RVANews

Spiders fall to Mountaineers in wild finish to end their season

Chris Farmer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:39:34 +0000

Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards completed a 4-yard TD pass to wide receiver Matt Cline with 10 seconds remaining to upend the Richmond Spiders in the second round of the FCS playoffs to end their season. The drive capped a 21-point fourth quarter by the Mountaineers in the last game ever at University of Richmond Stadium.

Clutching a 21-14 lead, Richmond had two successive chances to take a commanding lead, and perhaps put the game out of reach. The fourth quarter began with the Spiders facing a 2nd-and-goal from the Appalachian 8-yard line, but they were unable to complete the drive and settled for a 29-yard field goal attempt which kicker Andrew Howard missed.

The Spiders then held A. State to a second consecutive three-and-out, and drove themselves down the field for another 1st-and-goal scenario. The Mountaineers defense again stiffened to force a 27-yard field goal attempt. This time Howard converted, but the 24-14 lead with 9:23 to go in the game would prove too slim.

On their very next possession, A. State marched 64 yards in only three plays and 45 seconds to cut the margin to 24-21, topped off with running back Devon Moore's second TD of the game. Then it was the Spiders turn to be held to a three-and-out, and they punted the ball back to the Mountaineers with over eight minutes to go.

Moore, who would finish the contest with 175 yards rushing, ran the ball seven times in the next nine-play, 73-yard touchdown drive, and the Spiders season was officially hanging in the balance, down 28-24 with 4:27 left in the contest. Richmond would not go down without a fight, however.

After yet another three-and-out, Richmond punted from their own 44-yard line. Linebacker Eric McBride made the play of the game by hitting return man Travaris Cadet, then simply stealing the ball from him and running it into the end zone for a startling turn of events. Suddenly the Spiders had regained the lead 31-28, and the momentum.

On this day though, it was the Mountaineers who were the team of destiny. They responded with their third straight dagger, a 12-play, 70 yard clock-eating touchdown drive to seal the victory.

Appalachian State held the advantage in total yards with 444 to Richmond's 347, while the Spiders won the time of possession battle by holding onto the ball for nearly eight more minutes.

A. State will face the top-seeded Montana Grizzlies in the next round, with the winner advancing to the national championship game.

The Richmond Spiders next home game will be in the new on-campus Robins Stadium next September. It is not certain who their head coach will be at that time. There are rumors circulating that Mike London may be on the short list to become the next head coach at the University of Virginia next season.

Chris Farmer is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report, and covers the Arizona Cardinals for NFL.com's BlogBlitz, Revenge of the Birds and NFLTouchdown.com.

He also writes about NFL and fantasy football for FantasyFootball.com and Top Fantasy Football as well as his own blog, Undrafteds.com.

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U of R Holds Off Elon 16-13 in first round of FCS Playoffs

Chris Farmer — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:25:13 +0000

Elon missed two late field goals to fall short of upsetting fourth-seeded Richmond in their first postseason appearance since 1981, losing 16-13 in the first round of the 2009 Football Championship Subdivision playoffs at U of R stadium. In a hard-hitting affair which saw two Elon players sidelined with significant injuries, Richmond barely escaped the barrage of the scrappy Phoenix and literally held on by a fraction of an inch.

After last weekend's hero Andrew Howard missed a 46-yard field goal try, Elon took over on their 29-yard line with 3:43 to play in the game, down by three points. QB Scott Riddle completed four straight passes to move Elon to the Richmond 10-yard line. On 2nd and 3, Riddle overthrew leading receiver Terrell Hudgins on a fade route to the the right hand corner of the end zone. On 3rd and 3, he tried the exact same play, only this time Hudgins caught the ball—albeit out of bounds. It was a borderline call that could have gone either way. If Hudgins was indeed out of bounds it was by no more than the width of his pinky toe. Elon kicker Adam Shreiner then missed a 27-yarder on the next play, and the Spiders took over on downs.

Even then, the game was not over. After holding Richmond to a three-and-out, Riddle again drove the Phoenix to the Spiders' 31-yard line on three straight completions to give Shreiner one more chance to tie the game from 48 yards out. Senior Parker Miles got a piece of the ball however, and it fell well short.

Richmond had jumped out to a 13-3 halftime lead, with the lone touchdown coming on the first play of the second quarter. Senior QB Eric Ward hit a crease and raced 74 yards for the score. Ward would finish with 136 yards rushing and 140 yards passing, while senior RB Justin Forte added 96 yards on the ground.

After the break, both teams notched field goals before Riddle hit Hudgins for 22-yard touchdown catch to cut the lead to three with nine minutes left in the contest. Riddle finished the game with 309 yards passing while Hudgins had 12 catches for 167 yards and a TD. For most, that is a career-best day. For Terrell Hudgins, the all-time leading receiver in FCS history, that is the 8th time in 12 games this season he has posted double digit catches in a game.

The Spiders held the Phoenix to a net of 27 rushing yards, and held the ball for nearly ten more minutes.

