ROCKINGHAM — Two players who have been synonymous with the offensive success of the Richmond Raider football team this season recently etched their names into the program’s record book.
When the dust settled following the Raiders’ comeback 48-43 win over Porter Ridge in the second round of the state playoffs Friday, it became clear that junior running back Chance Crowder and senior quarterback Evan Hodges were officially part of Raider football lore.
For Hodges, his new program record was being tracked meticulously ahead of the game, so much so that head coach Brad Denson told The Richmond Observer about the record-breaking performance following his postgame interview.
Crowder, on the other hand, bulldozed his way into the record book while carrying the majority of the offensive weight against a scrappy Porter Ridge defense.
In the Raiders’ second round playoff win, Hodges became Richmond’s all-time leader for single-season passing yards and Crowder tied the program record for the most single-game all-purpose touchdowns scored.
Denson, who is listed in Richmond’s record book himself, shared his belief that any time a player writes his name in a team’s history, especially one that is as rich as Richmond’s, that it’s an honor.
“I am extremely happy for both of them,” Denson said. “But I am sure they will both tell you they want another win this week and just another opportunity to play again next week. We expect a ton out of these guys and look forward to seeing them in action Friday night.”
Crowder ties program record with six all-purpose touchdowns
Ahead of Friday’s showdown, there was a lot of talk about Porter Ridge’s running back Rai’Shawn Elmore. But Crowder gave Raider Nation a performance to remember when he scored six all-purpose touchdowns.
Accounting for all of Richmond’s touchdowns except for one, Crowder crossed the goal line five times on the ground and also caught one touchdown pass from Hodges.
The six all-purpose touchdowns tied Crowder with former players quarterback Brenton Flowers and running back Walter Ellerbe Jr.
Flowers recorded six rushing touchdowns as part of a 62-37 win over Jack Britt High School on Sept. 13, 2013. Ellerbe Jr. also rushed for six touchdowns in a 69-35 victory at Pinecrest High School on Oct. 30, 2009.
With his five rushing scores (single-game career-high) and solo receiving touchdown, Crowder became the first of the three players to include a touchdown reception.
Against the Pirates, Crowder scored twice in the first half and four times in the second half, with his final touchdown serving as the game-winning score.
A 14-yard rushing touchdown by Crowder gave Richmond a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. Late in the second quarter, Crowder caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Hodges to cut Richmond’s halftime deficit to 28-21.
Richmond scored on its first three possessions of the second half to tie the game and go ahead 42-28. All three of those scores were rushing touchdowns by Crowder from distances of three yards, nine yards and one yard, respectively.
With the Raiders trailing 43-42 with 2:18 left in regulation, a masterclass two-minute drill was orchestrated by the offense. On third-and-goal from the one-yard line, Crowder waltzed into the end zone untouched to score his sixth touchdown and put the Raiders ahead for good with 15 seconds left in the game.
Crowder finished the game with 98 rushing yards on 18 carries. He also caught three passes for 14 yards.
Not only was it a historic, emotion-filled night for Crowder, but tying the record also put his name in the same record book that his dad, Marcus Rush, is written in.
“To tie the the all-purpose touchdown record was big for me,” Crowder said. “And to write my name in the record book along with my dad’s name, that’s a big achievement.
“Our coaches put together a great game plan so when it was time, we already knew what they were about to do before they even did it.
“On the game winning drive, my emotions were so high. But our offense put together a great two-minute drill and on the last play it was win or go home. And I didn’t want to go home.
“The key to me having a big second half of the season has just simply been doing the little things like getting lower on runs and carrying out my fakes,” Crowder added.
Explaining that he never calls plays for a certain player to get in the end zone, Denson admitted that he didn’t know Crowder had scored six times until after the game went final.
“It’s another huge honor that Chance will go in the record books and be sharing this accomplishment with a few other Raiders,” Denson said. “Finding the end zone six times in a given game is always difficult to do, especially this year with the talent and weapons that we have all over the field.
“Chance is extremely smart and really understands our offense and knows more than probably any other running back I have coached,” Denson added.
