A 21-point third quarter nearly gave the Richmond Senior High School Raider Football Team a victory over the state runner-up 71st Falcons, who held on for a 35-28 victory Friday night.

Senior running back Jordan Bostic accounted for two of the Raiders three third quarter scores while rushing for more than 100 yards and even throwing a TD in the Raiders season opener.

“We had to show we’re better than last year. We’re better than last year. We’re here to make plays and score touchdowns,” Bostic said.

While the Raiders struggled on offense, in the first half, their special teams provided constant threat with returner Jayden Hamilton racking up more than 100 yards returning punts and kicks with a majority of that coming on an 81 yard return for pay dirt to put Richmond on the scoreboard in the first quarter.

The running game become crucial as the game wore on, with Richmond’s depth at quarterback limited due to illness. Eventually opting to the wildcat, in order to preserve quarterback Evan Hodges, once Hodges stepped in the defense opened up expecting a pass. Instead they found Bostic barreling ahead for a touchdown in the third quarter to pull Richmond within a score of the Falcons, who led 21-7 going into halftime.

“It set the tone that we came move the ball on them, and get into the end zone on them. They’re not as good as they are on paper,” Bostic said.

A few possessions later, the Raiders tied the game after setting up a play-action pass throughout the night while running out of the wildcat. After taking a direct snap, Bostic baited the secondary with a quick juke before finding Nic Griggs open in the end zone.

Defensively, the Raiders performed well. Linebacker Terande Spencer had an astounding 20 tackles, to lead the Raiders, which also included a team-leading 4 tackles for loss. Defensive back Kmauri Morgan racked up 17 with one tackle for a loss. However, the only player the Raiders could not keep down was highly recruited 71st quarterback DeAndre Nance, who completed 9 of 12 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, as well as two rushing touchdowns, while running back teammate Donovan Frederick accounted for more than 100 yards rushing and two TDs.

“In my personal opinion, we’re one of the best in the state. We had some problems there in the fourth quarter, but we’re going to work on it and come back better,” senior defensive end Zachary Garnder said.

With the loss, the Raiders fall to 0-1, and host the Butler Bulldogs in the season opener. Despite making a deep postseason run in 2023, the Bulldogs opened the season with a 64-14 loss to Rolesville, but doesn’t mean RSHS coach Brad Denson plans to undermine them in preparation for this Friday.

“It’s the first week of school. You have to fight through that battle. It’s always a tough week, but we have Butler at home. We need all of the Raider supporters. All of the Raider Nation there on Friday night for our home opener,” Denson said. “It’s extremely exciting. We knew coming in what this was going to be and what type of game this was going to be. It’s always exciting to get on the field and play a different color jersey, no matter who it is. We have a rough non-conference schedule, and we’ll give it everything we got.”