ROCKINGHAM — There will be more people at Friday’s game than just friends, family, and Richmond Senior High School grads. Former RSHS coach Bryan Till is coming to town with his new team, Union Pines, who is still unbeaten in Sandhills Athletic Conference play.
Till revealed his resignation as head coach of RSHS in January of last year. He was later replaced by Brad Denson, who is now the coach of RSHS. On Friday, Till will return to the less-than-friendly confines of Raider Stadium for the first time in a game that could deter the SAC champion.
“That was me sitting in those bleachers a year ago, watching games.” I kept up with it, but I had another job at the time. I belong here, and next week is a big one. That’s all I have to say. The coach said, “Next week is a big one.”
Union Pines is coming into the game fresh off a 37–23 win over Richmond foe Scotland. The Raiders, on the other hand, are all fired up after beating the Hoke County Bucks 44–20.
Early on, it looked like the Bucks were in charge after Hoke linebacker Jalyn Willis caught a tipped pass well inside the red zone and returned it for a score. Without giving up, Richmond quarterback Evan Hodges led a 65-yard drive that ended with a touchdown run by running back Javion Smith from 8 yards out.
There’s something I still don’t understand about that first play. [Hoke County] took some risks. Gambling can be helpful sometimes. He said, “They’ll win some times and lose some times.” It was good that we were able to get past that and keep playing… Jayden Hamilton, the receiver, is really great. He hasn’t done much in the last two weeks, but tonight he proved that he is a great player.
After the first quarter, Richmond took over, in part because Raider receiver Jayden Hamilton scored two touchdowns. Later that same minute, Hamilton scored again on a 1-yard touchdown run. This time, he returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown, giving the Raiders a 22-6 lead late in the second quarter.
“I saw the ball flying.” Two people were coming toward me. I caught it and both of them missed. He said, “I saw the outside, I went to it, and my teammates were there with the blocks.”
Hamilton caught four passes for 88 yards, including a touchdown from junior quarterback Dominic Tillman in the third quarter, which added to his 74 return yards and made up almost half of Richomd’s scores. He averaged 20 yards per catch. Even though they didn’t score a touchdown last Friday, running back Chance Crowder’s effort stood out.
Crowder averaged more than 10 yards per carry and had 76 yards, which led the team. Under center, Hodges’ pick hurt his QB rating, dropping it to 80.4 for the night even though he threw two touchdowns and completed 40% of his passes for 108 yards.
At the end of the night, Tillman had a 120.8 QRB after completing 4 of 8 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. He split time with Hodges last Friday. Tillman said that both quarterbacks’ good play last Friday was because they got to know the players better during summer practices.
“Every day we went to the field.” It never stopped. He said, “We just throw the ball, and they know where to break.”
The Raiders had another good night on defense, with only the pick-6, a touchdown late in the second quarter, and another score after the game was over. Last Friday, defensive tackle Monte Martin was a key part of a Richmond safety. He said that the Raiders’ success is due to the belief that it doesn’t matter who makes the hit each play. It’s only important that the hit is made.
“I felt good.” I want to help the team win by making plays. We can’t be stopped by an O-line… Wonderful. It’s how we all talk. We all loved each other. We help each other out. We help each other feel better when we’re down. We got along well as a team. I do my job. Everyone does their part. He said, “Everyone gets credit for it as long as we get the stop.”
As for this week’s game, both the Union Pines Vikings and the Raiders have never lost in their conference. When Pinecrest played teams with losing records before facing Richmond a few weeks ago, their perfect record was put to the test.
Union Pines, on the other hand, comes into the game having already beaten several winning teams. For Tillman, having the right attitude on Friday is more important than beating up a coach who left for another school.
“We really want it.” I know that the older people really want it. Tillman said, “We just need to have the right attitude and win.”