FAYETTEVILLE – The Richmond Raiders football team nearly beat one of the state’s top teams in their first game of the season on Friday.
Richmond trailed by two possessions early in the second half, fought back twice, but lost 35-28 to Seventy-First High School, which won last year’s 3A state championship.
Four Raiders scored touchdowns, including a kickoff return by junior Jayden Hamilton in the first quarter.
Richmond scored three touchdowns in the third quarter. Senior running back Jordan Bostick scored a touchdown from six yards out before using a trick play to throw a three-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Nicholas Griggs.
Senior running back Javion Smith scored the final score for the Raiders with a 14-yard run late in the third quarter. Friday’s game also marked Brad Denson’s debut as head coach.
Junior quarterback Evan Hodges handled most of the snaps on Friday, playing the entire second half. His longest pass of the game was a 55-yard pass to junior wideout Amer Morrison.
Richmond’s defense struggled against a Falcons rush-oriented offense, but was unable to stop the game-winning attack in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.
A full match report with player and coach interviews can be found here.
The Raiders (0-1) will host Butler High School (0-1) for their first home game of the season on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Below are photos from the season opener in Richmond, taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.
The Raiders take the field before Friday’s season opener, a one-possession loss to Seventy-First. (Kyle Pillar, Sports Editor)
