ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School football team got back on track with a win on Friday thanks to a healthy mix of running the ball and defensive plays, especially in the second half.
A strong running attack and three interceptions in the last two quarters helped the No. 20 Raiders beat No. 14 Myers Park High School and even their record.
After the Mustangs scored, Richmond scored all of its points without being answered, going on to win 21–10. The Raiders got off to the best start to a season since 2021 with this win.
Head coach Brad Denson said that the team trusted Kemp McSween, who is “one of the best o-line coaches in the state,” and the offensive line.
With the best running game they’ve had all season, the Raiders used their running game to get around a strong Myers Park defense.
Senior running back Jordan Bostick did most of the work for Richmond, and they got two touchdowns on the ground in the second half.
Late in the second quarter, junior quarterback Domonic Tillman scored on the ground as well.
The Raiders’ defense didn’t let up, even when things went badly early on. They delivered a strong performance when it counted. Richmond shut out the Mustangs in the second half and had four turnovers, one to recover a fumble and three picks.
Like in their last three games, the Raiders’ offense had no trouble moving the ball on the first series of the game.
But on fourth-and-7, junior quarterback Evan Hodges threw an interception to Elijah Barber. Barber picked off Hodges, who then lost the ball at the Myers Park 25-yard line.
For the first time in four series, the Richmond attack either turned the ball over or scored a touchdown.
After the pick, Richmond’s defense held strong in the red zone for 13 plays, stopping Myers Park.
Starting quarterback Jared Lockhart got hurt on the ninth play of the drive and didn’t come back.
Senior linebacker Joe Parsons, senior defensive end Zach Gardner, and junior linebacker Terande Spencer all made stops that made the other team try to kick a field goal.
To start the game, James Remsen scored with a chip shot from 29 yards out with 11:56 left in the second quarter.
On the next play, the Raiders lost the ball on downs after Tillman’s attempt to run for a touchdown on fourth down was unsuccessful.
The next series, which began at the Richmond 35-yard line, Gardner called in. On first down, he made a stop for loss, and on third down, he put pressure on the quarterback, Zan Reghay, which caused his pass to go incomplete.
Richmond ran for six plays after the Mustangs punted before West had to punt out of his own red zone. Barber picked up the ball near the 15-yard line, ran it back for a score, and the punt was blocked by a blitz up the middle.
Remsen made the PAT, which made the score 10-0 for Greenville with 4:29 left in the half.
Tillman threw an interception in the right flat on Richmond’s next play from scrimmage, and Josh Hines picked it off.
The Mustangs quickly moved into Richmond territory, but the Raiders took the lead when starting running back RJ Alexander was called for choking and then given a double personal foul and thrown out of the game.
Alexander was kicked out of the game, and Myers Park had a second-and-44 at its own 37-yard line. Reghay threw the ball too far, and a bunch of Raider players swarmed on it as it bounced.
The football was found at the bottom of the pile by junior defensive end Jordan Hamilton. This gave the Raiders control at the Mustangs’ 18-yard line.
After senior running back Javion Smith and Hodges gained yards on the next three plays, Tillman kept the ball and ran it in from nine yards out.
Richmond was down three points when senior kicker Billy West made the first of his three PATs in the game. There were just over 90 seconds left in the half.
The story of two halves began quickly for Richmond in the third quarter. They kept up the energy they had built up during the scoring drive in the second quarter.
The defense and senior safety Jarah Cook got things going. A long pass attempt by Reghay was picked off by Cook on the third play of the Mustangs’ first drive in the second half.
Richmond got the ball at its own 13-yard line after the first of Cook’s two picks in the second half. Even though West punted at the end of the drive, it was the first of six stops in a row by the Richmond defense that finished with a turnover or punt.
The third quarter ended with no points scored by either team. The fourth quarter began with a long punt return across midfield by junior Jayden Hamilton. With a personal foul call against Myers Park, the attack for Richmond began at the 19-yard line of the Mustangs.
Bostick ran the ball for Richmond on second down and got to the five-yard line. He called most of the plays in the second half. After two plays, Bostick scored his first of two running touchdowns.
West made a PAT that changed the score and gave the Raiders their first lead of the game, 14–10. There were 11:22 left in the game.
Both teams punted in the next two series, but senior defensive back Keidreion Crump helped seal the win with an interception. They got the ball back at their own 40-yard line with 4:47 left.
Chance Crowder, a sophomore running back, came into the game and made a number of sneaky runs that got first downs and slowed down the clock.
For good measure, Bostick found a gap in the offensive line and ran ahead unchecked for the game’s last touchdown. With 1:28 left, West’s PAT made it 21–10 in favor of them.
Cook made a diving interception along the far corner with 73 seconds left on the clock as the Mustangs tried to score on their next offensive play. The Raiders then went into victory shape.
After playing all of their non-conference games, the Raiders (2-2) will start Sandhills Athletic Conference play next Friday.
Richmond will go to Southern Lee High School (2-1) for the first of three straight SAC road games. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. in Sanford.