They will host the 5th seeded Appalachian State Mountaineers next Saturday for a rematch of last year's playoff game that U of R won 33-13 on A-St's home turf.

(Photo by Chris Farmer)

Chris Farmer writes about the NFL and Fantasy Football on his blog Undrafteds and Bleacher Report. He is also the Arizona Cardinals writer for NFLTouchdown.com and a blogging intern at FantasyFootball.com.

Spiders oust Tribe to claim Capital Cup, share of CAA title

Chris Farmer — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:19:03 +0000

Senior Kicker Andrew Howard booted a 48-yard field goal with :02 seconds remaining to lift Richmond to a thrilling 13-10 victory over William & Mary in the last ever U of R football game at 81-year old University of Richmond stadium. With the win the Spiders claimed not only the Capital Cup, the new name given to this rivalry in the 119th meeting between these two teams, but more importantly a share of the CAA title.

The heroic kick from Howard offered redemption. He missed what would have been the game winning kick two weeks ago in a 21-20 loss to Villanova. Then, earlier in this contest he missed on two opportunities to break a 3-3 tie, one from 28 yards out and one from 40. The misses were particularly painful because they came at the end of two nine-play Spider drives that ate up about five minutes of the clock apiece. Undaunted, Howard kept his composure and knocked down the one that counted most, sending the home crowd into a celebratory frenzy.

The game played out as it had appeared on paper before the initial whistle—two hard-nosed defenses going to war. William & Mary's defense, ranked No.1 against the run, held Richmond's running backs to 36 yards rushing and sacked Eric Ward five times. Richmond's No.3 rush defense held the league's leading rusher Jonathan Grimes to 41 yards rushing and intercepted R.J. Archer twice, the second of which set up the Spiders' game clinching drive.

Both teams now await the announcement of their matchups in the upcoming FCS playoffs. The pairings will be unveiled at 3:00pm Sunday by ESPNews.

Villanova snaps Richmond’s 17-game winning streak

Chris Farmer — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:43:51 +0000

The Richmond Spiders got a surprise visit from imperfection and walked off the field stunned with their 17-game winning streak snapped on Homecoming Weekend. Villanova was the more resilient top 5 ranked team on this day as they ended Richmond's hope of an undefeated season by winning in a thriller, 21-20.

While the Wildcats certainly lived up to their No.4 ranking, it was two botched extra point attempts and two missed field goals that ultimately sealed the No.1 ranked Spiders' fate.

Though Richmond had more total yards and first downs, it was Villanova that controlled much of the game, carrying their 14-6 halftime margin into the fourth quarter. Eric Ward rallied Richmond with two fourth quarter touchdown drives to take a 20-14 lead, but on their second botched snap of the game, the extra point try again failed. The mistake would prove costly.

Villanova's game-winning drive began with 2:22 remaining. QB Chris Whitney hit WR Brandyn Harvey three times on the drive, the last a spectacular one-handed 29-yard touchdown snare on 4th and 11.

Even then the Spiders were not finished. With :59 seconds remaining, Ward again coolly directed Richmond on a 7-play 59-yard drive that put them in field goal range. The 35-yard attempt however squibbed wide left.

The Spiders had found a way to win in these types of game all season, and when LB Patrick Weldon intercepted a pass and returned it 70 yards to give them great field position to begin the 4th quarter trailing 14-6, it looked as though the tide had turned once more. After completing a TD pass to WR Tre Gray to pull them within two, Ward connected on the two-point conversion with Jordan Mitchell to make up for the missed extra point earlier in the game to tie it at 14. It seemed as if Richmond was a team of destiny, and they were about to ride the momentum swing to victory.

In the end, missed opportunities and mistakes were too much to overcome.

Eric Ward became the Spiders' all-time leader in passing yards, surpassing former great Bob Bleier.

No.1 Richmond stonewalls UMass 34-12

Chris Farmer — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:30:57 +0000

The visiting Minutemen from the University of Massachusetts scored on their opening drive to take a 3-0 lead, but couldn't score again until the fourth quarter with the game out of reach as the Richmond Spiders forced six turnovers in a 34-12 home victory. The Spiders have now won 16 straight, the longest active streak in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), to retain their No.1 ranking in both the FCS and the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

The Spiders (7-0) are undefeated for a reason. Game after game when one unit struggles, another steps up. They have a knack for getting exactly what they need precisely when they need it. On September 12th at Delaware, WR Kevin Grayson blocked a field goal attempt with 38 seconds remaining to eek out a one-point win.Versus visiting VMI with his defense giving up 28 points, QB Eric Ward passed for 394 yards and 3 TDs. Two games ago, NT Martin Parker forced a turnover on JMU's final drive to secure a narrow four-point victory in Harrisonburg.

Today, in wet and windy conditions, Ward could only muster eight completions on 20 attempts for a meager 52 yards, with zero TDs and one interception, not the kind of stat line you'd expect from the Preseason All-American. Filling the void in production was senior RB Justin Forte who gained 118 yards on 26 carries, punching two of them into the end zone. Forte came into the game as the CAA's top rusher and is now averaging 113 yards in his last four contests.

