Fighting Scots aspiring for encore of last year’s dramatic win against Raiders

LAURINBURG — On Oct. 28, 2022, at Raider Stadium in Rockingham, a 22-21 nailbiter took place between the Scotland Fighting Scots and the Richmond Raiders, with a late-game interception by defensive back Gabe Jones locking up Scotland’s’ first win against Richmond since 2017. The thrill of the finish and the history of the programs are just two reasons why there’s arguably no better high school football rivalry in North Carolina.

Friday night, Scotland will aim to make it back-to-back wins over Richmond as they’ll face off in the 56th meeting of the rivalry game at Pate Stadium.

“It’s one of the oldest, probably most talked about rivalries in the state of North Carolina,” Scotland head coach Richard Bailey said. “Friday night is important to these communities. It brings us all together. And we’ve got a lot of people that work together, go to church together; all those things build that Richmond-Scotland dynamic. For most coaches, even before I ever came here, it was always a bucket-list item to come see one of these games. I was blessed as a head coach that one of these games got moved to a Monday. I was able, when I was at Jack Britt, to come over here and watch one on a Monday night. So, it’s definitely one to behold.”

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the numbers have been down for the contest. But with last year’s matchup being as close as it was, Bailey hopes that more fans will want to see the game in person again.

“The games have still been good, but the environment hasn’t been quite what it’s been since COVID,” Bailey said. “I hope that changes Friday night. We’ll see if our communities are still as passionate about football as they once were. I’m beginning to wonder if they are, but we’ll see. Whether it’s COVID, everybody streaming, or everybody disinterested — I don’t know. But I hope Friday night, we get a crowd deserving of this rivalry and the tradition that goes with it.”

The game isn’t just about the rivalry this year, though — it’s also about playoff seeding. Scotland (8-1, 4-1 Sandhills Athletic Conference) has already clinched the conference’s top 3A seed, which gives them an automatic playoff berth, after last Friday’s 56-21 win against Lee County. But as of Tuesday morning, they’re eighth in the 3A East RPI rankings and a projected five-seed. A win over the Raiders could move the Scots higher, but a loss would drop them lower.

“While we are going to be seeded with the ones, we want to be seeded as high as we can be with the ones,” Bailey said. “And this game will have some implications on whether we’re a four-seed, a five-seed, a six-seed, or whatever. It could be the difference between three home games versus two home games.”

To beat Richmond (4-5, 4-1 SAC), Scotland will have to stop an offense that’s averaged 33.6 points in their last five games. And despite the Raiders having a record below .500, all five of their losses have come to teams ranked by MaxPreps within the top 35 of all schools in North Carolina — Seventy-First, Butler, Cardinal Gibbons, Myers Park, and Pinecrest.

“They’ve played better as the competition has kind of come down to them,” Bailey said. “They struggled a little bit because they were just trying to find their way at the time because they were young. But I do think they’ve found it. I think early on, they wanted to be like a triple option-type team (and) take advantage of the athletic quarterback that they have. But I don’t think they were (as) successful as they wanted to be early. So, they’ve kind of gone less to that and a little bit more of a traditional spread-running RPO (run-pass option) screen offense. And they’ve gotten better at it.”

That QB for Richmond is Domonic Tillman, who’s passed for 800 yards and five touchdowns, with five interceptions, and rushed for 200 yards and six TDs. Tillman, a sophomore, has found a favorite target this year in wide receiver JV Drake. A senior, but in his first year playing football, Drake has caught 32 passes for 462 yards and five TDs. Another favorite receiver of Tillman’s is Jayden Hamilton, who has 21 receptions for 321 yards and two scores.

In the run game, Jaliel Green is the Raiders’ top running back with 144 carries for 839 yards and 10 TDs, while RB Jordan Bostick has 42 rushes for 258 yards and four total TDs (one receiving).

“They’re definitely a little bit younger on offense,” Bailey said. “So, it’s a little different game planning for them. I definitely think they hang their hat on playing great defense and the offense doing just enough to win games. And we’re going to have to do what we can to limit them because we know that points won’t be as easy to come by on Friday as they were this past Friday.”

Linebacker Joe Parsons leads Richmond’s defense with 71 tackles (55 solo) and has six tackles for loss and two sacks. LB Terande Spencer tops the team with 16 tackles for loss and six sacks, and defensive back A.J. Covington has a team-best three interceptions.

But defensive lineman Jacoby Martin was the player that Bailey mentioned the most when discussing Richmond’s defense. Martin suffered an injury in the spring but returned against Pinecrest on Sep. 22. Since he’s come back, Martin has recorded 15 tackles (14 solo), eight tackles for loss, and four sacks.

“I didn’t think he was going to be back at all this year. But he is back,” Bailey said on Martin. “I’m sure he’ll be playing, ready to go Friday night. He’s a very good player. He made the (East-West All-Star Game) without even playing (much of) this year, which will tell you how good he was last year.”

Other notable defensive players for Richmond include defensive lineman Zach Gardner with 43 tackles (28 solo), 13 tackles for loss, and five sacks; LB K’Mauri Morgan with 47 tackles (41 solo), four tackles for loss, and four sacks; and DB Jamison Jones with 39 tackles (23 solo), seven tackles for loss, and six passes defended.

On defense, they weren’t as good early as they are now,” Bailey said. “They’re very similar to us, though. They’re a 3-3 stack. They probably blitz more than we do. We’re not as blitz-oriented as we are a movement team. They are very good at press, challenging you in coverage. They’re going to make you complete contested passes. They’re not going to give you a lot of easy throws, so you’re going to have to make some plays in the passing game. But they’re not easy to make because you’re going to have to beat people. But they’re very big at linebacker. All three of their linebackers are over 215 pounds. They’re very big on defense, and that can give you some problems. Maybe not as fast as some Richmond defenses that I’ve seen, but they are definitely tough, physical, and big.”

Scotland had won seven straight against Richmond from 2010-17 before the Raiders won three in a row until last year (teams didn’t play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Richmond leads the rivalry’s all-time series 38-16-1.

“Usually, I don’t have to motivate (the team) a whole lot when the people from the other county come across to our place,” Bailey said.

Friday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m.