With three games down in the 2010 season, the Richmond Raiders are sitting in a spot many teams in North Carolina would like to be.

3-0. Undefeated. An unblemished record.

In football, the destination is what matters. How you get there is secondary.

Have the first three games been pretty? No.

But they go into the books as wins.

Friday night, the Raiders got one of the most exciting plays in football to start the game: A long kickoff return for a TD by explosive wide receiver/return specialist L.J. Stroman.

But if the Raider faithful were hoping the thrilling play was the beginning of a big night of offense, they were disappointed.

Again, the offense struggled to move the ball early.

Again, the defense came through with a lights-out effort — shutting out Anson (the Bearcats’ only score came on a safety).

And again, the offense put together a big drive and came together, assembling a grinding, clock-devouring drive that culminated in a Walter Ellerbe TD with 34.2 seconds left.

And speaking of Ellerbe — what more can you say about him?

How about 26 carries for 162 yards Friday night — including the aforementioned game-clinching score.

Every time he touches the ball, Ellerbe shows why he’s more than worthy of his spot in Charlotte TV station WSOC’s “Big 22” contest.

And speaking of that ... Raider fans can log onto the station’s Web site at www.wsoctv.com and vote for Ellerbe once per day. The contest runs through Oct. 22, and it would be nice to see our local star win.

And if he does, the soft-spoken Ellerbe will, I’m sure, give most of the credit to his offensive linemen — the guys up front who create the holes he uses to run up those big numbers.

The road for Ellerbe and the rest of the Raiders figures to get a whole lot tougher this week as Richmond travels to Memorial Stadium in Charlotte to take on defending NCHSAA Class 4AA champion Butler.

It’s been a season of off-field drama so far for the Bulldogs, first with the loss of star quarterback Christian LeMay and now a player arrested on rape charges.

But Butler seems to have done a good job so far of transcending those distractions: The Bulldogs are 2-0 after shaking off the bye-week rust to down Vance, 35-14 last Friday night.

I know many of the Raider players have had this date circled on their calendars since last season, when the Bulldogs defeated the Raiders, 38 - 31 at Raider Stadium, rallying from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit with 21 unanswered points.

But there was business to take care of before that date with the Bulldogs this Saturday night.

Good coaches are able to keep their players’ eyes on the prize.

Good teams don’t look past opponents. Cliched as it sounds, they take games one at a time.

And the Raiders are certainly well-coached. So, the Raiders have been biding their time, taking care of business and vanquishing each opponent on the early season schedule.

The Raiders have done that, and now they can focus their attention on the Bulldogs.

It should be interesting — befitting the special Saturday stage.

Contact sports editor David Vantress at 997-3111, ext. 14 or via email at dvantress@yourdailyjournal.com.