Impressive Rickards

Raiders come up short in bid to capture first state football title

By St. Clair Murraine

Outlook staff writer

When American Heritage scored its second touchdown in the first half, it did little to shake the confidence of the pro-Rickards crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The Raiders had been there before. In fact, they came back from deficits against Baker County and Dunnellon to win the last two games they needed to get into the Class 5A state championship game last Friday night. 

This time the Raiders (10-2) couldn’t find the offense to overcome and fell 24-6 to the Patriots (11-2). That the Raiders held a powerhouse program that had won four previous state titles to an 18 point win is remarkable, though.

The Raiders had come a long way, changing the perception of the football program at the 60-year-old predominant Black high school on Tallahassee’s Southside. No more will Rickards be looked at as the school that couldn’t get past the regionals for a berth into the state title game.

This version of the Raiders team that head coach Quintin Lewis put on the field is one for the record book – making it to the state title game for the first time is that big of an accomplishment.

Just as big is the fact that Rickards faced in American Heritage one of the “super power” private schools in Florida. This Patriot team from Plantation had players with football pedigree, namely Oronde Gadsden II and Marvin Jones, Jr. 

Both last names, especially Jones’ should ring a bell because of Marvin Jones Sr. career at FSU, Gadsden’s dad played for the Miami Dolphins for several years.

All that to say that Rickards is indeed worthy of being called the best 5A football program in Florida.

“I wouldn’t trade nobody in for any amount of money in the world,” Lewis said. “Everybody is blue and gold and bleed blue and gold here for four straight years.”

No one dare argue that because this team is the one by which all other Rickards squads will be rated.

“You saw a team that played their hearts out tonight,” said Lewis. “We couldn’t get things to go our way early; a team that battled back to an amazing second half tonight. We just couldn’t get in the end zone tonight. Hats go off to American Heritage. They played a great game.”

So did Rickards in the second half, but by then the 21-0 lead that American had built before it added a fourth-quarter field goal by Chris Maron was too much to overcome.

Rickards’ only score came early in the third quarter after Greg Turner Jr. took a return 70 yards to the Patriots’ 27. One play and a face mask penalty later, the Raiders moved two yards from the end zone. 

Quarterback Michael Townsend took it in on the ensuring play. The PAT failed, just another reminder of how tough the kicking game was for the Raiders. They’d missed attempts of 31 and 21 yards.

The Raiders’ defense had a couple of bright spots like the two times that the denied the Patriots on drives that started on the plus side of the 50. Terrance McPherson Jr., who has 13 tackles, had a lot to do with stopping those drives.

“It was tough,” Townsend said. “I wanted to win the game but it didn’t go our way. Win, lose or draw we are still going to be with each other. We are still going to push each other.”

In the end, Rickards principal Douglas Cook gave an emotional speech to the team. He was almost screaming because the band played on and the Rickards crowd was just as loud as the players gathered on the sideline.

Then a few minutes later, Lewis put the night in perspective.

“Amazing,” he said. “An amazing opportunity for the young men tonight. Hats go off to them for playing so hard.”