Football Recap: Richland Skates Past Birdville with Ease

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Previous Games

09/26/25 - Home	51-21 W
09/27/24 - Away	62-34 W
10/20/23 - Away	42-18 W
10/21/22 - Home	30-34 L
10/15/21 - Home	36-29 W
+ 3 more games

You're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter and that's exactly how it played out for Richland on Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew the Birdville Hawks out of the water with a 51-21 final score. That looming 51-21 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Royals yet this season.

It was another big night for Jayshon Gibson, who rushed for 187 yards and four touchdowns. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 167 rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of Brett Kates, who rushed for 57 yards and one TD.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Richland proved: they limited Birdville to a paltry 3.4 yards per carry. While four picked up at least two total tackles, Quade Williams stood above the rest. He picked up two sacks, forced one fumble, and made two total tackles. Richland didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 5.6.

Richland didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jaxson Walker and De'Rion Jones. Richland received some extra help from Paxon Weeks, whose fumble return for a touchdown made for one of the most unforgettable moments.

Birdville's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Zach Wells, who threw for 270 yards and one touchdown while completing 73.9% of his passes, and also punched in one score on the ground. 145 of Wells' passing yards were hauled in by Quinton Giles.

The victory was the third in a row for Richland, bringing their record up to 4-1. Those wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 47.3 points over those games. As for Birdville, they now have a losing record of 2-3.

We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Richland is set to square off against their familiar foe Fossil Ridge at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Birdville will take on rival Azle at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.