University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Bucknell
Hightower Breaks School Record As Spiders Bash Bucknell, 45-14
09/22/2007 | Football
Sept. 22, 2007
Box Score | Notes | Audio Highlights
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Tim Hightower broke the school's single-game rushing record, carrying the ball 24 times for 295 yards and leading Richmond to a 45-14 victory over Bucknell Saturday in Lewisburg, Pa. The senior, who scored four touchdowns, became the first running back in school history to record back-to-back 200-yard performances.
Hightower, two weeks removed from a 246-yard, four-TD performance at Northeastern, broke the school record previously held by former NFL star Barry Redden. On 51 carries, Redden tacked 280 yards on Penn in a Nov. 26, 1981 game. Hightower did his damage on less than half as many attempts, averaging 12.3 yards per rush against the Bison.
In two consecutive games, the Waldorf, Md. native, who entered Saturday's game seventh in the nation (FCS) in rushing, has amassed 541 yards on just 43 carries (12.6 average) and scored eight touchdowns.
Sophomore Eric Ward was 13-of-21 passing for 207 yards, surpassing 200 yards for the second time in his two-year career. Redshirt freshman Kevin Grayson hauled in six catches for a career-best 118 yards. Josh Vaughan and Ward scored the Spiders' other two touchdowns.
The Spiders' (2-1) 612 yards of total offense is the second-most in a game all-time, behind the school-record 642 yards versus Northeastern two weeks ago.
Richmond scored on its first four possessions of the game and led 24-7 midway through the second quarter. Hightower scored from 37 yards out on the Spiders' first drive, Ward snuck it in from a yard on the second, sophomore Andrew Howard drilled a 40-yard field goal on the next and Hightower found pay dirt again on a 36-yarder with 9:19 left in the half.
Ward, Hightower and Grayson each surpassed the 100-yard mark in the opening 30 minutes and took the 24-7 lead into the break. Ward was 10-for-17 before halftime with 175 yards and a touchdown run. Hightower had two TD's at the break and carried nine times for 115 yards, while Grayson caught five balls for 105 yards, including a big catch over the middle for 26 yards on third-and-five during Richmond's third drive.
On a day where the Spiders enjoyed another dazzling offensive performance, it was a key defensive play by DB Seth Williams that may have been the game's turning point. With the Bison showing new life early in the second half and knocking on the door for their second TD in as many possessions, Williams intercepted a pass in the back of the end zone, a possession after the Bison had scored to cut the Spiders' lead to 24-14.
Hightower then carried the ball twice on the ensuing two-play drive, once for 23 yards then 57 yards for a touchdown, to slam the door on the Bison momentum. In the last two games, six of Hightower's eight touchdowns have come on runs of longer than 36 yards. The four today were jaunts of 37, 36, 57 and 52 yards.
Defensively, redshirt freshman LB Eric McBride had a career-best 10 tackles with a sack and a fumble recovery. Fellow LB, sophomore Colin McConaghy, had nine tackles and the first two sacks of his collegiate career. DT Martin Parker was in on seven tackles and recovered a fumble, while DE Lawrence Sidbury, Jr. had five tackles, and a game-high two-and-half for loss. Sherman Logan, Andrew Harris and Williams were each in on six stops.
As a team, Richmond sacked Bucknell (1-3) five times, recovered two fumbles, intercepted a pass and Grayson partially-blocked a punt. The Bison were limited to just 290 yards of total offense -- 91 in the air. QB Terrance Wilson scored on a 39-yard TD run early in the second half. He finished the game with 10 yards passing and 36 on the ground.
Richmond averaged nine yards per play and punted just once.
The Spiders are home for the first time next weekend, hosting nationally-ranked New Hampshire at UR Stadium on Family Weekend in a key CAA Football game. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET in game that will be televised live by CN8. For tickets, call 1-877-SPIDER-1.
