ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior offensive unit could not get things going Friday night in a home loss against Dudley.

A week after posting almost 300 yards of total offense, Richmond only had 79 yards (51 passing, 28 rushing) heading into its final drive of the game. The Raiders picked up 38 yards on their last possession — bringing their total to 117 yards on the night — before the Panthers sealed the 34-14 win by taking a knee.

“We didn’t execute well. We had chances to make plays and we didn’t make them,” coach Mike Castellano explained. “We missed blocks, had a lot of penalties — things of that nature. We’ve just got to execute in all facets of the game.”

Richmond won the coin toss, but elected not to receive.

The Raiders tried to fool Dudley with an onside kick to begin the game, but Nigel Fitzgerald was able to scoop the ball up and get to Richmond’s 38-yard line.

From there, Hendon Hooker led the visiting team’s offense down the field and capped it off with 7-yard strike to senior wide receiver Jon Zellous — taking an early 7-0 lead.

A quick three-and-out from the Richmond offense put the Panthers back on the field, where they capitalized with a 39-yard screen pass to running back Ezra Perkins. That play helped set up an 11-yard touchdown run from Hooker — his second of four total scores on the night.

Hooker, who’s committed to Virginia Tech, threw for 196 yards and ran for 103 yards in the game.

“They dominated us up front, which left creases for him (Hooker) to run through,” Castellano said. “Our goal was to make sure when we had chances to make tackles and get hits on him, we did it — and he kept responding.”

The senior quarterback would help Dudley take a 20-0 lead over Richmond, on a 32-yard pass to Thomas Young, before making a mistake that put the Raiders on the scoreboard.

While fighting off a Richmond defender late in the second quarter, Hooker threw a pass that was intercepted by Brian Little and taken 55 yards to the end zone — giving the Raiders their first score of the night.

Richmond, however, could not capitalize on the momentum and went into the half down 20-7.

Neither team could get on the scoreboard in the third quarter, but Dudley (6-0) scored twice on the ground in the fourth quarter and Dante Miller returned a kickoff 81 yards for the final score of the night.

“More than anything, this is on me,” Castellano said. “We’ve got to get off the field on defense. That’s been an issue that we’ve had throughout the season at times and we’ve got to get better at that.

“When you get a chance to play defense, you’ve got to be excited to play. You get a chance to get on the field, make tackles and get some turnovers,” he continued. “But we didn’t give our offense much of a chance to be on the field all night.”

Richmond (4-2) has a bye next Friday, but will be returning to Raider Stadium on Friday, Oct. 7 for its homecoming game against Hoke County.

“This isn’t the end of our season. It’s just a part of the process. Sometimes you’ve got to, unforunately, learn things from bad situations and make yourself better in the long run,” Castellano said. “We’re going to keep working. It’s just a chance for us to evaluate, refocus on our techniques and try to get better.”

SCORING SUMMARY

DUD — 1Q 9:05, Hendon Hooker 7-yard pass to Jon Zellous (XP good)

DUD — 1Q 6:44, Hendon Hooker 11-yard run (XP good)

DUD — 2Q 9:09, Hendon Hooker 32-yard pass to Thomas Young (XP blocked)

RS — 2Q 2:50, Brian Little 55-yard interception return (XP good)

DUD — 4Q, 11:52, Richard Monroe 11-yard run (2-pt conversion failed)

DUD — 4Q, 6:49, Hendon Hooker 2-yard run (2-pt conversion good)

RS — 4Q, 6:37, Dante Miller 81-yard kickoff return (XP good)

Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.

Contributed by Jimmy McDonald
Dudley’s Hendon Hooker runs for a first down in the first half of Friday night’s matchup between the Raiders and the Panthers. Hooker’s 103 rushing yards helped Dudley defeat Richmond 34-14.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_RC_dudley_qbweb-2.jpgContributed by Jimmy McDonald
Dudley’s Hendon Hooker runs for a first down in the first half of Friday night’s matchup between the Raiders and the Panthers. Hooker’s 103 rushing yards helped Dudley defeat Richmond 34-14.

Contributed by Jimmy McDonald
Richmond Senior’s Dante Miller returns a fourth-quarter kickoff 81 yards for the Raiders’ second and final touchdown of the night.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_RC_dudley_tdweb-2.jpgContributed by Jimmy McDonald
Richmond Senior’s Dante Miller returns a fourth-quarter kickoff 81 yards for the Raiders’ second and final touchdown of the night.
Only 117 yards gained on offense

By Leon Hargrove Jr.

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SCORING SUMMARY

For the scoring summary from Friday night’s football game, log on to yourdailyjournal.com/sports.