University of Richmond Athletics
Richmond 62, Delaware 56 (5 OT) -- Postgame Notes
11/11/2007 | Football
Nov. 11, 2007
• Richmond improved to 8-2 overall, 6-1 in CAA Football and wins the conference's South Division title.
• The win is Richmond's fifth-consecutive; the team's longest since taking an eight-game winning streak into the Second Round of the 2005 NCAA Playoffs.
• Richmond improved to 7-1 all-time in overtime games (2-0 under head coach Dave Clawson). It marked the Spiders' first OT game since winning at No. 23 Hofstra, 43-37, in double-OT on Oct. 22, 2005.
• Thanks to the 62 points, the Spiders set a new school-record for points scored in a season. Richmond has put 371 points on the board in 2007 (37.1/game), shattering the old record of 349 by the 2005 squad.
• Under head coach Dave Clawson, Richmond improved to 18-0 when scoring 30 points or more, 23-2 when leading at the half and 15-7 when playing as a ranked team (6-3 on the road). Since 2005, Richmond is 8-4 versus ranked opponents (4-0 this season).
• The game by the numbers: 10 lead changes, six ties, 118 combined points, five overtime periods, 1,044 yards of total offense, 174 plays from scrimmage, 52 first downs, one turnover, six total penalties, 15 touchdowns, five punts, four field goals, 25 combined incomplete passes, 21,187 in attendance
• With five overtimes, the game ranked as the longest in school history. It surpassed the four-OT game that Richmond played against Massachusetts (a 52-51 UR win) in 1987 - the first year the NCAA instituted the overtime process.
• In terms of time, the game lasted just three-and-a-half hours, making it just 10 minutes longer than the New Hampshire game earlier this season.
• With 118 combined points, it ranked as the highest scoring game in school history, surpassing the 103 points scored in the 52-51 Richmond four-OT win over UMass in 1987. The 62 points by the Spiders is tied for the third-most in school history and the most points since 1943. Richmond beat Randolph-Macon, 80-0, in 1917, beat the Norfolk Marines, 74-7, in 1943 and beat Randolph-Macon again, 62-7, in 1920.
• The 118 points is the highest point total in CAA Football since New Hampshire beat Maine, 59-47, in 2005 and ranks as the second-highest scoring game in league history.
• Walter Payton Award candidate Tim Hightower entered the game needing just 11 all-purpose yards to break Richmond's career record of 4,000, set by Erwin Matthews between 1985 and 1988. He ended the game with 113 all-purpose yards. Hightower is 201 yards away from the single-season all-purpose yards record of 1,895 held by Matthews.
• With 113 yards on the ground, Hightower now stands just 129 yards shy of the Spiders' single-season rushing record and 232 away from the Spiders' career mark. The single-season record of 1,629 is held by Barry Redden (1981) and Uly Scott owns the career mark of 3,520 (1991-94).
• Sophomore QB Eric Ward set a new career-high with four TD passes. He also ran for a career-high 81 yards on 12 carries. He has played two consecutive games and four of the last five without throwing an interception.
• Ward is currently eighth at Richmond in single-season completions (158) and tied for 10th in single-season TD passes (12). If the season ended today, Ward would set a new school record with his single-season completion percentage of 62.2 (158-for-254). The current record of 61.8 (186-of-301) was set by Bob Bleier in 1985.
• Seth Williams' interception return for touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half for the first for the Spiders since David Horton's versus Rhode Island last season. It was also the first allowed by Delaware since 2005.
• Sophomore Jordan Mitchell's touchdown reception in overtime was the first of his collegiate career.
• Defensively, freshman DL Martin Parker had a career game by collecting a career and game-high 15 tackles (nine solo). He also forced a fumble and recorded his third career sack.
• Eric McBride and Andrew Harris were each in on 13 tackles, marking a new career-high for Harris.
