Senior receiver Javares Stanback tries to break away from two Cardinal Gibbons defenders Friday night.
Neel Madhavan | Daily Journal
Junior defensive back Brandon Askins (25) and senior defensive back Kelay Lindsey (11) try to break up a catch by Cardinal Gibbons receiver Ian Evans (7) Friday night.
Neel Madhavan | Daily Journal
Senior running back Donovan Shepard runs by Richmond defenders junior safety Emerson Wall (23) and senior linebacker Gabe Altman (6) Friday night.
Neel Madhavan | Daily Journal
ROCKINGHAM — Richmond fought, fought and fought some more, but ultimately came up short Friday night in a showdown between two of the state’s top teams.
In a game that came down to the wire, a fast start, coupled with success in the passing game helped Cardinal Gibbons edge the Raiders 30-22.
“That’s what we’ve seen out of these kids in the first three weeks,” said head coach Bryan Till of the Raiders’ fortitude and resiliency. “We have to get a little better execution, but these kids, man, they just keep going and going. You can’t say enough about them in that regard. I just think we’re going to end up reaping the benefits of that down the road.”
Similar to last season’s playoff meeting in Raleigh, the Crusaders (2-1) marched right down the field on their opening drive to seize the lead. Then, after recovering a Richmond (2-1) fumble on a botched snap, Cardinal Gibbons needed just one play to extend its lead on a 21-yard wheel-route to Donovan Shepard out of the backfield.
The Crusaders didn’t throw the ball much, but when they did, they made it count, especially when throwing downfield.
Quarterback Connor Clark only completed eight passes, but they went for 175 yards and two touchdowns — an average of about 22 yards per completion. Ian Evans and Jake Taylor both used their size to haul in Clark’s throws downfield. The pair both caught two 20-plus-yard passes.
“I can’t even tell you how many tailback wheels we ran in practice this week, but I know it’s double digits,” Till said. “The emotion of young men can cloud their thinking, that’s why that happens, we settled on some of that. On some of those pass plays, hats off to them for making the catch because our kids were right there where they’re supposed to be. Their kid made a play and our kid’s got to be a little bit better.”
However, the Raiders fought back, and like it has all season, the offense leaned on the ground attack and the legs of senior quarterback Kellan Hood to carry them back into the game.
Richmond’s defense forced a turnover-on-downs and a three-and-out on back-to-back possessions and the offense turned both into 50-plus-yard drives for touchdowns.
The Raiders finished with 163 total rushing yards, with 103 of them coming from Hood. Junior running back Taye Spencer utilized his agility and low center-of-gravity to find space in a tough, disciplined Crusaders’ front-seven, finishing with 36 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
“I think we stayed within our system — call what we see, call what we know is right, it’s still there,” Till said. “Even though we made some mistakes, we still know that those plays work. Don’t go away from it just because we’re frustrated with other things.”
After pulling ahead and taking the lead 14-13, Cardinal Gibbons stuck to the script, scoring once more before halftime and again at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth quarter.
Senior linebacker Gabe Altman said he felt the Crusaders’ starts at the beginning of the game and in the beginning of the second half was ultimately the difference.
“Them getting out big and I think coming out at the half, they hit us,” Altman said. “We just have to execute better and just trust with what we’re being coached to do.”
Still, in the end, the Raiders had the ball with a chance to tie the game in the final minutes. After the defense got off the field by forcing a punt, the offense took over inside its own 10-yard line with 3:42 left.
Richmond was able to move the ball, but two holding penalties put the Raiders behind the chains and forced them into third and fourth-and-long situations.
“If you get put behind the chains, that always affects your playcalling,” offensive coordinator Brad Denson. “We want to try to get four yards, four yards, four yards, and when you’re able to do that and grind and pound it out you throw your quick, short pass game. But when you get behind the sticks, it makes it difficult — coverages drop and (the defense) knows what you’re going to do.”
The Crusaders took over on downs with 1:36 left and were able to run out the clock with Shepard.
“You’re never please coming out on the losing end and I’d be pretty dang upset if this was a playoff game,” Till said. “It’s a playoff-level game and atmosphere, but we have a lot of season to grow from this, and I think we can still grow from this quite a bit.”
The Raiders will continue their four-game homestand with a visit from South View next week on Sept. 10.
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Reach Neel Madhavan at 910-817-2675 ext. 2751 or [email protected] Follow on Twitter at @NeelMadhavan.
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Raiders fight, but come up short in 30-22 loss to Cardinal Gibbons - Richmond County Daily Journal
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