From start to finish, Richmond Academy football was in control in its Week 3 matchup against Westside. The Musketeers dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides. The offensive lineman continuously created holes for their running backs to drive through for scores. Defensively, the front consistently got to the quarterback and limited much of anything during the game.
The result? A 35-7 victory for ARC over Westside. But more importantly, it improves the Musketeers to 3-0 on the season. The last time a Richmond Academy football team has done that was back during the 2020 season when they went 10-2.
That squad was the best Musketeers team in the last 50 years going back to the 1976 campaign where they also won 10 games. And as the current iteration
of ARC continues to roll on, they are consistently finding ways to win just like those teams of Musketeer lore once did.
“Just being process driven. We got to release the results, don’t worry about outcomes and just chop wood and carry water,” Musketeers head coach Keenan Grissett said. “All offseason we heard that everybody’s bigger than us and that we’re going to 5A and we don’t have the front five to go compete at that level, and I challenge these guys that we’re going to put our face on these people daily, and we’re going to prove that we’re 5A ready for sure.”
Benefactors of that talented front five for Musketeers has been the running back duo of senior Jay’Andre Brown and Vincent Carter. They’ve been a key cog of the offense throughout the early part of the season, and that continued again against the Patriots. Carter rushed for three touchdowns while Brown had two.
But arguably the more impressive side of the ball, and the one that will have to sustain them once they enter 5A competition, is the defense. Westside didn’t score until midway through the fourth quarter. The pressure that the Musketeers employed is not only reminiscent of those successful ARC teams of the past, it’s a scheme that’s by design.
“Just guys that have bought into the new scheme with Coach Barfield. He’s brought some juice. He’s brought some electricity to us with the pressures, turning our secondary loose to blitz a bit,” Grissett said. “We think our athletes test with anybody in the state.”
Grissett and the Musketeers will get to see just how well they match up with others around the state with region play starting next week. They face Wayne County on the road before taking on a powerhouse in Benedictine during the following week.
The upcoming stretch will be a true litmus test for just how good this Richmond Academy team really can be this season. And if they can come out of these games unscathed, the question won’t be whether this is the best Musketeer squad of the last decade, it’ll be how far can they go now while competing with the best teams in school history.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Richmond Academy football remains unbeaten in Week 3 matchup against Westside
