On paper, the annual rivalry between the Scots and the Raiders looks like a comparison of two teams going in separate directions.

Scotland (2-8, 0-4 SEC) is a young group that has had their share of growing pains this season and are looking to pick up a big win on senior night.

Richmond (9-1, 4-0 SEC), which jumped two spots in this week's North Carolina State 4-A Football polls to No.5, has continued their tradition of being a powerhouse in the state and look to clinch an outright Southeastern Conference championship. The Raiders currently ride a six-game winning streak.

Football games are not played on paper, though, and these two rivals look to settle their differences on the field at Pate Stadium tonight.

"The rivalry between these two schools is enough to get the boys fired up," Scotland Coach Chip Williams said.

The Scots enter their season finale scoring 18 points a game. Unfortunately, the defense has allowed around 33 points a game.

"It's been kind of a disappointing year for the boys and sometimes its hard to get up for games like this," said Williams. "They (Richmond) have some players who think that we can't play with them and I know that we have some players who think that we can play with them and we're just going to focus on those who think they can and go from there."

After being used sparingly at quarterback to begin the season, Caison Murphy has assumed the duties under center from Kwashawn Quick. Quick, a sophomore, had completed 52-of-132 passes for 604 yards before an injury following their Oct. 16th game with Pinecrest, cut his season short. Quick also rushed for 529 yards.

Murphy, also a sophomore, has completed 16-of-54 passes for 228 yards but fell victim to the interception bug at Lumberton last Friday night, tossing five picks against the Pirates. He has also rushed 71 times for 327 yards.

Running back Tony McRae has shouldered the load in the rushing game since Quick's injury. The sophomore has rushed 93 times for 637 yards, including a trio of 100+ yard running games.

Devon Lloyd leads the way receiving-wise with 16 receptions for 257 yards. Dominique Green has 11 catches for 148 yards.

"We have to focus on being good tonight, not necessarily about setting ourselves up for next season," said Williams on what tonight's game means to them. "If this is our last game, this will be our last week of football practice. We've worked with our JV team to be the very best we can be this week. Some of them we've been able to utilize the eight-quarter rule which means they can still play on JV but can also play on varsity as well, as long they don't go over eight quarters for the season."

One good piece of news for the Scots is that center John Mintz, who missed last week's Lumberton game with the flu, is back and healthy. Jordan Spangler, who filled in for Mintz last week, is expected to take on a utility role, and Williams is expecting big things from the senior lineman.

"Jordan (Spangler) came in last week and really stepped up for us," said Williams of his utility lineman. "We'll be moving him around this week to get playing time but that's the single best thing that he is capable of doing for us."

Another one for the Shrine

After the Scotland offensive line fought in the trenches with Lumberton's Jermaine Kesler, the defensive line will be tested against another Shrine Bowl recipient. Offensive lineman Alex Coulthard has anchored a line that not only contributed to a quarterback passing for over 1,500 yards, but also a pair of thousand yard rushers.

"We've been watching him all year long," said Williams of Coulthard. "Coach (Paul) Hoggard does a great job with the offensive line, he always has. This kid's (Coulthard) no exception, they usually have one or two lineman, or a lineman and a skill player, go to the Shrine Bowl every year."

Raiding the Raiders

Richmond comes into tonight's contest scoring just over 40 points a game and the defense has allowed 21 points a game.

Tedarrius Wiley enters tonight's game with a chance to accomplish something very rare in high school football. The Raiders quarterback has yet to throw an interception this season. He has completed 87-of-136 passes for 1,506 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Wiley's primary receiving target, Quayshawn Dumas, has hauled in 34 catches for 703 yards and eight touchdowns. The wide receiver hauled in five passes for 158 yards and a touchdown against Pinecrest.

Labarrian James leads the way for the Richmond rushing game. James has had 169 carries for 1,237 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Running mate, Walter Ellerbe Jr. has carried the ball 120 times for 1,065 yards and also 16 touchdowns. He set a school record with six touchdowns in a 69-35 win over Pinecrest.

Conference implications

With a win, Scotland would avoid going winless in the Southeastern Conference and possibly deny Richmond of an outright title if Lumberton defeats Purnell Swett.

A Raiders win would clinch a perfect conference record for them and quite possibly a No.1 seed when the state playoff seedings are announced this coming week.