ROCKINGHAM — Two weeks after earning an big-time win over West Forsyth High School, the Richmond Raider football team is looking to crash another party this Friday.
With their non-conference slate behind them, as well as their Week 6 bye, the Raiders and head coach Brad Denson are shifting their focus to Mid-South Conference play.
Up first will be a road trip in Week 7 to Pine Forest High School, the first of five straight conference games to close the regular season. The Trojans are celebrating their homecoming game when the Raiders come to town.
When the team completed a nine-point, fourth-quarter comeback against West Forsyth on Sept. 19, Denson closed the postgame huddle with saying that victory was what the team needed heading into its conference schedule.
Hoping to carry that momentum to Fayetteville, the Raiders are rejuvenated after a week off from game prep and trading blows under the lights.
“The bye week was well needed in several aspects,” Denson shared. “The big one is that we were able to get somewhat healthy again. We still have a few who are nursing some nagging injuries, but for the most part, we are in a lot better situation than we were in Week 5.
“We took it very lightly and worked on some fundamentals and cleaned up some things during the three days of practice last week. Now we are onto game prep and locking in on that opponent.”
Keeping with the program’s week-to-week mindset, Denson and the Raiders aren’t changing much, if anything, in how they’re going about starting MSC action. To them, the microscope’s intensity doesn’t change, just the opponent that’s within its sights.
That said, Denson’s challenge to the Raiders of winning out the rest of the season following its Week 3 loss to Rolesville High School still remains atop the team’s list of priorities.
“I don't think the focus changes, really,” Denson explained. “We are a week-to-week team and that is what we focus on. This week it happens to be Pine Forest.
“Obviously, being in conference play, it means a little more to some extent. We want to win every single game and that is our goal. If we can do that, it takes care of what we need to take care of.”
Pine Forest and head coach Kevin Inman have had a tough start to their season, losing four of their first five games. The Trojans have been outscored 181-80 this season and are averaging a 26.8-point margin of defeat.
While Pine Forest doesn’t appear on paper to be the same caliber team as many of Richmond’s non-conference opponents like Rolesville, Hoggard High School and West Forsyth, Denson said the Raiders aren’t discounting what the Trojans are capable of doing.
Treating Pine Forest the same as any other opponent, Denson shared, will help lead to a hopeful 1-0 start with the conference standings.
“We need to do the same things that we’ve been successful at each week so far this season,” Denson said. “We have to have a great week of practice, be mentally locked in each day and then Friday will be here.
“When we do those things throughout the week, they typically carry right on over to the game. We have to play Raider football, do things right and play with relentless effort.”
Through five games this season, the Trojans have scored an average of 16.0 points per game and were shut out by Seventy-First High School in Week 3.
Pine Forest appears to use its passing game and rushing attack fairly evenly to find the end zone, having scored six rushing touchdowns and four passing touchdowns this season. When it comes to the Trojans’ offense, Denson said Richmond will need to be zeroed in on the signal caller.
“On offense, they aren't very formational, meaning they don't line up in a ton of different looks,” Denson noted. “That should help us a little with alignments. Their QB (Jaidon Moore) is a playmaker and we have to be aware of him throwing the ball and using his legs.
“They have a Shrine Bowl offensive lineman (Donnavin Johnson) and a couple of good ones up front. Along with those guys, we have to make sure we are wrapping up the running backs and getting everyone to the ball. Again, communication and tackling will go a long way for us.”
Moore has passed for 819 yards on 68-of-14 through the air and turned it over six times via an interception. He’s thrown three of his four touchdowns to Perry Moore, with the other one going to Calvin Townsen. Perry Moore leads the team with 29 receptions and 389 yards.
Pine Forest’s leading rusher is Jaidon Moore, who has collected 144 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns this season. Running back David Awolumate is the next top rusher with 96 yards and one score.
Clicking on all cylinders in the couple of games before the bye week, Richmond’s offense will look to do the same against the Trojans’ defense.
The Raiders are putting up 31.0 points per game this fall, about a touchdown shy of what Pine Forest’s defense is allowing per four quarters (36.2 points per game).
The passing game has been Richmond’s forte, as senior quarterback Evan Hodges has tossed for 1,185 yards on 73-of-109 and 12 touchdowns. He leads the conference and is fourth in 7A in passing yards.
Richmond’s trio of senior wide receivers — Jayden Hamilton, Amer Morrison and Keonta Pegues — will look to have another field day. Morrison leads the team with 18 receptions, 359 yards and five touchdowns.
Hamilton and Pegues have caught 14 and 15 passes, respectively, for 299 yards and 239 yards. Each is second on the team with three grabs each in the end zone.
“Defensively, they are an odd front based team, but will try and mix it up on us,” Denson said. “They have been going with a different look on defense each week and it seems to be opponent based. We have been preparing for multiple fronts and multiple coverages on the back end.
“Once Friday gets here, we will find out what they are wanting to do and make our own adjustments from there.
“Notable guys we have to be aware of on defense are No. 4 (Uriah Riggins), No. 9 (Josiah Annoh), and No. 41 (Tiysan Pollar). Riggins and Annoh are secondary guys and Pollar plays linebacker. These guys get to the ball and will strike us, too.”
For the Raiders’ offense, Denson said taking care of the foot ball, identifying the fronts and playing fast will be keys to victory.
Richmond (3-2) will travel to Pine Forest (1-4) Friday, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
Online tickets can be purchased ahead of time by clicking here.
