Photos by Jared Thomas Story By Robert Wilson
RICHLAND – Pisgah ended Richland’s winning streak last season and started a seven-game losing streak for the Rangers. Not this year. Richland coach J.J. Plummer, the Shoto brothers and the Ranger defense made sure of that as Richland rolled to a 32-0 halftime lead on their way to a 43-7 victory Friday night. The win pushed Richland’s record to 3-0 in Plummer’s second season at the Rankin County Class 4A school. Plummer broke a 13-game winning streak in his debut last season and won three more before Class 2A Pisgah ended the streak with a 28-7 victory. Richland suffered six more losses to finish 4-7. But the Rangers are still winning this season. “I thought we came out and played fast and physical football,” Plummer said. “That’s what I expected from this team the way we’ve been practicing the last couple of weeks. We certainly expected a dog fight tonight, but we brought the dogs back to them. I’m very proud of this football team and look forward to the future of this season. The defense forced a lot of turnovers. We played hard, fast and physical on defense and gave our offense a chance to put quick points on the board.” Senior running back Seth Shoto scored two touchdowns and his brother Micah Shoto, a senior wide receiver-cornerback, caught one touchdown pass from junior Logan Evans and Micah also intercepted a pass on Pisgah’s first drive to set up Richland’s first score. Evans had two TD runs and senior Gentry Davis had one TD. Benji Hernandez kicked two extra points and a 40-yard field goal. Collin Watson also completed a two-point conversion pass to Makial Musgrove. The Richland defense forced three fumbles and one interception in the first half. “Ashton Johnson played hard, physical ball at linebacker and the defensive line made a statement from the start of the game,” Plummer said. “Tyler Moak and Carter Smith also played physical ball for us on defense.” Luke Robinson scored on a 90-yard run and Brannon White added the extra point in the fourth quarter for Pisgah, which dropped to 2-1. “Richland whipped us up front,” Pisgah coach Michael Granberry said. “They were more physical and outplayed us. Hats off to Richland.”
