‘We picked it up in the second half’: Richland takes down Birdville to stay undefeated
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS — For exactly 365 days, there was a sign in the weight room at Richland that had a football score.
Four numbers pushed players like offensive lineman Daniel Cruz to work a little bit harder and think about the feelings that came with a loss to a rival.
On Friday night, the Royals kept its perfect season alive with a 42-18 win over Birdville at the Birdville ISD Fine Arts/Athletics Complex.
The Royals entered this contest with the same record last year, but then the Hawks pulled an upset and won 34-30. That score was put on the wall for all those to remember — though players like Cruz never forgot.
“I remember it every single time I’m in the weight room … 34-30. We posted it and it was laminated,” said Cruz, a three-star recruit who has committed to Texas. “We wanted to remember it. We had a chip on our shoulder and we knew we had to show up. We came up with a theme this week, ‘Let’s get back.’ We tried to make it up for last year. I’m 3-1 against them … but I want to be 4-0. That loss stuck with me. For real, at night, I think about that game.”
The Royals are now 8-0 and 6-0 in District 5-5A D1 play. Richland is tied with Mansfield Timberview for first place in the standings and the two teams play next week with the district title on the line back at Birdville ISD Fine Arts/Athletic Complex.
The first half featured plenty of big plays and lead changes but the Royals pulled away in the second half.
Richland actually trailed 18-14 to start the third quarter but Jaylen Gordon returned the kickoff 86 yards — traversing that length in 15 seconds. That turned out to be the last time the lead changed hands.
“You know people say (special teams) is a third of the game,” Richland head coach Ged Kates said. “It’s not really a third of the game. Most of the game is offense and defense but special teams sure as heck can get you beat or give you some life. I’m proud of those guys. That’s our third touchdown on a kickoff return this year … They’re starting to take pride in it.”
Michael Turner added two touchdowns in the third as the Royals started to pull away from the Hawks (3-5, 3-3).
Turner had a 1-yard run where he dove over the defense for a score with 6:27 to go in the third and then had a 12-yard run with 4:13 to play in the third quarter. That was his third touchdown of the game.
The junior had 159 of the Royals’ 215 yards on the ground.
“We picked it up in the second half and played a great ball game,” Cruz said. “Once we started to pound the rock, pound the rock, pound the rock, I knew they were getting tired.”
Drew Kates, who had 178 yards passing, threw a touchdown to Jayden Finley with 10:44 to play to complete the scoring and a 28-0 scoring barrage in the second half for Richland.
Birdville took a lead late in the first quarter on a safety — awarded thanks to a penalty in the end zone on Richland.
That led to a change of possession and ultimately ended in Mario Menjivar kicking a 7-yard field goal with 9:35 to play in the first half.
Down 12-7, Richland regained the lead on a 21-yard touchdown run by Kates. With 1:05 left in the second quarter, Birdville quarterback Noah Normand caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Kelley on a reverse play.
That led to Birdville’s 18-14 lead at the break.
Richland will face undefeated Mansfield Timberview next week at the Fine Arts/Athletic Complex, for what will be a showdown for the district title.
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 1:09 AM.