Contributed by Jimmy McDonald Richmond Senior running back Elijah Goodwin had an 84-yard touchdown run against North Davidson during the three-team scrimmage Thursday night.

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ROCKINGHAM — The lights will be a little brighter and the grass a little greener in seven days.

Before Richmond Senior kicks off the new season at Sun Valley next week, the team finished its preseason preparations by hitting the practice fields for one final tuneup with Glenn and North Davidson Thursday night.

Richmond’s first- and second-string offense accounted for seven touchdowns during the 90-minute session. The Raiders’ first-unit defense continued to impress the coaching staff, allowing two scores during the scrimmage, one during goal-line situation plays.

“The effort has been really great,” Richmond defensive coordinator James Johnson said. “We have done a good job running to the ball. We just need to cleanup the tackling.

“We gave up one (score) in short yardage. We had the hit, but we didn’t finish up the tackle. And the one on the reverse, we missed a tackle. We gave up one yesterday because of a missed tackle.”

While the defense was up to the task from the beginning of the three-team scrimmage, Richmond’s offense needed a few series to get warmed up.

The Raiders were unable to move the ball against the Black Knights in their first possession. After a turnover in its second session, Richmond finally scored against Glenn on a long run by Elijah Goodwin, the first of two touchdowns by the junior running back.

“I think we came out flat offensively for some reason,” Richmond coach Paul Hoggard said. “We’re not very good offensively right now, but we can be. That’s not a bad thing because you don’t want to be playing your best too early.

“A lot of the plays weren’t very good. It wasn’t just the running back, the quarterback or the offensive line. It was a combination of all three.”

In the full-field scrimmage, Richmond scored on back-to-back long runs from scrimmage against North Davidson. Junior quarterback Brent Flowers broke free for a 70-yard dash for a score, followed by Goodwin’s second touchdown — an 84-yard run. Diquon Cox added a 37-yard scoring scamper on Glenn’s defense.

“When you scrimmage, people think way too much about how you do,” Hoggard said. “The staff here does a good job of game preparation. During a scrimmage, you are really winging it a little bit.”

— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com