RAEFORD — Flipping its own script Friday, the Richmond Senior High School football team made more noise in the second half of its fifth straight win.
Proving to be a first-half team this season, especially in conference play, the Raiders and head coach Brad Denson overcame a low-energy first two quarters to defeat Hoke County High School.
Richmond won its Mid-South Conference road game at Hoke County 48-17, cashing in on 34 points in the final two quarters.
Spoiling the Bucks’ senior night, the Raiders were again balanced on offense, similar to its win last week over Jack Britt High School. Richmond found the end zone four times on the ground, twice through the air and once on defense.
Richmond led 14-3 at halftime and overcame two turnovers on offense through the first two quarters. The Raiders responded with four consecutive scoring drives to begin the second half.
Recording a single-game career-high three rushing touchdowns was junior running back Chance Crowder, who scored two of the four second-half touchdowns that put the game out of reach for Hoke County (2-6, 1-2 MSC).
Senior quarterback Evan Hodges tossed both passing scores, finding fellow seniors Keonta Pegues and Amer Morrison one time apiece on splash plays, bringing his season total to 18 passing touchdowns.
Responsible for the other two scores was sophomore athlete Ty Covington, who for the second straight game recorded a touchdown on offense and defense. He rushed for one of Richmond’s three second-half scores and ran back an interception for a touchdown for the game’s final points.
Denson told the team following the win that it “did good things” in the first half, but added it “wasn’t our best effort.”
He continued that the players “have to create and bring the energy” themselves, and with a little bit of energy, “we’re a really good football team.”
Taking the opening kickoff, Richmond matriculated the ball 88 yards on 12 plays to take an early lead.
Using six completions by Hodges to four different receivers, the Raiders quickly moved across midfield. A 22-yard pass to junior receiver Jasiah Cooper got Richmond into the red zone.
A 10-yard scamper on first down by Hodges set up the first touchdown two plays later. Consecutive handoffs to Crowder culminated in a two-yard rushing score.
Senior specialist Jake Veach was good on the point-after attempt to make it a 7-0 lead with 5:55 left on the first-quarter clock.
Hoke County’s only scoring drive of the first half came on its first series. Also needing a dozen plays, the Bucks got down to the Richmond three-yard line but couldn’t find the end zone.
Two stops by the defensive front on runs, coupled with an incomplete pass on third down, resulted in a 20-yard field goal by Urijah Jones to make it a four-point game with 62 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Raiders were quick to score on their second possession, going 80 yards on just three plays.
On second-and-five from the Richmond 37-yard line, Hodges dropped a dime into the bread basket of Pegues down the right sideline. Burning the coverage on his route, Pegues hauled in the wide-open catch and went 67 yards for the house call.
Another connection from Veach on the PAT, who was 6-for-7 in the game, gave the Raiders a 14-3 lead, which would hold the remaining 11:48 of the first half.
Sustaining a long drive into Richmond territory on its next possession, Hoke County got to the Raiders’ 26-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-one, the Bucks were stopped by a host of defenders, led by junior linebacker Kaleb Brown to force the turnover on downs.
Richmond’s final two possessions of the first half resulted in a lost fumble and an interception.
On third-and-goal from the three-yard line, Crowder couldn’t handle the direct snap and the fumble was picked up by the Bucks at their own 10-yard line.
That drive went nowhere for the Bucks, as a sack by senior Demonte Martin and junior Elijah Ingram helped force a punt a few plays later.
Getting the ball back with 21.6 seconds remaining before the half, Hodges threw a pick along the near sideline on a pass intended for Pegues. Hoke County ran one play to end the half.
Hoke County cut its deficit to a one-possession game on the first drive of the second half. An athletic catch by Amin Davis from quarterback Peyton Price from 20 yards was good inside the front right pylon on fourth down.
A successful two-point conversion pass from Price to Wayne Claiborne made it a 14-11 game near the midway point of the third quarter.
Richmond’s energy was upped in the second half, evident by scoring on its first three drives, all on three plays or less.
The first drive went 80 yards and was started by 19 yards on two rushes by Crowder. On second down at the Richmond 39-yard line, Hodges and Morrison went to work to begin the Raiders’ second-half offensive explosion.
A bubble screen from Hodges to Morrison turned into a 61-yard touchdown pass when Morrison broke out the dance moves to elude the defense. Cutting back across the field, Morrison broke several tackles before getting loose and turning the edge to run into the end zone along the right sideline.
With 5:09 to go in the third, Veach’s PAT regained a 21-11 advantage.
A short series for the Bucks ended in a three-and-out and the first of two punts in the second half. A long return by Pegues set up Richmond’s offense at the Hoke County 37-yard line.
A completion to senior wide receiver Jayden Hamilton was good for 24 yards on first down thanks to a block downfield by senior lineman Robert Monroe. Moving the ball to the seven-yard line was an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Bucks.
Taking the handoff on the next play, Crowder burst ahead for the seven-yard score. The successful PAT with just under three minutes in the third opened the lead to 28-11.
Hoke County answered with a 53-yard passing touchdown from Price to Machai Brown. Going for two again, it was stopped by Kaleb Brown when he chased Price out of bounds to the far sideline.
Still ahead 28-17, Richmond went to work from its own 11-yard line after a Pegues kickoff return of 85 yards down to the Hoke County 12-yard line was nullified on a penalty.
Two short gains to close the third quarter led to the first play of the fourth resulting in an 80-yard rushing score by Covington. Starting his run up the middle, Covington spun out of a would-be tackler near midfield and turned on the jets to go all the way to the end zone.
Taking a 34-17 lead with just 19 seconds off the fourth-quarter clock, Richmond’s defense held the Bucks to just six plays and another punt.
Running some time off the clock, the Raiders again went on an 80-yard scoring march, this time running nine plays before crossing the goal line.
Hodges made two completions to Morrison to start the drive for a combined 20 yards and Richmond got a first down when an encroachment penalty on fourth-and-five moved the sticks to the Richmond 45-yard line.
A scramble from Hodges was followed by consecutive completions to Pegues, the second of which was a 32-yard gain that saw Pegues make a diving catch at the two-yard line.
Toting the rock one more time on the next snap, Crowder plunged ahead into the end zone for his third and final score. Veach tacked on the PAT to pad the lead to 41-17.
Just one play and 16 seconds later, Covington recorded his team-leading fifth interception of the season. On the Bucks’ first play of the next drive, a pass directly to Covington was caught at the Hoke County 40-yard line.
Racing down the left sideline untouched, Covington scored and recorded his second pick-six in as many games. For a final time, Veach split the uprights to make it a 48-17 lead with 5:29 to play in regulation.
The game came to an end when both teams turned the ball over on downs on their next respective series, followed by the Bucks running one play on their final drive before the clock expired.
Richmond (6-2, 3-0 MSC) will play its final regular-season road game next Friday at Overhills High School (3-5, 1-2 MSC). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Jaguars, who are in a three-way tie for second place in the MSC standings, lost to Jack Britt High School 47-14 in Week 9. The Raiders are currently tied with Pinecrest High School for first place.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Friday’s win later this weekend, as well as a preview for the Overhills game later in the week. All statistics used in this article are unofficial.
