CHARLOTTE — Even in defeat, heads and eyes were held high, and shoulders were squared while one last message of the 2025 season was shared with the Richmond Raider football team late Friday evening.
In each of the past two seasons, the third round of the state playoffs has proven to be a menace for the Raiders, leading to their untimely postseason exit in their hopeful “chase for eight.”
The losses, with the focus more so on Friday’s performance, haven’t been because of a lack of effort on the Raiders’ part. Nor are they because the team got down on itself late in the game. And they’re not the result of the players’ passion for the game or their love for a community no longer meaning anything.
Those were sentiments shared by head coach Brad Denson shortly after Friday’s playoff loss.
Simply put, Denson said, sometimes in football, and in life, “you get beat.” And there’s no shame in that, he reminded the Raiders, who listened to and watched their coach as the stadium lights switched off one by one.
Friday, he said unfortunately, just happened to be one of those tough life lesson moments. Denson reminded the team that one painful game or one bad outcome doesn’t have to define an otherwise successful season in several other facets of the game and in life.
“Sometimes you get beat, and it hurts,” Denson said in the team huddle. “But we had a hell of a season and I’m proud of you for that.
“And you know what, the sun will rise tomorrow,” he added. “And you’ll go back to school on Monday and go out into the community, and you’ll do it with your heads held high. Because that’s the right way to handle it.”
An early lead for No. 6 Richmond didn’t hold on the road at No. 3 Independence High School. The Raiders, who made the third round for the second consecutive season with Denson at the helm, suffered a 52-18 loss.
There were several times throughout the game where Richmond controlled the tempo and showed flashes of the team it’s proven to be all season — athletic, fast, smart, physical and tough on both sides of the football.
Unfortunately, the Raiders ran into a team that matched their swagger and benefitted from some uncharacteristic mistakes made by Richmond.
A team used to creating defensive takeaways, Richmond committed five total turnovers on offense while not creating any on defense. The Raiders gave away possession on three interceptions and two fumbles.
The Patriots managed to find the end zone following four of those turnovers, including three in the second half. The final interception in the fourth quarter allowed for the clock to run out.
The start of the game looked promising for Richmond on both sides as the defense forced a three-and-out and the offense got down field to take an early lead.
Starting at their own 27-yard line, the Raiders drove into the red zone and settled for an early 3-0 lead when the drive stalled at the Patriots’ nine-yard line.
Senior specialist Jake Veach was right down the middle on the 26-yard field goal with 6:16 left in the opening quarter.
Helping set up the 3-0 lead were a 20-yard reception by senior receiver Amer Morrison, a first-down run by junior running back Chance Crowder and a 23-yard grab by senior wideout Keonta Pegues.
Independence found success on its next two possessions to take a 14-3 lead, largely in part of its ability to run a hurry-up offense, which Denson said the Raiders hadn’t expected.
Running back Jayden Jones scored both touchdowns for the Patriots on the ground. The first was a 29-yard scamper, followed by a 12-yard score on a pitch to the left on third down.
Both point-after attempts were good and the Patriots led by 11 points.
That lead increased by another touchdown on the first snap of Richmond’s next drive. A screen pass attempt from senior quarterback Evan Hodges to Pegues in the right flat was picked by cornerback Ricky Myers and returned 20 yards for the score.
Another PAT with 8:17 to go in the second quarter made it a 21-3 deficit for the Raiders.
Richmond also had a chance to score on its previous offensive possession, but turned it over on downs when a pass intended for senior receiver Jayden Hamilton fell incomplete in the end zone. That drive stalled at the Independence 15-yard line.
“They tempoed us early and formationed us pretty good,” Denson said of the Patriots’ hurry-up offense. “We weren’t really expecting that and we had to come out and make some changes and adjustments. And it did get better for a while.
“But when you turn the ball over like that against good teams, it’s bound to happen that results aren’t going to come out in your favor. That’s the reality.
“We’ve done a good job all year taking care of the football, but we didn’t tonight,” Denson continued. “That’s a credit to (Independence)."
