ROCKINGHAM – In an ROSports exclusive feature, sports contributor Deon Cranford reveals what he believes to be the top 21 most compelling individual moments from Richmond Senior High School athletics this past school year.
While each moment isn’t ranked like the countdown previously concluded by the Richmond Observer, Cranford’s list is in chronological order, starting with the 2017 fall sports season.
Lady Raider Volleyball Team (Sept. 28, 2017) – The Lady Raiders defeated Jack Britt High School 3-0 to earn their 17th win of the season. That marked the most wins in a single season in program history. They would go on to win 25 straight before falling in the postseason.
Savannah Lampley (Oct. 12, 2017) – In Richmond’s 3-0 victory over rival Scotland High School, Lampley ignited the home crowd with three huge returns in the second set. After Lampley fell to the floor on a dig, the Lady Scots tried to take advantage of her by sending their next two shots her way. Lampley managed to return both of them while still on her knees. The win improved Richmond’s record to 22-0, finishing its regular season undefeated.
Jayana Nicholson, Kathleen Pittman, Greyson Way and Meredith Stogner (Oct. 19, 2017) – Nicholson, Pittman, Way and Stogner each won their singles matches against Pine Forest High School in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 4A tennis playoffs. Nicholson and Way then defeated their Lady Trojan opponents in doubles, earning the Lady Raiders a 5-3 victory. It was the first postseason win for Richmond in girls’ tennis in school history.
Malik Stanback and Caleb Hood (Oct. 27, 2017) – Richmond’s football team needed to defeat the Seventy-First High School Falcons if it wanted to stay in the running for a conference title, but found itself trailing 19-17 late in the game. After the Raiders’ defense made a big stop in the red zone, Stanback caught back-to-back passes of 10 and 86 yards, respectively, from Hood to score the game-winning touchdown.
Caleb Hood (Nov. 3, 2017) – In the season finale loss to Scotland, freshman quarterback Caleb Hood tied the school record for pass completions in a game with 24. His 423 passing yards narrowly missed the school record for most passing yards in a game.
Alex Quick (Dec, 19, 2017) – Richmond’s boys basketball team struggled often in their 2017-2018 campaign, but earned its biggest win of the season against a very good Southern Lee High School team. Quick blocked Southern Lee’s game-winning shot attempt as time expired, securing a 55-54 victory for the Raiders.
Brice Billingsley, Shane Summey, Clint Snipes and Jimmy Cooley (Jan. 10, 2018) – In the final regular season conference swim meet, Richmond’s boys swim team finished the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:49.17, a season-best for the Raiders. They finished ahead of a very experienced Jack Britt team in the event, which was a pretty big feat for the program in its inaugural season.
Altman Griffin, Mackenzie Webb, Natalie Davis and Greyson Way (January 20, 2018) – Richmond’s first swim season in school history ended on a high note when the Lady Raiders finished in second place in the 200-yard freestyle at the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament. The relay team clocked in at 2:11.56, its best time of the season.
Avy Lucero, Jessi Graham, Jayana Nicholson and Emily Buie (Feb. 28, 2018) – Buie scored in the first half of their season opener against Union Pines to tie the game up 1-1. Scores by Graham, Nicholson and Lucero in the second half led to a rare victory over a Moore County school. The Lady Raiders’ 4-1 win was their first over the Lady Vikings in their last 10 meetings.
Hunter Parris (March 9, 2018) – After some late-game heroics by Jonathan Lee in the top of the 11th inning put the Raiders ahead 9-6, Purnell Swett High School attempted a rally of its own in the bottom of the inning. Purnell Swett not only cut the lead to one, but had the bases loaded with two outs and a tough Chandler Brayboy coming to the plate. The four-hour game played in 40 degree weather came to an end when Parris struck out Brayboy in just three pitches to secure the Raider victory.
Gordon Pihl (March 16, 2018) – Pihl sent the first pitch from Pinecrest’s Pres Ostert over the left field fence in the top of the sixth inning. His three-run homer proved to be the difference maker in Richmond’s 8-5 win over its conference foe.
Dante Miller (March 22, 2018) – In the 100-meter dash, Miller finished with an impressive time of 10.22 seconds at a Sandhills Athletic Conference meet on his home track at Raider Stadium. That time is a school record in the event for Richmond.
Savannah Lampley (March 23, 2018) – Lampley hit a 10th inning walk-off homer over the scoreboard in right field in the Lady Raiders’ 10-8 home victory over conference foe Jack Britt.
Jonathan Lee (March 29, 2018) – Lee managed to do something that no other pitcher in the history of Richmond Senior High School had done. He put himself in the state record books by pitching a perfect seven-inning game in a 3-0 victory over Hoke County High School.
Tyler Bass (April 13, 2018) – In Richmond’s 11-0 victory at Lumberton High School, the Pirates tried to catch Bass as he was running home from third. The throw to Lumberton catcher Jonathan Villa was in time, but Bass leaped in the air, clearing Villa completely, and reached the plate safely for Richmond’s fifth run of the game.
Paige Ransom (April 18, 2018) – Ransom’s two-run homer in the fourth inning of Richmond’s 12-2 victory over Anson High School was her eighth of the season, breaking the school record for most home runs in a season by a freshman (previously set by Way in 2016).
Jake Ransom (April 25, 2018) – The Raiders were limited to only two hits in their game at Scotland, but they only needed one. Ransom’s RBI double in the top of the eighth inning was the difference maker in Richmond’s 1-0 victory over its biggest baseball rival.
Avy Lucero, Jayana Nicholson and Hanna Millen (May 2, 2018) – Lucero, Nicholson and Millen each scored a goal in Richmond’s 3-1 conference tournament victory at Jack Britt. The win was the 17th of 2018, the most wins scored by the Lady Raiders in a season.
Dante Miller, Jaleen Baldwin, Preston Coker and Malik Stanback (May 12, 2018) –The boys’ 4x100-meter relay team consisting of Miller, Baldwin, Coker and Stanback recorded a school record time of 41.56 seconds in the event. According to milesplit.com, that is the 10th fastest time in the event all-time in North Carolina.
Owen Bowers, Paige Ransom, Kayla Hawkins, Greyson Way (May 15, 2018) – All sorts of school records were set in Richmond’s 17-0 playoff win over Lake Norman High School. Bowers (2), Ransom (2), Hawkins and Way combined for six home runs, a school record for most home runs in a game. Five of them were hit in the fourth inning tying a state record for most home runs by a team in an inning, and Bowers had both of her homers in the fourth, tying a state record for most homers by an individual in an inning.
Taylor Parrish (May 24, 2018) – Parrish’s first career grand slam gave the Lady Raiders a 5-4 lead over South Caldwell High School in the top of the third inning in the second game of the Western Regional series. That home run was her fourth of the season, but the team’s 55th, tying a state record for most home runs hit in a season.
