ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School football program makes its first appearance on the ROSports’ “Top 10 Sports Stories” countdown of the 2018-19 school year in the No. 7 spot.
It was no secret entering the 2018 football season that it was a magical “eight year,” an uncanny occurrence that had seen the Raiders win a 4AA state title in each eighth year of the previous four decades.
While Richmond and second-year head coach Bryan Till didn’t extend the tradition, the Raiders still put together a strong season that saw them make it to the third round of the NCHSAA playoffs.
Richmond would go on a tear and win nine-straight games to end the regular season and through the playoffs. That included a win over top rival Scotland High School in the regular-season finale to clinch the program’s first conference title in eight years.
Getting that winning streak started was a road game against David W. Butler High School on Friday, Sept. 7. Noted as one of the top games in the state that week, the No. 6 Raiders upset the No. 4 Bulldogs 30-19, with the game serving as the starting point of the program’s dominant run the rest of the season.
“A huge turning point for us in the game was holding (Butler) to bad field position,” Till said following the game. “The defense could play tougher and we could bring more against them because they were backed up (in their own zone). The guys played great and they deserved this win.”
The victory over the Bulldogs came in Week 4 and set the Raiders up for success in the coming months. Sophomore quarterback Caleb Hood had 205 passing yards and connected with five different receivers in the game, completing five plays of 20 yards or more. Richmond added three rushing scores, two from junior tailback Jaheim Covington.
Beating Butler served as a redemption win for the Raiders, as Richmond lost to the Bulldogs in 2017.
Click the photo below for the link to the original game story, written by sports editor Kyle Pillar for the Sept. 8, 2018, edition of the Richmond Observer:
