Not many teams have ended perennial national powerhouse Charlotte-Independence’s season during this decade.

But that’s what the Richmond Senior football team did a year ago during its improbable run to the state championship. The No. 6 seed Raiders pulled off a 30-22 upset victory over the top seeded Patriots in the 2008 state semifinals, and carried the momentum over the following week by defeating Jack Britt 38-35 in the state championship game.

Now, the two legendary programs in the state meet again.

The second-seeded Raiders (12-1) will attempt to win their 10th in a row and move onto the state semifinals for the second straight year, but standing in their way is sixth-seed Independence.

The Patriots crushed 11 seed East Forsyth 56-14 in the first round and routed second seed Mallard Creek, 49-20 in round two.

The quarterfinal game of the western bracket of the NCHSAA 4AA state playoffs will take place at Raider Stadium tonight and is slated to kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

The 12-1 Pats are motivated to avenge the loss of a season ago, and continue their quest to win the school’s eighth state title.

“We haven’t forgotten what happened last year,” Patriots coach Tom Knotts said.

“We definitely would like to get revenge and keep our season going. All season long, we’ve kept a Richmond County championship sweat shirt hanging up in the weight room. But if we need any motivation tactics to get ready for this game, than we’ve got issues.”

Richmond certainly has some concerns at quarterback going into the postseason matchup.

According to Raiders’ coach Paul Hoggard, starting quarterback Tedarrius Wiley’s status remains uncertain.

Wiley has missed the first two postseason games after suffering an Acromioclavicular Joint (AC) separation to his left (non-throwing) shoulder in the second quarter against Scotland.

Hoggard said Wiley has participated in practice this week, and has been cleared by the doctors and trainers to resume playing.

According to Richmond trainer Mitch Hadinger, if Wiley does play, he will wear a protective pad over the left shoulder.

Wiley has passed for 1,529 yards and thrown for 11 touchdowns and no interceptions this season.

In last year’s win over Indy, Wiley threw for 211 yards and had three touchdown passes.

If Wiley is unable to go, Hoggard hopes backup quarterback Laron Ellerbe can. Hoggard said Laron Ellerbe has been slowed this week with a hip pointer suffered against Providence.

But Hoggard said on Tuesday that he is optimistic that Laron Ellerbe will be ready to play. Hoggard added that the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart is starting wide receiver Quayshawn Dumas, who has not played under center this season.

“It’s a concern, but we feel confident that Tedarrius or Laron will be quarterbacking Friday,” Hoggard said.

The Pats have no concerns at quarterback, as their high-powered offense, averaging 49.5 points a game, is led by dual threat senior Anthony Carrothers, who has passed for over 2,000 yards and thrown 23 TD passes.

Carrothers also has rushed for over 400 yards and has 14 rushing TDS. Carrothers passed for 329 yards last season against Richmond.

“Carrothers has been starting since he was a freshman, and he’s a really good player,” Hoggard said.

“Their offensive line protects him very well, and defenses have a hard time getting to him.”

Knotts said that his signal caller must do a better job of protecting the ball than he has done in the past couple games.

“Anthony must avoid throwing interceptions, because he threw four in the first half against Mallard Creek and threw two against Butler,” Knotts said.

“We’re hoping it’s out of his system and that we won’t end up throwing to those ugly yellow and green jerseys.”

Knotts said Indy’s top weapons are tailback Nyjee Fleming, who rushed for 90 yards and scored three touchdowns last week, and receivers Avius Capers and Kierre Brown. Knotts added that Capers is more of the Pats’ intermediate receiver, while Brown is the team’s deep threat.

Hoggard said Indy throws the ball more down the field than last year. Hoggard added that playing pass-happy Providence was a good matchup for his defense to prepare for Indy.

Though the Pats rolled up 368 total yards in last season’s game, Raiders defensive coordinator James Johnson said Richmond allowed few plays down the field and must duplicate that feat again.

“We did a good job of not giving up the big plays,” he said. “They’re a team that’s going to attack you vertically, but we’ve just got to be sharp in our secondary coverage and make them work for everything they get.

“We understand they’re a great offense, and they’re going to make plays. But we’ve got a very good offense also and it could come down to which defense can make that crucial stop.”

Hoggard acknowledged the key to the game could be whether his explosive offense, averaging 40 points a game, can keep the Pats’ potent unit off the field. In last week’s win over Providence, Richmond used a time-consuming 13-play, 89-yard fourth quarter drive capped by Walter Ellerbe Jr.’s seven-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 40-24.

“We’ve got to control the clock similar to what we did last week, keep our offense on the field as much as we can and we can’t give them short fields,” Hoggard said. “We’ve also got to throw the ball better than last week, so we can keep them honest. If we’re having a bunch of three-and-outs, leaving our defense on the field and they’re hitting the big plays, it may get ugly.”

Knotts said the concern for his defense is slowing down Richmond’s stellar running game.

Knotts said the Patriots failed to do that last year, as the Raiders gashed the Pats’ unit for 320 yards.

Senior tailback Labarrian Jones ran for 96 yards against Independence.

Jones, who scored four touchdowns last week, is getting close to being 100-percent recovered from his high ankle sprain, Hoggard said.

Jones has rushed for 1,331 yards this season.

Junior running back Walter Ellerbe Jr. has continued to step up in an increased role lately, as Ellerbe recorded his fourth straight 100-yard game versus Providence with 186 yards, bringing his total to 1,624 yards on the season.

“We know we’re going to have to control their triple-option running game a lot better than last year or it’s going to be difficult to come away with a win,” Knotts said.

“If they’re running good, that makes us vulnerable to their play action passing game.”

Both Richmond and Indy’s lone loss came at the hands of Butler.

One team will emerge and set up a potential state semifinal date with the top seeded Bulldogs next week.

“I believes it’s going to be a huge crowd, and this is what high school football is all about,” Hoggard said.

“It’s as good as it gets and everyone should just sit back and enjoy what should be a great game.”



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