Report by Travis Jaudon, Sports Correspondent
Richmond Hill scored touchdowns on six of its seven first-half possessions en route to a 42-0 non-region home victory against visiting Wayne County on Friday, Sept. 13. The undefeated Wildcats (4-0) led 42-0 at halftime, scoring touchdowns on six straight possessions before the second quarter clock expired during their seventh drive of a rain soaked affair. Most of Friday’s second half was played by backup players, perhaps preventing the final score from being more lopsided than it already was.
Wayne County (0-5) started with a bit of momentum, recovering its onside kick attempt on the opening play of the game. The Richmond Hill defense forced a prompt three-and-out (aided by a holding penalty before a sack on third down) and head coach Matt LeZotte’s team ran away from there.
Senior quarterback Kirk Scott had two rushing touchdowns and a third passing score in the first half to lead Richmond Hill. Fellow senior running back Joshua Troupe added three rushing scores in the first two stanzas as RHHS scored 21 points in each of the first two quarters. Scott rushed for two touchdowns in 11 games last year as a junior but he has four through four games already this year. Troupe is up to nine rushing scores on the year – RHHS is averaging 312 rushing yards per game and have rushed for 19 touchdowns so far.
The defense has two shutouts now, allowing only 10 points per game on average. Lee Johnson, Gabe Bauman, Tad Christman and Aiden Grant had five tackles apiece for the Wildcats’ defense. Kicker Cannon Kuriya was a perfect 6-for-6 on first-half PAT’s; he had four touchbacks as well. Scott threw his lone TD pass to receiver Nick Swain, who hauled in a game-high four catches for 86 yards and the score. It was Scott’s third passing score of the season. Senior athlete Caleb Easterling had more than 100 yards on three punt returns.
In 2023, Richmond Hill scored 257 points in 11 total games. Two years ago, in 2022, the Wildcats scored just 167 points in 10 games. Through four games this season, they have scored 165 and allowed just 40 points. In its 39th season of competition, the RHHS program now has 148 wins. Win No. 150 could potentially come in the region 1-6A opener versus Tift County on Sept. 27.
Next up for Richmond Hill is a second home game against a team from Florida this season. Buchholz High School is located in Gainesville, Florida and the Bobcats are 3-1, coming off a Friday loss to Manatee after leading 20-7 at one time in the contest. RHHS hosted Everglades High School earlier this season and won handily, 45-0.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. between the Bobcats and Wildcats on Sept. 20 at Richmond Hill High School.
WC – 00 - 00 - 00 - 00 – 00
RH – 21 - 21 - 00 - 00 – 42
Halftime: RH, 42-0.
Records: WC 0-5; RH 4-0.
Next: WC at Warner Robins (9/27); RH vs. Buchholz (FL) (9/20).
Travis Jaudon is a sports correspondent for the Bryan County News. You can email Travis at travisLjaudon@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports.