ROCKINGHAM — Friday’s homecoming game saw the Richmond Senior High School football team make its home in the end zone — a lot.
A season-high number of defensive takeaways set the tone for the Raiders, who extinguished any hope of Jack Britt High School getting its first Mid-South Conference win of the season.
Thanks to four total interceptions, including three by sophomore cornerback Ty Covington, the Raiders sank the Buccaneers 49-28.
Entering Week 8, the Raiders had made just four interceptions all season. Friday’s effort doubled the team’s total.
One of Covington’s picks was returned for six points, the second of two in the game for Richmond. Junior safety Shamir Jones had the other interception, which was also returned to the house for a touchdown.
Head coach Brad Denson praised the defensive effort for “setting the tone.” As a team, the Raiders had three passing scores and two rushing touchdowns to go along with Covington and Jones’ house calls.
Senior quarterback Evan Hodges threw two of the touchdowns, bringing his season total to 16. He connected with senior wide receiver Jayden Hamilton and junior Jasiah Cooper for a score apiece, both in the second half.
Covington, who defensive coordinator Chris Campolieta called a “freak athlete,” was responsible for the other passing score. He completed a trick play for Richmond’s first touchdown of the game, finding senior wide receiver Amer Morrison in the end zone, who extended his team-leading receiving touchdown total to seven scores.
Junior running back Chance Crowder, who has gained steam the past two weeks, rounded out the balanced effort Friday, cashing in twice on the ground. Both of his touchdowns were part of a 27-point first half.
With its homecoming victory, Richmond won its fourth straight game and remained undefeated in conference play.
Productive early on both sides of the ball, Richmond’s defense forced a three-and-out on the first series of the game and followed that by forcing another punt a drive later.
During that second series, senior edge Terande Spencer recorded a sack of quarterback Gavin Stokes to start three straight plays of no gain or a loss for Jack Britt. Jones broke up a pass on second down and a QB pressure from Spencer on third down led to an incompletion.
The Raiders were quick to get to work on offense, scoring touchdowns on their first two drives, one passing and one rushing.
Taking advantage of Jack Britt’s poor punting, Richmond started its first possession at the Buccaneers’ 44-yard line. Needing eight plays to score, the Raiders dug into its bag of tricks early find the end zone
On third-and-12 from the Bucs’ 21-yard line, Hodges pitched the snap left to Covington, who rolled out and connected with Morrison on a pass just inside the back of the end zone.
Opting to go for two points, Richmond was unsuccessful and led 6-0 with 5:58 left in the quarter.
Another short punt on Jack Britt’s second drive was aided when the ball hit an official’s head and bounced in Richmond’s favor to start the drive at the Jack Britt 35-yard line.
Having to only run four plays to find the end zone this time, a 24-yard catch-and-run from Hodges to Cooper on third down moved Richmond to the 11-yard line.
On the next snap, Crowder scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns in the first half. He broke through the line on a draw and crossed the goal line untouched.
The point-after attempt was no good, putting Richmond up 12-0 at the 2:37 mark of the opening quarter.
Unable to shake its first-half woes, Jack Britt’s offense turned the ball over on the next two series. Stokes threw his first two interceptions to Covington, one deep in Richmond’s territory and the other at Richmond’s 47-yard line.
The first grab by Covington was a pass aired out in no-man’s land and the second was on a ball over the middle of the field. Richmond’s offense benefited after the second interception to take a three-possession lead.
The 53-yard scoring drive took five plays and was set up by a 17-yard completion on third down from Hodges to Morrison.
After an offsides call moved the line of scrimmage to the Jack Britt 28-yard line, Crowder scored on the next play. Zigging and zagging past two defenders after breaking through the initial wall, he carried a Buccaneer into the end zone for the score.
Lining up for the PAT, a flip from Hodges (the holder) to a sweeping Morrison led to a successful two-point conversion. That made it 20-0 with a little more than eight minutes to play in the half.
Jack Britt (3-4, 0-2 MSC) finally found the end zone on its next drive, the fifth of the half for the Bucs. Emorrian Towns broke loose for a 57-yard rushing score. After the PAT, Richmond led 20-7.
Following the Raiders’ second punt of the half, Jones wasted little time to add more points to the scoreboard.
On Jack Britt’s second play of the next series, Jones read the bubble pass in the right flat and jumped the route. Making the catch inside of the 30-yard line, Jones dashed his way down the left sideline and into the end zone.
Senior specialist Jake Veach made his first PAT of the game to pad Richmond’s lead to 27-7 with 3:47 remaining in the first half.
With 10 seconds on the clock, Stokes capped a long drive by Jack Britt with a one-yard rushing score. The PAT cut Richmond’s lead to 27-14 entering halftime.
Before four minutes could tick away on the third-quarter clock, Richmond found the end zone two more times, once on offense and once more on defense.
Receiving the second-half kickoff, the Raiders ran three plays to go 75 yards and score. Hodges had the first 40 yards on the ground, showing off his speed and agility by making gains of 25 and 15 yards.
On first down from the Jack Britt 35-yard line, Hodges threw a dime to Hamilton inside the five-yard line and let the senior receiver do the rest to score.
With a defender on his back, Hamilton made the catch and cut back just enough to stay in bounds, leaping over the goal line with the ball extended inside the front right pylon.
Less than a minute into the third quarter, Crowder took a direct snap and plowed ahead into the end zone for a successful two-point conversion to extend the lead to 35-14.
The Buccaneers’ first drive of the third stanza quickly resulted in a fourth-and-five situation. Going for it, Covington made a play very similar to Jones’ pick-six, jumping a route on the far sideline. Making his third and final interception of the game near midfield, Covington used a burst of speed to score.
Veach was good for a second time, splitting the uprights on the PAT. With 8:51 to go in the third, Richmond led 42-14, its largest lead of the game.
Following a fumble by the Raiders late in the third, Jack Britt scored on a 23-yard run by Jeremyah McLaurin to make it a 42-21 deficit.
Each team scored once during the fourth quarter, starting with Richmond’s offense. A pair of long runs by Covington, the second of which was a 31-yard gain on fourth-and-two, moved the ball down the field.
Facing third-and-11 from the Bucs’ 21-yard line, Hodges turned a broken play into a touchdown to cap the nine-play, 70-yard march. He scrambled and found space to his left and threw a strike to Cooper, who adjusted his route to the front left corner of the end zone.
Stepping in and making his first career extra point was freshman kicker Nate Erwin. That PAT etched Richmond’s final point and returned the lead to 28 points, 49-21, with less than nine minutes to play.
A desperation touchdown by Jack Britt against Richmond’s reserves on defense came inside the final two minutes. Stokes connected with Jaleel Parker for a five-yard passing score, complemented by the ensuing PAT.
With 1:39 to play, senior running back Christian Everett made a small gain on first down, which was followed by consecutive victory formation kneel downs by Hodges to end the game.
Improving to 5-2 overall, and 2-0 against MSC teams, Richmond will travel next Friday for the first of two consecutive away games. The Raiders will play at Hoke County High School in Week 9, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Looking to extend their winning streak against the Bucks to 14 games, the Raiders will take on a Hoke County team that is 2-4 overall and 1-1 in conference. The Bucks defeated Pine Forest High School 27-8 Friday.
The Richmond Observer will publish a preview article later in the week. Photos of Friday’s win, along with homecoming photos, will be posted this weekend.
Sports editor’s note: Official statistics were not available at the time of publication.
