RALEIGH, N.C –– Richmond plugged and plugged away Friday night but Cardinal Gibbons wouldn’t give in, turning its timely defensive plays and efficient passing game into a 31-13 victory. The contest was a battle of two of HighSchoolOT’s top 20-ranked squads.

Crusaders junior quarterback Gannon Jones threw for 266 yards on 17-of-24 passing for three touchdowns, while Gibbons’ defense held the Raiders’ speedy offense in check when it mattered most.

Gibbons (2-0) led 17-7 at the half after a pair of TD passes by Jones. But Richmond (1-2) seemed to grab control of the game’ momentum with a clock-churning drive to start the third quarter. The Raiders, ranked 20th in the HSOT statewide poll, converted a pair of fourth downs on a 22-play drive that unfortunately for the visitors ultimately did not produce any points.

The Raiders moved the ball to the Crusader 17-yard-line with 3:29 to play, but Gibbons sophomore defensive end Griffin Cockerham broke free and pulled Richmond quarterback Evan Hodges down for a sack. That forced Richmond into a 42-yard field goal attempt that hit the crossbar and bounced back into the field of play.

The 22-snap drive took 9 minutes and 34 seconds off of the clock but didn’t ultimately cut into the Gibbons lead.

Jones and his offensive counterparts jumped on the opportunity, driving 80 yards and ending on a 2-yard plunge by Conway Kelly for a 23-7 lead. Evan Windley’s extra-point upped the lead to 24-7 with 10:01 to play in the game.

The Crusader defense, which was on the field for 71 plays, forced another stop on the next Raider drive with a quarterback pressure by Cockerham forcing an incompletion. Cockerham finished the night with three deflected passes to go with his timely sack.

Gibbons was quick to strike on its next drive. As Jones found Sean Manuel down the seam for a 39-yard touchdown pass to run the lead to 31-7.

Richmond added a late TD, a 64-yard scoring pass from Hodges to Bob Pegues, to cut into the final margin.

Gibbons, ranked 16th in the HSOT statewide poll, led 10-0 after a quarter of play thanks to a 39-yard TD reception by Sam Dodd and a 24-yard Windley field goal. Windley’s field goal followed a forced and recovered from from teammate Hudson Vandyke on the kick off after Dodd’s score. Dodd, a 6-foot-3 senior, finished with 112 yard receiving on four catches. Brayden Karras (who caught Jones’ other TD pass) had a team-high 7 catches for 66 yards.

Richmond’s Keyonta Davis fought his way for a 10-yard scoring play after pulling in a short pass from Dominic Tillman to get the Raiders within 10-7 before the half.

Jordan Bostick ran for a game-high 79 yards on 16 carries for the Raiders, but outside of the 64-yard TD pass (which benefitted from a key Gibbons defender losing his footing) the Crusader defense only gave up one other play of 20 yards or more on the night.

Gibbons continues its string of tough non-conference opponents next week when Rolesville visits. Richmond hosts Myers Park.

RC: 0-7-0-6-13

CGI: 10-7-0-14-31

Scoring Summary

CG—S.Dodd 39 pass from G.Jones (E.Windley kick)

CG—E.Windley 24 FG

RIC—K.Davis 10 pass from D.Tillman (B.West kick)

CG—B.Karras 25 pass from G.Jones (E.Windley kick)

CG—C.Kelly 2 run (E.Windley kick)

CG—S.Manuel 39 pass from G. Jones (E. Windley kick)

RIC—B.Pegues 64 pass from E.Hodges (run failed)

Team Stats

Rushing – Richmond 29-144; Gibbons 22-97

Passing – Richmond 16-31-230; Gibbons 17-24-266

Individual Stats

Rushing – Richmond: E. Hodges 5-10, J.Bostick 16-79, D.Tillman 5-43, C.Crowder 1-4, J.Smith 2-8; Gibbons: G.Jones 6-27, K.Soctton 4-3, N.Terry 5-28, C.Kelly 1-2, A.Anderson 4-27, C.Lindsey 2-10.

Passing – Richmond: B.Pegues 1-1-17, E.Hodges 10-18-149; D.Tillman 5-12-64.

Receiving – Richmond: B.Pegues 4-104, A.Morrison 2-30, K.Davis 6-50, J.Hamilton 2-24, K.Morgan 1-17, N.Griggs 1-8; Gibbons: S.Manuel 3-51, K.Soctton 4-9, S.Dodd 4-112, B.Karras 6-66, C.Mcgeehan 1-18.

Source: highschoolot.com