RHS riding passing game as league play starts

RANDLEMAN — The Randleman Tigers begin playing in the newest version of the Piedmont Athletic Conference Friday at home against High Point Andrews.

But, after last week’s victory over Southwestern Randolph, there are still questions that must be answered. And, of course, during the four-game non-league season in which the Tigers went 2-2, there were questions that were answered emphatically.

The RHS passing game, for the most part, seems to be an area first-year head coach David Diamont can depend on. With a very talented John Kirkpatrick at quarterback and a bevy of receivers, Randleman has moved the ball through the air against all four opponents. That passing game was pivotal in Friday night’s 24-14 win over the Cougars at Charles R. Gregory Stadium.

“John is special.” Diamont said. “He has a phenomenal arm. We just have to clean up the turnovers. But it’s 100 percent on me. We are going to get better. Our receivers are probably the deepest position we have. And we have a really good receivers coach in Daniel Mitchell. He does a real good job of rotating those guys. And our starters to our backups, there’s really not a step down. They do a good job blocking, catching, running.”

Kirkpatrick has plenty of experience as he is in his third year as the starter. Unofficially this year, he is 73-for-112 for 875 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions in the passing department. For his career, he is 374-for-605 for 5,617 yards with 71 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

He also gives the Tigers the added threat of running the football.

“He’s got great escape ability,” Diamont said. “When he’s out of the pocket or escapes, he’s very dangerous. We just have to make sure that our linemen aren’t downfield and we are catching the football when he releases it. We have a lot of stuff to clean up, but with our identity, we got to play some people in those places to make it happen. We have to get back to it.”

More than 10 players have hauled in passes, led by Connor Cassidy, Nazir Staton, Tate Andrews and Jamari Rice. Kayden Saunders, Brycen Nall, Damari Garner, Trey Burnett, Landon Whitaker, Matthew Bowman, Pacy Wagner and Lincoln Lawson all have receptions this year.

“Our deepest room is the receivers room,” Kirkpatrick said after throwing for 216 yards with two scores and two interceptions against SWR. “Some get upset because we have to sub a lot, but that’s the way it is when you have a bunch of athletes who love to play. They communicate so well and they all know how to get to the right spots. When I have to roll out, they know what to do.”

Kirkpatrick connected with Staton for a 34-yard scoring play to give RHS a 14-7 lead in the second quarter and then added a 5-yard TD strike to Cassidy in the third quarter for a 24-7 advantage.

“The passing game is important, it’s been important all my years in high school, this year especially important,” Kirkpatrick said. “The passing game, we have a lot of concepts. Coach Diamont is working some things in. We haven’t figured it all out yet, but we’re starting to.”

Kirkpatrick said his role has changed in the new system.

“Just controlling the offense more, rather than playing my role on offense about who needs to get the ball,” Kirkpatrick. “If the receivers have questions, I have to know everything about the offense, all the ins and outs. The playbook is pretty complicated. If the receivers have questions, I have to be able to answer it just like that because of the play clock.”

The Tigers’ win Friday night snapped a two-game skid.

“I feel like all of us, after the last two weeks, we were all tired of losing and wanted to step up and I think we stepped up and made improvement,” said Andrews, who caught a pair of passes for 24 yards Friday night. “It’s a completely new offense, game plans with a new head coach. He’s working us hard.”

As much as the passing game has helped the offense, Diamont said it’s imperative the running game catches up. Running the ball has been a bit more difficult this year, but with an offensive line gaining experience every week, the first-year head coach says he expects that to change.

“We lost a lot up front and we also lost some depth,” Diamont said. “We’re really young, but we have a lot of potential. We’re just really young and inexperienced right now so our quick passing game has got to be very important for us. But we have to be able to move the ball on the ground and that’s on me.”

In the second half Friday night, sophomore Whitaker came in off the bench and recorded runs of 35, 38 and 18 yards.

“He was fresh,” Diamont said. “He’s a really good athlete and he’s only a sophomore. His fresh legs. His motor really propelled us with some really important first downs and big plays. He had a really good game.”

Saunders and Kirkpatrick were the main weapons on the ground in the first half. “It’s a little more wear and tear on my body, but I feel it helps the team and I want to do whatever I can to help the team,” Kirkpatrick said. “I told Coach I wanted to run the ball more.”

A stout running attack would certainly add even more to what has proved to be a potent passing attack.