ROCKINGHAM — For the better part of four quarters on Saturday night, Scotland gave one of the best football teams in the state a run for its money.
But several mistakes proved to be costly for the Fighting Scots in a 23-8 loss to Richmond on a chilly night in Rockingham.
The loss snapped Scotland’s seven-game winning streak against its rival. Richmond (9-1, 6-0 SAC) also secured the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship with the win.
“The same things have gotten us all year,” Scotland head coach Richard Bailey said. “A penalty, didn’t catch a snap. We missed a couple assignments in crucial times. I equate that to being young a little bit, and in the moment.
“But I am so proud of our kids,” he added. “We fought hard. We played them tougher than anyone has played them all year outside of the game they lost. I’m extremely proud of our kids.”
The Scots (4-5, 3-3) logged a total of 232 yards on offense. Syheam McQueen, who rushed for 199 of those yards, carried the ball 34 times and scored a touchdown.
Richmond running back Jaheim Covington ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Caleb Hood rushed for 102 yards on 11 carries.
Scotland held an 8-7 lead at halftime, but Richmond’s Xavion Lindsey intercepted a pass by Mandrell Johnson on the first drive of the third quarter to give his team some momentum.
Lindsey caught the interception in the endzone when the Scots were facing a third-and-23 from Richmond’s 23-yard line.
Richmond took over on its own 20-yard line, and Lacyrus Ellerbe started the drive with a 21-yard run. Hood then pushed the Raiders into Scots territory with a 47-yard run.
A holding penalty and a pair of incompletions by Hood ultimately stalled the drive, and Richmond settled for a 27-yard field goal by Trevor Moss.
A 32-yard rush by McQueen helped kickstart Scotland’s next drive, but the Scots were stopped again in Richmond territory. Johnson was sacked when the Scots tried for a fourth-down conversion from Richmond’s 19-yard line.
Covington increased Richmond’s lead to 16-8 with a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, and a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hood to Gavin Russell with 2:30 left in the game helped put the Scots away for good despite a blocked extra point attempt.
Covington scored the first touchdown of the game with a 4-yard rush in the first quarter. McQueen scored on a 3-yard rush later in the quarter, and he found the end zone again on a 2-point conversion run to give Scotland an 8-7 lead.
Neither team scored in the second quarter.
Joseph McKoy grabbed an interception late in the first quarter for Scotland. McKoy rushed for 19 yards on three carries.
Scotland now enters arguably its biggest week of the season as the Scots prepare to host Jack Britt. The Buccaneers defeated Seventy-First on Saturday to move into a tie with the Falcons for third place in the SAC. Richmond and Pinecrest (8-2, 5-1) are currently the top two teams in the conference.
Scotland is in fifth place. They need a win next week in order to get their best possible shot at a posteason spot.
McQueen, a senior, said he has a motivational message for his team heading into the Jack Britt game.
“Never give up and hold your head down,” McQueen said. “Always fight through. There’s always going to be obstacles in life. That’s my message to them.”
