It went from being a rainout to a shutout.
Richmond Hill was scheduled to debut its new 10,000 seat football stadium last Friday night only to have rain and lightning force a postponement to Saturday. However, that game, too, was pushed back to Monday.
Once they finally kicked off---70 and a half hours after the originally scheduled start time--it was all Wildcats as Coach Matt LeZotte’s team rolled to a dominating 21-0 win over an unsuspecting Glynn Academy team which had not been blanked in its last 41 games.
The Terrors had run for 336 yards in a 38-14 season opening win over Wayne County but the only running the Terrors did Monday night was for the buses so they could get out of town as the Richmond Hill defense, led by Tre Brown, put on a dominating performance.
The visitors could manage only 34 yards total, all on the ground, with 29 of those coming on back-to-back possessions late in the game when the outcome had long been decided. Glynn Academy had two yards at the half and did not get the first of its three first downs until late in the third quarter.
“We were relentless,” said LeZotte, who is starting his 11th season at Richmond Hill. “Our guys were focused. Going into halftime we didn’t have to change much. The subtle changes we made were in technique and coaching these guys up.”
The game marked the start of a busy short week for the Wildcats who play Everglades of Miramar, Fl., at 7:30 p.m. Friday at home. The junior varsity has a game on Wednesday and the freshman play Thursday. Everglades (1-0) beat Fort Lauderdale, 20-19, last week.
While the defense was in control from the outset the offense, while it had its moments, struggled to find consistency and rhythm.
LeZotte attributed much of that to the fact the Wildcats had last faced live competition a month ago when it scrimmaged Jenkins not to mention they were breaking in an all-new backfield led by junior quarterback Gunner Mobley.
“You can tell we were rusty, very rusty, especially on offense,” LeZotte said. “When we get that thing clicking, it’s going to be special.
“We’ve got a lot to fix on offense but they were small mistakes. It’s rust from not playing for a long stretch.”
Mobley appeared in five games last year completing 8 of 19 passes for 85 yards. Against Glynn he was 12-for-19 for 140 yards and one touchdown, an 8-yard strike to Eli Grant for the first score of the game. Grant finished with three catches for 63 yards.
The Richmond Hill running game never did get established as Amire Miller had 22 yards on five attempts. DJ Parker added 19 on six carries including a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
The defense, however, thwarted the Terrors at every turn as it came up with three turnovers including a fumble recovery by Walter Pugh after Cannon Kuryla had stripped the ball to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Tre Brown with 19 seconds before the half. Pugh also had an interception in the fourth quarter.
In addition to his touchdown Brown also had a team high seven tackles, two for a loss, and Kuryla, who kicked all three extra points, had five stops and a fumble recovery from his cornerback position.
Richmond Hill, which did not have a turnover, set the tone on the opening possession of the game when it ate 5:42 off the clock in going 80 yards on 13 plays, Grant outbattling the Terrors’ Tyree Chisholm for the ball at the goal line.
The next two touchdowns were short field situations set up by the defense. Kuryla fell on a loose ball at the Glynn 17 with 10:08 left in the second quarter. Five plays later Porter scored and then the third and final score required only Brown’s 1-yard plunge.
RICHMOND HILL 21, GLYNN ACADEMY 0
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)