ROCKINGHAM — More than friends family and Richmond Senior High School alumni will be in attendance for Friday’s game as former RSHS coach Bryan Till coming to town with his new team, Union Pines, who remains undefeated in Sandhills Athletic Conference play.
Till announced his departure from RSHS head coach last January, later replaced by current RSHS coach Brad Denson, and will return to the now not-so-friendly confines of Raider Stadium for the first time Friday for a game that may deterimine the SAC champion.
“A year ago, personally, I was sitting in those bleachers and watching games. I still kept up with it, but I was in another occupation. This is where I belong and we have a big one next week. I’ll leave it at that. We have a big one next week,” Coach Denson said.
While Union Pines comes into the game still hot from a 37-23 victory over Richmond rival Scotland, the Raiders come into Friday’s game with a full head of steam after mollywopping the Hoke County Bucks 44-20. The Bucks seemed in control early, after a pass tipped well inside the red zone conveniently landed in the hands of Hoke linebacker Jalyn Willis, who returned it for a 13-yard touchdown. Undettered after throwing the interception, Richmond quarterback Evan Hodges orchestrated a 65-yard drive, capped off by an 8-yard TD rush by running back Javion Smith.
“I still don’t know what happened on that first play. [Hoke County] gambled some. Sometimes (gambling) helps. Sometimes they’ll win and sometimes they’ll lose,” Denson said. “We did a good job of overcoming that and continuing to play … [Receiver Jayden Hamilton] is pretty special. He’s been quiet the past couple of weeks, but he’s a special player and he showed that tonight.”
After the end of the first quarter, it was all Richmond from there thanks in part to a pair of TDs by Raider receiver Jayden Hamilton. Hamilton found paydirt the first time on a 1-yard TD run, then only minutes later returned a punt for a 50-yard TD, giving the Raiders a 22-6 lead late in the second quarter.
“I saw the ball in the air. There were two people coming toward me. I caught it, and made both of them miss. I saw the outside, I went to it and my teammates had the blocks,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton accounted for nearly half of Richomd’s scores while averaging 20 yards per catch with four catches for 88 yards, including a third quarter TD from junior QB Dominic Tillman, which complemented his 74 return yards. Although kept out of the end zone last Friday, running back Chance Crowder’s performance did not go unnotived with Crowder averaging more than 10 yards per carry for a team-leading 76 yards. Undercenter, the Hodges interception marred his QB rating, dropping him 80.4 on the night despite a pair of TD throws while completing 40 percent of his passes for 108 yards. Tillman, who split time with Hodges last Friday, completed 4 of 8 passes for 72 yards and a TD – ending the evening with a 120.8 QRB. Tillman attributed both quarterback’s strong performances last Friday to a connection developed with the receivers during summer workouts.
“We went to the field every day. It was constant. We just throw the ball, and they know where to break,” Tillman said.
Defensively, aside from the pick-6, a touchdown throw late in the second quarter and another score once the game had been decided, the Raiders had another strong night. Defensive tackle Monte Martin, who played a key role in a Richmond safety last Friday, attribute the Raiders success to a mentality of it does not matter who makes the tackle each play. It only matters that the tackle gets made.
“I felt good. I want to make plays, make plays for the team … No O-line can stop us … It’s great. We all communicate. We all got love for each other. We help each other up. We pick each other up when we’re down. We got good team chemistry. I do my job. Everyone does their job. As long as we get the stop, everyone gets credit for it,” Martin said.
As for this week, both the Union Pines Vikings and Raiders come into the contest with an undefeated conference record. Unlike Pinecrest, who faced a slew of teams with losing records before putting their undefeated record to the test against Richmond a few weeks ago, Union Pines enters the contest battle-hardened with victories over multiple successful programs so far. While spurning a coach who left for another program is a motivator, for Tillman, the key to success Friday is having the right attitude.
“We want it real bad. I know the seniors want it bad. We just have to go in with the right mindset and get the win,” Tillman said.