ROCKINGHAM — Back for his third season as the Richmond Senior High School head junior varsity football coach, Patrick Hope has his team’s eyes looking forward at a hopeful fourth-straight conference title.
The boys of Thursday nights will open their 2019 season at home against Anson this week and will look to continue a 29-game winning streak that stretches back to the start of the 2016 season. The JV football program hasn’t lost a game since falling to rival Scotland High School 24-13 on Nov. 5. 2015.
Dating back to the 2011 season, the JV Raiders are 71-4 and have won six conference titles (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018).
The streak is something that Hope, his coaching staff and his players are all aware of, and he believes this year’s squad can continue the streak if the Raiders take the season one game at a time.
“Our kids know how valuable JV football is to the overall program, and we let them know that it is not like this at other schools,” Hope said of the program’s success. “Although we never talk about previous victories, we stress to them what it takes to win the next one in front of us.
“We want them to earn the right to win through preparation Monday through Wednesday, and then leave no doubt in competition on Thursday nights,” he continued. “If we can have that every week, we'll be in a position to win another conference title in the latter weeks of the season.”
Last season, Richmond compiled a perfect 10-0 record and swept its Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents. A 58-14 win in the final week of the season capped the JV Raiders’ third-straight conference championship.
Hope explained that the junior varsity and freshman football teams have been coached differently this season than in past years. Every ninth and 10th grader has been coached by the same coaches but by position groups. Currently, there are roughly 80 players on the JV and freshman teams.
The head coach added that summer workouts were “successful,” seeing 38 players make the 100 percent club with perfect attendance. Thirty more players made the required days of practice, and Hope said that is a reflection of his younger players learning about the type of commitment it takes to play for the Raider program.
This year’s team will be without several playmakers from last fall, as former quarterback Kellan Hood and running back Jaron Coleman moved up to the varsity level. But Hope has a series of players ready to fill the gaps and is expecting big things out of everyone.
“On offense, we will play two quarterbacks: sophomore Harley Honeycutt and freshman Emmanuel Gilliam,” Hope explained. “Both of them have the tools to run the offense, and we want to get both of them on the field. The goal is for both of them to have some significant experience before they reach varsity.
“Running back will be a by committee approach with sophomore Nasir Crumpton and freshman Xavier Wall,” he added. “Sophomores Jamari Broady and Mikey Baldwin will also contribute in addition to their roles on defense.”
The top targets for Honeycutt and Gilliam will be sophomore wide receivers Semajai Jennings, Chandler Orr and Javares Stanback. Hope said “they all have solid route-running skills and good hands.”
Out in front protecting the quarterbacks on the offensive line will be a mixture of returning players and freshmen. Hope said sophomores Jordan Carlyle, Justin Colon and Lance Shepherd bring back experience, while freshmen Ethan Clayton and Jeffery Linton add size and strength.
“Defensively, we have several returning contributors in sophomore linebackers Gabe Altman, Mikey Baldwin, and Ke'Sean Ingram,” Hope said. “Sophomores Jayme Allen and Ahmad Morrison are on the defensive line, and Traveon Short, Kelay Lindsey, and Jamari Broady will be our defensive backs.
“Sophomores Ahmad Shelton and Cason Douglas will be factors on the defensive line and secondary, respectively,” he noted.
Hope acts as the team’s head coach as well as its offensive coordinator and quarterback and running back coach. Helping him this fall on offense will be Kevin Alfonso (offensive line) and Taivon Jones (freshman head coach, offensive line).
The defensive coaches consist of Justin Jackson (linebackers), Julius Bowden (freshman linebackers), Chris Dennis (JV defensive coordinator and defensive line) and Travis Byers (freshman defensive coordinator and all defensive backs).
“For 2019, we want this group to work extremely hard to produce a quality product every Thursday night,” Hope explained. “We consider ourselves the ‘opening act’ for the program and we want to start the end of the week with a win. A lot of the older players have spent a lot of time with their varsity counterparts this summer and preseason, and we expect them to lead every time they touch the field.
“I’m personally ready for Thursday night to get here to kick off the JV season, especially after watching the varsity in their opener last week,” he continued. “We've practiced against each other for 20 days, so it will be fun to see different colored helmets and jerseys, and see if we can leave no doubt every single game.”
Kickoff against Anson High School is set for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Raider Stadium.
