With a playoff game on the line, Richland rose to the challenge on Friday. They blew past the Arlington Heights Yellowjackets 37-16. The Royals might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won nine matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Drew Kates was his usual excellent self, throwing for 334 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 12.8 yards per attempt, and also rushing for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Jayshon Gibson, who rushed for 223 yards while picking up 10.6 yards per carry.
Richland was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 292 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in November of 2023.
Richland didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Sean Wright and Zaid Walker. Roddrick Roberts was another major factor on D, picking up 0.5 sacks and making 13 total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Arlington Heights' loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kaeden Grant, who threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 44 yards.
The victory made it two in a row for Richland and bumps their season record up to 9-2. As for Arlington Heights, the defeat snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 9-2 record.
Richland will face off against Amarillo at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 1,098 yards in their previous games. Arlington Heights does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
