During Friday’s monumental clash of high school football superpowers, two of the state’s best offensive talents renewed their distant rivalry.
Richmond Senior quarterback Caleb Hood out-dueled Myers Park signal-caller Drake Maye, 35-32, to avenge last year’s third-round playoff loss and send his Raiders to the regional final this week.
Though his stat line, a team-high 112 rushing yards and 204 yards passing, proved pedestrian to some of the eye-popping numbers Hood’s posted in his career, the high-stakes performance was more about timing and overall message.
Hood, per usual, spoke about the great contributions of his teammates that helped put him in position to succeed. Not once did he mention tasting the sweet nectar of revenge, or upstaging the best quarterback in the state.
Let me take a moment to say what he couldn’t say.
For the few that were able to take in the game from my vantage point, directly in the midst of the firecracker that was the Richmond sideline in the second half, what unfolded before our eyes was a display of elite intangibles that went far beyond the box score.
With his team down 24-13 deep in the third quarter to a Mustangs group powered by their four-star Alabama-commit, Hood put a stranglehold on the contest.
In front of an estimated 9,000 spectators on hand at Raider Stadium, the three-star recruit dominated the action for the final 15 minutes, guiding three unanswered scoring drives.
“I mean, it was great. We just had to help our defense out. They were making big stops and we couldn’t capitalize at first,” Hood said of the run.
During the scoring streak, Hood inflated what he characterized as a “flat” Raiders offense to that point. He connected on a trio of third-down pass conversions: third-and-9, third-and-11, third-and-11, all of which were punctuated with a Hood gallop to pay dirt.
Each drive created more hope, more enthusiasm, and more exuberance. The usually stoic, and almost robotic, Hood turned into a crazed competitor who rushed off the field after every touchdown and bolstered both his teammates and the home crowd.
When you watch the greats catch fire, in any sport, there’s a sense of undeniable hopelessness from the opposition and conversely, impenetrable confidence for those lucky enough to be on the same team as said player.
Hood was that type of athlete on Friday.
Look no further than the opening drive of the contest, when he tucked the ball on a designed draw and electrified the audience with a 73-yard sprint to the end zone, crippling Mustangs’ defenders in the process.
There was nobody inside or outside the crisply-painted white lines stopping him or his companions from keeping their unblemished season alive.
Even still, despite the career-high four rushing touchdowns that toppled what was a highly-regarded team nationally, the three-year starter immediately acknowledged that there is more work to be done.
“One week at a time. We just want to keep playing with each other…and I think we’ll be good,” he said.
With a distinct combination of raw talent, commitment to team and sheer determination, Caleb Hood has officially put everyone on notice: this year, it’s different.
