DILLON, S.C. — Twenty minutes of live football was more than enough time for the Richmond Raider football team to cash in offensively and defensively Friday.
Returning to the Dillon Jamboree of Champions for the second straight year, Richmond faced West Florence High School in the third of four preseason matchups held at Dillon Memorial Stadium.
Playing two 10-minute quarters, slightly less time than a regular season half of football, the Raiders outscored the Knights 22-6.
Scoring on three of their five offensive drives, the Raiders’ defense kept West Florence out of the end zone the entire scrimmage. The Knights’ only score came as a result of fumble recovery.
Richmond went three-and-out on its opening drive and was aided by its defense on West Florence’s first series.
The Knights moved into Richmond territory on its 12-play drive, only to turn it over on downs at the Raiders’ 30-yard line.
Senior edge rusher Terande Spencer made a crucial quarterback sack on second down that backed the Knights up to third-and-19. Back-to-back incompletions gave Richmond the ball back.
Needing just six plays to march 70 yards, senior quarterback Evan Hodges captained the offense to the end zone.
Junior running back Chance Crowder started the drive with a 12-yard burst and Hodges later turned a broken play into a 20-yard gain on the ground to get across midfield.
On second-and-eight from the Knights’ 44-yard line, Hodges made a completion to junior receiver Jasiah Cooper for a 15-yard gain.
The duo connected again on the next play over the middle, a 29-yard strike for a touchdown. Cooper broke two tackles inside the 10-yard line.
Going for the two-point conversion after a facemask penalty on the initial try, Crowder scooted left and into the end zone to make it 8-0 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.
West Florence ran seven plays on its next series but a Spencer tackle-for-loss brought fourth down and a punt.
Richmond’s biggest miscue came on the next play from scrimmage when a high snap, one of several in the game, sailed over Hodges’ head. The Knights recovered the ball and returned it to the end zone.
A host of Raider specialists stopped the two-point try. With 8:15 to go in the second quarter, the score held 8-6.
Richmond went 70-yards on six plays again on its next drive to find pay dirt. Cooper racked up the yards-after-catch on a 30-yard gain on first down to get to the Knights’ 40-yard line.
Senior wideout Keonta Pegues tiptoed the sideline for a 15-yard reception on the next play. After an incompletion, Hodges hooked up with senior wide receiver Amer Morrison for an eight-yard grab to get in the red zone.
Hodges scrambled down to the six-yard line on a QB keeper, but a holding call on the next snap backed the Raiders up to the 19-yard line.
That wasn’t a problem for Hodges and senior wide receiver Jayden Hamilton, who teamed up for a 19-yard passing score on the next play.
Senior kicker Jake Veach split the uprights to make it 15-6 with 5:21 to play.
Two plays into West Florence’s next drive, the ball carrier coughed it up and senior linebacker Preston Fann scooped it up to give Richmond the ball back at the West Florence 32-yard line.
With 4:27 to play, head coach Brad Denson sent in the second string skill players.
Sophomore running back Ty Covington picked up positive yards on back-to-back plays, and freshman quarterback Damarion Allen scrambled to get to the 17-yard line.
Allen made a completion to Cooper on first down to get inside the five-yard line. Two plays later, Allen rolled left and threw Richmond’s final touchdown pass to Pegues from seven yards out.
Veach was true again to open Richmond’s lead to 22-6 with 40 seconds to go.
West Florence tried to score in the closing seconds, but Richmond’s defense held tough. Junior linebacker Elijah Ingram pressured the quarterback out of bounds on the final play as time expired.
The Raiders kick off the regular season in a week at non-conference Hoggard High School. Action will start at 7 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Friday’s scrimmage soon. A season preview, complete with video interviews with players and coaches, will also be published this weekend.
