MATTHEWS, N.C. — It wasn’t the end result the Richmond Senior High School football team was looking for, but the Raiders gained some valuable experience in front of a big home crowd during the final day of the Powerade Invitational 7-on-7.
A day after going 5-2 in pool play and winning the Potassium Division on Friday, the Raiders earned the No. 4 overall seed in Saturday’s championship bracket. But a slow start by the offense and defense led to losses in the first and second round, leading to an early exit for Richmond.
No. 10 Life Christian Academy (Chester, Va.), which Richmond beat 20-4 in its fifth pool game, defeated No. 11 Woodrow Wilson High School (Camden, N.J.) 17-16 in the championship game to take home the $15,000 prize of BSN Sports vouchers.
Richmond opened its play with No. 29 South Pointe High School (Rock Hill, S.C.), but fell to the Stallions 25-17. After a short break, the Raiders looked to take advantage of the double elimination format, but No. 20 Oscar Smith High School (Chesapeake, Va.) overcame an early deficit to earn a 26-10 win. That game was aired on ESPN+.
“We had opportunities, but we dropped three interceptions and a couple open touchdowns,” third-year head coach Bryan Till commented. “Caleb (Hood) also threw a couple of picks. The difference was we made those plays the day before.
“Hopefully the boys learn from that,” he added. “It was very obvious that there were some of the top programs in the southeast playing in the tournament. We just needed to do the little things right to win. But the whole thing was a great lesson for our program before the records start counting.”
Although his team didn’t walk away from the tournament as one of the top four teams and a BSN Sports prize, Till still saw the experience as a benefit for his program.
“It was pretty awesome to see all the different teams, and it was really well organized,” he explained. “Outside of football, it’s great for the kids to see the pieces come together, and see that success isn’t an accident.
“The sponsorship was tremendous and (the tournament) provided us with two free jerseys, mouth pieces and all the Powerade you could drink,” he laughed. “It was a big time event, but what meant the most was the number of our fans who came out to support us. It was great to see parents, family members and fans come out and cheer us on.”
He added that he and the team “appreciate that more than anything.”
The two-day tournament marked the official end of the Raiders’ 7-on-7 summer schedule, as the team begins its second NCHSAA dead week this week. The seven-day hiatus will allow players and coaches to rest up before the unofficial official start of the season kicks off next Monday.
Starting July 22, the Raiders will have one more week of summer practice through Thursday, July 25. The following Monday, July 29, begins the six-day practice week, with the first official practice beginning Thursday, Aug. 1.
“Once we come back from the dead week, it’s all football,” Till said. “We will take advantage of the Saturday practices so we can get our required days in before we can put pads on.
“Then we’ll be able to start working on more of our defensive concepts and total team schemes,” he closed. “We’ll work on the running game and tackling drills with bags. It’s all about trying to prep for the beginning of the season and get reps in before our first scrimmage.”
The Raiders will travel to Lee County High School for their first scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 10 a.m.
