ROCKINGHAM — Richmond Senior is coming off a 20-point-plus victory and hitting the gridiron to face a 3A opponent that just battled a 2A school.
This isn’t a repeat, it is deja vu for Richmond, after battling its 3A neighbors to the west and receiving a scare from Anson.
The Bearcats scored the first 13 points of the game and led 20-19 at halftime. The Raiders stormed back in the final 24 minutes to pull away for a 43-20 win.
“Every time we get on the field is a learning experience,” Richmond coach Mike Castellano said. “Obviously, we haven’t been together that long, so we’re trying to create as many reps as we can. We weren’t happy with the way we came out. Special teams had a mistake and defensively, we gave up two big plays, those aren’t things we can do and be successful especially early in the game. Those two phases of the game got to help us win and not put us behind.”
Tonight’s opponent Douglas Byrd is no stranger to Raider Stadium. The Eagles and the Raiders were members of the old Mid-Southeastern Conference. In the series between the two schools, Richmond holds an 11-6 advantage, but Douglas Byrd claimed the last meeting 42-7 on Oct. 17, 2008 in Fayetteville.
Douglas Byrd is 1-1 on the season after knocking off St. Pauls 26-8 in Week 2. In its opening game, Douglas Byrd fell to Jack Britt 26-0.
Despite its record and picking up its lone win against a 2A tean, Castellano thinks Douglas Byrd is an up-and-coming squad.
“I don’t feel they’re a down team,” Castellano said. “They got some OL that are really good. They’re aggressive up front. They have running backs that run hard. They have a receiver (Montrez Brunson) that didn’t play the first week, that I think makes a difference when he’s on the field. The quarterback (Tre Moses) is asked to throw the ball a little and when he does, it is usually something that could be a game-changing play.
“Defensively they have got the players. We know that going in. The thing with these guys are, they are going to be physical with that coaching staff. You can see it implementing week by week, what they’re doing and how they’re trying to become physical.”
Jerry Roberts is the Eagles’ main threat on the ground. He has rushed for a team-leading 294 yards. Tyrone Brown and Kevin Sparks have run for 80 and 68 yards, respectively. Both have one touchdown on the season.
Brunson sat out the loss to Jack Britt before returning to post four catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Moses is 5 of 16 for 64 yards and two scores. He has also rushed for 15 yards.
“We decided after a few weeks that we are going to run the ball,” Douglas Byrd coach Scott Barbour said. “We have gotten better since the scrimmages each week.”
Castellano noticed on film Douglas Byrd tweaked its offense from its loss to Jack Britt to the win over St. Pauls.
“They have been a little bit different each week. All we can do is prepare for the things we have seen,” Castellano said. “We hope we have our kids coached up enough that if we see something different we can check on the fly. Luckily being the third week, after all the scrimmages and jamborees, we have seen a lot of different offenses. So hopefully we can pull back some knowledge if we get in that situation.”
Looking to lead the way for the Raiders on defense is Devon Hunt. The linebacker has a team-high 26 tackles and recorded 14 in the win over the Bearcats. He also recovered three fumbles, one in the end zone for a touchdown, and forced another. Paul Fowler, another linebacker, has 22 tackles.
After allowing more than 110 yards of offense to Anson in the first half, Richmond’s defense actually recorded a negative number in the second half. The Bearcats had nearly minus 50 yards of offense in the final two quarters.
“We’re not anywhere near where we need to be,” Castellano said about his defense. “More than anything, I think I did a better job calling the defense in the second half than I did in the first half. That is on me. We still have to execute and tackle, and read our keys. We didn’t do that early on. I think we came out a little lethargic and we can’t do that and be successful on that side of the ball. We have to come out and try to dictate tempo.”
Even though the Richmond offense has appeared to be stuck in neutral at times against Rocky River and Anson, it has still managed to put up a combined 77 points in the two victories.
Backup running back Damontre Bennett leads the team with 92 rushing yards and a touchdown. Jayvon Boyer has run for 50 yards and a team-high two scores. Leon Zeigler has thrown for 319 yards and five touchdowns along with two interceptions. Lavell Ellerbe leads the Raiders with 10 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
“I don’t think anybody is happy with any phase of the game and where it is right now, but if you told any of our coaches that we would be averaging 37 and a half points a game, that’s not a terrible number by any stretch,” Castellano said. “I have faith that our offense is going to be fine. It’s going to be a really good offense. One thing about it, we have seen it two weeks in a row, the other team is starting to get tired. That mentally changes some things for us as a team when that happens, we have a chance to be successful.”
Barbour and his defensive coordinator, Mike Paroli, have a plan to slow down the Richmond offensive attack. They just hope their players will be able to execute it. Barbour said one of the biggest things that has handcuffed that unit is its tackling.
“We want them to drive the field and make them make big plays against us,” Barbour said. “We can’t miss tackles at the point of attack. With that offense, you want them to drive the field because there is a chance something bad could happen.”
Reach managing editor Shawn Stinson at 910-817-2671 and follow him on Twitter @scgolfer.