RICHMOND HILL – The Richmond Hill football team’s season opener was slated for last Friday at the high school’s new $97 million campus. The theme was a blackout – spectators wearing all black to match the team uniforms – and the aspiration was a sellout for the 10,000-seat Wildcat Stadium’s debut.
Instead, it was a rainout.
Richmond Hill’s Eli Grant fights off a Glynn Academy defender after a reception in the the Wildcats’ 21-0 win in their new stadium opener, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Richmond Hill, Ga. (Photo courtesy Gilbert Miller)
Severe weather postponed the game and flooded the grounds enough that the rescheduled non-region game against Glynn Academy was moved twice, to noon Saturday and then to 6 p.m. Monday.
It was a shutout. The Wildcats stifled the Red Terrors’ run-heavy attack for a 21-0 victory that wasn’t as close as even that lopsided score indicates.
“We were relentless,” Richmond Hill head coach Matt LeZotte said. “We were focused. Our guys, even going into halftime, we didn’t have to change much -- the subtle changes that we made in technique and coaching these guys up. You can tell that we were rusty, very rusty, especially on offense. When we get that thing clicking, it’s going to be special.”
Richmond Hill’s D.J. Porter carries the ball in the first half against Glynn Academy. Porter scored on a 7-yard run to help the Wildcats secure a 21-0 shutout in their stadium debut, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Richmond Hill, Ga.
(Photo courtesy Gilbert Miller)
Richmond Hill’s last “game” was an Aug. 1 scrimmage against Jenkins. Glynn Academy opened its season on Aug. 15 with a 38-14 home victory over Wayne County. The Red Terrors, a GHSA Class 5A squad in Brunswick, rushed 48 times for 336 yards and six touchdowns. They also passed only six times, completing one for two yards.
“We knew they couldn’t throw the ball,” said LeZotte, meaning the Class 6A program’s focus was on stopping the running game.
Consider it a knockout.
Glynn Academy totaled just six yards rushing in the first half and didn’t attempt a pass in trailing 21-0. The game total was unofficially 29 carries for 29 yards, including sacks.
Quarterback Max Noonan, under consistent pressure, threw five second-half passes, including a forward lateral for 10 yards. The other four were either incomplete or, in one case, deflected into the arms of Wildcats safety Walter Pugh, who also recovered a fumble.
Richmond Hill’s Nick Cameron battles through a Glynn Academy tackle after making a catch during the Wildcats’ season-opening shutout, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Richmond Hill, Ga. (Photo courtesy Gilbert Miller)
Defensive lineman Tre Brown made seven tackles, including two tackles for loss, and linebacker Cannon Kuryla made five tackles and recovered one fumble.
“I think our defensive front has a chance to be pretty good this year,” LeZotte said. “We’ve just got them big boys in a little bit better shape and get them ready to go, and we’ll be just fine.”
The coach lauded Pugh, Kuryla, and Brown for their versatility and talent. Pugh also punts, Kuryla kicks. As for Brown, the huge junior defensive tackle also lined up in the Wildcat formation (which the Wildcats call “Dog”) and ran off-tackle plays on offense. He scored the team’s third touchdown after taking the shotgun snap and crashing through the line with 19 seconds left before halftime.
Richmond Hill defensive lineman Tre Brown (98) and teammates swarm a Glynn Academy runner. The Wildcats held the Red Terrors to just 29 rushing yards in a 21-0 shutout, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Richmond Hill, Ga. (Photo courtesy Gilbert Miller)
“He’s a really good football player for us,” LeZotte said of Brown. “(We) try to get the ball in his hands, reward him, because he’s really good at defensive line, but he’s a very skilled individual all around.
“He’s a dynamic player all around,” the coach continued. “He throws a great football, too.”
Richmond Hill mixed the run and pass in handing the offense to new starter Gunner Mobley. The junior finished 12 of 19 for 140 yards, including a nifty 8-yard touchdown pass to Eli Grant on the game’s opening drive that turned out to be all the scoring needed.
The Wildcats drove 80 yards in 13 plays, the last when Mobley rolled right, saw Grant in tight coverage and fit a pass into a narrow space as the receiver came back for the ball at the near right pylon with 6:18 left in the first quarter.
“(Mobley) had true composure,” LeZotte said. “Got growth that we’ve got to make in a lot of the things around him. I was very proud of him.”
The Richmond Hill run game was a collaborative effort, especially after standout senior Amire Miller (five carries, 22 yards) walked gingerly off the field with 6:37 remaining in the first quarter and did not return.
“I think he’s going to be fine,” LeZotte said. “He’s had a banged-up ankle since before we played Jenkins. I think he’ll be ready to go. He probably could have played the second half.”
DJ Porter took a direct snap and rushed seven yards for the game’s second touchdown with 7:16 to play in the second quarter after Kuryla’s fumble recovery gave the Wildcats a short field at the Terrors’ 17.
Richmond Hill won the turnover ratio, 3-0, and knocked off the rust in what will be a busy week. The team hosts Everglades High of Miramar, Fla., on Friday for Game 2 at Wildcat Stadium in what is now a jam-packed week.
But there can only be one official first game, and that eventually came Monday night in a relative blowout.
“This win is for not just our team, not just our school. This is for the entire city of Richmond Hill,” LeZotte said. “This is something we’ve been working up for years. Now we have a new home. You see the support that we had, the people that came out on a Monday night to support the Wildcats. This is their football team; let’s go get it.”
RICHMOND HILL 21, GLYNN ACADEMY 0
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
| Glynn Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Richmond Hill | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
First Quarter
RH—Eli Grant 8 pass from Gunner Mobley (Cannon Kuryla kick)
Second Quarter
RH—DJ Porter 7 run (Kuryla kick)
RH—Tre Brown 1 run (Kuryla kick)
Records—Glynn Academy 1-1; Richmond Hill 1-0.
Photo: Courtesy Gilbert Miller
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