ROCKINGHAM —Senior defensive back D’Marcus Harrington enters his third year as a starter for the Richmond Senior High football team.
His mindset heading into the 2019-20 campaign represents the rest of the hungry Raiders set to embark on a new journey.
“Win a state championship. That’s the really the only goal on the team,” said a curt Harrington.
Harrington led a group that enjoyed an 11-win season that was highlighted by an undefeated sprint through the Sandhills Athletic Conference.
Even with the most successful run under head coach Bryan Till’s two-year stint, he feels the group can achieve even greater heights and live up to Harrington’s ambitious goal.
“When we face those elite teams we just got to play better the whole game. What we learned is that we got to be consistent and play up to that talent level all night,” said Till.
“We know we can play with them…we got to get to doing.”
Till’s group dropped just two games last season, an early loss to eventual 4A state champion Wake Forest, and a playoff defeat at home that ended their year prematurely. He feels like a lack of mental strength was partly to blame more than any other factor.
Raiders junior Caleb Hood is back for his third straight season as starting quarterback and he says that a productive offseason has helped him and his teammates gain some of the swagger needed to reclaim the program’s championship glory.
“I feel like I’m going to play with a lot more confidence this year. I’ve been in the offense for two years now and I’m just a lot faster seeing stuff and knowing what to do and everything,” said Hood.
Hood threw 21 passing touchdowns to just three interceptions, both marks led the conference and were a key reason he has recently named a preseason all-state selection according to NCpreps.com.
He says he’s packed on 20 additional pounds to his sturdy 6-foot frame. The additional weight hasn’t hampered the mobile quarterback’s ability to shake defenders as Hood added that he’s also dropped his 40-yard dash time to 4.4 seconds.
But Hood also wants opposing defenses to know it won’t be just him coming at them as he heads one of the most potent offenses in the state after it averaged 36 points per contest last season.
Senior running back Jaheim Covington finished with 1,174 rushing yards which ranked third in the conference. The junior receiving tandem of Jakolbe Baldwin and 6-foot-4 wideout Dalton Stroman look wreck opposing secondaries after combining for 855 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“We’re going to be pretty hard to stop. We got a lot of weapons in the run game and passing game,” said Hood. “Our offensive line is really good this year —a lot smarter. I think we’re going to be really good.”
Despite the loss of all-conference center Jake Ransom, Hood says he feels good with the progress of his replacement, Bryson Sanders. And all 6-foot-5, 308 pounds of junior offensive tackle Jaleel Davis has the quarterback feeling even cozier in the pocket this season.
Till says Davis’ length causes problems for opposing pass rushers and his added strength in the offseason has given him a morale boost. In his second year as starting left tackle, Davis has already garnered the attention of a few “Power 5” schools and currently holds an offer from The University of South Carolina.
He says he’s improved his pass protection, run blocking, and more importantly, fundamentals, to get him ready for another season protecting Hood’s blindside.
“Getting my technique better, playing lower and coming off the ball more aggressive,” Davis said of his offseason progressions.
Davis also mentioned gaining more chemistry with the offensive line and Hood, on and off the field, will be key. He says that they work out on off days together, and every Thursday during the season, the group goes out to eat.
The Raiders’ defense shares similar camaraderie, led by senior middle linebackers Gavin Russell and Joerail White.
Russell says he’s established trust with White over the past three seasons that has him confident enough to believe they will be best linebacking duo in the conference this year.
Meanwhile, White is coming off a microfracture in his knee that caused him to be sidelined for the 2018 campaign. He says rehab sessions requiring vigorous single-leg workouts allowed for a determined return to the field.
“I feel ready. I’m ready to play and just help the rest of them (team), show ‘em what I got,” said White.
Joining Harrington in the secondary that adopts a “no balls caught” moniker are all-conference performers Xavion Lindsey and Dereck Barringer.
Barringer’s 74 tackles leads those returning, and Lindsey showcased his ball-hawk capabilities last season, grabbing a team-high two interceptions including a game-altering pick to propel the team’s first win over rival Scotland since 2010.
After watching older guys ahead of them in previous years, the senior trio now looks to return the favor for their proteges as they make one last run for the school’s eighth state title.
“I try to teach them the technique. I go hard in practice, so I make them go hard. You can only get better if you go hard,” said Harrington of the younger defensive players.
The Raiders start the season at No. 6 on NCpreps.com’s “Elite 8” 4A rankings. They’ll kick things off with a home matchup against Clayton on Aug. 23.
