ROCKINGHAM — Even in the final moments of Friday’s varsity football game, Richmond head coach Bryan Till was impressed by his team’s grit.
The Raiders hosted David W. Butler High School in their second game of the season and let a first-quarter tie end in a 40-7 defeat.
Despite Richmond out-performing the Bulldogs in several categories, including total offense (257 yards to 244 yards) and rushing yards (107 yards to -55 yards), the Raiders struggled to find its offensive rhythm.
Both teams entered the second quarter tied at 7 points, but the Bulldogs outscored Richmond 33-0 in the final three stanzas.
“Our posture was better tonight and our kids showed they wanted to continue to play the game,” Till said. “They never acted like it was over, even when it was out of hand at the end. I’m proud of the guys.
“(Butler) eventually made a few too many plays and we made a few too many mistakes.”
Butler took a lead in the first 24 seconds of the game following a fumble by Richmond on its second snap from scrimmage.
The bouncing ball was picked up at the 14-yard line and was returned to the end zone. The PAT was good to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 11:36 left in the first quarter.
Richmond found itself in familiar territory on its second offensive drive, getting near the red zone at the Butler 24-yard line. But the Raiders saw incomplete passes on third and fourth downs result in a turnover.
The Richmond defense went back to work on the next drive, forcing a punt after four plays, featuring a sack by junior defensive end Jacoby Martin. It was one of three sacks by the Raiders in the opening two quarters.
Junior wide receiver Jada Zimmerman hauled in a 34-yard catch from senior quarterback Emoni McBride to spark another deep drive by Richmond. But again, the series stalled at the Butler 26-yard line.
A high snap on a punt attempt on Butler’s next possession was scooped up by senior defensive back Messiah Shaw, his second turnover recovery in two games.
That put the Raiders at the Bulldogs’ 3-yard line, but four straight runs failed to see the Raiders cross the goal line. McBride fumbled on the fourth-down run, which was recovered by Butler at its own 2-yard line.
Richmond’s resilience paid off a couple plays later when Butler wide receiver Eli Sylvester dropped a catch with an open field ahead of him, resulting in a fumble recovery by sophomore Bobby Little at the Bulldogs’ 30-yard line.
On the first play of the drive, McBride hit senior wideout Jamarion Bryant for a 28-yard grab over the middle. That set up a 2-yard toss to senior running back Taye Spencer, who moved left around the edge and into the end zone.
Sophomore Billy West split the uprights for the PAT to knot the game at 7 points with 4.5 seconds left in the first quarter.
“On the score, everybody did what they were supposed to,” Spencer said. “We did a better job of running the ball tonight. Our o-line is strong enough that we can run the ball on any play. We just can’t keep taking breaks on plays.”
Spencer, who has recorded both of Richmond’s touchdowns this season, had 85 rushing yards on 17 carries. McBride finished 9-of-25 passing for 120 yards and three passes of 20+ yards.
Connecting with seven different receivers, Bryant (44 yards), sophomore Raymond Knotts (7 yards) and Spencer all had two catches.
Other receivers to haul in a catch apiece were Zimmerman (34 yards), freshman Jayden Hamilton (31 yards), sophomore Travion Smith (30 yards) and sophomore Joe Parsons (5 yards).
“Taye is a workhorse and most of the positive stuff that happened tonight is because of him,” Till said. “He was cheering on his teammates and I can’t say enough about him. He needs to continue to do the good things he’s shown this season.”
“Offensively, there are more reads and other things Emoni has to get more comfortable with. He’s a great football player who understands the game, he just has to catch his breath. We have to remember he’s only started two games.”
Butler outscored Richmond 13-0 in the second quarter, starting with a 65-yard pass from quarterback Zach Lawrence to Nick Darling at the 8:45 mark.
Martin applied pressure on the extra point attempt and blocked it to hold the score to a 13-6 deficit.
Following a Richmond punt, the Bulldogs capped a 10-play drive with a 1-yard plunge from junior Tyquan Rankin to make it a 20-7 lead with 4:11 before the half.
Little picked up his second quarterback sack of the first half, dragging Lawrence to the ground to stall a final drive with 11.3 ticks on the clock.
Richmond’s defense managed to stop the Bulldogs on the opening drive of the third quarter, as a host of Raiders tackled D.J. Horton short of the line to gain on fourth down at the Richmond 25-yard line.
“Last year I had a big role as a sophomore and I’m just trying to lead my guys and get them to do the same stuff I try to do,” Martin said. “If everyone can keep their motor up, we’ll be good.
“We did well in the first half, and we did better than last week. If we focus more and do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll ball out next week.”
That momentum was cut short when McBride threw an interception, one of three turnovers by the Raiders, two plays into the drive. Rankin caught the ball at the 37-yard line and returned it to the Richmond 5-yard line.
Butler added 14 points in the third quarter, starting with a Lawrence pass to Ian Coleman from 6 yards after the Rankin pick. On their next drive, the Bulldogs used a 10-yard pass from Lawrence (21-of-32, 299 yards, 4 touchdowns) to Dequadre Currence to make it a 34-7 lead.
Richmond started a drive late in the third that carried over to the fourth quarter that saw McBride throw completions to Hamilton, Knotts and Parsons. But a pair of passes fell incomplete at the Butler 33-yard line, resulting in a turnover on downs.
The game’s final score came with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter when Lawrence hit Sylvester for a 38-yard passing score. The PAT was no good.
With 3:34 left in the game, junior backup quarterback Zaviar Lowry entered the game and junior tailback Jaliel Green carried the ball on four straight plays for 28 yards. Sophomore Jordan Bostick tacked on a 5-yard run.
Lowry aired out a 30-yard pass to Smith, who was pushed out of bounds at the 1-yard line. The Raiders ran four more plays but couldn’t score as the clock expired.
“We made some mistakes, like the fumble early,” Till said. “But our kids responded extremely well to that and kept fighting. We didn’t execute particularly well or line up correctly every time. But the kids kept playing until the end and I loved seeing that.
“These are great kids and they’re going to keep trying to do what they’re supposed to,” he closed. “We’ll continue to get better and better at it.”
The Raiders (0-2) have the first of four straight road games next Friday, continuing their string of non-conference games to start the season.
Richmond will head to Cardinal Gibbons High School (0-1), another familiar opponent in the regular season and the playoffs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Last season, the Raiders suffered a 30-22 loss to the Crusaders, their only regular-season defeat.
The Richmond Observer will publish a preview article for next Friday’s away game against Cardinal Gibbons later in the week.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Friday’s game over the weekend. For updates on all Richmond County sports, follow us on Twitter @ROSports_.
