RICHMOND – The Knob Noster Panthers played like they expected to win when they took the opening kickoff and contested the game throughout the first half before Richmond adjusted and rolled to a 69-24 Oct. 15 homefield win. The Spartans had not scored that many points in any game since 2016. “Offensively, we thought we were playing really well. It’s just we had two turnovers in the first half and couldn’t get off the field on defense,” Richmond coach Nick Persell said. After the Panthers punted on their first possession, the Spartans fumbled, the Panthers got the ball back and quarterback Trey Payne threw a 26-yard completion for a touchdown to his wide receiver, Gage McCool, with 7 minutes, 10 seconds left in the first quarter. Cheers from the visiting team’s side of the field faded on the kickoff, when Richmond receiver Evan Vandiver carried the ball back 88 yards to knot the game at 6. “There was a wide-open hole, and I just went through it and I just kept running,” Vandiver…