He was a Blythewood legend, Mr. Football. Today, Richard Mounce has a higher calling
Editor’s note: This story is part of The State’s series “SC Sports: Where are the stars now?“
Growing up, Richard Mounce’s purpose revolved around playing sports.
These days, the former Blythewood High standout has a different purpose in mind. In addition to being a husband to wife Katie and father to their three children, Mounce’s purpose is his Christian faith and his aspirations of being a pastor one day.
Mounce has his master’s degree in divinity and is pursuing a PHD in theology. He is a deacon and Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina.
“Came to know Christ when I was 19 ... and that is when my life took that radical change in direction,” said Mounce, who was inducted in November in Blythewood’s inaugural Hall of Fame class. “This is what I want to give my life to and to see that vision for life and the hope of the gospel beyond athletics. That is something that is very central and important to me.”
Mounce runs Triangle Home and Deck, a deck restoration company in Durham, but his future goal is to become a pastor.
While his priorities nowadays have changed, Mounce has fond memories of his athletic career.
Mounce excelled in football and baseball at Blythewood and was one of the most decorated players to come from the school.
On the football field, Mounce was 33-1 as a starting quarterback and led the Bengals to the Class 3A state championship in 2006 and a 10-0 record the following year. He finished with 6,100 yards and 73 touchdowns over his final two seasons., including a nine-touchdown performance against Blue Ridge in the 2006 playoffs.
Mounce was named the state of South Carolina’s Mr. Football in 2007 and was the MVP of the Shrine Bowl.
“Richard was everything and more that you wanted in your quarterback,” said Jeff Scott, Blythewood’s football coach in 2005-06 who went on to be an assistant Clemson and is now the head coach at South Florida. “He was an outstanding player and had the ‘it’ factor you talk about as coaches.
“I have been recruiting in this state the last 12 or 13 years. I have no doubt that Richard is one of the top players to ever play in our state. He was a joy to coach and have a front-row seat for him to play every Friday night.”
In baseball, Mounce went 9-2 on the mound and hit .427 with seven home runs as a senior in helping the Bengals to the 3A Upper State championship game. He won 19 games as a pitcher during his career.
Mounce initially picked baseball over football for college and signed with Clemson out of high school, a decision he said he would change if he had the chance. Mounce’s love was football and he eventually returned to it after two years at Clemson.
Mounce transferred to Charleston Southern to play football and spent two years there. He met his future wife at CSU but his playing career was hampered by injuries. He tore his ACL and was down on the depth chart for the 2010 season. The following year, he started three games and passed for 1,145 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Instead of coming back for one more season, Mounce decided it was time to move on and get ready for life after athletics.
“I knew before the start of senior year. It was tough but every athlete knows the daily grind will be over with and you will be doing something,” Mounce said. “I never wanted to place my entire trust in sports.”
Still, Mounce wouldn’t trade his high school days for anything.
“Looking back, just seeing it be so fun as a high school student — really fun times with friends and family, a relaxed time,” Mounce said. “When you have great coaches and great players, it makes everything that much better. You don’t realize that much until you get away from it.”
