Richland football finishes regular season, defeats Azle to improve playoff positioning

Azle and North Richland Hills Richland had already secured playoff berths before the District 3-5A Division I game Friday on Nov. 8 at Birdville ISD Fine Arts/Athletics Complex.

The only question that needed to be answered was which team would be the No. 3 seed and No. 4 seed. The Royals left little doubt with an offensive showcase in the first half in what was a 58-28 victory.

Richland finished its first year in Division I with an 8-2 record and went 6-2 in district play after winning a district title last year in Division II.

“Not only in the district but non-district, we’ve been tested,” Richland head coach Ged Kates said. “We played Colleyville Heritage, and they’re good. We played Haltom and the Buffaloes, our sister school, they are second in their district. We think that has prepared us to be as good as we could possibly be. That’s all you want as a coach.”

The loss means Azle (7-3, 5-3) faces District 4-5A Division I champion Saginaw next week. Fort Worth Arlington Heights beat Fort Worth Paschal on Friday, which means Richland will face Arlington Heights, the runner-up, in another bi-district playoff game.

The Royals will hit the road to play at Farrington Field, and the game time is to be determined.

Richlands starts fast, finishes strong

In the first recorded meeting between the Richland and Azle in the past two decades, the Hornets struck first.

Richland went for a fake punt on the first drive, but a pass fell incomplete. The Hornets, with a short field, scored on a 5-yard run by Hagen Hughes.

The next time the Hornets scored, they were facing a 30-point deficit.

“I thought we could get your feet under us and play well, and we did from that point forward,” coach Kates said.

The Royals rebounded in a hurry behind the passing of Drew Kates, the speed of his receivers, and a special teams miscue by Azle.

Kates had an 11-yard run for a score on the following possession, and he ran in the conversion to give the Royals the lead for good with 6:24 to go in the first quarter.

A bad snap by Azle turned into a fumble, and Richland recovered at the 8-yard line. Jayshon Gibson had a 3-yard run to boost the lead to 15-7.

Kates hit Deon Jones for a 53-yard score with 1:08 left in the first. Jones caught the ball near the Azle sidelined and then traversed across the field and scored near the pylon closest to the Royals’ bench.

In the second quarter, Richland scored twice in 2:16.

Kates hit Xavier Jonson for a 33-yard score, and after Azle punted, Kates hit Jones for a 37-yard score, extending the lead to 37-7 with 8:20 to go.

Azle got its final points of the first half on a punt miscue from Richland.

The Royals failed to cover a punt, and Jay Glaze recovered at the 35. Quarterback Derrek Vowell connected with Hughes for a 32-yard score to pull within 37-14.

Richland all but locked up the win with two more scores before halftime. Kates connected with Johnson again on a 39-yard score with 4:10 to play — a pass where Johnson was covered well but Kates dropped in a pass to where Johnson would catch it or it would go out of bounds.

Jones’ third touchdown of the night came with 59 seconds left, hauling in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Kates.

Hughes added a third touchdown for Azle in the third quarter.

Kates threw his sixth touchdown — and seventh overall score — in the third. He was 17 for 22, passing for 408 yards.

Without Baylor pledge Michael Turner, the Royals have seen players like Gibson step up carrying the ball, but Kates is passing the ball more too.

“With Mike, we could do everything,” coach Kates said. “With him, we could throw and catch with the best of them. Now we have to do a little more than otherwise. We have good running backs; Mike is special, but we have guys that can make us multidimensional so they can defend every inch of the turf sideline-to-sideline. A good offense can beat you whether you play the tough game or you play the long game.”

Coach Kates surmised the Royals could still be 8-2 heading into the playoffs even if Turner was healthy with losses to No. 1 Aledo and No. 3 Denton Ryan.

Incidentally, both Richland and Azle were coming into this game after a loss to Aledo. Azle lost last week, while Richland lost in overtime to the Bearcats two weeks ago and entered this game with a bye.

With the regular season behind them, the Royals will turn their focus to the Arlington Heights Yellow Jackets.