ROCKINGHAM — With the 2019-2020 school year just a week away and teachers set to return to their classrooms on Monday, the Richmond Senior High School fall sports season is also set to get underway.
Four of the six fall varsity programs will begin their respective seasons this week: football, boys’ soccer, girls’ tennis and volleyball. Also getting in on the action will be junior varsity boys’ soccer, junior varsity volleyball and the freshman football team.
Girls’ Tennis
The Lady Raider tennis team will be the first team to compete this fall, set to host Montgomery Central High School on Monday. As noted in ROSports’ season preview, the tennis team is under the direction of first-year head coach Neely Herndon who has a fresh canvas of nine players ready to compete.
Richmond will then travel to Montgomery Central on Thursday to complete the early-season home-and-home matchup. Both matches are scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
Boy’s Soccer
Second-year head coach Chris Larsen and his team, which is comprised of 12 seniors, will kick off their season Tuesday at home against non-conference East Mecklenburg High School. Looking to get off to a fast start with a win, the Raiders are out this season to win the Sandhills Athletic Conference after finishing tied for second with Hoke County last year.
The junior varsity team, coached by Tad Hamilton, will start at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity squad at 6 p.m. The Raiders will also play in the “Battle for the Bell” on Saturday at the Fayetteville Soccer Complex starting at 3 p.m.
Volleyball
Also entering her second season at the helm of the Lady Raider volleyball program is Ashleigh Larsen, who has made it clear that winning the team’s third conference title in four years is what she expects. The Lady Raiders will start their 22-game regular season at home against non-conference Anson High School on Tuesday, with JV starting at 5 p.m., followed by varsity.
Richmond will hit the court again on Wednesday, traveling to non-conference Montgomery Central. That game will be played at West Montgomery High School. Melissa Dennis’ junior varsity team will begin at 5 p.m., followed by Larsen’s squad.
Football
Two-thirds of the Richmond football program will get their season started this week. Up first, the Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy team will travel to Clayton High School on Thursday and begin play at 6:30 p.m.
On Friday, the varsity Raiders and third-year head coach Bryan Till will host Clayton as they look to build on an 11-win season and an SAC title from a year ago. The Raiders will not only debut themselves for the first time in a real game this fall, but the new Musco LED lighting system will also light up Raider Stadium.
To open the festivities, Richmond County’s own Drew Henderson will sing the National Anthem, and the Raider cheerleaders will host its annual “cheer night.” Kickoff against the Comets is set for 7:30 p.m.
Note: The JV football team will begin its season next week at home against Anson. ROSports will have season previews available for the varsity and junior varsity football teams this week.
