Home Local Sports RIVALRY RETURNS: No. 3 Raiders seek outright conference championship in showdown with...

RIVALRY RETURNS: No. 3 Raiders seek outright conference championship in showdown with Scotland

ROSports File Photo: Senior safety Kelay Lindsey (11) returns an interception during Richmond's win over Lee County on Oct. 16.
Kyle Pillar — Sports Editor.

 

ROCKINGHAM — The newest installment of what many consider to be the “best rivalry in the state” will take place between the Richmond Raiders and Scotland Fighting Scots on Friday.

In what will be the 54th all-time meeting between the two neighboring rivals, No. 3 Richmond will have a chance to clinch its fourth-straight outright Sandhills Athletic Conference title against unranked Scotland.

It will be 722 days between meetings for the Raiders and Scots, which saw their 48-year streak of playing one another snapped during the spring season earlier this year. COVID-19 protocols and limited scheduling time prevented the two teams from playing.

When the first-place Raiders (8-1, 5-0 SAC) compete against third-place Scotland (5-3, 2-1 SAC), they will have a chance to extend their current winning streak to seven games.

Richmond has also won 22 consecutive conference games dating back to the start of the 2018 season, and has defeated Scotland the last two times they’ve played by scores of 23-8 (2018) and 48-13 (2019).

“This is one of the games that makes high school football so great,” head coach Bryan Till said. “We look forward to it year in and year out just like our fans and communities do. We also want to finish one of our season goals, a conference championship, and there would be no better way to do it.  

“The rivalry is special because of all of the connections,” he continued. “Our kids know their kids, our families know their families. People work together, go to church together and interact daily, so the victory lasts that much longer. It has now been even longer than the normal 365 days, so the anticipation is that much more.”

The Raiders will enter the final week of the regular season coming off their regularly-scheduled bye week, last playing on Saturday, Oct. 16, against Lee County High School.

Till said that was a period of “active rest” for the team, adding “after three games in 11 days, everyone needed it.” During the bye the Raiders “worked out hard in the weight room” and practiced for an hour and a half last Tuesday through Thursday to get a jump start for Scotland.

Scotland enter’s Friday’s showdown coming off back-to-back conference losses to second-place Pinecrest and fourth-place Lee County. The Fighting Scots kept both losses close, falling by a combined score of 69-56.

“They are a physical Scotland team,” Till said of his observations. “They play the game the way it is supposed to be played. They seem like they may have had some injuries in the last few weeks that could affect their depth this week.” 

The Fighting Scots are a spread team on offense, which averages 33.6 points per game. Led by sophomore quarterback Carter Revelle, Scotland will try its luck against a stout Richmond defense led by J.D. Lampley, Gabe Altman, Jaleak Gates and Emerson Wall, which is allowing just 18.1 points per game.

Against SAC opponents, the Raiders have held offenses to just 9.6 points per game, including seven points or less in their last three games.

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“They spread the offense to run the ball, but do have more RPOs in place now as the QB is a year older in the system and more mature,” Till explained. “They split the carries between several good running backs, with No. 7 (R.J. Nicholson) getting the majority of carries. Scotland can keep you on your toes with motion and good personnel in several spots.  

“They are nasty up front, and even the wide receivers block well in addition to catching the ball,” he added. “No. 4 (Izeem Graham) seems to be their main target, but No. 11 (Cadyn Graves) caught several balls last week and is more involved in the RPO game.”

Till said the Richmond defense is preparing for the possibility that the Scots “will throw to all” of their receivers. Over their last two games, the Raiders have picked the ball six times and recorded four fumble recoveries.

When it comes to Scotland’s defense, Till used one word to describe the Fight Scots — fast. 

In eight games this season, the Fighting Scots are holding opponents to just 15.1 points per game, and have recorded shutouts against Northern Durham and Southern Lee. Richmond, however, leads the SAC in points scored per game, averaging 41.0 points every four quarters.

“They are fast,” Till emphasized. “No. 23 (Ladarrius McNeil) is a three or four-year starter at linebacker and plays really fast. No. 2 (Patrick Primus) and No. 6 (Jahari Brown) are very active in the secondary, playing both corner and safety.  

“They mix things up in coverage and fronts from a 3-4 base,” he added. “It will be important that we understand the look we are getting each snap in order to understand our assignments on offense.”

Richmond leads the rivalry with an all-time record of 37-15-1 against the Fighting Scots, including the playoffs. Till’s message to Raider Nation is to “show up the way they always have. In the two times I’ve had the pleasure to coach in this game at Pate, our fans have been there in droves. We need them to just keep being who they have been.”

Kickoff for the regular-season finale is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Pate Stadium. 

Tickets can be purchased using GoFan.co. Follow the Richmond Observer on Twitter @ROSports_ for live updates and postgame interviews.

Note: Scotland’s individual player statistics were not up-to-date on Maxpreps, and were therefore not used in this article.



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.