ROCKINGHAM — An almost perfect run through the regular season and a Sandhills Athletic Conference championship helped put the Richmond football team in a favorable position as it prepares for postseason play.
Over the weekend, Richmond (10-1) received the No. 2 seed in the West and a first-round bye in the finalized 4AA NCHSAA State Playoff Brackets. It will be competing on the West side of the bracket for the 19th time in school history.
The Raiders knew they would have opening week off prior to the brackets being released, seeing that they won the conference title, but the difference in the state rankings and the Adjusted MaxPreps Rankings (AMPR) left them wondering if they would beat out Mallard Creek (10-0) and secure the West’s top seed.
According to playoff projections, the Raiders were slotted above the Mavericks in the AMPR — which now determines the pairings — even though the Mavericks were undefeated and ranked higher in almost every state poll.
That all changed on the morning of Seeding Saturday, however, as Mallard Creek jumped Richmond in the AMPR right before the preliminary brackets were announced and claimed the No. 1 spot on their side of the bracket.
Wake Forest, the two-time reigning 4AA champion, picked up the No. 1 seed in the East.
“It really doesn’t matter to me,” Richmond head coach Bryan Till said following Friday night’s 41-0 win at Purnell Swett. “If we make it as far as the Western Championship, that’s when the No. 1 and No. 2 thing comes into play, but I don’t think anybody’s going to care. We’re just going to be proud to be in the Western Championship.
“Right now, we just want to win on Thanksgiving weekend,” he added. “That’s the focus.”
Richmond will be paying close attention to the first-round matchup between No. 7 West Forsyth and No. 10 Reagan this Friday, Nov. 16, because the winner of that battle will be visiting Raider Stadium next Friday, Nov. 23, in Round 2.
The Raiders haven’t seen West Forsyth since the 2012 regular season — when they grabbed a 39-14 win on the road — but have been able to get somewhat familiar with Reagan over the last two seasons. They opened the 2017 season with a 45-24 victory over Reagan and then kicked off this season with an even-more-convicing win, 54-18, at home.
“We’ll throw in some things from each team (during practice) and just continue, defensively, to look at those things. Offensively, it’s going to depend on their (defensive) fronts and things like that,” Till said on Friday.
“We’ll work towards that, whatever it may be, and be ready for both teams.”
Four other schools from the SAC made it into the postseason as well.
Pinecrest (8-3) earned the No. 6 seed on the East side of the 4AA tournament and is slated to host No. 11 Panther Creek (7-5) in the first round. If the Patriots win, they will visit No. 3 Holly Springs (7-4) in the second round.
No. 5 Seventy-First (8-3) will be competing on the 4A level — due to the size of the school — and is scheduled to host conference foe Jack Britt (5-6), who picked up the No. 12 seed, in the first round.
The winner will advance to play No. 4 Riverside (7-3) next week.
Scotland (5-5) is playing in the 4A playoffs as well, as it earned the No. 10 seed in the East and is preparing for a first-round battle at No. 7 Jordan (5-6) to start. If the Scots escape, No. 2 Cardinal Gibbons (10-1) will be waiting in the second round.
For the full NCHSAA State Playoff Brackets, click here.