When Richmond faces Missouri River Valley Conference (MRVC)-East Division opponent Carrollton Friday night at Spartan Stadium on Tom Adams Field for homecoming, a name from Richmond’s gridiron past will be on the opposing sideline: Kirk Thacker.

Thacker, a 1987 Richmond graduate, is in his first season as varsity head football coach at Carrollton. He pulls for his alma mater each week of the 11-man season, but he’s making an exception Friday, he remarked Monday via text message.

Still, Thacker is looking forward to returning home – in a sense.

“I am excited to play on Tom Adams Field because of the influence on me of the man it is named for,” he stated. “I never played there. It was our practice field. Home will always be Woodson Field to me.”

Thacker expects “a tough game” from his alma mater. Offensively, the Spartans “have so many weapons,” he stated.

“You cannot shut them all down,” Thacker texted.

Defensively, the Spartans are tough and rarely make mistakes, Thacker stated.

Richmond coac…