Richards leads No. 7 Raiders past Tigers

BOYNTON BEACH — With time to spare or while facing defensive pressure, it didn’t seem to matter: Glades Central quarterback Davious Richards made big plays, leading the Raiders to a 26-0 rout of Boynton Beach on Friday night.

Richards got the seventh-ranked Raiders (4-2) on the board early with a touchdown pass to Jymetre Hester on third-and-long in the first quarter. Hester ran past Boynton (1-5) defenders, snagged Richards’ pass and sprinted to the end zone to complete the 68-yard score.

Richards finished the night 13-for-15 with 258 yards and three touchdowns. His second score came just before the end of the first half on a quick 20-yard pass to a well-covered DeJuan Miller. His third touchdown came on another Miller reception, a 3-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.

Glades Central coach Jessie Hester said it was business as usual for his passing game, which he said features some of the best wide receivers in the county. Richards and fellow quarterback Sabata Bridges put those receivers to use, spreading their passes across six targets.

“We feel like we can pass the ball on pretty much anybody,” Hester said, adding that a potent running game helped open up passing plays.

The Raiders — led by Steven Barrett, who ran for 51 yards and one touchdown on nine carries — finished with 114 yards on the ground.

“That allowed our quarterback to take advantage of their secondary,” Hester said.

On defense, the Raiders had several big plays, including an 8-yard sack from Steve Smith that forced a long Boynton fourth down. Gerald Jackson recovered a fumble that stopped a Tigers scoring threat, and Glades Central defenders had several pass breakups.

Hester called his defense the “cornerstone of our team this year.”