ROCKINGHAM — The official opening of the 2021 fall sports calendar is less than a week away, and many of Richmond Senior High School’s programs have scrimmages planned over the next couple of days.
Most of Richmond’s seven fall varsity programs — boys’ soccer, cheerleading, cross country, football, girls’ golf, girls’ tennis and volleyball — have been holding workouts or practices the last couple of weeks.
The boys’ soccer, football and volleyball programs, both varsity and junior varsity, will all begin their seasons the week of Aug. 16. The varsity teams for all three programs will participate in pre-season scrimmages toward the end of this week.
Fourth-year head soccer coach Chris Larsen and the Raiders will take part in two jamborees, the first on Thursday at Hoke County High School and the other at South View High School on Saturday.
Richmond will play fellow Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Hoke County and former conference foe Purnell Swett High School on Thursday, with start times set at 5:30 and 6:20 p.m.
Saturday’s slate will feature three scrimmages in the inaugural “B-Nice to Your Heart Soccer Jamboree,” in honor of the Brian Edkins Memorial Scholarship.
The Raiders will open against host South View at 9 a.m., followed by scrimmages against Cape Fear High School (10:05 a.m.) and Jack Britt High School (11:05 a.m.)
Also playing Thursday and Saturday will be the Lady Raider volleyball team and fourth-year head coach Ashleigh Larsen. Thursday’s scrimmage, Ashleigh Larsen said, will be a closed event between the Richmond JV and varsity teams to allow for local officials to get practice time as well.
The Lady Raiders will then play six scrimmages on Saturday in the annual Lee County Volleyball Jamboree, which will feature eight teams. Richmond opens with games against Northwood (9 a.m.), Chatham Central (10 a.m.) and Uwharrie Charter Academy (11 a.m.) before breaking for lunch.
In the afternoon session, the Lady Raiders will compete against Overhills twice (12:30 and 1:30 p.m.), before closing the day with another match against Chatham Central (2:30 p.m.).
Tickets are available on GoFan, concessions will be available and masks will be required for the indoor event.
Fifth-year head football coach Bryan Till and the Raiders will gear up for a scrimmage against Terry Sanford High School in the Cumberland County Schools Football Jamboree on Friday.
Playing at Terry Sanford against the host Bulldogs, Richmond is one of eight teams playing. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Full season previews, complete with interviews with coaches and players, for boys’ soccer, football and volleyball will all be published this week.
The Richmond Observer will also continue its coverage of the other RSHS varsity programs leading up to their respective season-openers.
