ROCKINGHAM — For the second time in five games this season, the Richmond Senior High School varsity football team didn’t get a chance to play the second half.
The script to Friday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference opener at home against Purnell Swett High School was eerily similar to the Raiders’ Week 2 matchup against Anson High School. The Raiders powered themselves out to a 35-point lead before Mother Nature helped end the game with 24 unplayed minutes on the clock.
With high school football games all across the central and eastern part of the state postponed due to thunderstorms and lightning, the latter got the best of the Raiders and Rams. Fans were asked to clear Raider Stadium due to imminent lightning strikes near the end of the halftime intermission.
Third-year head coach Bryan Till explained that he, along with Purnell Swett head coach Robbie Brown and the officiating crew, decided to call the game after no clear sign of the lighting letting up. The Raiders were awarded the victory, defeating the Rams 35-0.
It’s the first time in the program’s 47 year history that two games in one season have been called at halftime. The game at Anson was called with just under a minute left in the second quarter following an on-field incident that saw punches thrown. The Raiders won that game 33-0.
“Both coaches have to agree to call the game,” Till explained. “I don’t like doing that … but we didn’t want to wait and not get the second half in anyway. We felt like the game had been decided at that point.
“I hate it because we had so many kids who practiced extremely hard this week to get the opportunity to play and it was cut in half,” he added.
In the 24 minutes the Raiders (5-0, 1-0 SAC) did get to compete against the Rams (0-5, 0-1 SAC), they controlled the tempo and the scoreboard. Richmond tallied 21 points in the opening quarter, before adding 14 more in the second stanza, showing no rust coming off the bye week.
The green and gold offense scored touchdowns on five of its six first-half possessions for 317 total yards of offense, while the Raider defense stifled the Rams for just 82 yards of offense, while recording four sacks on senior quarterback Micah Carter. Richmond added nine tackles for loss in the win.
After using the air attack against Cardinal Gibbons High School two weeks ago, the Raider offense found more success on the ground against the Rams. Richmond collected 230 rushing yards on the night, blasting through the Rams’ defensive line for four rushing scores by three different players.
However, it would be junior quarterback Caleb Hood and fellow junior wideout Dalton Stroman who connected for the first score of the game. On Richmond’s first drive, a seven-play, 60-yard march, Hood found Stroman for the sixth time this season, which extended Stroman’s touchdown streak to a career-best five games.
After a couple of short runs, Hood let one loose on second-and-two down the left sideline to Stroman, who extended his hands above a reeling Justin Lowry in the back corner of the end zone for a 23-yard score. Junior Mack West tacked on the first of his five point after attempts to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead with 8:27 left in the opening quarter.
Just under two and a half minutes later on Richmond’s second drive, junior running back Jaron Coleman strung together back-to-back runs to pay dirt. A 22-yard gain that saw him break a tackle from Zeke Snell to put the Raiders at the 10-yard line.
From there, Coleman took a handoff on the next play and split the middle of the line for a 10-yard score. It was his lone tally of the game, and third of the season.
The Raiders added their final first-quarter score with 2:09 left on the clock. Hood, who only had three completions on four attempts for 87 yards, threw his longest pass of the game to Stroman over the middle for a 42-yard pickup to put the Raiders at the Purnell Swett 44-yard line.
Senior running back Jaheim Covington would be responsible for the next two Richmond touchdowns. On the next play following Stroman’s catch and run, Covington moved his way past the defensive line, racing 44 yards to the end zone untouched.
To start the second quarter, the Raiders began their next drive at their own 34-yard line. A run-pass option saw Hood carry the momentum of the defense to his right before he released the ball at the last second giving Covington an opening to his left.
Covington, whose shown his ability to be shifty and have explosive speed the last three seasons, fired on all cylinders down the left sideline for the 66-yard score. He weaseled his way through traffic inside the red zone before breaking a tackle on the far side line to trot past the goal line.
“The guys understand our system and they made it count tonight,” Till said of the explosive running game. “I’m not surprised with how the offense played tonight.
“People talk about how fast Jaron is, and he showed that tonight a couple of times,” he added. “But Jaheim’s got that speed, too, and he opened it up to score twice tonight. We’re really blessed to have both those kids do what they’re able to do with running and catching the football.”
The large margin on the scoreboard saw Till enter several second-string players into the game following Covington’s second score. Senior quarterback Noah Altman entered the game and used his feet to notch Richmond’s final score.
After three straight running plays by Coleman moved the ball to the Purnell Swett 23-yard line, Altman scampered out of a swarm of Rams defenders to his right. He turned the edge of the line and sprinted toward the front pile on, squeezing just inside the marker for his first rushing score of the fall.
Covington ended the night as the game’s leading rusher, picking up a season-high 135 yards on just six touches (22.5 yards per attempt). It was the first time during his senior campaign he’s broken the century mark on the ground. Coleman had 66 yards on the same amount of attempts.
Stroman was the top receiver, catching two balls for 65 yards, while Coleman hauled in a pass for 22 yards for the other completion. Senior linebacker Dre Bethea had a sack on Carter for a seven-yard loss, and the final sack of the game for the Raiders came from senior defensive end Javon Little, who was assisted by Omarion Mason and Kaleel Brown.
The win was the 25th straight time the Raiders have defeated the Rams, and Richmond has outscored the team from Pembroke 1,486 points to 298 points in the 37-game history. The shutout by the Raiders’ defense marked the 15th time the Rams haven’t scored a point.
“I don’t think missing the second half hurts us in terms of reps because we’re healthy,” Till explained. “It hurts our guys’ football experience more than anything else.
“I’m extremely proud of our defense,” he closed. “We had some busted plays on screens, and those things frustrate me as a coach. But I love how Dereck Barringer ran down the guy on a big running play near the end of the half to preserve the shutout.”
Richmond will gear up for another home SAC game next Friday against a currently undefeated Pinecrest High School (4-0). The Patriots saw their game Friday against SAC opponent Seventy-First High School postponed to Monday due to weather.
That means Pinecrest will play two games in five days, capping the week on the road at Richmond. A season ago, the Raiders cruised past the Patriots 31-0. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
ROSports will publish a game preview later in the week. Follow us on Twitter @ROSports_ for live updates, stories and more.
