The tone was set from the first time a Richmond player touched the ball.

Steven Houston returned a Providence punt 70 yards for a touchdown on Richmond’s initial possession of the contest and added two other touchdowns to help the Richmond junior varsity team cruise to a season-opening 40-13 victory over Providence Thursday night.

“I thought we did a great job on special teams on our punt return,” JV Raiders coach Steve Wood said. “On that first touchdown score, we Raider hit people and they quit punting to us after that. We preach in practice of doing what you supposed to do and everything else with take care of itself.”

The JV Raiders’ defense only allowed 102 total yards of offense, forced four turnovers and notched four sacks. Richmond’s cornerback Gary Wall returned a 29-yard third quarter interception for a touchdown, which helped the Raiders extend their lead to 34-6.

“I thought we took advantage of a team that was a little slower than we were, and not as in good of enough shape,” Wood said. “We still have to get in better shape and do a better job of getting 11 Raider helmets to the football.”

In the second quarter, Richmond’s backup quarterback Brandon Dawkins threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nigel Littlejohn on fourth-and-goal. Jonathan Thames’ extra point increased the Raiders’ lead to 13-0 with 10:46 remaining in the second quarter.

Providence’s Josh Black ran 70 yards on the ensuing kickoff, before the ball was punched out of bounds at the Raiders’ five-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, Matt Yates connected with Chris Campolieta for a 6-yard touchdown pass. The Panthers missed on the point after and trailed 13-6 with 8:25 left in the quarter.

But the Panthers never drew closer the rest of the way. The Raiders’ running game picked up the slack, finishing with 289 yards and three touchdowns. Houston produced his second score of the game on a 45-yard touchdown run. Richmond missed the point after, but led 19-6 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Raiders continued to pour it on with a nine-play drive capped by Houston’s 3-yard touchdown and the two point conversion increased the lead to 27-6. After Wall’s interception for a score helped give Richmond a 34-6 lead late in the third, Richmond’s Ridge Santo scored from one-yard out early in the fourth, following a turnover to help give the Raiders a 40-6 lead.

Despite running the ball effectively, Richmond did fumble the ball four times and a problem that Wood said must be corrected.

“When we did hold onto the ball, we ran it well, but we can’t continue to put the ball on the ground,” Wood said. “The competition is going to get better and that’s something that will come back to haunt us if we don’t correct it.”