Corey Davis

Richmond County Daily Journal

The Butler did it.

The third-ranked Bulldogs erased a 14-point fourth quarter deficit by scoring 21 unanswered points to come-from-behind and defeat Richmond Senior 38-31 Friday night at Raider Stadium.

The victory allowed Butler to remain undefeated and improve its record to 3-0 on the season, while the Raiders dropped to 3-1. The loss was the first for Richmond since a 42-7 defeat last season on Oct. 17 to Douglas Byrd.

“We couldn’t stop them,” Raiders coach Paul Hoggard said. “But I’m proud of our kids because they fought hard.”

With the game tied at 31, Butler took a 38-31 lead with 2:18 left remaining in the game as Bulldogs quarterback Christian LeMay connected with receiver Nate Charest for a 45-yard touchdown pass after Charest sprinted free behind the Raiders’ secondary on the play.

“I don’t know what the coverage was, but it was certainly a breakdown in coverage,” Hoggard said.

Richmond made a final attempt to drive down the field and even the game. The Raiders went to some trickery on third down and eight at its own 40-yard line as tailback Walter Ellerbe attempted a halfback pass down the field to receiver Jeff Brown, but the pass was incomplete.

“It was a desperation play and I thought we had a chance on the play, but we didn’t convert it,” Hoggard said.

On fourth down, quarterback Tedarrius Wiley completed a 7-yard pass to wide receiver John Rich, but Rich was stopped short by Butler’s defense from converting the first down. Butler took over on downs with 1:18 remaining and was able to run out the clock.

Hoggard believed the referees didn’t give Rich and the Raiders a good mark on where the ball was when Rich was blown down.

“I thought we got a horrible spot,” Hoggard said.

The Raiders jumped out to a 31-17 advantage when receiver Quayshawn Dumas hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Wiley on third-and-goal to help give Richmond the two touchdown lead with 11:51 left in the fourth.

Then Butler began its comeback trail starting with Deion Walker’s 40-yard kickoff return.

After a holding penalty negated at 46-yard touchdown, the Bulldogs came back four plays later as LeMay connected with receiver Anthony Short on a 19-yard touchdown pass deep down the middle of the field, which cut Richmond’s lead to 31-24 with 10:33 left to play.

The Bulldogs forced a Richmond three-and-out on the next series.

Butler tied the contest at 31 on the second play of its possession when LeMay’s play fake froze Richmond’s secondary, allowing Short to get open down field. LeMay and Short connected on a 58-yard touchdown pass, knotting the game with 8:34 left in the game.

The Raiders moved the ball down the field on their next possession and was faced with a fourth-and-three at Butler’s 47-yard line, but tailback Labarrian Jones was stopped for no gain and the Bulldogs took over on the change of possession with 3:30 remaining the contest.

The Bulldogs scored the game-winning touchdown four plays later when LeMay connected with Charest on the 45-yard reception.

“I think our kids just kept fighting and kept believing in each other,” Butler coach Mike Newsome said. “Our guys just stepped up and made some plays.”

Newsome admitted the biggest play of the game for Butler occurred right before halftime with Richmond leading 21-10 after Ellerbe scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 38.5 seconds left before halftime.

LeMay connected on a 41-yard pass to Charest, putting Butler at Richmond’s 4-yard line. LeMay’s 4-yard run sliced the deficit to 21-17 at halftime.