“He understands the run game, the pass game, protections and the way I want to call it. Anytime you can understand it like that, then couple that with his natural athletic ability, you will get some really good results.”
Hodges surpasses single-season passing yards record in fewest number of games
At the start of the season, Hodges was named QB1 and had the position to himself for the first time. The previous two seasons he’d split reps with fellow senior teammate Domonic Tillman, who now plays defensive back.
Taking advantage as the Raiders’ signal caller, Hodges has flourished into one of the top quarterbacks in 7A this season, as well as all classifications across the state.
Entering last Friday’s playoff game, the magic number for Hodges to set the new single-season passing yards record was 294.
He finished the night 25-of-33 passing for 339 yards with two passing touchdowns and no turnovers.
With that performance, Hodges moved his season passing yards total to 2,710 yards, which put him at the top of the list in Richmond’s record book. He surpassed former quarterback Leon Zeigler, who connected for 2,665 yards during the 2015 season.
Even more impressive, Hodges completed the program feat in record time. Averaging 246.4 passing yards per game this season, Hodges set the new record in just 11 games.
During the 2015 season, Zeigler averaged 205 passing yards per game and set the previous record in 13 games. Tedarius Wiley, who is now third all-time with 2,635 passing yards, took 16 games to reach that mark during the 2008 state championship season (164.7 yards per game).
Helping get Hodges to the new record Friday were five total receivers — Jayden Hamilton (10 catches, 128 yards), Amer Morrison (5 catches, 98 yards), Keonta Pegues (3 catches, 63 yards), Jasiah Cooper (4 catches, 36 yards) and Crowder (3 catches, 14 yards).
Through 11 games this season, Hodges has 1,062 more passing yards than the second-place quarterback in the Mid-South Conference, Pinecrest’s Najee Gillis (1,648 yards).
He’s ranked first in 7A ahead of Knightdale’s Jamel Perry (2,694 yards), and is ranked eighth in the entire state in passing yards. The current leader is Tyler Jones (Kinston) with 3,386 yards.
Hodges has four games this season with 330 passing yards or more — Northwest Guilford (373 yards), Hoke County (361 yards), Pinecrest (378 yards, career-high) and Porter Ridge (339). He’s thrown for 31 touchdowns, which is second in program history behind Zeigler (35, 2015).
“I am extremely blessed and honored to achieve this goal,” Hodges shared. “The biggest part that nobody sees is the five guys up front who block and the five other guys I have who catch the ball. If it wasn’t for them, this accomplishment would have never happened.”
“My goals this season were 3,000 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns. The journey sure has been tough, with a lot of long hours watching film, practicing with my teammates and working hard outside of practice. But this journey has been worth every bit of it and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“The season is not done,” Hodges closed. “The goal is to win one week at a time. Every team starts new every week 0-0. Each week is survive and advance, win the game any way you can. The whole team wants to win a championship, but we also understand that it takes one week at a time and that’s our mindset the whole way.”
Denson, who played quarterback for Richmond in the late 90s, applauded Hodges’ dedication to his craft, especially his mental focus.
“Records are made to be broken and it's always good to see them come down,” Denson said. “For Evan, it really has been cool to watch. His work ethic and his attention to detail are special — that’s what sets him apart because he is not a kid with crazy speed or size.
“He is almost like a Tom Brady type of player. He has a good arm, can run if he has to, but is mentally just going to be on top of it. And the fact that he is an ultimate competitor adds a ton of value as well.
“To put those numbers up in 11 games is really impressive,” Denson closed. “I am pretty sure he will tell you the same thing, that this is not just a record that he did. This offensive line protecting him all year, these receivers making him look good all year and a running game that has kept it balanced are all major factors in his record breaking performance.
Denson also tipped his cap to Jay Jones, Richmond’s quarterback coach by adding Hodges “is coached by a pretty darn good QB coach.”
The No. 6 Raiders will continue their Chase for 8 when they travel to No. 3 Independence High School Friday for the third round. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
