Richland football team debuts new nickname with blowout victory over rival Haltom

Richland broke in its new Royals nickname in style, scoring four second-half touchdowns to surge past Haltom, 36-3, Friday at the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletics Complex in the season opener for both teams.

The name change came in July. The school had been known as the Rebels since 1961, but the district unanimously voted to remove the Rebel mascot and related Confederate imagery in June after more than 25,000 people signed a petition calling for it.

Richland’s Paul Samuel grabbed two interceptions to stop Haltom drives in the first half. His second pick came on a deflected pass at the Haltom 7 midway through the second quarter.

The Royals (1-0) took over and moved the ball out to their own 43, where they faced fourth-and-7. Punter Jackson Wofford took the snap on a fake and ran it just past the first down marker to convert. It kept a 19-play, 93-yard scoring drive alive for Richland.

E.J. Gipson-Smith finished the series with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:47 left before halftime to give Richland a 7-0 lead at the break.

Richland moved quickly down the field to open the second half, covering 72 yards in eight plays. Cole Benson connected on a 15-yard TD pass to C.J. Baskerville to put the Royals up 14-0. Baskerville is a 3-star recruit projected to commit to Oklahoma State.

After Haltom (0-1) missed a 45-yard field goal attempt on the next series, Benson threw a 46-yard TD pass to Baskerville to stretch Richland’s lead to 22-0.

The Royals put the game out of reach when T.J. Miller recovered a Haltom fumble in the end zone for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter. Jake Kennedy added a late TD for Richland with a 71-yard pass to C.J. Nelson.

Benson finished as the game’s leading passer with 235 yards on 18 of 26 attempts with two touchdowns. Nelson led all receivers with 150 yards on seven catches.