Richmond Hill will get an opportunity Friday night to turn the makings of a good season into one that could be better than good when it takes on a shell-shocked Camden County in a Region 1-6A game with early season playoff implications.
The Wildcats (5-1, 1-0) missed the state playoffs last year due to a 28-10 loss to Camden County which left them tied with the blue-clad Wildcats for fourth-place in the region. Camden got the nod to advance thanks to holding the edge on the tie-breaker.
Richmond Hill opened region play last Friday with a 35-10 win at Tift County while Camden County (5-1, 0-1) carried an unbeaten record and a No. 10 ranking by the AJC into a home game with Valdosta.
The end result sent shock waves through the region as Valdosta scored on its first nine possessions in posting a 63-19 win. The victorious Wildcats had 682 yards total offense, 363 rushing and 319 passing.
The loss knocked Camden County out of the rankings which this week have future Richmond Hill foes Lowndes County (6-0, 1-0), at No. 4, Valdosta (6-0, 1-0) at No. 5 and Colquitt County (4-2, 0-1) at No. 9.
The 7:30 p.m. game at Wildcats Stadium will mark a welcome home return for Richmond Hill which opened the season with three straight home games before going on the road for three games.
The win at Tift County was important for the Wildcats in not only that it was a region game but it came on the heels of a 21-0 loss at Buchholz and will give Coach Matt LeZotte’s team a bit of momentum going into its game with Camden.
Camden County is 5-1 all-time against Richmond Hill having won the last three meetings. The winner of this game will be in the driver’s seat when it comes to advancing to the playoffs.
Richmond Hill was moved into Region 1 in 2021 due to reclassification and the win at Tift County was the Wildcats’ first win on the road against a region opponent after nine losses.
The Wildcats hang their hat on their defense and it came through while the offense got a balanced effort against the Blue Devils (3-3, 0-1).
Richmond Hill snapped a 7-7 first quarter tie with two touchdowns in the second quarter and then closed it out with a pair of scores in the fourth to assure itself of no worse than a break-even season.
Quarterback Gunner Mobley was efficient as he completed 10 of 17 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown pass to fellow junior Eli Grant who shone on both sides of the ball. Grant had 157 yards total offense as he had six catches for 73 yards along with an interception and five tackles. Mobley also had a rushing touchdown.
Amire Miller, who leads Richmond Hill in rushing with 462 yards and nine touchdowns, had 77 yards and two scores while CJ Menzie added 64 yards and a touchdown.
Jaylen Deal had seven tackles and Kahleel Scott five to team with Grant to lead the defensive effort while Cannon Kuryla, who has 21 tackles on the season at cornerback, turned in another impressive kicking performance. Kuryla made all five of his extra point attempts and averaged 41.0 yards per punt.
Camden County’s offense will provide a stronger test for the Wildcats defense than Tift as it averages 379.4 yards per game, 217.2 rushing and 162.2 passing. Quarterback William Jackson leads the region in passing with 965 yards and 15 touchdowns while Antwan Williams has rushed for 540 yards and Julian Dailey has 465.
Richmond Hill is averaging 273.8 yards per game, 148 on the ground and 125.8 through the air. Miller leads the ground game while Mobley has thrown for 695 yards and seven scores. Grant has 21 catches for 365 yards and five touchdowns.
Valdosta leads the region in total offense at 505.5 yards per game, 315.8 rushing. It has the top two rushers in the region with Deron Foster having 776 yards and 15 touchdowns and Marquis Fennell with 731 yards and 16 touchdowns.