Running game carries Richland Northeast to five straight wins

As a tight end in the Richland Northeast offense, Matthew Anderson knows he won’t see many passes come his way.

That’s fine with Anderson, who focuses on his primary duty as the defacto sixth offensive lineman in the Cavaliers’ run-oriented attack. RNE’s ground game has been one of the best in the Midlands, and a big reason in its turnaround this season.

After a 1-5 start, RNE has won five straight games, including its first playoff game since moving down to Class 3A — a 38-6 victory over Emerald last week.

The Cavs will go for six in a row, their longest winning streak since 2005, on Friday when they travel to defending state champion South Pointe in the second round of the Upper State playoffs.

“We knew it was a different type of season. All problems are solved once you start winning,” said Anderson, who’s second on the team with 10 receptions. “We have a good O-line and it carries the team. I am an extension of the offensive line. As a tight end, you might be pushing sleds at one point in practice and catching passes at another. So you just do what you can to help the team.

“Our running backs are so good that if you just block them for a couple of seconds, they are gone and will take it to the house.”

RNE is averaging 290.4 yards a game on the ground and has a chance to have three 1,000-yard rushers this season. Tyquandre Davis leads the team with 1,204 yards, and running back Barry Moorer (964 yards) and quarterback Aloysius Jackson (879) are close to going over the 1,000-yard mark.

Davis and Jackson each rushed for more than 100 yards in last week’s playoff victory, and all three went over the 100-yard mark two weeks ago against Dreher.

“Offense has started to click, and it has been downhill ever since. It has been amazing lately,” RNE Shrine Bowl linebacker T.J. Brunson said. “Best I have seen in a few years. It takes pressure off of us.”

South Pointe has shown the ability to stop run-oriented teams. In the state championship game last year, the Stallions held Hartsville to 95 yards rushing after the Red Foxes came into the game averaging 376 yards per game.

An effective run game also will keep South Pointe’s offense off the field. The Stallions are averaging 386 yards per game and have scored more than 50 points three times.

“We got a huge task on our hands this week,” RNE coach Jay Frye said. “They got a great program. They got speed everywhere and you expect the best when you go up there. We are going to have to pull out all the stops.”

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 8:47 PM.