ROCKINGHAM — Securing its 20th straight conference win, the Richmond Raider football team also recorded its fourth-largest margin of victory in program history on Wednesday.
From the opening kickoff, the No. 3 Raiders never looked back in a 69-6 win over Union Pines High School. It was the first time the two programs met on the gridiron, and Richmond scored eight of its 10 touchdowns in the first half, sparking a running clock.
Senior Javares Stanback took the opening kickoff back 70 yards for a touchdown, and scored on a 44-yard catch and run on Richmond’s first play from scrimmage. Later in the first quarter, Stanback recorded his second special teams score, a 46-yard punt return.
Junior running back Taye Spencer recorded the Raiders’ first of seven rushing touchdowns in the game, an 8-yard run.
Freshman kicker Billy West, who made his varsity debut, connected on three of the four first-quarter point-after attempts. He would go on to tie the Richmond single-game program record with 9 PATs, matching Wesley Jackson (1998) and Cody Threadgill (2008).
The second quarter featured four more touchdowns — three on the ground by senior quarterback Kellan Hood and the first of three for senior running back Nasir Crumpton.
Hood rushed in from distances of 6, 17 and 9 yards, while Crumpton’s was a 5-yard plow up the middle just before half.
Freshman linebacker Joe Parsons accounted for a blocked punt and a fumble recovery in the first half, and junior cornerback Brandon Askins intertecpted at Ben Finkelstein pass with 30.2 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Union Pines’ lone score was a 6-yard passing play from Finkelstein to Eric Jernigan in the first quarter, which was the result of a Raider fumble.
At the break, Richmond held a 55-6 lead. The entire second half was played under a running clock.
Crumpton would add to Richmond’s lead with rushing scores of 2 yards and 29 yards, respectively, in the third and fourth quarters. West tied the program PAT record with just over six minutes remaining in the game.
Richmond (6-1, 3-0 SAC) will have another quick turnaround and play Southern Lee High School (0-5, 0-2 SAC) on Tuesday at home.
The make-up game is from Sept. 17 when the Cavaliers were under COVID-19 protocols. Kickoff will get underway at 7 p.m. at Raider Stadium.
Below are photos taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar of Richmond’s 69-6 win over Union Pines on Wednesday.
