RICHMOND RALLIES, OUTLASTS FAYETTEVILLE JACK BRITT 38-35 IN 4-AA CHAMPIONSHIP

CHAPEL HILL– Richmond Senior quarterback Tedarrius Wiley accounted for almost 400 yards of total offense as his Raiders rallied in the fourth quarter and then held on to outlast Fayetteville Jack Britt in a 38-35 shootout for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 4-AA football championship on Sunday at Kenan Stadium.

Wiley earned Wendy’s Most Valuable Player honors with a phenomenal performance, completing 20 of 25 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns while rushing 20 times for an additional 68 yards.

Richmond led 21-14 early in the third quarter before Britt came storming back, with quarterback Everett Proctor hitting Curtis Maheu on a 58-yard scoring play and Tremale France scoring on runs of 23 and three yards. The three-yard burst, just after Richmond had failed on a fourth-and-one at its own 26 and had fumbled the ball away, put the Buccaneers ahead 35-24 with 5:20 to play.

The Raiders then engineered a nine-play, 65-yard drive capped by a two-yard TD pass from Wiley to Gabe Love, who had seven receptions for 112 yards on the day, and then the two-point conversion pass from Wiley to Lovell Joy made it 35-32 with 2:19 to go.

But one play after Britt had recovered the Richmond onside kick attempt, Britt’s Eric Johnson fumbled and Justin Jackson pounced on the ball for the Raiders at the Richmond 42. Wiley hit Joy for 43 yards on the next play and then connected with Joy again five plays later on a four-yard scoring pass with 53 seconds remaining to put Richmond ahead 38-35 after the PAT was blocked.

Britt drove to the Richmond 47 in the waning seconds but two passes fell incomplete and the Raiders had clinched their seventh NCHSAA football championship but first since 1998.

Everett Proctor led Britt, rushing for 75 yards in 13 carries and completing nine of 16 passes for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Maheu caught four of those passes for 155 yards, including a 79-yard scoring play in the second quarter.

Richmond finished 12-3-1 overall while Britt wound up 14-2. The two Mid-Southeastern Conference foes had met during the regular season with the Raiders prevailing, 21-15.