ROCKINGHAM — Even before his players stepped on the field for Friday’s 4AA West regional championship game, Richmond head coach Bryan Till knew his nearly 90 players were already champions.
A storybook season for the Raiders saw its final chapter written in the semifinal round of the NCHSAA state playoffs. The No. 1 Raiders would make their exit with a 38-7 loss to No. 10 Vance High School.
Although Richmond fell just one game short of reaching its first state title game, and two wins shy of taking home its first crown since 2008, its 2019 season showcased the resurgence of a program that rattled off 13 consecutive wins before facing elimination by the Cougars.
Vance and head coach Glenwood Ferebee recorded their second straight West regional championship, and will play No. 2 seeded Leesville Road High School in the state championship.
“The last three years being here, all of these kids are fantastic young men,” Till said following his first regional championship appearance as a coach. “The seniors were freshmen when I got here, and now I look at all of them and I can’t be anything but so proud of them.
“It hurts like crazy they don’t get to go to the next level (of the playoffs),” he added. “But golly, I’m so proud of them. I believe they’re going to be champions in life no matter what because that’s how they’ve handled things for us. I’m very thankful for my players and coaching staff.”
Heading into the game, Till didn’t shy away from acknowledging Vance’s defense as being the “best” they’ve seen this season. The Raiders scored a season-low seven points, which was the lowest amount in the Till era since scoring 13 points against Wake Forest High School in 2017.
The Cougars’ defense, led by linebackers Power Echols and Stefon Thompson, limited junior quarterback Caleb Hood and the Raiders’ offense to just 174 yards of total offense. Hood had an uncharacteristic night passing, throwing two interceptions and collecting 87 passing yards on 6-of-24 attempts.
Out of the backfield, the Raiders’ duo of senior Jaheim Covington and junior Jaron Coleman collected 36 combined yards on 11 attempts. Hood was Richmond’s leading rusher with 89 yards on 21 attempts, and was responsible for the Raiders’ lone score.
Both defenses battled each other in the first half, which saw Vance take a 10-7 halftime lead. A missed field goal on Richmond’s first possession led to 35-yard field goal by Vance’s Melvin Benitez to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead with 3:23 left in the first quarter.
Hood and the Raiders responded with a nine-play, 55-yard scoring drive to close out the opening frame. Coleman started the drive with a 22-yard rush around the right edge, before seeing Hood scramble out of a collapsed pocket for a 16-yard gain three plays later.
Facing third-and-11 from the Vance 14-yard line, Hood laced a pass to junior wide receiver Jakolbe Baldwin, who muscled his way to the one-yard line. On the next play, Hood took the designed quarterback keeper to his right and walked into the end zone.
Trevor Moss’ point after attempt was good and the Raiders led 7-3 with just one second remaining in the first quarter.
A fumble by Coleman on the Raiders’ next drive was picked up by Thompson, who returned it 14 yards to Richmond’s 35-yard line. After a series of penalties backed the Cougars up, junior quarterback Austin Grier connected with Donta Armstrong for a 32-yard passing score. Benitez’s PAT gave Vance a 10-7 lead and would prove to be enough to win the game.
When the Raiders entered the locker room at halftime, it wasn’t the first time this postseason they trailed at the break. Against Myers Park High School in the third round, Richmond trailed by eight points and rallied to advance.
Looking to do the same against Vance, the defense allowed back-to-back completions from Grier to Michael Riley on the Cougars’ opening drive in the third, the latter of which was a 22-yard passing touchdown.
That was the first of three straight third-quarter drives the Cougars would find the end zone. Thompson would rush in from 10 yards out and Grier added a one-yard rushing score to give Vance a 31-7 lead 52.3 seconds left in the third.
Thompson, who is a Syracuse University commit, added a seven-yard insurance rushing score with six minutes left in regulation.
“In the second half we gave up some big plays,” Till explained. “Their defense was very stout and we didn’t make plays, while they made some big plays. We got behind, and when that happens, it can be big.
“We missed a scoring opportunity early,” he continued. “We could narrow it down to four or five plays where we left some guys open in some situations on defense. It was a combination of both sides of the ball needing to do a little bit better.”
Richmond’s offensive line, while protective of Hood for the first 13 games of the season, struggled against the Cougars. Hood was dropped in the backfield a handful of times, including sacks on consecutive snaps by Echols and Steve Sings in the third quarter.
For the Raiders, Dereck Barringer, Omarion Mason, Javon Little, Jah’Meek Harden and Gavin Russell recorded sacks on Grier, who went 12-of-19 passing for 172 yards. Richmond’s CJ Tillman also lowered his shoulder on the quarterback to force a fumble in the first half, but the ball was recovered by the Cougars.
Junior wide receiver Tremel Jones led Richmond with 53 yards on three catches, while Baldwin had three catches for 34 yards.
As Till’s third season as the Raiders’ head coach came to an unwanted end Friday, it did conclude his most successful season during his tenure. The Raiders went a perfect 11-0 during the regular season and clinched their second straight Sandhills Athletic Conference behind a convincing 48-13 win over rival Scotland High School.
Richmond also earned two impressive playoff wins, defeating No. 8 Hough and No. 4 Myers Park high schools.
While there is still a lot to process from Friday’s loss, Till is certain of a couple things about this season.
“I’m just so ecstatic and so proud to be here in this community with these coaches and players,” Till shared. “I thank God for bringing me here to have these interactions with these young men. I know He’s got his hand on them and on me and we’re here for a reason. We thought that reason was to win a state championship, but obviously there’s something deeper and bigger.
“We learned how strong this community was this season,” he closed. “It was fantastic to see everyone come out and support us and I really feel like we drew a lot closer together. I hope to continue to grow that connection.”
Vance will head to its second straight state title game and will play No. 2 Leesville Road (East) on Saturday.
ROSports will publish a full season recap, as well as highlight the Richmond players selected to the 2019 All-SAC team, which is expected to be released this weekend.
