On Friday, the Richmond Hill High School Wildcats football team will go back on the road to Moultrie, Georgia, as they prepare to take on the Colquitt County High School Packers in their last regular season game.
Coming off of a crushing loss late in the game at the hands of Lowndes High School, the Wildcats must shake off the loss and travel another long journey to attempt to win their last game at Colquitt County.
With a three-way tie for first place in Region 1-6A, with Lowndes, Valdosta and Moultrie, Richmond Hill sits at second place in the region. A win against Moultrie could really shake things up for the region, and will have playoff implications for seeding.
With their senior-heavy team, the Wildcats are looking to make a run at the state title this year, with starters at nearly every position being in the Class of 2025.
The Wildcats have been run-heavy all season, as the program has rushed for a total of 2,380 yards, to go along with 32 touchdowns on the year. They have also passed for 470 yards with 5 touchdowns to four interceptions.
Senior tailback Joshua Troupe has led the way with 1,139 of those yards and 16 of the touchdowns. Senior Caleb Easterling has rushed for 516 yards and 8 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Kirk Scott has 473 yards with 6 touchdowns, as well as 385 yards passing and 5 touchdowns.
Easterling also leads the team in receiving yards with 203 yards and one touchdown. Senior tight end Colton Sanchez leads the team in receiving touchdowns with two, along with 57 yards receiving. Nick Swain has 140 yards and a touchdown on the year.
Defensively, Lee Johnson leads the team in tackles with 85, with Gabe Bauman on his heels with 84. Aiden Grant is third on the team with 45. All three leading tacklers are also seniors.
Senior Tad Christman leads the team in sacks with six on the year. Senior Omar Khalil is second on the team with five sacks. Easterling is also tied for the team lead in interceptions with three. Cannon Kuryla also has three interceptions so far.
On special teams, Easterling has 324 yards on kick return and adds 124 more yards via punt return. Kuryla is 29/33 on point after touchdown (PAT) attempts, as well as 2 of 3 of field goal attempts with his long being 44 yards.
While stats may not necessarily paint the entire picture, this Richmond Hill Wildcats football team seems different than those of the past few years. Their hot start of 7-2 through their first 9 games has not been matched since their same start through 9 games in 2020, where they made a run in the state playoffs.
With the playoffs in mind, the Wildcats have to take their great rushing attack into Moultrie and try to knock off the Packers at their place.
Moultrie is coming off of a shootout win against Camden, 51-41. Moultrie is also a heavy-run based team, with over 2,000 yards on the year in their own right. This game will come down to who can scheme against the run game the best and get out of there with the victory.
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm at Mack Tharpe Stadium.