LAURINBURG — For the first time in four years, the Richmond Senior junior varsity football team finished atop the Southeastern Conference standings following its 60-12 rout of archrival Scotland.
The Raiders finished the season with a 10-0 record and were 5-0 in SEC play, while the Fighting Scots fell to 7-3 and 4-1.
After celebrating the victory with his team in the end zone, Richmond JV coach Jason Norton credited his defense for completing the season undefeated. For the year, the Raiders surrendered 58 points and recorded six shutouts.
“They played lights out once again,” Norton said. “I have to give the credit to Coach (Cole) Faulkner, Coach (William) Fly and Coach (Jacob) Scott, they had those guys ready to play every week. Our offense had to practice against them every week and that made them better.”
Offensively, the Raiders were just as dominant. Richmond totaled 513 points on the season and scored 40 or more points eight times, including in all six conference contests.
“I was a little worried about the offense because they didn’t look good yesterday in practice,” Norton said. “They came out tonight and played well.”
Norton believes his players are primed to do big things at the varsity level next season, but how successful they will become will rest on their shoulders.
“This is a good group…they can be special,” Norton said. “It will depend on how hard they want to work. They have a chance to be really special.”
Norton added he wasn’t concerned about his players being too worked up about playing for first in the conference and battling their archrival. While there were no flare-ups during the contest, players from both sides had to be separated after the game.
“We want the kids to play with all that enthusiasm but to play hard and smart and not run their mouths,” Norton said. “They were trying to do the same thing. I hated to see what happened.”
— Sports editor Shawn Stinson can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 14, or by email at sstinson@heartlandpublications.com.
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