Richmond Hill head football coach Matt LeZotte was a bit worried until halftime, yet he shouldn’t have been.
His team entered last night’s home game with a 5-0 record against Tift County, which had a 2-4 record and came off a 42-19 loss to Houston County. The Wildcats also entered the game averaging 40 points per game and nearly 180 rushing yards per contest.
What loomed as a likely quick night for the Wildcats turned out to be a tussle, as they gutted out a 21-17 victory in a Class 6A Region 1 opener for both clubs.
LeZotte knew Tift County had three weeks to prepare for them, and it quickly showed. It also didn’t help that the Wildcats couldn’t get into sync in the opening half, which saw them have a slim 7-3 lead.
“If you don’t show up with your ‘A’ game, you can lose at any time,” stressed LeZotte. “We have a lot of good football teams around the area. But, sometimes, if you have better players, you can win by default.
“Our guys adjusted in the second half, and showed what we could do. We came out with a big region win. It was 100 percent lack of focus for us in the first half. It started in pregame all the way through until the final buzzer in the second quarter. Our boys fixed it, and we really had a good second half.”
After halftime, the Wildcats didn’t waste any time finding their rhythm.
On their opening drive, quarterback Kirk Scott broke free on a 39-yard scamper that gave the Wildcats a seemingly commanding 14-3 lead after the visiting Blue Devils quickly went three-and-out.
However, Tift County didn’t go away quietly even though the momentum apparently shifted to ward Richmond Hill.
The Blue Devils responded with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that culminated when Kamari Holloman scored on a one-yard plunge that narrowed the gap to 14-10 with 2:58 left in the third quarter. Jontrez Woodward made an acrobatic diving catch of a 27-yard dart from quarterback Dameion Dixon, and Dixon earlier connected with Dajion Drive on another 27-yarder on the drive.
Tift County’s defense stiffened, and the Blue Devils drove to the Richmond Hill 34-yard line. But they couldn’t convert a fourth-and-eight with 5:41 left in the game.
From there, Richmond Hill’s Joshua Troupe, who has rushed for more than 700 yards this season, had eight straight carries, the last one being a one-yard dive with 1:15 remaining that sealed the victory. The Wildcats also benefited from an offsides and personal foul penalties during their drive.
Troupe had hard sledding all night, running from 86 yards on 22 carries. The senior, who ran for 229 yards in last week’s 35-28 victory over Bucholz, anticipated grinding out his yardage. As a team the Wildcats finished the game with 256 rushing yards with 3 rushing touchdowns.
Yet, Tift Country managed to drive 83 yards in the final 1:07, and Dixon sprinted into the end zone from two yards out as time expired to close out the scoring.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight coming into the game,” said Troupe. “It was a good team win, and we learned that we have to fight until the end. We knew we had to come together as a team, and we knew we weren’t playing our style of football. We had to come back to earth and let them know about our brand of football.
“This shows that we got a lot of fight and family in us. Our offensive line turned it up on the last drive, and I talked to them at halftime, and we all pulled it together.”
“They had three weeks to prepare for us, and that’s like a bowl game,” added LeZotte. “ We took their best shot, and we kept fighting.”
RICHMOND HILL 21, TIFT 17
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| TIFT COUNTY | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| RICHMOND HILL | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| First Quarter | |||||
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RH -Caleb Easterling 66 pass from Kirk Scott (Max Richardson kick) |
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TC - Valdorian Simmons FG 29 |
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| Third Quarter | |||||
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RH - Scott 39 run (Richardson kick) |
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TC - Kamari Holloman 1 run (Simmons kick) |
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| Fourth Quarter | |||||
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RH - Joshua Troupe 1 run (Richardson kick) |
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TC - Damian Dixon 2 run (Simmons kick) |
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RECORDS: RHHS (1-0/6-0,) TC (0-1/2-4) |
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FINAL SCORES
WEEK 8
Schedule
October 4, 2024 (Friday)
(Kickoff 7:30 p.m. unless noted)
GHSA
Richmond Hill 21, Tift County 17*
Benedictine 35, Warner Robins 21*
Savannah Christian 38, Savannah Country Day 7
Bryan County 28, Screven County 14
GIAA
St. Andrew's 46, Harvest Community 7
Memorial Day 26, Crisp Academy 22
SCISA
Bethesda 40, Beaufort Academy 20*
NOTE: *Region game
Photos: Richmond Hill High School Athletics
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- Dr. Thomas Alexander: Savannah Country Day, St. Vincent's
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