Raiders fall to Leesville Road 14-19
Nov. 15—ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Raiders' 2021 season came to an end Friday at the hands of the Leesville Road Pride in the second round of the NCHSAA Football Championship after a stellar season in which the Raiders dominated their conference opponents and crushed rival Scotland County.
The Raiders got off to an early lead with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by #2 Cason Douglas, making the score 7-3 Raiders. But it wouldn't be until the fourth quarter that the Raiders would score again.
Both teams punted on their drives after the kick return, but the Pride put together an 8-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-10 lead. The Raiders were looking to get another score before the end of the half, knowing their opponents would get the ball back to start the third quarter, but a fumble on the first play of their drive gave the Pride the ball with 3:28 remaining in the first.
The Pride made a 37-yard field goal at the end of the first half.
With the Pride leading 13-7, the Raiders in striking distance of the lead, both teams started the half with a pair of 3-and-outs. The Raiders held the Pride to a total of 6 yards on their next two drives but couldn't capitalize on offense, only able to muster 14 yards of their own in their first two drives after the half.
The gridlock broke in favor of the Pride when Quarterback Kellan Hood threw an interception at about their own 20-yard line, leading to a short touchdown drive for Leesville Road capped off by #6 Nasir Winston. The Pride missed the extra point, making it 19-7, still a 2-score game.
Driving again with ground to make up, the Raiders get things going after 3-straight unsuccessful drives. They go on a 10-play, 69-yard drive starting from their own 20, but give up another interception.
The Raiders again go on a long drive — 70 yard in 9 plays — capping it off with a 3-yard touchdown run by Hood, but it's too little too late. The Pride get the ball with 5 minutes left in the game and run down the clock. A penalty gave the Pride their final first down, sealing the game.
The two teams were fairly even on rushing, with Leesville getting the edge by 9 yards at 132 for the game. The Raiders were hurt the most by the deficits in passing yard and penalty yards. The Pride had 95 passing yards compared to the Raiders' 57, and had 4 penalties for 21 yards compared to 5 for 52 yards for the Raiders.
The Pride also won the time of possession and turnover battles. They had the ball for 9 minutes and 36 seconds longer, and had no turnovers compared to 3 for the Raiders.
The Raiders finish their season 10-2, their only previous loss being their nonconference game against Cardinal Gibbons in September.
Since they began conference play with their game against Pinecrest, the Raiders outscored opponents by a total of 256 points, with an average of 36.6 points per game. In a highlight for the season, they were able to play conference rival, the Fighting Scots of Scotland County, for the first time since the pandemic hit.
The Raiders came away with a dominant 49-21 victory over the Scots that was not as close as the score suggests. The Raiders held the Scots to 42 yards rushing for the game while going wild to the tune of 287 yards themselves, out-gaining Scotland County overall by 252 yards. The Raider defense turned the Scots over on three straight drives and their offense capitalized on each one.
On seven straight drives — seven out of the first eight — the Raiders had a touchdown on each. Scotland book-ended the 3rd quarter with 2 touchdowns, but the Raiders kept the ball for 8 minutes and 32 seconds of the 4th quarter, coasting to an easy victory.
Their win against Scotland County set them up with home-field advantage for the playoffs. This put some wind in their sails for their game against the Jack Britt Buccaneers, coming away with a dominant 54-14 win in the first round.
