CAMERON — Scoring on its first three possessions Thursday helped the Richmond Senior High School junior varsity football team distance itself to another victory.
Notching their sixth win in the last seven weeks, the JV Raiders relied on their rushing attack and strong defense to defeat Union Pines High School.
The Sandhills Athletic Conference contest ended in Richmond’s favor by a final score of 36-14.
“We got off to a fast start offensively, scoring on our first three possessions,” head coach Patrick Hope shared. “Ty Covington and Jasiah Cooper showed their big play ability behind a retooled offensive line.
“After giving up the first score, the defense got back to its dominant ways, pursuing to the ball and making tackles to get stops on third and fourth down,” he added. “I felt like we had a good week of practice and stuck to the process that it takes to win football games, especially during spirit week.”
Two of Richmond’s first three scoring drives, all three of which resulted in a touchdown, only needed two plays to find the end zone.
Freshman running back Ty Covington (seven carries, 133 yards) scored the first of his two rushing scores on the opening series. After an 11-yard gain on the ground, Covington used his legs again to go 51 yards to score.
On the two-point conversion attempt, Covington took the handoff from sophomore quarterback BJ Hinson and punched through to make it 8-0 just 44 seconds into the game.
Union Pines scored on its opening possession, a 23-yard rush by Adrian Colon, but failed on the two-point conversion attempt to make it an 8-7 lead for Richmond.
Sophomore quarterback Collin Hill captained the second Richmond scoring march, an eight-play, 61-yard drive. Capping the run into the end zone was freshman running back Donovan Jones, who found a hole from four yards on the ground.
Going for two points again, Hill’s pass attempt fell incomplete. With 4:23 left in the opening quarter, Richmond led 14-6.
An unsuccessful drive near the red zone for the JV Vikings turned the ball over on downs at the Richmond 21-yard line. A five-yard gain from Covington set up Richmond’s next score on second down.
Hinson dropped back and threw a short pass to Cooper, who caught the ball and was off to the races. He went 74 yards to the house for the catch-and-run touchdown.
Covington was successful on the two-point try and Richmond pulled ahead 22-7 with 8:55 to go in the second stanza.
Richmond’s defense earned its lone takeaway on the JV Vikings’ ensuing series. Sophomore Jeremiah Covington forced a fumble on the third snap and also fell on the ball to recover it.
An interception by Hinson deep in Richmond’s defensive zone gave the JV Vikings a chance to close their gap late in the half. On the JV Raiders’ nine-yard line, Union Pines threw two incomplete passes as the clock expired.
Leading 22-6 to start the second half, Richmond added one score in each of the final two quarters.
The JV Raiders’ opening drive of the third quarter saw Hill hand the ball to Covington on first down (the team’s third play), and the freshman weaved his way through traffic for a 40-yard rushing score.
Freshman kicker Jake Gardner was called on and split the uprights for the point-after attempt. Early in the third, Richmond widened its lead to 29-6.
Another long splash play resulted in Richmond’s final touchdown of the game. Hinson pitched the ball to Cooper one second-and-long as the fourth quarter started.
Cooper did the rest of the work on the 85-yard rushing touchdown, and freshman CJ Covington kicked the PAT. Richmond grew its lead to 36-6, its largest of the game, with 11:45 to play.
Union Pines managed to find the end zone one more time on its final drive. Galen McKay threw a four-yard score to Terai Lottie, and the two-point try was good from Colon. That score came with 2:32 left in regulation.
“We wanted to use these last three games to be the best version of ourselves in all three phases of the game,” Hope closed. “We look forward to closing out our home slate this season by hosting Lee County.”
The JV Raiders (6-2, 3-1 SAC) host Lee County High School next Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Stats provided by Union Pines’ statistician Reggie Till. Defensive stats provided by assistant coach Joey English.
