ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Observer’s “Top 10 Sports Stories” of the 2018-19 countdown is officially complete, but this three-part series will look at some other top athletic moments that just missed the cut.
With hundreds of student-athletes participating in nearly 20 different programs at Richmond Senior High School, it’s hard to encapsulate everything into just a list of 10 moments. Therefore, this list has been created to include some of the other defining team and individual efforts during the past athletic school year.
In part one, ROSports will look at the junior varsity football team’s Sandhills Athletic Conference title, an Avy Lucero time-expiring goal and three successful coaching debuts. The events are in no particular order.
JV Raiders win third-straight SAC title, see winning streak reach 30 games
The Richmond junior varsity football team hasn’t lost a game in three seasons, as the program currently sits at 30-straight wins. Accompanying that streak is Richmond’s third-straight SAC title, which was won in November after a 58-14 blowout win over Purnell Swett High School.
Head coach Patrick Hope wrapped up his second season at the helm of the program and saw his team go a perfect 10-0. The Raiders opened the season with a convincing 42-13 win against Wake Forest High School, whose varsity team would win its third-straight 4AA state title.
Leading the team on offense were freshman quarterback Kellan Hood and a handful of running backs, including sophomores Jaron Coleman, Jah’meek Harden, Daveion Campbell and freshman Jamari Broady. Click the photo below for the original article following Richmond’s win over Purnell Swett:
Avy Lucero nets game-winning goal as time expires against Purnell Swett
The Lady Raider soccer team had another successful season this spring under the direction of first-year head coach Chris Larsen. Richmond tallied a 15-5 overall record, including an 11-3 mark against SAC opponents. That was good enough to earn a No. 8 seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye.
One of the more exciting moments for the Lady Raider soccer team, which had 11 seniors, came from junior defender Avy Lucero against Purnell Swett on March 5. Richmond would squeak out a 3-2 win over the Lady Rams, but it came down to a late foul, an expired clock and a rocket from Lucero.
With the game tied at two, senior Jayana Nicholson made a run up the middle of the field and was fouled. Larsen sent Lucero to take the direct kick from just outside the 18-yard box, and she chipped a shot over a wall of defenders that hit the crossbar and bounced in behind Purnell Swett goalkeeper Monica Lowry. It was Lucero’s first goal of the season. Click the photo below for the original game story.
Larsen, Larsen and Moseley impress in first seasons as head coach
Breaking onto the head coaching scene during the 2018-19 school year were Ashleigh Larsen (volleyball), Chris Larsen (boys’ and girls’ soccer) and Teddy Moseley (girls’ basketball). All three would have successful first seasons, seeing the volleyball team and both soccer teams make the state playoffs. The girls’ basketball team missed out by just a couple of spots.
With volleyball, Ashleigh Larsen took over the program last June after six years as the junior varsity head coach. The Lady Raiders posted a 13-9 overall record and a 10-4 mark against SAC opponents. Richmond would finish third in the conference standings before falling to Providence High School in the state playoffs.
Chris Larsen replaced 30-year veteran Bennie Howard last May but stepped right in and continued the success of the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams. He, like his wife, coached the JV programs for six years before getting the reins at the varsity level.
In the fall, the Raider soccer team went on a seven-game winning streak down the stretch to finish 12-10 and make the state playoffs, while also taking second place in the SAC standings. During the spring season, the Lady Raiders also finished second in the conference standings and earned the program’s first-ever playoff bye.
Moseley returned to his old stomping grounds and began a transition of the Lady Raider basketball team this past year. Also hired in June, he began summer workouts not long after taking the job and led his team to a 10-14 overall record, which was four wins better than the previous season. Against SAC opponents, Richmond went 6-8. Click the links below for the season recaps of each of the coaches’ inaugural seasons.
