The Pinecrest and Richmond Senior jayvee football teams set the bar high for their varsity counterparts.

A 3-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Dawkins to Shun Bloomfield with 15.8 seconds remaining gave the Raiders a 14-7 victory over the Patriots in Rockingham on Thursday.

A 30-yard scoring run by Patriot quarterback Dannie Monroe and the conversion kick by Jeremy Brock gave the visitors a lead that held up almost until the end. The Patriots dropped to 1-3 in the Southeastern Conference and 6-3 overall while the Raiders improved to 4-0 and 8-1.

"That's a classic football battle right there," Patriot coach Greg Mayer said afterward. "That's what you like to see, kids laying it on the line on both sides of the ball."

The Patriots started from their own 20-yard line the second time they had the ball. Later in the drive, they faced a fourth down and two from the Raider 30 after a pass completion from Monroe to Marshall Smith. On a quarterback sneak, Monroe broke free from the stacked up defense and went the final 25 yards without a Raider tackler close to him.

The Raiders responded with a long drive of their own. Steven Houston took the ball the final 6 yards, but the conversion kick hit a goal post and the Patriots led 7-6.

Toward the end of the half, an 11-yard completion from Monroe to Ranier Augustin gave the Patriots a first down at the home 35. Dropped passes helped squelch that opportunity.

In the second half, turnovers got in the way of a Richmond ground game that was picking up steam, but the Pats were unable to take advantage. The first series ended with Richard Stepp blocking a Raider punt, but the Patriots were forced to punt it right back.

Early in the fourth period, the Patriots thwarted a Raider threat when Marino Gillis recovered a fumble at his own 23. Monroe picked up 13 yards on the first play and Xavier Whitten ran for 8 yards on two carries.

Monroe gained 1 and then on fourth down fought his way into Raider territory for a first down. But the next two attempts by Monroe lost yardage. After an incompletion, Alex Anderson punted and the Raiders took over at their own 27 with 5:16 to play.

The home team used up almost all of the remaining time with the 73-yard, 14-play drive that ended on the third down toss from Dawkins to Bloomfield in the right corner of the end zone. Houston then tacked on the final two points with a conversion run.

Monroe accounted for most of the Patriot offense, gaining 101 yards on 19 carries. Houston led the Raiders with 126 yards on 21 attempts. The Patriots close out the jayvee season at home against Hoke County Thursday.

"We hope this is a great start for the weekend, leading into a great game tomorrow." Mayer said. "You have to applaud the kids on both sides."