ROCKINGHAM – Part of the expectation during homecoming week in high school is for the football team to win on Friday night. And while Richmond Senior High School awards a Mr. and Miss School Spirit instead of a homecoming king and queen, the Raider football team was the king of the field in its showdown with Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Hoke County High School.
No. 6 Richmond welcomed in the winless Bucks Friday to Raider Stadium, and dismantled Hoke County in 53-0 fashion, steamrolling its way to its fifth-straight win. The current winning streak is the longest during head coach Bryan Till’s tenure, and it’s the program’s longest stretch of wins since collecting six in a row during the 2015 regular season (Sept. 18 – Oct. 30, 2015).
This year’s meeting was the two schools’ 43rd all-time meeting, and the Raiders (6-1, 3-0 SAC) have owned the series, tallying just one loss to the Bucks (2011) dating back to 1972. And Friday’s homecoming game proved to follow the narrative of the past four decades, as the Raiders tallied their third-highest all-time point total against the Bucks (0-7, 0-3 SAC).
After losing to No. 1 Wake Forest High School on Aug. 24, Richmond has been clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. The 53-point blowout was Richmond’s third shutout of the season, all coming in a span of the last five games. Off the eight total touchdowns scored, the defense had one of them.
Offensively, the Raiders scored 46 first-half points against Hoke County, the most in the opening two quarters since scoring 48 against Douglas Byrd High School in 2016 (a 62-0 win). It was also the fourth time in the last five meetings that the Raiders have put up 50 or more points against the Bucks.
“What I saw tonight was a lot of focus from all of our players, and that was also obvious in practice all week,” Till said during his postgame interview. “Our kids have really matured as football players and they really understand what it takes to be a great team. I wasn’t surprised by what we did tonight, and I’m really proud of my players.”
Richmond handed the Bucks their 20th straight loss, and scored on seven of its nine total possessions of the night, including its first six of the ball game. Defensively, the Raiders held the Bucks to just 85 yards of total offense, the lowest since holding Douglas Byrd to 82 yards of offense during the aforementioned game. It’s the second time this season Till’s defense has kept a team under 100 yards of total offense, the other being Pine Forest High School (96 yards) on Aug. 31.
After forcing Hoke County to punt on a three-and-out on the game’s opening drive, one of seven such occurrences for the visiting team, the Raiders didn’t waste any time finding the end zone. On the third play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Caleb Hood lined a screen pass to senior wide receiver Jordyn Wall, who caught it and zipped down the left sideline and into the end zone for a 45-yard score with 9:47 left in the first quarter.
Wall’s touchdown catch, his first of the season, would start a string of three consecutive scoring plays for the Raiders. Another punt by the Bucks gave Richmond field position at their own 46-yard line, and this time, offensive coordinator Brad Denson dug into his bag of tricks to add to the lead.
On the first play of the drive, Hood took the snap and threw a backward pass to junior quarterback Noah Altman, who then airmailed a 54-yard bomb to a wide open Jaheim Covington deep in the secondary. Covington, a junior tailback, “leaked out of the backfield” to haul in his first receiving touchdown of the year — it was also Altman’s first.
Sophomore kicker Trevor Moss tacked on the point after, and Richmond led 14-0 with 7:50 to go in the opening frame. Moments later, after a five-play drive resulted in another punt for the Bucks, Covington would find the end zone for the second of three times on the night, this one via the ground attack.
Again on the first play of the drive, Richmond’s third go on offense, Covington took a handoff from Hood and ran to his left before hitting a wall of Hoke County defenders. The 5-8, 180-pound tailback bounced off them and muscled his way free, cutting back toward the middle of the open field. Using his speed, he won the footrace to the end zone, capping off a 56-yard score. Moss’ PAT was no good, but the Raiders held a 20-0 lead with 4:18 to go in the first quarter.
The final seven points of Richmond’s 27 first-quarter points were scored by Covington, this time on an eight-play, 40-yard drive. Covington carried the ball four times for 28 yards on the drive, before scooting into the end zone from eight yards out for his SAC-leading 11th rushing touchdown of the year. The score was set up by a 12-yard catch and run by senior wide receiver Bobby Terry on fourth-and-10 at the 20-yard line.
“The offensive line tells me every game that I’m going to have a whole bunch of rushing yards,” Covington smiled after the game. “And tonight I just followed behind them and had a big game. I’m doing well with reading the holes (in the line), and I think we can go a long way if we keep doing what we’re doing.”
The second quarter saw the Raiders net 19 more points, while holding the Bucks to just 12 yards of offense on four drives. Junior defensive end Javon Little sacked Hoke County quarterback Brandon Ricard for a six-yard loss on third down on the first drive of the quarter, pushing the Bucks back to their own one-yard line. A short punt gave the Raiders excellent field position at the Hoke County 26-yard line.
