San Clemente’s Richardson Gives an Extra Effort

On several occasions this season, San Clemente’s football coach, Mark McElroy, after watching a running play unfold, looked 30 or 40 yards downfield to see his center, Robert Richardson, running beside the guy carrying the ball.

Richardson, a three-year starter on an offensive line that averaged 235 pounds, he’s made it a habit to put primary defenders on their backs then hustle his 6-foot-2, 245-pound frame downfield to run interference for Triton running backs.

Richardson was also the team’s deep snapper on punts. He remained at center when the Tritons went into shotgun formation. In three seasons, he never had a bad snap.

For his efforts this season in helping San Clemente eclipse the 4,000-yard mark in total offense for the third consecutive year, Richardson has been named The Times Orange County lineman of the year.

Richardson, a two-time All-South Coast League selection at center, continues the tradition of highly skilled offensive linemen in the rough and tumble Division I league that has produced the last four county linemen of the year.

“He’s like having a coach on the field,” said McElroy, who guided the Tritons to a 6-4-1 record and an at-large berth in the Southern Section playoffs. “He’s very intelligent, he understands fronts, he makes all of the run and pass adjustments on the line of scrimmage.”

The Tritons played everyone tough, including top-ranked Mater Dei, which had to battle for a 35-28 victory in the last game of the regular season.

San Clemente, which gained more than 2,500 yards passing in both 1995 and ‘96, switched from its pass-oriented attack to the Delaware Wing-T offense this season and outgained the Monarchs by 43 yards.

Richardson, who also wrestles at heavyweight and participates in field events for the track team, played a big part in the Tritons’ offensive success against Mater Dei.

“He was real physical, probably one of the best centers we’ve seen,” Monarch linebacker Kevin Mitchell said. “He was real fast, had great technique and was a great blocker.”

A lot has changed for Richardson since his sophomore year, when he began as a starter on the offensive line. For one thing, he has lost 20 pounds.

“What really helped was our no-huddle offense,” he said. “We got so many consecutive plays in practice, so many reps, that you got in great shape.”

Running the ball was also to Richardson’s liking, and it helped him gain recognition as one of the county’s best blockers.

“That was fun,” he said of all the running plays. “It sometimes got boring when we were passing all the time because, as center, I would usually zone block and didn’t get to hit anybody. This season I got to hit all the time.”

Offensive line coach Jon Hamro recalls a play against Capistrano Valley this season that typified Richardson’s contributions.

“We ran a sweep play and we busted it loose,” Hamro said. “Robert made his initial block on the linebacker and then headed on down the field. There was [running back Norman Pridgen] running down the field and Robert was running stride for stride with him,ready to make another block.”

Hamro said he feels as if he and Richardson grew up together during the last three seasons. Hamro took over the San Clemente offensive line in Richardson’s sophomore year.

“The kid has been a huge blessing for me,” Hamro said. “It will be very difficult to deal with the post-Robert Richardson era at San Clemente.”