ROCKINGHAM — An interception with just more than a minute to go in the game prevented Richmond Senior’s junior varsity football team from having a chance to win against rival Scotland.
The Raiders hosted the Scots Wednesday night, falling 10-7 in their first game of the season.
Richmond received on the opening kick-off, but their initial run was stopped by an interception —on a pass intended for Kennorian Williams — from Scotland’s Jaquez Wall.
After gaining control of the ball, Scotland went on to be the first on the board with a touchdown by Tanarvis Graham — followed by an extra-point kick by Leo Garcia —making the score 7-0.
A field goal with just under 7:30 to play in the second quarter put the Scots up 10-0.
The Raiders’ T.J. Quick picked off a pass in the third quarter, but Richmond’s run was cut short due to the first of two major interceptions by Scotland’s Jaknais Ford.
Neither team was able to score in the third.
Late in the fourth quarter, Tyri Wormley was able to make it into the end zone for the Raiders’ first and only touchdown. A follow-up PAT from Kenan Cottle brought the score to 10-7.
Richmond was able to shut down Scotland’s offense and regain possession. But with just over a minute left on the clock, Ford intercepted again and the Scots ran down the clock to clinch the win.
“I think we were excited to get out here and play after not being able to play last week,” said JV coach Patrick Hope.
The Raiders were originally scheduled to play Hoggard in Week 1, but the threat of bad weather postponed that game and moved the varsity match-up to Thursday. Hope said making up the Hoggard game “is still up in the air.”
“I kinda knew we were going to have … some battles to face like that, with turnovers, but, we’ve got to value the football better — and that starts with me as a coach,” Hope continued. “We’ve just got to understand how important possession of the football is, especially when you try to make plays late.”
Hope said he thought “the effort was there,” noting that there are a lot of young players on the team — including freshman quarterback Caleb Smith.
The coach added that the team will go back to work next week to prepare for Northwest Guilford on Sept. 10.
“The future is bright,” Hope said. “Now we’ve got a game’s worth of experience and we can only go up from here.”
See more photos from the game on the RO's Facebook page.
NOTE: This story has been updated to add the name of a player. 8:47 p.m. 8-27-26
