Last Friday night Richmond Hill Coach Matt LeZotte saw all the thunder and lightning he ever wanted to see. Because of severe weather the Wildcats’ pre-season game with Glynn Academy was cancelled after little more than a quarter.
“I was at home by 9:15,” said LeZotte who is starting his ninth season at Richmond Hill. That makes him the longest tenured football coach in school history and ranks him fourth in the state among Class 7A coaches.
LeZotte, who was also head coach at Acquinas in Augusta for three years, will be looking for some thunder and lightning this Friday night, too, only on the field rather than the skies as he takes his team to Effingham County for a 7:30 p.m. season opening game.
The thunder, he believes, can be provided by running backs Joshua Ulrich-Troupe and Elijah Blige. Ulrich-Troupe ran for 117 yards as a sophomore last year and Blige, who transferred from New Hampstead this summer, had 45 yards on seven attempts for the Phoenix.
Blige was born and raised in Richmond Hill and his family moved back to the area this summer. He did not participate in spring practice with the Wildcats.
“Josh and Elijah are diesel trucks,” LeZotte said. “They’re big backs who bring the hammer when they run. When they get going vertically, they’re hard to stop.
“Both of them have worked hard in the off-season to get better.”
The lightning will have to come from untested junior quarterback Kirk Scott who attempted only four passes last year, completing one for 24 yards, while appearing in seven games.
In the spring Scott’s strength appeared to be running the football —and he is a good runner said LeZotte — but he also worked hard over the summer on improving as a passer.
“We’ve got a handful of guys that can touch the ball out of the backfield and I think Scott can be one of them,” LeZotte said. “He’s looked good at running the football.
“But he can throw every pass we need to make,” LeZotte said. “He understands ball location and we have some receivers, led by Nick Bliss, who I believe can make plays.”
Despite the game being shortened LeZotte saw enough against Glynn to make him feel good about his team being able to better last year’s 3-7 mark.
“One of the things going into the game I wanted to see was our play at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” LeZotte said. “I thought we dominated both sides.
“Defensively I think they had one first down. They went three and out and we drove down the field and scored. On our second series we tried some things we had been working on and didn’t score. Then the weather stopped everything.”
This will be the 14th meeting between Effingham County and Richmond Hill. The schools first played in 2000 and 2001 and have played annually since 2012 when they found themselves in the same region. Last year Richmond Hill moved up to Class 7A while Effingham remained in Class 6A. However, the game has become such a rivalry and gate attraction they have continued to play.
The Rebels lead the series, 8-5, but Richmond Hill has won the last four games outscoring Effingham, 128-20, in the process.
Effingham lost heavily to graduation but returns quarterback Nate Hayes who threw for 1,658 yards and 14 touchdowns while running for 308 and running back Jayden Evans who had 1,125 yards rushing and seven scores.