ROCKINGHAM — A balanced diet of running the football and defensive takeaways, especially in the second half, powered the Richmond Senior High School football team back into the win column Friday.
The No. 20 Raiders evened their record with an upset victory over No. 14 Myers Park High School thanks to a steady rushing attack and three interceptions in the final two quarters.
Taming the Mustangs, Richmond scored all of its points unanswered to gallop to a 21-10 victory. With the win, the Raiders secured their best start to a season since 2021.
Turning to “one of the best o-line coaches in the state,” head coach Brad Denson shared that the team put its trust in the offensive line and its coach Kemp McSween.
Toting the rock with the most efficiency they have all season, the Raiders resorted to their run game to exploit a talented Myers Park defensive front.
Senior running back Jordan Bostick carried most of the load for Richmond, which paid dividends with a pair of second-half rushing scores.
Junior quarterback Domonic Tillman also had a score on the ground, which came late in the second quarter.
Not to be outdone, the Raiders’ defense overcame early adversity and packed a powerful punch when it mattered. Richmond shut out the Mustangs in the second half and totaled four takeaways — a fumble recovery and three picks.
Like they have in their previous three games, the Raiders’ offense moved the ball with ease on the game’s opening series.
But an interception on fourth-and-seven by junior quarterback Evan Hodges to Elijah Barber turned the ball over and stopped the early momentum at the Myers Park 25-yard line.
It was the first of four consecutive series by the Richmond offense that resulted in either a turnover or a Mustangs score.
After the pick, Myers Park went 13 plays before the Richmond defense held strong in the red zone.
On the ninth play of the drive, starting quarterback Jared Lockhart went down with an injury and didn’t return.
Stops by senior linebacker Joe Parsons, senior defensive end Zach Gardner and junior linebacker Terande Spencer forced a field goal attempt.
The Mustangs struck first on a 29-yard chip shot by James Remsen with 11:56 left in the second quarter.
The Raiders turned the ball over on downs on the next series after a fourth-and-short push by Tillman was no good.
Gardner dialed in on the ensuing series, which started at the Richmond 35-yard line. He had a tackle-for-loss on first down and applied pressure on third down, which resulted in an incomplete pass by backup quarterback Zan Reghay.
After the Mustangs punt, Richmond ran six plays before West had to punt out of his own red zone. A blitz up the middle blocked the punt and Barber scooped it up near the 15-yard line and returned it for a touchdown.
Remsen knocked the PAT through to grow Richmond’s deficit to 10-0 with 4:29 left in the half.
On Richmond’s next play from scrimmage, Tillman threw an interception in the right flat that was taken over by Josh Hines.
The Mustangs quickly got into Richmond territory, but a holding call coupled with the double personal foul and ejection of starting running back RJ Alexander started the momentum shift in the Raiders’ favor.
After Alexander’s ejection, Myers Park faced a second-and-44 at its own 37-yard line. Reghay botched a pitch attempt and the bouncing ball was swarmed on by a horde of Raider defenders.
Junior defensive end Jordan Hamilton emerged from the bottom of the pile with the football, giving the Raiders possession at the Mustangs’ 18-yard line.
Three plays later, after gains by senior running back Javion Smith and Hodges, Tillman kept the ball and barreled in for a nine-yard rushing score.
Senior kicker Billy West drilled the first of his three PATs in the game to cut Richmond’s deficit to three points with just over 90 seconds left in the half.
The tale of two halves started quickly for Richmond in the third stanza, which kept up its energy from the scoring drive in the second quarter.
Getting it started was the defense and senior cornerback Jarah Cook. On the Mustangs’ third play of their first second-half drive, Cook made a sliding grab for an interception on a long pass attempt by Reghay.
The first of Cook’s two picks in the second half gave Richmond the ball at its own 13-yard line. Although the drive would end in a West punt, it started a string of six consecutive stops by the Richmond defense that ended in a turnover or punt.
A scoreless third quarter by both teams saw the final quarter start with a long punt return by junior Jayden Hamilton across midfield. Paired with a personal foul penalty against Myers Park, Richmond’s offense got to work at the Mustangs’ 19-yard line.
Bostick, who got most of the play calls in the second half for Richmond, carried the ball on second down and got down to the five-yard line. Two plays later, Bostick recorded the first of his two rushing scores.
A West PAT flipped the score and gave the Raiders their first lead of the game, 14-10, with 11:22 left in regulation.
After punts by both teams on the next two combined series, senior defensive back Keidreion Crump helped put the victory on ice with an interception. His pick with 4:47 to go gave Richmond the ball back at its own 40-yard line.
Sophomore running back Chance Crowder entered the game and made a series of shifty runs that both picked up first downs and dwindled the game clock.
For good measure, Bostick found a lane provided by the offensive line and burst ahead untouched for the game’s final touchdown. West’s PAT was good to make it a 21-10 lead with 1:28 to play.
On a desperation attempt by the Mustangs on their next offensive play, Cook made a leaping interception along the far sideline with 73 seconds on the clock. That sent the Raiders into victory formation.
With their non-conference schedule complete, the Raiders (2-2) will open Sandhills Athletic Conference play next Friday.
The first of consecutive SAC road games, Richmond will travel to Southern Lee High School (2-1). Kickoff in Sanford will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Richmond’s home game against Myers Park Saturday.
Sports editor’s note: Official stats and game totals were not available at the time of publication.
