University of Richmond Athletics
Inside The Game: Oldest Rivalry In The South Returns
11/20/2002 | Football
Nov. 20, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
The fourth oldest rivalry in college football commences for the 112th time at Noon on
Saturday, November 23. Richmond (3-7, 3-5) and William and Mary (6-4, 5-3) battle for regional
bragging rights at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, Va.
The game will be broadcast on the Atlantic 10 Television Network. The Spiders and Tribe were
also featured on the A-10 Network when they played in 2000. Richmond captured a 21-18 decision
that day and clinched the conference title.
The following are game notes for this Saturday's game:
An Age-Old Rivalry ... Today's game marks the 112th time that Richmond and William & Mary have met on the football field ... The Spiders and Tribe are the oldest rivalry in the South and the fourth oldest in college football (D-I) ... The series began in 1898 with a 15-0 UR win ... No games were played in 1900, 1902 or 1943 ... The schools met twice in 1906, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916 and 1917 ... They played three times in 1905 and 1919 ... They have met one a year since 1920 (except 1943) ... Listed below are the top five series in Division I entering this season:
Common Date In This Rivalry ... Saturday's game marks the sixth time that Richmond and William and Mary will play on November 23 ... The series is tied 2-2-1 on this date, with both of the Tribe's wins equaling their largest margin of victory in the 111 all-time meetings ... The first contest on that date happened in 1927 when the two program battled to a 0-0 tie ... They met again in 1961 when Richmond won 36-18 ... The third Nov. 23 meeting came in 1968 when the Spiders claimed a 31-6 victory ... In 1974, William and Mary captured its first Nov. 23 win, 54-12 ... The most recent contest was played in 1991 when William and Mary raced to a 49-7 win.
The Senior Class ... The 2002 Richmond senior class features 18 student-athletes that have contributed greatly to the tradition of Spiders football ... This class has won 21 games to this point, including a program-record 10 in 2000 ... That squad captured the Atlantic 10 Championship and advanced to the second round of the I-AA playoffs ... These seniors were instrumental in establishing new program recods for rushing yards (2,932 in 2000) and rushing first downs (156 in 2000) ... Last year's Spider defense set program records for fewest rushing yards allowed (958) and first downs allowed rushing (56).
Three Close To 100 ... For the first time since the 1995 season, three Spiders could reach the 100-tackle plateau ... Senior Mark Thompson established a career-high with 106 tackles after 10 games ... He is followed by senior Ramon Richeson's 95 tackles and senior Adrian Archie's 90 stops ... In 1995, Bryan Leibrand recorded a team-high 129 tackles, Cary Goodwin made 113 stops and Lamont Neal chipped in 109 ... The last duo to record 100+ tackles came in 1999 when David Giles led Richmond with 110 tackles and Mac Janney added 101 stops.
The Defensive Leader ... Senior Mark Thompson has recorded 10-or-more tackles in five consecutive games and eight of Richmond's 10 contests this fall ... The linebacker leads the Spiders with 106 stops and is the first Richmond player to record more than 100 tackles since David Giles (110) and Mac Janney (101) accomplished the feat in 1999 ... Thompson has recorded a tackle for loss in seven games this season and ranks second on the team with 12.5.
The Game Breaker ... Junior Boyd Ouden's 802 receiving yards ranks seventh on Richmond's all-time single-season list ... His mark is the highest by a Spider receiver since Leland Melvin caught 60 balls for 829 yards in 1984 ... The Woodbridge, Va., native has averaged more than 20.0 yards per catch in five consecutive games and eight times his fall ... Ouden leads the team with 42 points on seven touchdowns ... Last fall, he led the team with 221 receiving yards.
Senior Atlantic 10 Leaders ... Four senior Spiders, playing in their final game today, sit atop the Atlantic 10 rankings ... Senior safety Mark Thompson leads the league with five fumbles recovered ... Thompson also ranks fourth in the conference, averaging 10.3 tackles per game.
Playing It Close ... Although Maine defeated Richmond 21-14, the two teams played an extremely close game ... Both teams registered 17 first downs (9 rushing, 7 passing and 1 penalty) ... Maine gained 324 yards to Richmond's 322 ... Both teams ran for 144 yards, while the Black Bears passed for 180 to the Spiders' 178.
Coach Jim Reid previews the Spiders' season finale at William & Mary this weekend
Senior DB Ramon Richeson talks about playing his last game in a Spider uniform against the Tribe
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