UNDERWOOD - Central McLean running back Grant Singer wears a number normally worn by linemen.

However, the Cougars' number 56 doesn't run the ball like a lineman.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior carried 38 times for 229 yards and two touchdowns Friday night to lead the No. 5 Cougars to a 16-14 win over No. 2-ranked Richardton-Taylor-Hebron in a battle of 9-man Region 6 unbeatens.

Singer, who started at tight end last year, now has 579 yards rushing (unofficially) in three Central McLean games - all victories.

"When you have a big horse, you gotta ride him," said Kevin Dockter, who shares Central McLean's head coaching duties with Keith Sundquist. "We needed a big effort from Grant tonight, and he gave us just that. What a solid football player."

RTH coach Travis Olson said Singer was the focus of his team's defensive game plan.

"He was the one we had to slow down," he said. "But he's a tough kid - a big, strong kid with big, strong kids in front of him. They had a game plan and they stuck with it. Give them credit."

Singer credited his offensive line and his fullback, Sam Hultberg.

"I didn't do any of this alone," he said. "The blocking was amazing. It takes a team to do what I did."

So why does Singer wear number 56? Call it family tradition.

"My brother Jordan wore it when he was in high school," Singer said. "He means a lot to me. I just wanted to keep the tradition going."

The Raiders started strong in this one, building a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. They drove 61 yards to paydirt on their opening possession, scoring on a six-yard run by Scott Remington with 9:08 left in the quarter.

Jared Aluise's recovery of a muffed punt on the Central McLean seven-yard line set up the next RTH touchdown. Quarterback Lane Transtrom found Dylan Messer in the end zone on the next play, and then connected with Carson Cosgrove for the two-pointer to give the Raiders a 14-point lead with 1:49 to play in the quarter.

Then Singer and the Cougars took charge.

After the ensuing kickoff, Singer carried 10 times for 70 yards in an 81-yard TD drive that he finished off with a three-yard run. Quarterback Jordan Sundquist ran for the two-pointer.

Dockter said the lengthy TD drive was just what the doctor ordered.

"We needed that. - We needed to answer right back," he said. "And I think that's when we started to wear them down a little."

After RTH was forced to punt, Singer capped a five-play, 61-yard drive with a nine-yard run with 5:25 left in the second quarter. Singer, who picked up 53 yards on the drive, also ran for the two-pointer to make it 16-14, Cougars.

The ball control continued in the second half. Central McLean chewed up nearly six minutes on its opening possession, and 5:17 on its third. Neither drive ended in a score, but each was effective nonetheless.

"We kept their offense off the field and ate up a lot of time," Singer said. "That was big. Our defense took care of the rest."

RTH twice drove into Central McLean territory late in the fourth quarter, but was held on downs on the Cougars' 42 and 40, respectively.

"Our defense stepped up and did a heck of a job in the second half," Dockter said. "That's a good football team, and this was a good football game. Good, smashmouth football. The way we like it."

RTH 14 0 0 0 - 14

CM 0 16 0 0 - 16

First quarter

RTH - Scott Remington 3 run (pass failed), 9:08

RTH - Dylan Messer 7 pass from Lane Transtrom (Carson Cosgrove pass from Transtrom), 1:49

Second quarter

CM - Grant Singer 3 run (Jordan Sundquist run), 9:00

CM - Singer 9 run (Singer run), 5:25

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Team statistics

RTH CM

First downs 9 17

Rushes-yards 25-131 56-280

Passing yards 74 3

Comp-Att-Int 4-11-0 1-6-1

Turnovers 0 1

Penalties-yards 3-15 2-20

Individual statistics

Rushing: RTH - Scott Remington 9-66, Jadon Messer 11-41, Adam Woroniecki 2-36, Lane Transtrom 5-(-)12. CM - Grant Singer 38-229, Sam Hultberg 17-52, Jordan Sundquist 1-(-)1.

Passing: RTH - Transtrom 4-11-0, 74 yards. CM - Sundquist 1-5-1, 3 yards.

Receiving: RTH - Dylan Messer 3-74, Jadon Messer 1-0. CM - Hultberg 1-3.

Interceptions: RTH - Dylan Messer.

Records: CM 3-0, RTH 2-1.