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Week 9 Preview: Grind of season not wearing Raiders down, eye share of conference title at Lee County

The first-place Raiders haven't let bumps and bruises slow them down, as they'll go for a share of the conference crown Friday at Lee County. (Kyle Pillar, sports editor)

ROCKINGHAM — In control of its own destiny, the Richmond Senior High School football team will try to clinch at least a share of the Sandhills Athletic Conference title this week.

A stretch of nine games in nine weeks will come to a close as the Raiders and head coach Brad Denson play their final regular-season road game of the 2024 slate.

Richmond, which is on a five-game winning streak, will make the trip to Lee County High School and look to stay in first place in the SAC standings.

On the heels of last week’s 27-8 crushing of Union Pines High School on homecoming, the Raiders are aiming to ride their wave of momentum to get back to the top for the first time since 2021.

As Denson and his staff have revitalized the Raider program, the first-year head coach said the current situation is mostly due to the effort of the players who suit up on Friday nights.

“I think it says more about these kids than anything,” Denson said of being undefeated in conference. “Their ability to be so resilient and just keep going speaks volumes of them. It also says a lot about this staff and how good they are  — not just good people, but good coaches and teachers, as well.

“We have been telling the guys that they are in the driver’s seat now and it’s up to them to keep it on the road. We are where we want to be, we just have to finish the job now.”

Going to battle each week is a process in itself, one that the Raiders have replicated for the better part of two and a half months now.

As the latter part of the regular season approaches, Richmond is still focused on the Xs and Os on both sides of the ball. However, with kickoff against the Yellow Jackets inside of 48 hours, Denson said an x-factor to success for the Raiders isn’t necessarily found in the playbook.

“The biggest thing is that we need to get healthy and get some rest,” Denson shared. “Most teams have had their bye week by now, but ours comes next week. And going since Aug. 1 pretty much five days a week, that’s 12 weeks straight of football.

“That begins to take its toll on you physically and mentally. These guys still have school all day, come to practice and then a good bit of them have part-time jobs. But they keep going and they keep pushing and we will continue to do that.

“We all know what we signed up for, so none of it is a surprise to us,” he continued. “We are continuing to build some depth at positions and fine-tune some schemes that we put in mid-year.”

In addition to that, Denson pointed to the fan base and its support, which he noted has been imperative to the Raiders’ success this season.

“We still need Raider Nation to show up each week,” Denson said. “The crowd and atmosphere this past Friday night was something special. Not every high school has that, and that is one of the things that should really give us an advantage at home and on the road.

“If you didn’t have a great time last Friday at the game, then that was your own fault. That was what a Friday night in Richmond County should look like during football season.”

As the grind toward a hopeful SAC championship and deep run in the 4A state playoffs continues, Denson shared that the Raiders’ energy level is where it needs to be at this point in the season.

Keeping its week-to-week mindset, Richmond is focused on the Yellow Jackets for now. Practice has been adjusted this week to give the players a little more time to rest and recuperate, but Denson promised to have the team “prepared to play” Friday.

Toward the end of Friday’s win over Union Pines, junior quarterback Evan Hodges, who threw for 264 passing yards on 20-of-27 through the air, went down with an apparent lower body injury.

“We did get some good news Monday from the orthopedic doctor on Evan, so that was a plus,” Denson shared. “He has been really key for us on offense, but we also have another good one in Domonic Tillman who has been sharing time. To me, they are the best two QBs in the conference and we are fortunate to have them on our team.

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“Defensively, we have a couple players with bangs and bruises, but nothing that I think will slow that unit down. They are playing well and I expect that again this week.”

The Raiders’ trip to Sanford will see them take on a Lee County team that sits in third place in the SAC standings behind Richmond and a three-way tie for second place between Union Pines, Pinecrest and Scotland high schools.

Coached by Steve Burdeau, who has ties to Richmond’s football program, the Yellow Jackets have lost three of their last five games, including defeats against Union Pines and Pinecrest.

Since the 3A/4A SAC was formed at the start of the 2021-22 school year, Richmond has won all three meetings and outscored Lee County 103-53. Winning by an average of 16.7 points per game, the Raiders have averaged 34.3 points in each contest to Lee County’s 17.6 points per game.

Using a pretty balanced offense between rushing the ball (1,442 yards) and passing it (1,091 yards), the Yellow Jackets have used a tandem of quarterbacks and one running back to control their offense.

Junior Aiden Poole has thrown 57-of-99 for 647 yards, six touchdowns and one interception, while senior Jack Martin has completed 39-of-50 for 444 passing yards, four scores and one pick.

Senior tailback Rahshaun Brown has scored nine of Lee County’s 13 total rushing scores this season. He’s toted the ball 120 times for 929 yards and is averaging 132.7 rushing yards per game, which is second-best in the SAC behind Pinecrest’s Zymire Spencer (136.3 yards per game).

Jayden Hill, a senior wide receiver, is the team’s No. 1 target. He leads the conference in total receptions (50), total receiving yards (685), receiving yards per game (97.9), as well as receiving touchdowns (eight).

The Yellow Jackets’ only other receiver to find the end zone has been senior Raymond Knotts. He’s caught two scores and 18 passes for 154 yards.

“On offense, they have a good coach calling it over there in Coach Burdeau,” Denson explained. “They have a solid run game and then they mix in the screen game well.

“We have to be able to sniff those out and react to them when they are thrown. Their personnel is pretty good, also. One of their go-to guys is Raymond Knotts, who has some Richmond County ties, as he was here before and we all know what he can do.”

Lee County has given up 21.9 points per game this season and its defense will try to limit a Richmond offense that is putting up 29.5 points per four quarters.

Leading the way in tackles for the Yellow Jackets tied at 65 tackles are senior linebacker Taj McKendall and junior linebacker Cody Graham. Combined, the two inside backers have 10.0 tackles-for-loss.

Along the defensive line, senior Jesus Salvador, junior Chas Osborne and sophomore Daniel Prince have a team-high 2.0 quarterback sacks each. Graham and senior Julian Best both have one quarterback sack.

The Lee County defense has recorded five interceptions and five fumble recoveries through seven games. Graham has two fumble recoveries and Hill has snagged a pair of picks. 

“Defensively, they have shown to be a four-man front team and work to mix coverages on the back end,” Denson said. “I really like their two inside linebackers, Nos. 4 (Graham) and 5 (McKendall). They see it well and will hit you in the face.

“They have a couple of good looking defensive lineman, as well, Nos. 0 (Best) and 40 (Prince),” he closed. “Again, on offense, we have to take care of the football and play assignment football. If we do that, things will fall into place.”

Kickoff between the Raiders (6-2, 4-0 SAC) and Lee County (4-3, 1-2 SAC) is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday.

TICKETS: Fans can purchase tickets ahead of time for $10 apiece on GoFan.