ROCKINGHAM — With the cancellation of the annual Richmond-Scotland football game due to COVID-19 protocols, Richmond County football fans had the opportunity to enjoy another longtime football rivalry game at Raider Stadium when Hamlet Middle School and Rockingham Middle School met on Wednesday in the county championship game.
The Red Rams and Rockets have been competing on the gridiron since 1916, and in its first ever spring championship edition, it was Hamlet that came away with a 30-0 victory to claim the title.
Judging by the score, you wouldn’t think that this was a hard-fought, defensive battle, but the stat sheet says otherwise. Both defenses owned the trenches and closed down running lanes resulting in numerous loss-yardage plays, six combined fumbles, and both teams ended the game with negative total rushing yards – negative 16 for the Rockets and negative 1 for the Red Rams.
Like it had in its previous two games, Hamlet dominated the field position battle. Hamlet’s average starting position was only 34.5 yards from paydirt. The Red Rams started seven of their eight possessions on the Rockets’ side of the field, with the lone exception occurring in the fourth quarter after all of their points had been scored.
The Rockets were forced to start seven of their eight opportunities on the wrong side of midfield. Their average starting field position prior to the subs entering the game was their own 34-yard line.
This advantage was largely due to special teams. Hamlet kicker Billy West pinned the Rockets back behind their own 37-yard line four times. Other big Red Rams special teams contributions were a Javion Smith punt return for a score and Jordan Bostick returned the second-half kickoff 30 yards to the Rocket 45-yard line.
They were also good on three of their four two-point conversion attempts, with each of them being scored on running plays by three different players.
The entire first quarter was plagued by miscues from both teams. The Rockets went three-and-out on their opening possession, but Hamlet gave the ball right back with a fumbled snap on its second play from scrimmage.
After another three-and-out by Rockingham, Hamlet’s Terande Spencer blocked the Rockets’ punt. The loose ball was collected by Smith who returned it 20 yards to score the game’s first points with 4:12 remaining in the first quarter. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Hamlet had a 6-0 lead that they would carry into the second quarter.
Early in the second, Hamlet’s Jyneil Scott picked off a pass from Rockingham quarterback Dillon Veach and returned it 22 yards to the Rocket 38-yardline. Two plays later, Red Ram quarterback Jason Walker hit Spencer for a 21-yard catch and run to the 6-yard line.
Bostick carried it to the 1-yard line on the next play before Jayden Hamilton punched it in from there. Bostick ran in the two-point conversion extending Hamlet’s lead to 14-0 with 2:24 remaining until the halftime.
After the break, Bostick returned the second half kickoff 30 yards to the Rocket 25-yard line. Hamlet continued to struggle on the ground after Hamilton was sacked for a big loss by Rockingham’s Joe Parsons and Jason Gainey, and the Red Rams lost even more yardage on a pair of fumbles and a false start penalty.
With its biggest offensive play of the first half coming on a pass, the Red Rams opted to go back to the air in hopes to move the chains. Walker found Hamilton for an 18-yard gain and then three plays later he connected with Bostick for a 36-yard touchdown.
Bostick hauled in Walker’s offering in double coverage along the Hamlet sideline at the 2-yard line and dove forward, getting the ball just across the goal line. Smith found paydirt on the conversion attempt.
The seven-play scoring drive extended the Red Rams’ lead to 22-0 and ran out all but 2:05 from the third quarter clock.
Three plays into the next Rocket possession, Rockingham gifted Hamlet with another opportunity when it fumbled deep in its own territory. Hamlet’s Knowledge Short collected the loose ball setting up the Red Rams just 30 yards from the goal line.
A 13-yard run from Bostick and a 5-yard penalty moved the Red Rams to the Rocket 12-yard line. From there, Amer Morrison caught a screen pass from Walker and sprinted 11 yards down the sideline for the final touchdown of the game just as the third quarter expired. Hamilton ran in untouched on the conversion attempt giving the Red Rams its 30-0 advantage.
Both teams began subbing resulting in a quick and scoreless fourth quarter.
Hamlet’s passing game accounted for nearly all of the game’s offense. Walker finished the day going 4-of-6 passing for 98 yards and two touchdowns. His four passes were completed to four different teammates.
Bostick and Redd Graham were the only Red Rams to finish with positive rushing yards. Bostick had four carries for 12 yards while Graham carried the ball three times for 10 yards.
Parsons was the lone Rocket to net positive rushing yards with 10 yards on six carries. Veach completed a single pass to Keonta Pegues for three yards for the Rockets.
Hamlet finished the season 3-0, outscoring its opponents 100-0 and only allowing 121 total offensive yards in its three games.
“Our guys played great defense all season,” said Hamlet head coach John Ware. “They listened and loved tackling in practice. They set us up in a whole bunch of awesome situations.
“This whole crew made it really easy,” Ware continued. “They were just really committed. They all worked extremely hard and understood their roles. All of these kids did a really good job.”
The Red Rams are excited to bring the championship back to Hamlet, but with the short offseason, Coach Ware is already looking at preparing for the next chapter.
“We couldn’t have done it without the coaching staff here,” Ware concluded. “Our coaches Chad McCurry and Seth Brown have done an awesome job. We look forward to getting after it in the fall.”