Regrouping on offense, Richmond didn’t panic and went 69 yards on a dozen plays to chip away at the lead after the pick-six.
A 23-yard pick up on third down from Hodges to junior Jasiah Cooper moved Richmond toward midfield. That was followed by a 24-yard gain by Morrison to move down to the Independence 22-yard line.
Facing fourth-and-short, Crowder converted for a new set of downs in the wildcat. Three plays later from the 10-yard line, Richmond used some Denson play calling magic to score.
Hodges took the snap and pitched it right to Crowder, which made the defense collapse on the running back. All alone in the end zone was Hamilton, who made the wide-open catch for what proved to be his and Hodges final high school touchdown.
With 2:09 on the second-quarter clock, Morrison helped trick the Patriots’ special teams unit when he received a reversal pitch on the two-point conversion and scored.
That pulled Richmond within 10 points, 21-11. That however, would be the closest the score would be the rest of the game.
Before the half, a 25-yard field goal for the Patriots extended the lead to 24-11.
Trying to mirror their second-half comeback effort from the second round, the Raiders took the second-half kickoff and started at the Independence 49-yard line after a long return by sophomore Ty Covington.
First downs by Morrison (21-yard reception) and Crowder (10-yard run) got Richmond into the red zone. A seven-yard burst from Crowder moved the line of scrimmage to the Patriots’ 10-yard line.
But a miscommunication on the snap while Hodges was calling out the defense led to a scramble for the ball, which was recovered by Independence at its own 29-yard line.
On the first play of that drive, Jones turned a short completion from Jared Street into a 71-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
Two plays into the ensuing Raider drive, an interception on the near sideline by Christian Liles set up another quick score for the home team. Needing just five plays to go 67 yards, Street threw a 39-yard score to King Rhodes.
With 6:45 left in the third, Richmond trailed 38-11.
A Raider punt was followed by an unsuccessful field goal attempt by Thomas Flores for the Patriots. Richmond’s final trip to the end zone came on the next drive as the game clock rolled into the final stanza.
The seven-play, 80-yard march used a series of rushes by Crowder and Hodges to pick up chunks of positive yardage. The biggest gain on the drive was a 33-yard completion from Hodges to Morrison, which moved the sticks to the Patriots’ 21-yard line.
Consecutive rushes by Hodges got the ball down to the one-yard line, which resulted in Crowder plunging over the goal line for his lone rushing score of the night.
Veach tacked on the PAT to make it 38-18 with 10:23 to go in the game. That wound up being the final point of his kicking career and Richmond’s final point of the season.
Independence (10-2) scored a 33-yard passing touchdown from Street to Jones on the ensuing series.
After a fumble by Richmond inside the red zone a series later, a return to the Raiders’ 34-yard line set up a 21-yard passing score to Zakai Milton for the final points of the game.
“We moved the ball well, but then I don’t know how many times we’d get down deep on their side and have a turnover,” Denson commented. “When we don’t play our best this late in the year, this is what will happen.
“Our kids kept fighting and kept playing, and I’m proud of them for that,” Denson closed. “I told them that if this is the worst thing that happens in their life, then they’ve lived an extremely good life. We’re going to make sure we handle this (loss) the right way.”
The No. 6 Raiders’ season came to an end with a 9-3 overall record and a trip back to the third round of the state playoffs for the second straight year.
Richmond won eight straight games between Week 4 and the second round of the playoffs. The Raiders swept Mid-South Conference opponents during that span and won the inaugural conference title, and second straight with Denson as head coach.
Averaging 39.3 points per game this year, Richmond held opponents to 29.5 points per game.
Other milestones this fall included Hodges becoming the program’s single-season passing leader (2,710 yards entering Friday), Crowder tying the program’s single-game all-purpose TD record (6) and the team having four receivers with at least 30 receptions apiece for the first time in program history (Morrison, Hamilton, Pegues and Cooper).
Sports editor’s note: Photos of Friday’s third round playoff game will be posted this weekend.
The Richmond Observer will also publish the All-Conference team when it’s made available.
