Jeff Moeller, sports correspondent
After their frantic finish last week, Richmond Hill will be home to face Wando on its homecoming night. The Wildcats won on the game’s last play when they blocked a field goal and returned it for a touchdown at Ware County for a 13-7 victory.
“The Ware County game was a battle,” said Richmond Hill head coach Matt LeZotte. “It was physical, it was tough, and nothing came easy. Those are the types of games that reveal a lot about your football team, and I was proud of the way our guys continued to compete and found a way to get out of there with a win.”
Now, Richmond Hill will look to go 5-0 when it hosts Wando, who is coming off a 34-21 victory over Fort Dorchester. The Warriors have a 3-1 record, and it is a rare meeting between the two teams. According to reports, this will be their first meeting.
The last time Richmond Hill began 5–0 was two years ago when they went 6-0 to start the season and finished 7-3 in 2024.
Wando is led by quarterback Cape Whitaker, who has completed 39 of 65 attempts for 603 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
They feature a trifecta in their backfield with running backs Jake Glassberg (243 yards, two touchdowns), Ryan Jahn (127 yards), and Cannon Demoura (119 yards, two touchdowns).
Gabriel Holmes has 14 receptions for 178 yards with a score, and Jahn has 12 catches for 321 yards with four touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, Benjamin Eikenberry has a team-high 34 tackles with a pair of sacks, and Jacob Pelic has 32 stops and three sacks.
Cade Rogers has three interceptions.
Wildcats’ head coach Matt LeZotte believes his team is in for another challenge ahead.
“Wando is another good football team that we have a lot of respect for,” noted LeZotte. “They’re well coached, they have good athletes, and they’re certainly capable of coming in here and beating us if we don’t prepare the right way.”
LeZotte also isn’t worried about his team coming out flat after their emotional victory last week.
“I’m not really concerned about a letdown,” said LeZotte. “Our focus has been on getting better every week and understanding that what we did Friday night has absolutely nothing to do with what happens this Friday.
It’s Homecoming week, so there will be plenty of distractions around us, but our job is pretty simple — prepare to win a football game.”
Paw Prints: Wando finished 4-7 last year…Wildcats’ running back CJ Menzie ran for 106 yards, and he has 442 yards and three touchdowns...Brandon Parsons has 92 yards and a touchdown...Eli Grant has caught 14 passes for 225 yards with four scores...Gunner Mobley has completed 33 of 66 passes for 388 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Mobley has run for 68 yards...Defensively, Jaylon Deal had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery against Ware, and he has 23 tackles for the season...Layton Steigelman had 10 tackles and a sack, and he has 29 for the season...Tre Brown had six tackles and two of them for a loss. He has 15 for the season, and he and Shane Tucker have two blocked field goals for the season...Jaleal Barnard has 14 tackles and a team-high three sacks.