The MVP of the day though was the Spiders' 'Stonewall Defense.' They held UMass to 62 yards rushing on 30 carries for a measly 2.1 yards per carry average. Junior DB Justin Rogers forced an interception and recovered a fumble, and five other Spiders also collected picks on the day as they rattled and harassed both UMass QBs, Kyle Havens and Scott Woodward, all day long.

With the win Richmond ties a school record for the best start to a season, matched only by the 1985 squad who went 7-0 but then lost game No.8.

Ward carries Spiders to close victory over VMI Keydets

Chris Farmer — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:15:13 +0000

University of Richmond Senior QB Eric Ward sliced and diced VMI's secondary en route to a career high 394 yards passing and 3 TDs to lead the Spiders to a 38-28 home victory over the Keydets yesterday. On a day when the Spiders Defense needed a little help, Ward put the team on his back and again delivered.

Richmond's career leader in completion pct. (62.0), completed 28 of his 39 passes, and spread the wealth by connecting with six different receivers. Ward's success was bolstered by RB Justin Forte's career high 152 yards rushing, marking the first time this season a Spider RB has eclipsed the century mark.

Despite putting up 548 yards of total offense, the eighth-best total in Spider history, victory was not a sure thing. In head coach Mike London's weekly presser, he reminded us that last week's game can't help you win this week's game. Seems rather prophetic given the fight the #1 ranked University of Richmond Spiders found themselves in today after blowing out Hofstra last Saturday. Even Ward was not flawless.

It was VMI who scored first, taking a 7-0 lead on a 44-yard TD pass from QB Kyle Hughes to RB Tim Maypray on the first play following a Ward fumble, stunning the U of R crowd. Richmond however thundered back to score on three consecutive possessions, the third on a beautiful 53-yard completion to emerging sophomore WR Donte Boston to take a 21-7 lead. Boston's 7 catches for 125 yards are career highs.

VMI remained undaunted. On a 3rd and 8 at the their 29-yard line with less than nine minutes before halftime, a missed tackle in the flat enabled Keydet slotback Bryan Barnson to scamper for 51 yards to the U of R 20 yard line. Six plays later, Hughes found junior WR Mario Scott for a TD to pull close the gap to 21-14.

Richmond opened up the second half with a 4-play, 66 yard TD drive that included another pretty long ball from Ward, a 44-yarder to WR Tre Gray that set up a 5-yard TD run by RB Tyler Kirchoff. The Spiders hoped to put the game out of reach with a FG that extended their lead to 31-14 midway through the third quarter. The pesky Keydets would not go away however.

After the teams traded scores to make it 38-20, Kyle Hughes followed his electrifying 66-yard TD run by running in the two point conversion to cut the lead to ten and putting the balance of the game in doubt with 8:46 to go. The Spiders Defense then stiffened when it needed to lifting U of R to 4-0 on the season for their school record 13th straight win.

(Image courtesy of Scott K. Brown, SKB Photography)

UR vs. Hofstra: Can you say “blowout”?

Chris Farmer — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:14:18 +0000

What a way to kickoff the 81st and final season of Richmond Spider Football at the University of Richmond Stadium at 600 McCloy Street. The defending NCAA Champion and #1 ranked Spiders routed visiting Hofstra Pride 47-0 to push their record to 3-0 and extend their winning streak to 12, the longest active winning streak in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Senior QB Eric Ward continued his strong play by completing 12 of 16 passes for 165 yards and a ridiculous 4 TDs, before being pulled in the third quarter with Richmond sporting a comfortable 38-0 lead. The Preseason All-American also chipped in with 24 of the team's season best 213 yards rushing, which opened up the passing game and methodically wore down Hofstra's Defense.

It was the Spiders' Defense, however, that firmly denied the Pride of having any chance in this game. Led by D-lineman Nicholas Battle's two forced fumbles, Richmond recovered four total fumbles in the first half which led to their first 24 points. They mugged and swarmed Hofstra's Offense all game, holding them to a meager 13 yards rushing on 34 carries for an alarmingly pitiful average of .4 yards per carry.

Head Coach Mike London commented, "It was huge to get the turnovers. It's a great thing to see the things you preach in practice come to fruition in games. Our offense was great managing the game and getting the ball to the play-makers. The significance of the turnovers was huge."

Team captain Ward added "They (the defense) gave us the ball and I just said to the huddle `Ok let's turn this into a touchdown'. Then we kicked it into gear." Kick it into gear they did. When Hofstra's pressure threatened to collapse the pocket around Ward, he usually found a way out of the jam with nimble footwork. When he had the time to throw he was on point, such as when he targeted sophomore Donte Boston in stride for a beautiful 49-yard TD, the first of Boston's career.

Stadium note: construction has begun on the Spider's future on campus home, with a target completion date of Fall 2010. This is essentially a major facelift for the existing First Market Stadium, currently home for University of Richmond soccer, lacrosse, and track and field programs.

(Image courtesy of Scott K. Brown, SKB Photography)