ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior football team wasted no time putting points on the scoreboard in its game against Lumberton on Friday night.
After a quick three-and-out deep in their own territory, the Pirates punted the ball to the Raiders and watched the home team find the end zone in just two plays.
Leon Zeigler tucked the ball and ran for 26 yards on Richmond’s first play from scrimmage. The senior quarterback would then find Jaleen Baldwin on a screen pass that went 31 yards for the opening score.
Richmond (6-2, 2-0) used the quick start to propel itself to a 55-19 win in its second conference game of the year.
“I thought it was a good start by our offense — they did a lot of good things tonight,” coach Mike Castellano said. “Coach Burdeau did a great job calling the game.”
The Raiders used a balanced attack offensively, finding the end zone four times through the air and four times on the ground.
Although five players caught at least one pass on the night, Baldwin was the only one to score a touchdown. Five minutes after his first score, the junior wide receiver would catch a contested pass in the end zone. His last two scores were both screen passes that he took 51 yards.
“It felt good,” Baldwin said of his performance. “My teammates and the coaches have been helping me out in practice. I think I did pretty good, but it’s still a couple of things I could’ve done better.”
Before Friday’s game, Baldwin had 102 receiving yards and a score. He can now add nearly 150 yards and four touchdowns to his stats.
“They played hard and we played hard,” Baldwin added. “I’m just glad to be back on the field.”
As for the ground game, the Raiders picked up more than 200 rushing yards — once again led by Damontre Bennett (83 yards, 2 TDs) and Dante Miller (49 yards, 1 TD). All three touchdowns came within a 8-minute span in the second quarter.
Bennett used 14-yard and 15-yard runs, respectively, to set up his two scores, while Miller shot through the line of scrimmage for 39 yards before plunging into the end zone from a yard out.
Jeremy Wall’s 23-yard scamper, with 9:16 left in the game, would be the final Richmond touchdown of the night.
Lumberton (2-6, 0-2) struggled to get anything going offensively.
The Pirates found some success early, as Braylan Grice completed his first three passes for 49 yards, but that quickly came to an end. It wouldn’t be until the third quarter until Grice completed another pass — throwing 10 straight incompletions.
Grice was able to score two rushing touchdowns, however, finishing the night with a team-high 37 rushing yards. Montrez Howell was second for Lumberton, carrying the ball 11 times for 36 yards.
Josh Britt came in for the Pirates on their final possession and threw a touchdown pass to Brandon Norris as time expired.
“We’ve got to clean some things up defensively and special teams wise,” Castellano explained. “I don’t think we played exceptionally well in those two phases of the game.”
Richmond now turns its attention to Pinecrest, who will make the trip to Raider Stadium next Friday, Oct. 28. The Patriots defeated Purnell Swett 41-17 on Friday and boast an 8-1 overall record — their only loss coming against Scotland last week.
“Obviously, they’re a great team and have done a great job this year,” Castellano said. “It’s another opportunity for us to go against a great opponent. And luckily, we get to do it here on our home field.”
NOTE: This story will not be featured in the weekend paper due to the Daily Journal’s early deadline.
SCORING SUMMARY
RS – 1Q 9:37, Leon Zeigler 31-yard pass to Jaleen Baldwin (XP good)
RS – 1Q 4:04, Leon Zeigler 7-yard pass to Jaleen Baldwin (XP good)
LUM – 1Q 0:24, Braylan Grice 16-yard run (XP good)
RS – 2Q 9:23, Damontre Bennett 1-yard run (XP good)
RS – 2Q 6:18, Dante Miller 10-yard run (XP good)
RS – 2Q 2:10, Damontre Bennett 5-yard run (XP good)
RS – 2Q 0:44, Leon Zeigler 51-yard pass to Jaleen Baldwin (XP good)
RS – 3Q 7:14, Leon Zeigler 51-yard pass to Jaleen Baldwin (XP good)
LUM – 3Q 2:27, Braylan Grice 4-yard run (XP no good)
RS – 4Q 9:16, Jeremy Wall 23-yard run (XP no good)
LUM – 4Q 0:00, Josh Britt 20-yard pass to Brandon Norris
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.
Richmond Senior’s Jaleen Baldwin gains yardage after hauling in a catch. Baldwin would finish the game with four touchdowns.