The Richmond Senior High football team is starting to find some playmakers on defense.

The Raiders’ defense forced three turnovers in the 28-0 victory over Lee County last Friday and two of those were caused by senior cornerback Antoine Bostick.

With the Raiders holding onto a 7-0 first quarter lead, the Yellow Jackets attempted to get back into the contest as tailback Omar Murriell’s 60-yard run moved Lee to the Richmond 28-yard line. But on the next play, Lee’s quarterback Carson Wilson’s pass down the sidelines attended for wide receiver Chris Thompson was intercepted by Bostick.

“We were in a cover-four defense, and I watched the quarterback a little bit and I had feel where the receiver was at,” Bostick said. “I was able to stay in front of him and push him towards the sidelines. I got in position to make the play, jumped up and caught the ball. I felt like it was a big play because they had a chance to tie up the game at that time.”

Bostick stung the Yellow Jackets again in the second quarter, and helped the Raiders push the advantage to 14-0. After Lee took over following a missed field goal attempt, Bostick stepped in front of Wilson’s option pitch intended to Murriell and returned the ball 18 yards for a touchdown.

Following the contest, Raiders coach Paul Hoggard called Bostick’s second big play the turning point of the game. Raiders defensive coach James Johnson said Bostick read the pitch perfectly and Bostick admitted that his teammates helped him make the play happen.

“I got help from my defense because when their quarterback was about to pitch one of our defensive lineman rushed him and he was scared to take the hit,” Bostick said. “He pitched it and I was right there for it and took it back to the end zone. To be honest, I was surprised by what happened. When I went to the sidelines, everyone congratulated me and told me I came to play tonight.”

On Monday, Bostick had his toenail cut off after being bothered with an ingrown toenail which he said occurred when his toe was stepped on last week during a kickoff drill in practice.

Bostick added treatment by from the RSHS training staff has helped ease the pain and added the injury doesn’t effect his ability to run or will force him to miss any games.

Johnson said Bostick has emerged as Richmond’s top cornerback in front of LJ Stroman and Tyone Byrd. Defensive back coach Ken Neal added that Bostick has adjusted well making the transition from safety to cornerback.

Bostick started at free safety as a sophomore and played sparingly at the position a season ago as a junior.

During summer workouts, Johnson said Bostick was in a battle with Tommy Zinnerman for the third safety spot behind Kasheem Reid and Tyquan Wall.

According to Johnson, Bostick struggled picking up some concepts at the position and felt it was better to move him to cornerback.

Initially, Bostick wasn’t excited about the switch.

“I had been playing safety all my life and it was a big move for me,” Bostick said. “But I figured if this was a way for me to get some playing time, then I had to get in there and learn the position.”

Neal pointed out that Bostick is working hard in practice at getting better on his footwork as a corner.

Bostick confessed that he hasn’t always been a good practice player.

“I used to be lazy and I really didn’t like to practice,” Bostick said. “But I started to understand that if I wanted to be a better player and get some playing time, then I had to practice much harder. I also realized that the way you practice will usually carry over into the game.”

Johnson added he and the other coaches used to question whether Bostick could be counted on.

“He’s starting to mature, and a lot of times in the past, the coaching staff wasn’t sure if we could put him on the field because we didn’t know if we could depend on him,” Johnson said. “Right now, he is one of best players in the secondary and has come a long ways.”

Bostick is learning as a cornerback that allowing a receiver to catch the ball in front of him is better than giving up a deep pass that could translate into a big play.

Although Bostick has yet to give up any big pass plays, Neal is curious to see how Bostick will react if it happens.

“I’m hoping he doesn’t give up a big play all year, but if he does, hopefully he will have short-term memory, which you must have at that position,” Neal said. “We haven’t played against that one real good receiver, and it will be interesting to see how he will respond in that situation. But right now, I couldn’t be more happy with his progress.”

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