Blue Hens Peck Spiders in CAA Opener
The Delaware Blue Hens (4-0) did what Elon could not: serve the Richmond Spiders (1-2) their first home loss in the new Robins Stadium. The 34-13 loss to #7 ranked Delaware drops Richmond to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the CAA standings.
The Delaware Blue Hens (4-0) did what Elon could not: serve the Richmond Spiders (1-2) their first home loss in the new Robins Stadium. The 34-13 loss to #7 ranked Delaware drops Richmond to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the CAA standings.
A sellout crowd packed a lot of enthusiasm into the 8,700-seat stadium during UR Parents Weekend. Fans were upbeat despite the early heat and lack of a breeze, which helped the Spiders defense string together several stops before the Blue Hens struck first nearing the end of the first quarter. Senior QB Pat Devlin connected several passes as they pushed down the field, including a 39 yarder to wideout Phillip Thaxton. That set up a 7-yard run for freshman Trevor Sasek for the Blue Hens’ first 6 points. Spider special teams blocked the extra point attempt, their 2nd blocked PAT in as many games.
The Blue Hen defense kept UR quarterback Aaron Corp from scoring on the next Spider possession. The Hens then promptly drove 55 yards for a quick 7 points and a 13-0 lead. The Spiders rallied back and put together a 64-yard scoring drive, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown reception by Kevin Finney with 30 seconds left in the half. Spider kicker Will Kamin missed his first career extra point attempt, leaving the Spiders down 13-6 at the half.
The Spiders showed signs of a comeback at the beginning of the second half. The Blue Hen offense was stopped on the Spider 34 and Aaron Corp took over after an 8-yard punt was shanked perpendicularly out of bounds and into the stands. Corp looked sharp, completing passes to Tyler Kirchoff and Kendall Gaskins for 10 and 19 yards. Freshman running back Jovan Smith broke a 31-yard run and a 3-yard TD run by Kirchoff capped off the drive. Kamin converted the point after to tie the game at 13-13.
As the temperature finally cooled, the Blue Hens heated up and scored on their next drive and never looked back. They scored twice more in the 4th quarter without much resistance to seal the Spiders’ fate. Corp and crew were never able to string together enough first downs to gain any momentum.
Apparently the fans felt the Spiders were playing too conservatively as well. The student section nearly emptied out during the 3rd quarter with only a couple hundred hardy fans left at the end of the game. Aaron Corp and his receivers have demonstrated their ability to play long ball so it’s frustrating to see them reined in when falling behind against an evenly matched team. Jovan Smith and Tyler Kirchoff put up some impressive individual performances as well. One can only wonder what the Spiders are capable of without one hand tied behind their backs.
The Spiders take on Coastal Carolina next Saturday at Robins Stadium at 1pm.
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Andrew Miller
Andrew Miller is a University of Richmond alum who now owns and operates YourSearchAdvisor, providing SEO consulting and services to clients on the local and national level . You can follow his thoughts and musings on Twitter @AndrewCMiller.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
What?
“The student section nearly emptied out during the 3rd quarter.”
I know it’s progress that they’re inside the stadium now instead of outside, but come on.
(Full disclosure: I went to one game at my school and left at halftime. Then again, we never won a national championship.)
I was guilty of leaving UR games early as an undergrad, but that was 1) in City Stadium, 2) off campus, and 3) before the national championship.
Frankly, I expected more student support with an on-campus stadium.
I know UR students have a Rowdy side. It’s pretty apparent at basketball games in the Robins Center. Hopefully one day that will translate to the new stadium.
If the students aren’t firing up the crowd, the older alumni and donors certainly aren’t going to be vocal.
What? We don’t have any chants? Maybe we should start there…