Richland Rides Strong Second Half To Defeat Westmont-Hilltop

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Baron Dionis | September 11, 2026

The Richland Rams exploded in the second half to defeat the Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers 42-21, advancing to 3-0 at Price Field.

“Hats off to Coach Rearick and his staff and his players,” Richland coach Brandon Bailey stated. “They came out and battled and we thought they would.” I mean you could see the progress being made on their team and we appreciate that.”

“We finally settled in in the second half and were able to extend the lead.”

Richland wasted no time at all jumping out in front as Jacob Regan threw a screen to Grayson Mahla, who took it 48 yards to the end zone untouched.

After a few defensive stops by both sides, Westmont’s offense finally started clicking. They marched down the field and from there they tied the game on a deep ball from Justin Ray to Brock Bowles for a 28 yard score.

The Rams looked like they were going to respond, but in the red zone, the Hilltoppers ripped the ball out and recovered a fumble. On the very next play, Westmont connected on a screen and had some space, but Richland matched Westmont with a forced fumble of their own.

After a big gain from Jamere Christian, Mahla punched it in from a yard out, giving Richland a 14-7 lead.

Westmont quickly turned the ball over again as Christian intercepted it for the Rams, but the Hilltoppers forced a punt on a three-and-out.

With less than three minutes to go until halftime, Westmont had to go quickly if they wanted to tie it up. The Hilltoppers converted two fourth downs and with seven seconds, Ray hit Landen Valente on a slant and he broke a tackle, scoring from 28 yards out, making it 14-14 heading to halftime.

Coming out of the half Westmont got the ball and quickly turned it on downs. Then Richland marched down the field and Regan broke the tie with a seven yard rushing touchdown.

Then the Hilltoppers began to put together a strong drive themselves, getting inside the Rams’ 10 yard line. On second down, they attempted a pitch play in the backfield, but Richland read it and grabbed it out of the air. From there, the Rams took control, scoring on a Regan pass to Arold Mugerwa, then two rushing scores from Joey Ragno to make it 42-14.

Camden Brant scored a 68 yard rushing touchdown for Westmont, but it wasn’t enough to rally back and Richland walked away with the victory.

“You take what the defense gives you and we were able to take advantage of a couple things,” Westmont coach Josh Rearick said. “You got to drive a stake through a heart of a champion and that’s what this team is. We had some guys go down, and no excuses, but we just didn’t execute.”