ROCKINGHAM – It’s easy to see the high number of points the Richmond Senior High School varsity football team’s offense has been putting up on the scoreboard this season, as the Raiders are averaging 37.9 points per game.
But just as glaring for Richmond, the No. 2 seed in the 4AA western playoff bracket, is its defense, led by head coach Bryan Till. Through 11 games this season, the Raider defense has remained one of the stoutest in the state, allowing a staggeringly low 11.1 points per game.
During the team’s current nine-game winning streak, the defense has shut out opponents four times, while the most points it’s given up was 14 to a scrappy Seventy-First High School team.
And while it’s obvious the Raiders (10-1) wouldn’t be in their current playoff bye week scenario if it wasn’t for their high-octane offense, Till doesn’t want his defense’s efforts to go unnoticed as his team gears up for a run at a state championship.
“I haven’t coached a group as tenacious as this group as a whole,” Till commented. “I have had individual players (in the past) who would fit into this group really well. These guys’ motor is just an insatiable desire to stop the other team. Every yard matters to them and every point — they hate being scored on.”
In his second season, Till has made many changes to the culture at Richmond, including amping up the program’s strength and conditioning regimen and working with all of his players to improve in the classroom and build upon their character. A change he’s made that can be tracked on paper is the defense’s turnaround from a season ago.
In 2017, Richmond went 7-5 and the defense allowed a total of 334 points to scored in those 12 games (27.8 points per game). Fast forward to this fall, the Raider defense, which is grounded by a ferocious defensive line, has only given up 123 points in 11 games. According to Till, the difference in allowing nearly two-thirds less of the points from last year is no accident.
“The understanding of our system is the biggest turn around (from last year) because of the kids’ work ethic,” Till explained. “These kids have really worked day in and day out to be the best they can be. They have studied their opponents and paid attention in practice daily to make sure they know their assignments and that can execute them (in games).”
It’s this awareness, something Till always knew his players had inside them, that has propelled the Raiders to a first-place finish in the Sandhills Athletic Conference, the first time in eight years. The long days at practice, the extra minutes in the film room — all of the intangibles are now starting to show up on the stat sheet.
On the line, it’s the three-man front of Antonio Isaac, Divine Nicholson and Rasheed Patrick, all of whom are seniors, that is wreaking havoc in opponents’ backfields. Till explained that the defensive line is “basically all new this year,” as Patrick started roughly half of last year, Nicholson only played the first half of the season, and Isaac and fellow senior Eli Russell are seeing their first first-team reps of their careers.
“All of these these guys have the ability to take on blocks and still make tackles in the backfield,” Till said of his down linemen. “And the way they rush the passer is incredible. Everything (on defense) starts with them.”
Also strong for the Raiders this fall has been the linebacking corps, led by senior Jonathan Jones, Jr. Richmond’s linebackers, which have a little more varsity experience than the defensive line, have proven since Week 1 they have the ability to blitz, drop into coverage and make timely tackles to get the offense back out on the field.
“Jon (Jones) has been the heart and soul of the defense this year — he is so steady,” Till said of his star linebacker. “He gets us lined up and takes the good-natured ribbing from his teammates when he makes a mistake. He leads the team in tackles.
“Trevor Whittington, Gavin Russell, Taveon Ellerbe and CJ Tillman all fly to the ball and love to hit,” he added. “They read plays well and love the game of football.”
Like Till noted, Jones leads the team with 120 tackles, almost double that of his closest teammate. Of his total tackles, 70 of them are solo knock downs, while he’s added 50 assists in 11 games (10.9 tackles/game). Currently, Jones sits as the ninth-best tackler in 4A play in the state, with only 11 separating him from being in the top three. His 19 tackles for a loss are a team-best, and puts him No. 10 in the state.
Patrick, who has missed four games this season due to injury, is tied with Jones for the team lead in quarterback sacks. The dynamic duo has combined for 18 sacks, with Patrick and Jones each having nine, which places both of them in the top 15 in the state. Nicholson (six) and Isaac (three) round out the sack totals for the starting defensive linemen, and have accounted for eight and seven quarterback hurries this season, respectively.
Till’s defense has recorded as least one sack in nine of the 11 games this year, and has dragged down the quarterback at least four times in a game six times. The Raiders’ season-best sack total came against Butler High School in Week 4, where Nicholson and Patrick combined for six of the team’s 10 sacks in the 30-19 victory.
As the Raiders’ bye week draws to a close, all facets of the team will continue preparation for the winner of the No. 7 West Forsyth/No. 10 Reagan matchup. Richmond will host the winner on Friday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the second round of the state playoffs.
“I think if we keep playing the way we have been, and continue to get better and adjust to our opponents, then we have as good a shot as anyone,” Till concluded about the defense helping bring home a state title. “I expect what I always do — I want the guys to be prepared, be physical, and be in the game all night.”
