CHAPEL HILL — For the first time in three seasons, the Richmond Senior High School football program will get to host a playoff game on its home field and in front of its home crowd.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its finalized playoff brackets Sunday around 5:25 p.m.
As a result of Hurricane Helene’s damage to the western part of the state earlier this fall, the postseason as a whole was pushed an entire week.
Richmond and first-year head coach Brad Denson secured the No. 4 seed in the 4A East bracket, pairing the Raiders with No. 29 Topsail High School Pirates in the opening round.
“It’s always a big deal any time we can get a home playoff game,” Denson said “We’ve played well at home this season and it’s an honor for our kids to pull this off from where we’ve been the last couple of seasons.
“Playing at home allows for us to follow the same schedule we’re accustomed to,” he continued. “Being in front of our home fans and on our home turf, that gives us a level of comfortability and familiarity that always helps. Raider Stadium is one of the hardest places to play, especially when Raider Nation shows up and we value that.”
The NCHSAA uses a team’s Ratings Performance Index (RPI) to help determine playoff seeding. Richmond (0.65862) had the fourth-best RPI in 4A East, while the Pirates (0.50167) were the 29th best.
The Raiders, who enter the playoffs on a seven-game winning streak, helped launch themselves from a No. 18 seed last season to a top-four spot thanks to their perfect run against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents, as well as earning non-conference wins against Butler and Myers Park high schools.
Even though the team lost to Seventy-First and Cardinal Gibbons high schools in the first and third weeks of the season, respectively, those games helped Richmond’s RPI. The Falcons and Crusaders both earned the No. 2 seed in the 3A East and 4A East playoffs, respectively.
The Topsail Pirates, who are coached by Jack Teachey, recorded a 4-5 overall record in the regular season.
Competing in the 3A/4A Mideastern Conference, the Pirates finished in fifth place in the standings and are one of five teams from the conference to make the 4A East playoffs.
In its five losses to Terry Sanford, New Hanover, Hoggard, Ashley and Laney high schools, Topsail lost by an average of 12 points, something Denson noticed.
“From what I’ve seen so far, (Topsail) plays in a good conference with Hoggard, Laney, Ashley and New Hanover,” Denson shared. “They obviously play some really quality opponents and in the games they have lost, all of them were to good teams and weren’t blowouts.
“We know that it’s not going to be a cake walk and that Topsail has an extremely good head coach in Jack Teachey. He’s been in the college ranks and has recruited Richmond players. So I expect them to be very familiar with Richmond County and very well-coached.
“It’s important for us to not look to the next week too soon,” Denson closed. “We are literally playing a one-game season that’s win or go home. And we’ll get our guys ready for our first game this Friday.”
Kickoff for the first round playoff game is scheduled for Friday at Raider Stadium. At the time of publication, Denson said a definitive start time is to be determined.
Tickets are $8 a person and will be sold at the gate and online at GoFan.co. Per the NCHSAA’s regulations, only NCHSAA-issued passes will be accepted.
The Richmond Observer will publish a full playoff preview later this week.
