University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
No. 7 Delaware
Delaware Slips Past Richmond, 24-17
12/28/2000 | Football
Oct. 7, 2000
RICHMOND, Va. - Delaware freshman wide receiver Jamin Elliot caught an 83-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Nagy to lift the Blue Hens to a 24-17 come-from-behind victory over Richmond this afternoon in Atlantic 10 football action at UR Stadium.
With the win, Delaware improves to 6-0 overall and remain atop the Atlantic 10 standings at 3-0-0, while Richmond falls to 3-2 on the campaign and 1-1 in conference action.
Elliott's catch capped a comeback which saw the Blue Hens respond from a 17-0 first half deficit. In the opening half, the Spiders seemingly move the ball at will. Richmond quarterback Sean Gustus opened the scoring, finishing off a five-play, 74-yard drive with a quarterback sprint up the middle at 12:40 of the first quarter.
Gustus keyed another Spider drive in the closing moments of the opening quarter, engineering an 10-play, 32-yard drive that concluded with a Doug Kirchner 27-yard field goal to put the Spiders ahead 10-0. In what would be the Spiders final scoring drive of the day, a 52-yard scoring play from Gustus to wide receiver Boyd Ouden gave the Spiders a 17-0 advantage with 13:18 to play before halftime. For Ouden, it was his first collegiate pass reception.
Delaware responded in the second quarter when Nagy found Greg Penecale on an 18-yard TD pass at the 10:03 mark. The Blue Hens sliced the Spiders lead to 17-14 just before intermission when James O'Neal finished off a seven-play, 40-yard scoring drive with a six-yard gallop into the end zone.
In the opening half, Richmond rushed for 136 yards on 28 carries with Gustus leading the way (61 yards on 11 carries).
Following a scoreless third quarter, Delaware knotted the game with 12:49 remaining when Scott Collins hit a 27-yard field goal. In a defensive struggle, Delaware broke through with the decisive play when Nagy lofted a soft pass for Eliott to run under down the left sideline with 1:12 remaining in regulation. On a similar play a series earlier, Delaware had nearly been burned on a similar play, when Richmond defensive back Jason Hill jumped a curl route and nearly picked off a pass with only green grass and the end zone in front of him.
Delaware entered the game ranked first in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense and second in rush defense, but the Spiders amassed 210 yards on the ground with Gustus totaling 86 yards on 22 carries. Meanwhile, Richmond's rush defense yielded just 61 yards on 34 Blue Hen carries.
For Delaware, Nagy was 15-for-33 for 274 yards. He threw for two touchdowns, was intercepted once and sacked once.
Richmond returns to action on Saturday, October 14, visiting New Hampshire at 12 p.m. Delaware, meanwhile, visits William and Mary next Saturday at 1 p.m.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Delaware | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
| Richmond | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
UR: 1Q 12:40 Sean Gustus 25 yard run (Doug Kirchner kick)
UR: 1Q 0:08 Doug Kirchner 27 yard field goal
UR: 2Q 13:18 Boyd Ouden 52 yard tourchdown pass from Gustus (Doug Kirchner kick)
UD: 2Q 10:03 Greg Penecale 18 yard touchdown pass from Matt Nagy (Scott Collins kick)
UD: 2Q :51 James O'Neal 6 yard touchdown run (Scott Collins kick)
UD: 4Q 12:49 Scott Collins 27 yard field goal
UD: 4Q 1:12 Jamin Elliott 83 yard touchdown pass from Matt Nagy (Scott Collins kick)
Rushing: UD: O'Neal 15-45, Pressey 6-24, Cummings: 7-11, Team 2 (-5), Nagy 4 (-14), TOTALS: 53-210. UR: Gustus 22-78, Diggs 9-43, Turner 8-35, Fulton 6-30, Purnell 6-28, Team 2 (-4), TOTALS: 34-61.
Passing: UD: O'Neal 33-15-1-274. UR: Gustus 14-9-1-109.
Receiving: UD: Elliott 5-126, Veach 5-77, Cummings 2-30, Penecale 1-18, Pressey 1-14, O'Neal 1-9, TOTALS: 15-274. UR: Turner 3-19, Millard 2-25, Oden 1-52, Tolhurst 1-10, Gustus 1-2, Dantzler 1-1, TOTALS: 9-109.
