The first step on the road to repeating as 4AA state champions starts tonight at 7 p.m. at Providence.
The Raiders are coming off a 2008 season where they reeled off eight straight victories to win the school’s seventh state title with a come-from-behind 38-35 victory over Jack Britt at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.
Raiders coach Paul Hoggard admitted his team must be ready with the target on its back that comes with being defending champs.
“I think for me and the coaches, the state championship ended when we got home from Chapel Hill,” Hoggard said. “The pressure is always on the Richmond Raiders to win a championship and we know that people are always gunning for us. And it’s even more now since we’re state champions, and we’ve got to understand that and we’ve got to play at a high level against every opponent.”
Providence gets the first crack at the defending champs. The Panthers are coming off a 7-6 season where it was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Butler. Providence comes into the season with high expectations, but may not be 100 percent going into the season opener.
“We got some high hopes for this season, but we got a few injuries that we’re dealing with going into this first game at a couple key spots,” Panthers coach Randy Long said. “We know we’re going to have to play a near perfect game to upset Richmond County.”
Despite Providence’s health issues, Hoggard said the Panthers’ balanced offense presents a difficult challenge for his untested defense.
The strength of Providence could be their passing game where the Panthers have three Division I commitments playing wide receiver. Braxton Deaver and Damon Magazu have both committed to Duke, while Brandon Braxton is heading to East Carolina.
Deaver is the biggest of the trio, listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds. Deaver also is a defensive end on the Panthers’ defense. Magazu is the starting strong safety and his father, Dave, is a Carolina Panthers assistant coach.
Braxton, a 6-foot-2, 185 pound receiver, who Long said is known for his breakaway speed, transferred from Cleveland powerhouse St. Ignatius last year. According to national recruiting web site scout.com, Braxton is ranked as the No. 3 senior receiver in North Carolina. Braxton’s father, David, played at Wake Forest as well as in the NFL for six years.
The Panthers’ offense will be operated by 5-9 junior quarterback Chauncey Concepcion. Hoggard feels Concepcion is a solid pocket passer and a dangerous scrambler.
Another Providence weapon is starting tailback Chris Williams, who Long said is a quick and elusive runner. Long added that four out of the five offensive linemen are seniors.
Hoggard expects Providence to use multiple formations in an effort to spread out Richmond defense. Raiders defensive coordinator James Johnson believes his secondary must guard against giving up the big play.
“Our defensive backs are going to have to be very disciplined,” Johnson said. “They like to throw out of one back, two back or empty set, and we can’t get caught trying to cheat on the run and end up giving up something big down the field.”
Johnson added if the Raiders can get Providence into long yardage situations that could play into their advantage.
“If we can get them into some third-and-long situations, we can probably play a lot more dime or nickel coverages,” Johnson said. “That will allow us to use packages where we’ve got five or six defensive backs on the field, which we feel good about.”
The Raiders’ front seven could help keep the Panthers off balance by slowing down the run and keeping Concepcion uncomfortable in the pocket.
“The ideal thing would to make them one-dimensional, which would make it easier for us to defend,” Hoggard said. “We need our defensive line and linebackers to minimize their running game and help our secondary by putting pressure on their quarterback. We’ve got to win the battle up front at the line of scrimmage.”
Long admitted the Raiders look efficient on offense from their scrimmage tape against Cape Fear and knows his defense will also be tested. Long said the Panthers’ top defensive players are Deaver, Magazu, defensive lineman Trevor Hicks and linebackers Dallas Vandenberg and Joey Blackwell.
Richmond’s offense will be led by last year’s state championship Most Valuable Player Tedarrius Wiley and returning tailback Labarrian Jones. Wiley threw for 2,606 yards and a school single-season record of 29 touchdown passes, while Jones ran for a team-leading 1,168 yards on 158 carries and eight touchdowns.
“We’re a little ahead of where we were last year offensively, and the main reason is having Tedarrius and Labarrian back again because a lot of what we do is timing in the backfield,” Hoggard said. “We still believe we’re going be balanced like we were last year. Tedarrius has proven to be a solid passer in the pocket, and if we pass protect, our receivers are capable of making plays.”
Hoggard added for the Raiders to be success, the offense must put together long drives and finish them off by putting the ball in the end zone.
“For us to keep their offense on the sidelines, we’ve got to control the football, eat up the clock and hopefully put some points on the board,” Hoggard said. “The concern I’ve got is we didn’t get a good idea of what they like to do on defense from watching their scrimmage.”
Johnson believes the game could come down to which defense makes a critical stop in the fourth quarter.
“I think we’ve got a real good offense, and they’re very good offensively,” Johnson said. “This could probably be a case of whatever defense plays better is probably the team that’s going to win.”
Hoggard confessed that he will find out plenty about his group following Friday night.
“We’ve got a lot of young, inexperienced kids that’s going to be playing in a tough environment against a very good football team, and it’s going to be interesting how they’re going to respond.”
n Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com
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