University of Richmond Athletics
Eric Ward, Matt McCracken Earn Touchdown Club Of Richmond Awards
12/09/2009 | Football
Dec. 9, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Senior QB Eric Ward, who received more first-place votes but was runner-up for the Dudley Award, was named Virginia's top offensive back and senior LG Matt McCracken was honored as the best offensive lineman at the annual Touchdown Club of Richmond awards banquet Tuesday night.
The Dudley Award is presented annually to best Division-I football player in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and although receiving more first-place votes, Ward was the runner-up to Virginia Tech senior safety Cody Grimm. It marks the 17th time in the 20-year history of the award that either a Tech or Virginia player has won.
Defensive tackle Marc Megna (1998) is the only Spider to take the trophy.
The Dudley Award is voted on by a panel of journalists and is named for former University of Virginia star Bill Dudley, the No. 1 pick in the 1942 draft.
Ward received four first-place votes and 29 points overall. Grimm had three first-place tallies but received 35 points to win the award by a narrow margin. Arthur Moats of James Madison (2, 19) and Adrian Tracy of William & Mary (2, 16) were the other finalists.
Ward capped one of the winningest careers by a quarterback in FCS history by leading his team to the 2009 CAA Football Championship and a fourth-seed in the NCAA Division I Football Championship.
The owner of every career passing record at Richmond, Ward ended his career with a record of 41-12, was 17-7 versus Top-25 ranked teams and 7-2 in the Playoffs. Under Ward's watch, the Spiders captured two conference crowns (2007, 2009), made three-consecutive Playoffs appearances and were the 2008 National Champions.
The Atlanta, Ga. native finished as the eighth-highest all-time passer in CAA Football history (8,969) and is ranked fifth in total offense (10,375). On the FCS all-time list, Ward's 10,375 yards of total offense ranks 27th.
McCracken was the anchor to an offensive line among the most-experienced in the FCS. One of four seniors that started on the line, McCracken has earned All-America honors in 2007 and 2008 and is looking to become the first three-time All-America in school history.
The senior helped the Spiders rank fourth in rushing offense (158.8 yards/game) and second in sacks allowed (18 in 13 games). The line helped pave the way for senior Justin Forte, who became the team's third-straight running back to earn All-CAA Football honors.
Former Spider Lawrence Sidbury, who was a fourth-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons, earned the Touchdown Club of Richmond Award for best defensive lineman last season.
