It was a tale of two halves for the Richmond Senior football team Friday night.

The Raiders overcame a 30-28 halftime deficit to outscore Purnell Swett 19-6 in the second half and win 47-36 at Raider Stadium.

The victory improved Richmond’s record to 7-1 overall, 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference, while Swett suffered its first loss of the season, dropping to 7-1, 1-1 in the SEC.

The Raiders jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Quayshawn Dumas began the contest with a 37-yard kickoff return, putting Richmond at the Swett 43-yard line. Richmond struck two plays later as quarterback Tedarrius Wiley connected with Dumas for a 39-yard touchdown pass, giving Richmond a 7-0 lead with 11:05 remaining in the first quarter.

Wiley was accurate all game, completing 13-of-14 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns, while Dumas had five catches for 97 yards and two scores.

“I was able to get into a groove early,” Wiley said. “They were playing the option tight and our receivers made some great plays. Quayshawn did a great job of getting open and I was able to find him down the field.”

Richmond scored again on its second series as Walter Ellerbe capped a seven-play drive with a 6-yard touchdown run, giving the Raiders its 14-point lead with 5:33 left in the quarter.

But Swett didn’t fold and mounted its comeback.

The Rams used a seven-play drive capped by Ethan Clark’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Sikia Artis, who caught the ball in the back of the end zone. Ethan Clark ran in the 2-point conversion, cutting Richmond’s lead to 14-8 with 3:03 left in the first.

Richmond quickly responded as Corey Dawkins out-muscled a Swett defender to haul in a 30-yard touchdown reception from Wiley, giving the Raiders a 21-8 advantage early in the second.

Swett once again fought back as Ethan Clark’s 45-yard run set up a Jock Clark 1-yard touchdown run. Jock Clark finished the contest with 122 yards on 22 carries, but was denied on the 2-point conversion as Swett trailed 21-14.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Rams recovered the free kick at the Richmond 44. Swett later capitalized as Ethan Clark scored on a 11-yard scamper and Jock Clark ran in the 2-point conversion as Swett grabbed a 22-21 lead with 6:39 left in the quarter.

“They’re a very good football team, and they kept battling,” Raiders coach Paul Hoggard said. “We just weren’t playing our responsibilities on defense and missed a bunch of tackles.”

Swett forced Richmond to punt on its next series and a bad snap to punter Cody Threadgill allowed the Rams to take over on a short field. The Rams converted on the mistake as Ethan Clark scored on a 25-yard touchdown run, his second of the half. Ethan Clark connected with Caleb Jones for the 2-point conversion to stretch the lead to 30-21 with 1:31 remaining in the quarter.

Richmond managed to score before the half as Labarrian Jones’ 1-yard touchdown run narrowed Swett’s lead to 30-28 at the break. The Raiders were aided by a late hit call after the kickoff that moved the ball deep into Purnell Swett territory.

After halftime the game belonged to Richmond.

After the Raiders forced Swett to punt, Jones capped a five-play drive with a 44-yard touchdown run as Richmond regained the lead at 34-30 with 5:02 left in the third.

The Raiders’ defense forced another Ram punt and Wiley hooked up with Dumas for a 14-yard touchdown pass as Dumas dragged his feet in the back of the end zone, giving Richmond a 40-30 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Swett fumbled and the ball was recovered by Richmond.

The Raiders marched the down the field and Ellerbe’s 1-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 47-30 early in the fourth.

Ethan Clark scored on a 1-yard run with 3:02 left in the contest, but the 2-point conversion failed. The Raiders recovered the on-side kick were able to run out the clock to secure the victory.

“We just didn’t execute in the second half,” Rams coach Mark Heil said. “They have a very talented offense and they took advantage of us being young on defense. We knew this was going to be a shootout, but we just couldn’t keep up.”

Richmond returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Lumberton on Senior Night at Raider Stadium.

n Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com