Scots (4-5, 3-3 SAC) will hopefully start a new trend for the Raiders, as they had won the previous 18 games (including two playoff games) leading up to the start of Scotland’s seven-year tear.
“Winning the (conference) championship is huge and this community has been waiting eight years to do it,” Till said following the win. “We’re excited about being able to do this. I knew our boys could do it and I’ve had a ton of belief in them, our coaching staff and what we’re trying to accomplish.
“I want to thank all of our kids and coaches because they’ve worked so hard to get to this point,” he continued. “I appreciate (Richmond’s) administration for having the confidence in me to work with these guys and build our program. I’m so proud of our guys, from everything from their character and their fight on and off the football field.”
Ahead of kickoff, the Raiders honored all 24 of their senior plays, as they were introduced with friends, family members and escorted by a RSHS teacher (full list of seniors at the end of the article). Last season’s meeting between Richmond and Scotland was a high-scoring shootout that saw 116 combined points scored, the most in the 46-year rivalry. Saturday’s matchup was eerily similar, as Scotland held a first-half lead before Richmond exploded in the final two quarters.
It would be Richmond to break into the scoring column first, as the Raiders marched 70 yards in four plays and just 54 seconds to take an early 7-0 lead. Following the opening kickoff, sophomore quarterback Caleb Hood got things rolling with runs of 15 and 30 yards, respectively, putting Richmond at the Fighting Scots’ 25-yard line.
Junior tailback Jaheim Covington finished the drive, picking up a 21-yard gain before pushing up the middle from four yards out to score. Sophomore kicker Trevor Moss’ point after attempt rang true and less than a minute into the game, Richmond seemed to be in control.
The Raider defense, which had a strong showing from whistle to whistle, held the Fighting Scots to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession. However, on the next Scotland drive, Richard Bailey’s team would go 65 yards on seven plays and score its only touchdown on the night.
The scoring drive was aided by a Richmond pass interference penalty on the first play, giving the Scots the ball at their own 45-yard line. From there, it was all senior running back Syheam “Smiley” McQueen, who collected 40 yards on the ground before blasting in from four yards out on a direct snap. Scotland opted to go for two, and McQueen crossed the goal line to his right to put the visiting team up 8-7 with 6:13 to go in the opening frame.
While it was the only lead it held all night, Scotland would maintain the one-point advantage for the remaining 18:13 of the first half. Richmond sophomore kick returner Jakolbe Baldwin returned the ensuing kickoff to the Scotland 26-yard line, which was set up by a huge block by Jordyn Wall. The Raiders made it all the way down to the one-yard line, but Hood was stacked shy of the end zone by Dashay Singletary on fourth-and-one, forcing a turnover on downs, Richmond’s first of two occurrences during the game.
The end of the first quarter saw Hood throw an errant pass that was picked off by Joseph McKoy at his own 33-yard line, but a call on fourth-and-five by Scotland saw McQueen stopped by a wall of Raider defenders to force a turnover at Richmond’s 39-yard line.
The only other Raider turnover came just a couple of plays after the big stop, when Baldwin coughed up the ball after making his first and only reception of the night. The Scots took over their own 45-yard line, but a stout Richmond defense, and a batted ball by senior defensive end Rasheed Patrick on a fourth-and-15 pass by Mandrell Johnson prevented any further damage.
Hood and company had one last chance with 22 seconds left on the clock before the break, but four straight incompletions allowed Scotland to hold an 8-7 halftime lead. Out of the break, however, it was all Richmond, as it outscored the Scots 16-0.
“We just had to keep things together and keep our composure,” Hood explained. “I got frustrated in the first half because nothing seemed to be working for us. But we re-focused at halftime and started executing better.
“It’s awesome to beat Scotland because all I can remember is them beating us,” he added. “Now we’ve turned it around.”
To open the third quarter, McQueen led a 12-play, 57-yard drive down to the Raiders’ 23-yard line. McQueen picked up all 57 yards on the ground, and finished as the game’s leading rusher with 195 yards on 31 carries. But his efforts would go unrewarded as Johnson threw an interception on third-and-goal to Xavion Lindsey in the back corner of the end zone.
“Scotland is a really well-coached team and we had to make some adjustments to their running game,” Till explained of trying to slow McQueen down. “I’m glad we just kept pounding away on defense. The big thing was that we continued to run physical to the ball and slanted our noses a little differently with some more zero coverage and extra guys in the box.”
