ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School athletic department’s seven varsity fall sports programs are coming off their best collective week of the season.
During Week 6, Richmond’s teams racked up wins in varsity football, varsity soccer (two), varsity volleyball (two), tennis (three) and girls’ cross country. The junior varsity football, volleyball and soccer teams also earned a handful of wins.
Now that Week 7 begins on Monday, several of the programs are looking to stack up wins and remain competitive in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings as the second half of the fall sports period gets underway.
Monster week ahead for Lady Raider volleyball
The Lady Raider volleyball team has won 12 of its first 14 games, and will look to climb the conference standings this week. In what could be a make-or-break three matches for Richmond and assistant head coach Melissa Dennis, Richmod will battle Pinecrest High School in the series finale and Jack Britt High School twice.
Richmond (12-2, 6-2 SAC) is currently third in the SAC standings, and Tuesday’s match on the road against the second-place Lady Patriots (14-1, 7-1 SAC) will see the Lady Raiders try to redeem a five-set loss earlier this season. Playing fifth-place Jack Britt (6-11, 4-3 SAC) on Wednesday and Thursday will mark the first time the two teams have met this season.
All three matches will begin around 6 p.m. following the completion of the junior varsity matches. Head coach Ashleigh Larsen is expected to return during Week 8 from maternity leave.
Raider soccer hoping to keep things going strong after two-win week
Chris Larsen’s Raider soccer team started to right the ship after a slow start last week, picking up key SAC wins against Seventy-First and Scotland high schools. Richmond (3-7-2, 3-3 SAC) will get two more chances to make a dent in the SAC standings when they play Purnell Swett High School twice.
Originally supposed to meet the week Hurricane Dorian swept the North Carolina coast, the Raiders and Rams (5-9, 2-4 SAC) will meet on Monday and Wednesday. Monday’s game will be at home, followed by a road match in Pembroke on Wednesday.
Last week, the Raiders scored nine goals in three games, compared to seven goals in their first nine games. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.
Lady Raider tennis concludes regular season play
Richmond’s girls’ tennis team swept its competition last week, stringing together three-straight wins the first time this season. Week 7 marks the final week of regular-season play for head coach Neely Herndon and her squad of nine players.
Now 4-7 overall, and 4-6 against SAC opponents, Richmond sits tied for fifth place in the standings. The Lady Raiders will face Hoke County and Scotland high schools on Monday and Thursday, respectively.
Richmond defeated Hoke County (3-5, 3-5 SAC) 5-4 last week, and will look to redeem an early-season loss to Scotland (4-7, 4-6 SAC). Action against the Lady Bucks and Lady Fighting Scots will begin at 4 p.m.
Cross country, girls’ golf continue SAC slates
The Richmond boys’ and girls’ cross country teams ran in two meets last week, seeing the Lady Raiders win their SAC meet at home at Hinson Lake. Saturday’s invitational was against over a dozen other schools in Richmond’s region, which boys’ head coach Reggie Miller called a “good test” for preparing for the postseason.
Returning to SAC competition this week, the Raiders and Lady Raiders will run in Fayetteville against Hoke County, Jack Britt and Seventy-First high schools on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
In golf action, head coach Keith Parsons and the Lady Raiders will welcome in their six SAC opponents in their lone home match of the fall. Playing at Foxfire Golf and Country Club on Monday, the Lady Raiders will look to finish better than fourth place for the first time this season. Tee times are set to begin at 2 p.m.
Raider football prepares for Pinecrest in second SAC contest
The varsity football team and head coach Bryan Till saw their second game in five games this fall called at halftime Friday, but walked away with a 35-0 win over Purnell Swett in its SAC opener. Up next on the conference schedule for the Raiders (5-0, 1-0) is Pinecrest (4-0), which will play two games in five days after its game on Friday was postponed due to weather.
A season ago, Richmond blanked the Patriots 31-0 on the road and will look to do the same this week. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Raider Stadium. ROSports will publish a game preview later this week.
In junior varsity action, the Raiders (2-1, 1-0 SAC) and head coach Patrick Hope will look to extend their conference winning streak to 21 games on the road at Pinecrest. The Raiders rolled past Purnell Swett 33-0 on Thursday. Kickoff in Southern Pines will get underway Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Lastly, the freshman football team will close out its season on Thursday at Northwood High School. The ninth-grade Raiders (3-1) will start at 6:30 p.m. in Pittsboro, N.C.
