The Richmond Hill High School Wildcats football team made the three-hour drive to Lowndes High School last night in search of another region win, but ultimately came up short late in the game, with Lowndes winning 28-7.
The Wildcats were looking to make a clean sweep of the teams from the ‘Azalea City’, after their shocking 35-14 victory over Valdosta High School last Friday night at home but were unable to pull off the feat as Lowndes secured the win.
Back in 2023, Richmond Hill hosted Lowndes and managed to pull off an upset against the football powerhouse, with a 37-14 win against the Vikings. The Wildcats looked set to do it again, but lost late in the game.
In a battle of 7-1 teams, where each team had their only loss coming from a region foe, the 2024 matchup looked to be much more evenly matched, with possible region title implications on the line.
Both teams remained scoreless in the first quarter of the game. Lowndes opened the scoring in the second quarter with a pass to senior wideout Jaylin Carter. The Wildcats answered a few minutes later with a 54-yard rushing touchdown from Caleb Easterling.
Both teams would go scoreless again in the third quarter, showing stout defenses from both programs. However, in the fourth quarter, Lowndes would pull away and secure the win after scoring three unanswered touchdowns.
Opposition quarterback Marvin Parrish broke the tie with a one-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth. Harris added an 11-yard rushing touchdown to pull away for the Vikings and he then added a 46-yard scamper to put the game away for Lowndes.
The Plantation Lumber & Hardware Player of the Game of the game went to senior playmaker Caleb Easterling. He finished the game with 180-All Purpose yards and the lone touchdown for the Wildcats. Defensively, Easterling added three tackles for good measure.
Senior Kirk Scott went 4 for 5 passing with 60 yards and also carried five times for 30 yards. Joshua Troupe carried 20 times for 72 yards and Easterling had 62 yards on 5 carries.
Easterling was the leading receiver in the game, catching all four of Scott’s passes and had all of his 60 yards. Scott also caught two passes for 13 yards, while Nick Swain added one reception for 8 yards.
On defense, Gave Bauman finished with 10 total tackles. Lee Johnson had 8 total tackles with one tackle for loss. Aiden Grant had 6 tackles with one tackle for loss. Easterling had a pass breakup to go with his three tackles.
Cannon Kuriya went one for one on his point after touchdown attempts on special teams and Easterling added 58 total return yards.
The senior-heavy Wildcats hope to make a deep playoff run as the majority of their starters are seniors and this will be their last chance to win a state championship.
Sitting at 8-2, with a 2-2 record in Region 1-6A, Richmond Hill is currently in fourth place overall. The Wildcats will make the away trip to Moultrie to take on the Colquitt County Packers to end the regular season. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.