ROCKINGHAM — Richmond Senior’s junior varsity football team continued its winning ways Thursday with a 29-6 victory over the Jack Britt Buccaneers at Raider Stadium.
The first quarter remained scoreless, despite an attempt from the Raiders.
Richmond translated an interception from Zayvion Brewington into an end-zone run by Chase Wilson — but the referees threw a flag on the play with a holding call against the Raiders.
Jack Britt’s defense shut down Richmond’s efforts for the remainder of the quarter.
The first points of the game came in the second quarter after Richmond blocked a punt and took over, with Tyri Wormley following up with a touchdown. Caleb Smith made it into the endzone for a two-point conversion to put the Raiders up 8-0.
With just under 3 minutes in the half, Michael Spears scored on a pick six for the Buccaneers. However, an attempted two-point conversion to even the score was no good.
The Raiders quickly answered back with a touchdown from Julius Bowden.
With just over 1:30 left in the half, Jaxton Watson intercepted a Jack Britt pass to give Richmond control of the ball. But the Buccaneers recovered a fumble from a tackle, taking the game into halftime at 14-6.
As the clock ticked down in the third quarter, Wormley scored his second TD on the night, which was succeeded by another Smith conversion, making the score 22-6.
The Raiders would score again with around 4:35 left in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass to T.J. Watkins. A successful extra point put Richmond up 29-6 — which was the final tally on the scoreboard when the buzzer sounded.
“We expected Jack Britt to play well, they have a really good program over there,” Coach Patrick Hope said after the game. “We just knew that we had to continue to play our best game — we had to play physical up front.
“We’re starting to make plays in the passing game,” Hope continued. “Both quarterbacks are really able to command the offense.”
Hope added that the Raiders defense is “really winning a lot of battles up front” by deflecting passes and getting turnovers and haven't allowed a defensive point in conference.
"When we get all of those things together, it makes for a really fun night,” Hope said.
Even with the successful passes, there were a few during the game that didn’t connect.
“The moment gets big, the ball’s right there on them, and things happen like that — that’s part of the game,” Hope said. “But the resiliency they had to get up and keep playing … was really good as well.”
The Raiders travel to Raeford next week to face an undefeated Hoke County Bucks team, who won their match-up against Pine Forest 25-20 on Thursday.
Both teams are undefeated in the Mid-South 7A/8A Conference, “and it will be a big game for us,” Hope said.
“Hoke’s always a good challenge,” Hope said about the Bucks. “They always look the part, and when we see them coming up in middle school, we think when they get to high school they’re going to be a tough group.”
