University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Delaware
No. 1 Richmond Survives At Delaware, 16-15
09/12/2009 | Football
Sept. 12, 2009
NEWARK, Del. - Junior WR Kevin Grayson blocked a potential game-winning 23-yard field goal with 38 seconds left and No. 1 Richmond escaped with a 16-15 come-from-behind win at Delaware in the CAA Football opener for both teams Saturday in Newark, Del.
Senior QB Eric Ward was 22-of-32 passing with 247 yards and a touchdown, and also was the Spiders' leading rusher with 46 yards and a score as Richmond survived another memorable game between the two CAA powers at Delaware Stadium.
The victory extended Richmond's winning streak to a new school-record 11 games, stretched the team's school-record road winning streak to eight consecutive and marked the team's first win as a No. 1-ranked team since 1985.
The Spiders owned a 306-254 edge in total yards, held the ball for nine more minutes and picked up four more first downs.
Richmond (2-0, 1-0 CAA) scored the game's final nine points, rallying from 15-7 down to secure its fourth-straight CAA-opening win. Ward's one-yard sneak early in the fourth quarter pulled the Spiders within 15-13, but their two-point conversion attempt - a pass to Jordan Mitchell - was incomplete.
That's when the Richmond defense buckled down and limited the Blue Hens (1-1, 0-1) to just 17 total plays and 69 total yards on their final four drive of the game, which resulted in two punts, a Darryl Hamilton interception and the field goal block.
Hamilton's interception helped set up the Spiders' go-ahead field goal as he made an acrobatic pick of a Pat Devlin pass over the middle and returned it 33 yards to the Delaware 10. Richmond gained just four yards on the series, but senior Andrew Howard drilled a 23-yard field goal with 5:33 left, putting the Spiders on top for the first time in the game. The redshirt freshman safety had three tackles, forced a fumble to go with his first career interception.
Junior LB Patrick Weldon led the defensive effort with 11 tackles as the Spiders allowed just 254 yards of total offense - 109 on the ground. Delaware QB Pat Devlin finished the game 15-of-31 for 167 yards, no touchdowns and was sacked twice.
Ward, who was not sacked for the second-straight game, completed passes to eight different receivers. Sophomore Tre Gray led the effort with six big catches for 68 yards and a TD. Grayson reeled in three for 39 yards. Ward's 247 yards passing stand as the third-most in his career and was his 11th career 200-yard passing game.
Delaware stuck for the game's first eight points, cashing in on a safety and a pair of John Striefsky field goals in the Blue Hens' upset bid.
The Spiders experienced long-snapping trouble for the second-straight week as punter Brian Radford watched the ball sail over his head deep in Richmond territory midway through the first quarter. Radford kicked the ball out of the end zone, resulting in a 2-0 Delaware lead.
The Blue Hens widened that margin to 5-0 on the ensuing drive with a 33-yard field goal from Striefsky. His second kick - from 28 yards - made it 8-0 with 5:33 left in the first half.
That's when Richmond embarked on a 12-play, 63-yard drive in 5:02 that ended in an eight-yard strike from Ward to Gray with 23 seconds left in the half.
It was 8-7 at the break and Devlin's seven-yard keeper gave the Blue Hens, and their home crowd of 20,800, breathing room at 15-7 with 10:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Charles Graves had both of Delaware's interceptions - picking off Ward in the third quarter and a Donte Boston pass out of the wildcat formation in the second quarter. Those were Richmond's first two turnovers of the season.
Richmond is home next Saturday to open the 81st and final season at UR Stadium. Hofstra is the opponent for the 3:30 p.m. Kickoff as the Spiders will raise the National Championship banner in a pregame ceremony.
Players Mentioned
