University of Richmond Athletics
White Beats Blue, 20-13, in Annual Richmond Spring Football Game
04/07/2007 | Football
April 7, 2007
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Jonathan Mayfield caught a 30-yard pass from Will Healy as time expired to lead the White Team to a 20-13 victory in the University of Richmond's Annual Spring Football Game Saturday afternoon. A crowd of 1,426 was on hand at First Market Stadium to watch the Spiders' final official tune-up of the spring season.
Healy led the White Team, which was comprised of Richmond's second-team offense and first-team defense, by going 17-for-28 with 181 yards and a touchdown. The rising junior from Chattanooga, Tenn. also ran for a score.
"It was a typical spring game," said head coach Dave Clawson. "I think the defensive was able to establish some momentum early in the game and the offense was able to pick up some momentum in the second half."
For the Blue, starting sophomore-to-be QB Eric Ward was 14-for-26 with 147 yards and two touchdowns. Both QBs threw an interception. The Blue's Arman Shields was the game's leading receiver as the rising senior reeled in both of Ward's TD passes and finished with 107 yards on nine receptions.
"It was great to see Shields and Ward hook up today," said Clawson. "I'm excited because we have the potential to be able to spread it out offensively next year."
The tandem connected for Blue's only scoring plays in the game. The first came after Ward bobbled the snap and found his senior wideout streaking down the left side for a 47-yard pass that put Blue up 7-6 near the end of the first half.
Shields then made an acrobatic catch at the back of the end zone which knotted the score at 13-13 early in the fourth quarter. That score capped a 70-yard drive by Blue, which featured two big runs by senior-to-be Tim Hightower. Hightower finished with 11 carries for 59 yards.
Dusty Dean had a big day defensively as he was credited with a game-high seven tackles. The rising sophomore linebacker also knocked down three passes and blocked a punt. Redshirt freshmen-to-be Eric McBride and Patrick Weldon along with junior-to-be Travis Warren each finished with five tackles. Weldon added an interception.
"We lost a lot of experience on the defense from last year," said Clawson. "But I think we are going to be must faster next season."
The White Team jumped on the scoreboard first as rising sophomore Justin Forte scored from two yards out, finishing off an impressive 78-yard drive early in the second quarter. Another two-yard run, this time by Healy, put White up 13-7 midway through the third. Healy set that score up with a 50-yard pass down the middle to redshirt freshman Max Prokell on the prior play.
Prokell finished with four catches for 74 yards. Rising sophomore TE William Bischoff caught three passes for 36 yards, while redshirt freshman RB Tyler Kirchoff rushed seven times for 21 yards.
Scoring by Quarter:
White 0-6-7-7 = 20
Blue 0-7-0-6 = 13
Passing Leaders:
Healy (White): 17/28, 181 yds., 1 TD, 1 INT
Ward (Blue): 14/26, 147 yds., 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Leaders:
Hightower: 11/59 yds.
Kirchoff: 7/21 yds.
Forte: 5/16 yds, 1 TD
Recieving Leaders:
Shields: 9/107 yds., 2 TD
Prokell: 4/74 yds., 1 TD
Mayfield: 3/56 yds., 1 TD
Defensive Leaders:
Dean: 7 T, 3 PD, 1 blocked punt
Weldon: 5 T, 1 INT
Ireland: 3 T, 1 INT, 1 FR
