ROCKINGHAM — Following a 10-day break, the Richmond Senior High School football program got back to work this week.
The most interactive part of the Raiders’ practice schedule was its 7-on-7 and lineman challenge Wednesday.
Richmond and head coach Brad Denson hosted the second of the program’s three summer jamborees. Participating Wednesday were Cheraw, Chesterfield, Lumberton, Montgomery Central and Union Pines high schools.
Playing 22-minute scrimmages, the Raiders went 4-0 on the day. They outperformed Montgomery Central, Cheraw, Lumberton and Union Pines to stay perfect.
Similar to the first jamboree in June, teams played on a 40-yard field. Offenses had four downs to gain 20 yards and get a second set of downs to score.
“We competed well for the most part,” Denson said. “We made some adjustments on the fly because we faced some different formations and coverages and those are the things I really look for during the summer.
“The five other teams that came in are all teams that are coached well and come here to try and get better. We enjoy having teams come in and we really appreciate all of the people who have a hand in making these things happen.”
While the offenses and defenses battled it out on the two lower practice fields, the offensive and defensive lines for all six programs competed in several challenges on the upper practice field.
Taking the majority of the reps at quarterback for the Raiders was rising senior Evan Hodges, followed by rising junior Collin Hill. A new wrinkle this week was the addition of rising freshman quarterback Damarion Allen taking snaps against Cheraw.
“Both of the varsity QBs did some good things today,” Denson said. “Each of them are seeing it well right now and making pretty good decisions on time. We are blessed to have several QBs at each level who can play.
“Damarion came up today and got a few reps in. He is limited in what he knows but we wanted to throw him in for just a few reps.”
As the days fly by on the calendar, Denson and the Raiders will continue their summer regimen Thursday. With each rep and day of practice, Denson says the team understands that the regular season isn’t too far away.
“Tomorrow we will get a lift in and then watch the film from today,” Denson commented. “We’ll make some corrections and let the guys see how they played.
“We will come back next week and get three more practice days in before the final 7-on-7. And then it gets us one more step to actual football. August 22 is right around the corner.”
Richmond’s final 7-on-7 event is scheduled for next Thursday, July 17. Action will begin at 10 a.m.
