ROCKINGHAM — History can be made under the sparkle of the new LED lights at Raider Stadium when the Richmond Senior High School football team hits the field on Friday night.
With the No. 29 Seventy-First High School Falcons making the trip to Rockingham, the No. 1 Raiders will celebrate its 35 seniors on senior night and look to earn their 10th win of the season in the same number of tries.
But more impressive is the opportunity for head coach Bryan Till and the Raiders (9-0, 5-0 Sandhills Athletic Conference) to record the program’s 500th all-time victory.
Dating back to Richmond’s inaugural season in 1972, the kelly green and gold have won 499 of their 614 games, having lost just 110 games and five ties for an all-time winning percentage of 81.27 percent.
“It is an unbelievable accomplishment for this program and, honestly, very humbling to be a part of when it happens,” Till said of the looming milestone. “It shows the quality of football that his been played here for several generations. I’m hoping we can keep adding to that.”
In his now nearly three full seasons as head coach, Till has coached 34 games, winning 27 of them. A victory would also secure the Raiders at least a share of the regular-season SAC championship, which would follow last year’s title after an eighth-year drought.
Based on the numbers, the Raiders shouldn’t have much of a problem putting the Falcons (5-4, 2-3 SAC) away to earn the win. Richmond’s offense is tallying 44.22 points per game through nine contests this season, which is the highest number in program history (previous mark was 44.13 ppg).
The Raiders’ margin of victory is also near the top of the all-time charts, as this year’s team is beating its opponents by 33.89 points, second on the list to 1998’s state championship team (34.56).
“We are not even thinking about it at this point,” Till commented on the team’s preseason goals of winning the SAC. “We just want to win for our seniors on senior night and to do our best this Friday.
“When it is over, we want to be able to check that box (of winning conference), but thinking about that goal does nothing to prepare us to win,” he continued. “We are focused on our preparation and hopefully we can talk about the rewards to preparation later.”
The Falcons and head coach Duran McLaurin fly into Raider Stadium having a down year compared to 2018. When the two teams met in Fayetteville for a rare Thursday game last season, Richmond and Seventy-First were both 7-1 overall and a perfect 4-0 in SAC play. Then junior running back Jaheim Covington quieted the Falcons with four rushing scores in a 49-14 win.
Although Seventy-First has lost three of its last five games, Till is expecting a tough fight from the Falcons.
“They are committed to running the ball with (two) running backs and their quarterback,” Till explained. “They have multiple formations they will run with similar schemes but out of order to change our positioning and responsibilities.
“Seventy-First will also take shots down the field when they feel they can get one-on-one coverage,” he added. “They are getting healthier, too, which makes them that much more dangerous.”
A run-heavy offense by Seventy-First has seen the Falcons rack up over 2,500 rushing yards in nine games this season, which is first in the SAC (over 500 more yards than second-place Richmond).
Senior tailback Kore Prentice-Coles, who returned last week from an injury, is averaging an SAC second-best 119.4 yards per game on the ground. He has 717 yards in six games and seven scores, less than half of Covington’s SAC-leading 15 rushing touchdowns.
Junior running back Donovan Wright picked up the slack during Prentice-Coles’ absence, and has rushed for 841 yards and nine scores in nine games. He’s averaging just a tick below the century mark per game (93.4 yards), while senior quarterback Jamarious Simmons has almost as many rushing yards (493) as he does passing yards (501).
Defensively, Till explained, the Falcons also like to mix things up with different fronts and personnel in different places. He expects Seventy-First to run a couple of different coverages and is certain “their guys will run to the football.”
He pointed out the linebacker group specifically, noting senior Malik Wilson (team-leading 101 tackles) and Jashawn Owens (98 tackles), along with sophomore Twan Anderson (56 tackles) “are all good players.”
On the home sideline, the mindset still remains the same as the Raiders continue their march toward an undefeated season. With some help from Pinecrest High School defeating Scotland High School last week, Richmond sits alone at the top of the SAC standings by one game. The most pivotal improvement this week during practice has been Richmond’s health.
“We are getting healthier more and more each week,” Till said. “(Linebacker) Dre Bethea (emergency appendectomy) may not play this week, but he has gotten back to running around and will be back on the field soon.
“This has helped us to build depth in a number of places by getting guys like Jaleak Gates valuable playing time,” he continued of the breakout sophomore linebacker. “And Jah’meek Harden and CJ Tillman have now worked at three different linebacker spots.”
Also getting back on track has been junior wide receiver Jakolbe Baldwin, who Till said “has been starting to see his explosiveness come back more and more and he has been having great practices.” After missing a handful of games with a lower leg injury, Baldwin snagged two touchdown receptions in last week’s homecoming win over Lumberton.
“We really want to stay healthy down the stretch,” Till closed. “And a big shoutout to Coach (Mitch) Hadinger for working so hard to get these guys back right.”
Kickoff for a potential historic night is set for 7:30 p.m. at Raider Stadium. Prior to the game, fans are invited to the community tailgate along the access road near the field house, starting at 5 p.m. Fans are also encouraged to wear pink to support breast cancer awareness and help welcome the team to the field when it arrives.
