ROCKINGHAM — A crucial play in the third quarter of Friday’s regular-season finale helped name junior football player Zach Gardner the Official Richmond County Male Student-Athlete of the Week presented by HWY 55.
During Richmond’s victory over Scotland High School, Gardner and the rest of the defense buckled down late as the Raiders held on for a 35-28 win.
As he and the team gear up for the first round of the NCHSAA 4A East state playoffs, Gardner earned his first career recognition.
Athletic Profile
Year: Junior
Fall Sport: Football
Position: Defensive End
Years on Varsity: 2 Years
“PICK-SIX” WITH ZACH GARDNER
Friday’s rivalry game with the Fighting Scots was a whirlwind of momentum shifts between both teams, especially in the second half.
A total of seven touchdowns were scored in the final two quarters, three straight by Richmond and then three straight by the Fighting Scots.
Moments after the Raiders took a 21-7 lead on the second of two long touchdown passes from Domonic Tillman to Javian Drake, Gardner helped shake up the visitor’s sideline even more.
On Scotland’s first play of the ensuing drive, which started with a first-and-10 at the Fighting Scots’ 25-yard line, Gardner made his first interception of the season.
With quarterback Ji’San McPhatter being pursued to his left out of the pocket, an errant pass attempt hit Gardner right in the chest. Catching the ball at the 30-yard line, Gardner made the first house call of his career.
Following junior kicker Billy West’s point after attempt, Gardner’s score put the Raiders up 28-7 with 3:27 to go in the third quarter.
In the game, Gardner recorded four total tackles, including two solo tackles to go along with his interception. He also played a role in a pair of first-half red zone stops that kept Scotland out of the end zone.
Playing in nine of Richmond’s 10 regular-season games, Gardner recorded 47 total tackles (30 solo), which was fifth best on the team. He notched 13 tackles-for-loss, just four shy of team leader Terande Spencer.
Averaging 5.2 tackles per game, Gardner finished second on the Raiders with 5.0 quarterback sacks and added four hurries. Four of those sacks came against Hoke County on Sept. 29.
Aside from his pick-six against Scotland, Gardner also forced a fumble in a victory over Southern Lee to start conference play.
The No. 18 Raiders (5-5) will travel to No. 15 Leesville Road High School (8-2) for the first round of the 4A East playoffs on Friday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
RAPID RESPONSE VIDEO WITH ZACH GARDNER
In his video interview, Gardner breaks down his pick-six, explains how the team’s current four-game winning streak has helped build momentum going into the playoffs and shares what it means to him to be a student-athlete.
The Richmond Observer will publish two more Official Richmond County Student-Athletes of the Week next week.
