ROCKINGHAM — Even though the Richmond Raiders’ first four games were against some of the hardest teams in the Tarheel State, they now have a 2-2 record going into the first week of Sandhills Athletic Conference play. On Friday, they beat Myers Park 21-10.
When the Raiders played Myers Park last Friday, they didn’t mess around because their defensive line was full of all-state and all-conference players. Instead, they went straight at the Mustangs’ biggest strength, their strong offensive line.
“I told our offensive line coach, Coach McSweeney, straight out that we’re running the ball.” Prepare your men. We’re passing the ball… That meant a lot to them. That’s what they did, and you saw it: 21 straight points. Raiders coach Brad Denson said.
“It was mostly just running with the ball.” That’s great. They have two real players on that D-line at the D end. The defenders they have are good. They change what they cover.
That defense is very well taught. We changed a few things and jumped behind those guys. We still run it because it makes us feel good. They knew we were going to do it.
After a field goal and a blocked punt near the goal line, Myers Park took an early 10-0 lead. A defender collected the loose ball in the end zone and scored a touchdown.
The Myers Park Mustangs’ offense was terrible; they only gained 84 yards in the whole game after quarterback Jared Lockhart left with a knee injury in the first quarter. They also lost their top rusher, Mauriangelo Skanes, when he was ejected after a fight in the middle of the field.
“Our starting quarterback got hurt, which took some wind out of our sails.” Then, our starter running back was kicked out for what I thought was a bad call. No matter what, it’s clear that when you come down here, you’re playing a tradition-rich game.
Chris James, the coach of the Mustangs, said, “You have to play a full football game…. I don’t think we did that tonight.” “Defensively, I was very proud of our work.” We stayed on the field for a very long time. In the first half, we were able to score.
I believe we did everything we could on defense to win the game. When our senior quarterback, Jared, got hurt, it was a big blow for the offense, but that’s just how football works. At every level, everyone is dealing with it. It’s important to know how to adapt.
The Raiders were down 10-0 in the middle of the first quarter, but QB Dominic Tillman led them into the Myers Park red zone and scored on a 16-yard run to end the drive. At the end of the night, Tillman completed 5 out of 7 passes for 50 yards.
He also ran three times for 19 yards. Evan Hodges and Tillman took turns playing running back. Hodges made 5 out of 12 passes for 49 yards and ran for 5 yards himself too.
A turn around was started by Tillman, but it was lead rusher Jordan Bostick and his front five who made it a fire. Bostic ran for 121 yards and scored two touchdowns. He started an 81-yard drive in the fourth quarter with a 9-yard touchdown run, giving the Raiders their first lead of the night.
He then made it a two-score game with a 31-yard run while taking a snap from the wildcat position. Daylin Goodwin, tackle, said that they were successful on the ground because they worked on their skills while getting ready to block Myers Park’s strong defensive line.
“Those guys were pretty tall.” We worked on our technique and keeping focused on the plays. We had to stay down and use our plan. We didn’t say anything to the other team and talked to each other instead, Goodwin said.
Raiders linebackers Kmauri Morgan and Terande Spencer had another great night on defense. Morgan had the most tackles on the team with 9, including 2 for a loss. Spencer came in second with 4 tackles, including 3 for a loss.
And on top of his sack, defensive end Zach Gardner had 4 tackles. Defensive tackle Jayden Hamilton also had a sack and a very important fumble recovery. Three of Richmond’s four forced mistakes were caused by defensive back Jarah Cook, who picked off two passes.
“I worked on my flow and did what I was supposed to do.” Cook said, “It was just seeing the ball in the air and going to get it.”
With the win, the Raiders’ record is now even at 2-2, but coaches and players think that Richmond’s record is the same as their conference record, which is 0-0.
The first game of conference play is this Friday on the road against the Southern Lee Cavaliers. The Southern Lee Cavaliers have a 2-1 record, with a 41-6 win over Western Harnett (0-3), a 22-0 loss to Eastern Randolph (3-0), and a 50-14 win over Fairmont (0-4).
“All we have to do is move the chains.” That’s how we feel good about ourselves… We’re feeling very good about going into conference play. We are proud of the work we do. “It makes us feel great,” Bostic said.