ROCKINGHAM — The Raiders’ season opener has been moved up a day.
Originally scheduled for Friday, the varsity football game between Richmond Senior and the Hoggard Vikings will now be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 at Raider Stadium.
The junior varsity game “is on hold until later,” according to a post on the Richmond Raider Football page on Facebook.
The reason for the change, according to Athletic Director James Johnson, was due to the potential for strong storms.
Johnson said the teams “thought Thursday seemed to be the best option when looking at the weekend forecast.”
The National Weather Service is forecasting a 40% chance of storms on Thursday, but a 70% chance on Friday and a 60% chance of showers on Saturday.
Johnson added that it is still cheer night.
The Vikings are currently ranked 16th in the state, according to Max Preps, after going 6-0 in the conference and 12-1 overall in the 2025 season.
The Raiders are heading into the season ranked 20th in the state and ninth in Division 7A. They finished 2025 with a record of 5-0 in the conference and 9-3 overall.
Richmond fell to Hoggard 28-21 in last year’s first game.