Lindsey’s first interception of the season would spot the ball at the 20-yard line, and junior running back LaCyrus Ellerbe ran ahead for a 21-yard gain on first down. On the next play, Hood squirted up the middle for his longest run of the night, a 47-yard burst, to put Richmond at the Fighting Scots’ 12-yard line. Moss capped off the drive by drilling a 27-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 10-8 lead with 4:27 to go in the third quarter.
In the final two quarters of the game, the Richmond defense turned up the pressure, thanks to the front line of Patrick, Antonio Isaac and Divine Nicholson. On the drive following Moss’ field goal, senior linebacker Taveon Ellerbe stripped the ball loose from McQueen, but the Scot was able to recover the ball. Patrick came up big on the next play, as he sacked Johnson for a 14-yard loss on fourth-and-nine, one of his team-leading two sacks.
Richmond would score on both of its possessions in the final quarter, as Covington ended a 12-play, 67-yard drive with a one-yard charge through a wall of defenders. Wall caught three passes on the drive for 21 yards to help move the chains. Covington wasn’t used as frequently as Till would have liked, as the running back was dealing with discomfort from an undisclosed injury suffered in the first quarter, giving way to LaCyrus Ellerbe getting more carries.
Covington’s SAC-leading 20th touchdown of the year gave Richmond a 17-8 lead with 7:13 to go in the game, and junior tight end Gavin Russell was responsible for the score that put the game away for good. Prior to the score, Isaac pressured Johnson into making a poor pass on first down, and Patrick made a stop on McQueen for a four-yard loss and sacked backup quarterback Tyler Barfield for a seven-yard loss a snap later.
“It means a lot to win on senior night,” Patrick said. “We hadn’t beaten Scotland in seven years and now we’re conference champions. I just tried to zone in and stay focused tonight — and I just got to the quarterback. We’re ready to beat Purnell Swett and bring a state championship back to Richmond County.”
A short punt gave Richmond good field position at the Scotland 35-yard line and its offense was soon back in the red zone. On third-and-goal from the one, Hood reversed the play and rolled out to his left to find a wide-open Russell along the fringe of the end zone. Moss’ PAT was blocked, but the Raiders had enough to secure the win.
As time expired, several Raider players dumped the water cooler on Till to celebrate the SAC championship and the end of the seven-year losing streak to Scotland. Covington and Hood carried the weight of Richmond’s offensive stats, as they rushed for 118 and 102 yards, respectively. Covington’s two scores complimented his achievement of eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark on the year, as he now has 1,062 yards in 10 games (106.2 yards per game).
Hood didn’t have a big night in the passing game, but was effective when necessary, going 6-for-16 passing with 38 yards. He connected with four different receivers, as Wall led the way with 21 yards on three catches. Johnson went 6-for-13 with 50 yards passing for the Scots.
“I can’t say enough about our seniors and what they’ve given and sacrificed for our program,” Till concluded. “I’m honored to be their coach. Right now we have to get ready for Purnell Swett next week and we’re excited for the state playoffs.”
Also on hand for the matchup were the four state title teams from the coveted “eight years.” Former players from the 1978, 1988, 1998 and 2008 teams had a pregame celebration and spoke to the current Richmond players, and were recognized during halftime. Richmond also honored its four senior cheerleaders Zharia David, Jaikyla Dumas, Emily Faw and Candace Little before the game.
The Raiders will look to close out the season with a perfect 7-0 SAC record against Purnell Swett High School (3-6, 1-5 SAC) next Friday on the road in Pembroke, N.C. The Rams fell to Lumberton High School 34-21 in Friday’s action, as both schools are now tied for second-to-last place in the SAC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
2018 Richmond Senior High School football seniors: Eric Burke (SS), Preston Coker (WR), Jada Edwards (LB), Taveon Ellerbe (LB), Stanley Gilbert (SS), CJ Goodwin (OL), Kyle Goodwin (K), Devin Grant (DT), Nate Hudson (LB), Antonio Isaac (DE), Jahan Jones (WR), Jonathan Jones (LB), Divine Nicholson (DE), Rasheed Patrick (DE), Jake Ransom (OL), Isaiah Ratliff (DE), Caleb Ross (OL), Eli Russell (DE), Malik Stanback (WR), Skylar Standridge (OL), Bobby Terry (WR), Jordyn Wall (WR), Trevor Whittington (LB) and Jesse Womble (LB).
