University of Richmond Athletics
Brian Burnette Named A Football Gazette Player Of The Week
10/13/2005 | Football
Oct. 13, 2005
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond senior linebacker Brian Burnette picked up his second weekly honor Thursday, Football Gazette officials announced. The Chesterfield, Va., native was named The Football Gazette's National Defensive Player of the Week, after helping the Spiders to a 38-20 win against Villanova, Saturday at UR Stadium.
Burnette was part of a defensive effort which allowed just 17 yards rushing by the Wildcats, and limited Villanova to just one touchdown the entire second half. The co-captain recorded a career-best 14 stops in the contest and garnered the first interception of his career. The pick, which came in the fourth quarter, resulted in a 31-yard touchdown scamper by Burnette, helping put the Spiders in front 38-20. It marked the second interception return for a touchdown this season for Richmond, the other coming in the win at Maine, by junior linebacker Lance Gray, who picked up player of the week honors following that game.
Burnette finished the game with a team-high nine assisted tackles, two tackles-for-loss equalling 13 yards, a pass deflection and a 12-yard sack. His defensive effort helped give the Spiders a 2-1 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference for the first time since 2000, when they went on to win the A-10 and advanced to the second round of the 1-AA playoffs.
The Spiders (2-3, 2-1 A10) return to action this weekend when they host the 22nd-ranked Delaware Blue Hens (3-2, 0-2 A10) at UR Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon (EST). The contest was originally scheduled to be played at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Del., at 3 p.m., but due to unplayable field conditions the game was moved to Richmond.
