The Academy of Richmond County Musketeers opened their season with a 14-12 victory over the Laney Wildcats on Friday night, Aug. 21.
The game started off promising for the home team as Laney intercepted Richmond Academy quarterback Henry Rivers for what appeared to be a pick six. However, after the play the Wildcats were called for holding on the return.
Laney’s ensuing drive began on its own 36-yard line as opposed to an opening touchdown. Despite the penalty setback, Laney drove 64 yards down the field for the score.
Running back Kelvin Labord capped off the drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown. The Wildcats went for the two-point conversion, but it failed for a 6-0 Laney lead.
ARC coach Keenan Grisset then subbed out Rivers, and Carson Hand took over signal calling duties for the Musketeers.
Still, Richmond Academy continued to struggle on the following drive. After being forced into a fourth-and-short situation by the Laney defense, Hand threw a screen pass to wide receiver Jay’Andre Brown, who was swiftly tackled by outside linebacker William Turner-Jones. That returned the ball to Laney as the first quarter ended.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats wasted no time adding another score. After starting at midfield, the hosts were able to drive and get a 10-yard line touchdown. On the following two-point conversion, the Wildcats were set back by three straight false starts. They still attempted the two-point conversion despite being on the 18-yard line but were unable to convert for a 12-0 lead.
Neither teams were able to score for the rest of the half.
Laney’s defense made some impressive plays to keep the shutout intact. One notable play was a sack by edge David Sullivan to prevent Richmond Academy from converting on third down. Another was a near interception by defensive back Khalil Bryant, but ultimately he had to settle for a pass breakup.
Laney had another promising drive to start the third quarter, but were forced to punt after three false starts killed the drive.
ARC’s Hand then strung together a beautiful drive, including completing a 10-yard comeback route to wide receiver Lo’than McBride.
McBride wasn’t done yet, though. After catching a 10-yard pass on first-and-14, McBride used a spin move to lose a defender and ran into the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown, putting the Musketeers on the board for the first time. Kicker William Mohney drilled the extra point, and Laney’s lead was cut to 12-7 as the third quarter ended.
After a handful of punts, Richmond started to catch fire on a promising drive. The Musketeers drove down to the Wildcat 1-yard line. From there, on a crucial fourth-and-goal, Hand dropped back to pass and threw to his receiver in the end zone, where Wildcat strong safety Landon Geter broke up the pass.
It appeared that all hope might be lost for the Musketeers.
The Wildcats took over at the 1-yard line, but the Musketeers knew they needed a stop to win. ARC forced a punt that was botched, putting the Musketeers only 25 yards away from the end zone.
The Musketeers were saved from a fourth-and-nine situation after an 11-yard reception by Jay’Andre Brown, giving them a fresh set of downs.
The Musketeers put the game in the hands of their running back Vincent Carter, who broke through the offensive line and was able to score a touchdown to take the lead with only a minute left on the clock. Mohney knocked another extra point through the uprights to make the score 14-12.
The Wildcats tried their best to find the end zone before the game ended, but on the final play of the Wildcats’ night, their pass was intercepted by Richmond defensive back Chase Caldwell, giving the Musketeers the road win.
“We just had mental toughness, not feeling down on ourselves, overcoming adversity, and our guys just gutted out a win,” said ARC’s Grisset afterwards.
Despite the win for Richmond, the team had more than 10 false starts throughout the game.
“We gotta go back to the drawing board,” the ARC coach said. “We need accountability, and, again, mental toughness is key. We don’t need to be beating ourselves. We just need to be coming out and fighting through those bad times to find a way to win.”
Richmond Academy will stay on the road Aug. 28 when the Musketeers play at Thomson, while the Wildcats will hope to get their first win of the season when they host Bluffton.
William Reyes is an Augusta University student. Sign up for the Augusta Good News free weekly newsletter here.