For the third time in four drives, Richmond struck scoring gold on the first snap. This time, Hood found Preston Coker all alone in the left corner of the end zone, lacing a 26-yard strike to the senior wide receiver for his second and final passing touchdown of the game. Hood finished the night 3-for-6 passing with 83 yards, two touchdowns and two of the passes going for 20 yards or more. Entering the night, Hood was tied with Seventy-First High School’s Kyler Davis with 12 passing touchdowns.
Up 33-0 after Moss’ PAT was blocked, Till started substituting players on both sides of the ball. Altman got more reps under center, and sophomore tailback CJ Tillman replaced Covington in the backfield and found success like his junior teammate. After Altman picked up one of his three completions on the night, a 19-yard gain to sophomore wide receiver Dalton Stroman, Tillman found a gap and raced 10 yards for his only touchdown of the game, and his first of the season. A made Moss PAT gave the home team a 40-0 lead with 6:01 left in the first half.
The final score of the opening 24 minutes for Richmond was scored by the Raider defense following Hoke County’s first of two turnovers during the game. Juniors Gavin Russell and Little teamed up to sack Ricard for a three-yard loss to the Hoke County 21-yard line, and on the next play, Ricard fumbled the ball on a high snap.
Senior linebacker Jada Edwards scrambled to the ball and scooped it up inside the five-yard line before losing possession, sending the ball ball bouncing into the end zone. Fellow senior linebacker Trevor Whittington plopped down on the ball, scoring his first defensive touchdown of the season.
Still, Richmond wasn’t done with its flash plays, as junior linebacker D’Andre Bethea picked off a Kasheim Teller pass at the Hoke County 38-yard line a couple of plays later. Bethea tiptoed his way down the right sideline and crossed the goal line, but his score was negated by a blindside block on the return. Richmond would drive the ball 31 yards on seven plays, but failed to find the end zone for the first time during the game, closing out the first half without capitalizing on Bethea’s pick.
At the break, Richmond held a healthy 46-point lead.
D’Andre Bethea (35) returns his interception during the second quarter.
“Our offensive line did a great job blocking in the trenches tonight,” Till noted of his team’s explosiveness on offense. “Jaheim made a bunch of his runs by physically running through some tackles.
“We’re seeing consistency out of our kids week in and week out — I don’t think about streaks, I think about what we need to do each week,” Till continued. “And our kids are doing that on a regular basis to put together this winning streak.”
By North Carolina High School Athletic Association rule, a 42-point lead warrants a running clock as long as that lead is maintained. The entire second half was operated on a running clock, and the only score by either team came on the opening kickoff. Sophomore kick returner Jakolbe Baldwin took the Luis Reyes kick from his own 15-yard line, and burst right up the middle of the field, charging 85 yards to the house for Richmond’s first kickoff return touchdown of the year. It was also Baldwin’s first return attempt this season.
To close out the game, Hoke County would get the ball two more times, compiling its lengthiest drive of the night on its final drive. The Bucks managed to collect 53 yards on 10 plays, but the final buzzer sounded before any damage could be done.
Covington finished as the game’s leading rusher, gaining 111 yards on nine carries and two scores. It was his second straight week with over 100 rushing yards, and his third of the season. Hood and Altman combined to go 6-of-13 passing for 161 yards and three scores, and each completion went to a different receiver.
Till’s defense racked up 10 total tackles for a loss in the win, including five sacks. It also held Hoke County to just five first downs on 40 total plays (two more total plays than Richmond) and gave up just 21 rushing yards and 64 passing yards.
“Coach Till has really been influencing us to keep our momentum up,” Little said. “I also couldn’t play like I do without Coach (Milton) Swinnie. He always tells me to fly to the ball, and when I do that, I feel like nobody can block me. I used all the tools they teach me and I got the sacks tonight.”
Through seven games this season, Richmond is outscoring its opponents by exactly 23 points (36.43 to 13.43). Currently, that’s the Raiders’ best average margin of victory since 2003 (25.2).
“I told the team after the game that I was proud of them and they did what they were supposed to do tonight,” Till concluded. “All the guys held the standard tonight, and that’s what it takes to be a big program.”
After having two home games the last two weeks, the Raiders will gear up to hit the road for their next two SAC competitions. First will be sixth-place Lumberton High School next Friday, followed by Seventy-First High School on Friday, Oct. 26. Richmond and the Falcons are the last remaining undefeated teams in the SAC standings, as both are 3-0.
The Pirates (1-5, 0-2 SAC) will play Pinecrest High School (4-2, 1-1 SAC) Monday, and follow up the short week with Richmond four days later.
In last year’s meeting between Richmond and Lumberton during the Raiders’ homecoming game, it was Richmond’s five rushing touchdowns that bolstered them to a 49-27 victory.
ROSports will publish a game preview article next Thursday, as the Raiders will look to stay perfect in SAC play. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Lumberton High School.
