Football Game Preview: Richlands Wildcats vs. Swansboro Pirates

The Richlands Wildcats will square off against the Swansboro Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Richlands will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each game than the last.

Having struggled with seven defeats in a row, Richlands turned things around against Dixon on Friday. They enjoyed a cozy 41-26 win over the Bulldogs. The Wildcats' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.

CJ DiBenedetto

Passer Rating (Career)

10/24/25 @ Dixon	143.8
10/17/25 @ West Carteret	132.8
09/12/25 vs South Brunswick	88.3
08/29/25 @ White Oak	77.8
09/19/25 vs Havelock	71

CJ DiBenedetto was nothing short of spectacular: he threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns while completing 85% of his passes, and also rushed for 64 yards and one score on only five carries. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in passer rating (143.8). Richlands' leading receiver Dwight Hooker was DiBenedetto's top target yet again, picking up 164 receiving yards and a pair of TDs.

Meanwhile, Swansboro was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They had to suffer through a 40-13 loss at the hands of Northside - Jacksonville. While losing is never fun, the Pirates can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 293rd, while the Monarchs are ranked 65th).

Despite the defeat, Swansboro saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Carmello Beasley picked up 136 receiving yards, and also punched in a pair of scores on the ground.

Swansboro didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Elijah Scott and Alix Mann.

Swansboro's loss dropped their record down to 2-7. As for Richlands, their victory was their first in the conference, bumping their conference record up to 1-4 and their overall record up to 2-7.

Everything came up roses for Richlands against Swansboro in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 42-0 win. Do the Wildcats have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Pirates turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.