ROCKINGHAM — Brad Denson told the Richmond Senior High School football team of two things at the end of practice on Monday.
To begin, it is competition week.
And two, the game against Pinecrest High School on Thursday could decide who wins the conference title.
Thursday, the Raiders will go to Pinecrest in what they hope will be their last game of the regular season without losing.
Because of the chance of bad weather, school officials said Monday afternoon that the Sandhills Athletic Conference game would be played a day earlier than planned.
“We will make it work because that’s what we do,” Denson said. “Having the short week does change us a little.” Pinecrest had a week off before our game, so they had plenty of time to get ready.
“We think we’re ready, but that’s the fun part of game night: you just get into the swing of things.”
The last few years, the matchup between the Raiders (3-2, 1-0 SAC) and the Patriots (4-0) has gotten tougher. The all-time score is 41–5, but the Patriots have won two of those five games in the last two seasons.
The last few years have been better for Pinecrest, but Denson said the Raiders aren’t thinking about that as much as they are sticking to the ways they’ve been preparing that have worked in the past.
Still, a derby game on the road has a little more edge to it.
“We’re still going about our business as usual; we don’t change how we prepare,” Denson said. “On the other hand, rivalry weeks tend to have a bit more energy and focus.”
“Every game is important for us because it’s the next one, but to be honest, this one is a little more important.” When teams compete with each other, it’s always fun to play. Hopefully this one is no different.
Head coach Nick Eddins, who is from Richmond, and the Patriots are 4-0 after their first four games. They had a week off before their next game.
The only team Pinecrest has played this season that has a losing record is its own. The only time it beat a team with a good record was in Week 4 against New Hanover High School (2-1), when they came back to win in overtime.
Taking all of that into account, the Raiders want to end the Patriots’ perfect start and their two-game losing streak to their Moore County neighbors.
Denson said that sticking to what Richmond knows it can do is part of the plan. To keep what’s important in mind.
“We Always Tell the Guys, ‘We Are Not Playing an Enemy, We Are Playing the Game,'” Denson said. I believe that if we follow the rules of the game, things will usually go smoothly.
We need to take care of the ball, force a mistake or two, play great on special teams, and do what we’re told to do on both sides of the ball. I am sure that we will be okay if we do that.
Richmond will face another tough attack in the Patriots, whose style is similar to those of Butler, Cardinal Gibbons, and Myers Park.
Pinecrest’s offense is led by senior quarterback Cody Hansen and is mostly made up of a few running backs and wide receivers. The Patriots’ attack scores 46.3 points per game, and their defense gives up 30.5 points per game.
Hansen has completed 42 out of 67 passes this season, gaining 445 yards and throwing seven touchdowns and three picks.
The two best wide receivers are Elijah Melton, a senior, and Eric Melton, a junior. His 18 catches and 133 yards are the most on the team, but his other stats are about the same as Eric Melton Breck Bosanko’s. They both have nine catches for 131 yards and three touchdowns.
Richmond’s rush defense will try to slow down senior Zymire Spencer (64 carries, 534 yards) and junior Chris Najm (49 runs, 450 yards) at the back of the field. Together, the two running backs have scored 16 touchdowns.
“On offense, there are a lot of them,” Denson said. It’s like they have a couple of go-to running backs and go-to targets on the outside. Their quarterback is very sneaky and smart too.
“They will RPO against us, so we need to do what we’ve been taught again.” With their playmakers and plan, they will make it hard for us to defend the ball, but I think our guys are ready.
On the other side of the ball, Pinecrest has had some trouble this season stopping other teams from scoring. In Week 3, the Patriots lost by seven points to Middle Creek after giving up 55 points.
Cole Harrison (24 tackles), Tanner Corwin (19 tackles), and Kamari Ingram (16 tackles) are the top tacklers. In four games, Pinecrest has only had four QB sacks as a team.
“They cover a lot of different areas and run different fronts,” Denson said. “We need to be able to figure out what front and coverage they are in and then do what we’re told to do.”
“Our staff has been very good at making game plans all year, and this one is very much the same.”
Denson, who will be guiding for the first time against Pinecrest, told Richmond County football fans again how important it was to make the trip up U.S. Hwy. 1 even though it was a school and work night.
“Title of the conference championship is on the line in this big game,” Denson said. “We play against each other and don’t like each other on the field; we just want to win.” Raider Nation needs to come.
The weather report says, “Yes, it might rain, but it might not rain.” You can protect yourself from the rain with a rain jacket, rain suit, cover, umbrella, or anything else you can think of. Get one or look deep in your clothes for one, and then show your support for these guys.
“It’s amazing to see full stands when we’re on the road and then see our guys thrive off of it,” he said. “Don’t forget that the game starts at 7, so get off work early and get to the stadium by 6:45 to go get a win.” We need true Raider fans!”