University of Richmond
9-3
North Carolina A&T
9-3
Johnson, Spiders Roll To 39-10 Playoff Win Over N.C. A&T
11/26/2016 | Football
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – It doesn't matter what sport it is, the postseason is a time when new stars emerge.
That new star for the University of Richmond football team came in the form of sophomore Kevin Johnson, who took off his own redshirt to play in the Spiders' FCS Playoff game against North Carolina A&T on Saturday.
Johnson tossed for 315 yards and a touchdown to lead Richmond past the Aggies, 39-10, for their fourth playoff win in the past three seasons. The Spiders are one of just five schools in the country with a playoff win in each of the past three years.
“I can't say enough about how proud I am of this team and the way they stepped up this week, showing true toughness and resiliency,” Head Coach Danny Rocco said. “This has not been the easiest year and sit here with nine wins, a third straight year with a playoff win and another opportunity against a tremendous opponent next week, it really says a lot about those guys in that locker room.”
In his first career start, Johnson went 15-of-23 for 315 yards and his first career passing TDs. He also added 22 yards on the ground and a rushing TD.
Senior Brian Brown added to his illustrious career with three catches for 75 and a TD. The TD tied the all-time program record with 22, equaling Walker Gillette's (1967-99) total. His 3,972 career receiving yards rank him 15th all-time in FCS history.
Redshirt freshman Deontez Thompson finished with 24 carries for 98 yards and his ninth rushing TD of the season. He also three catches for 31 yards. Junior TE Garrett Hudson finished with a career-best 92 yards receiving on the day.
“This is for the seniors and every single guy in that locker room. We've got a great group of guys who fight for each other every day and that's exactly what this is. We're excited for the opportunities in front of us,” Johnson said.
Defensively, the Spiders were outstanding, forcing four turnovers for the second time in three weeks, including two INTs and two forced fumbles.
Senior Omar Howard had his third double-digit tackle performance in the past four weeks, finishing with a game-high 11 tackles. He is just three away from the entering the program's all-time top-10 in that category. Classmate Charles Mack had his first career INT, while redshirt junior Lemond Johnson had a career-high five tackles and his first career INT.
“We knew defensively that we had to contain Cohen and just how dynamic he was, that was our focus all week. They're a talented team and we knew we had to step up to the challenge,” senior Selton Hodge said.
The Aggies showed that talent from the start, getting on the board first with a TD pass just over five minutes into the contest to take a 7-0 lead.
Johnson and the Spiders answered right back with a six-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a two-yard TD by Thompson, but was keyed by a 43-yard completion from Johnson to Bevels that got the drive going.
Just over two minutes later, the Richmond special teams came up huge when sophomore Dejon Brissett went 92 yards to the house, tying the school record for the longest TD set back in 1938. Brissett's TD gave the Spiders a lead they would never relinquish.
Redshirt sophomore and All-CAA First Team kicker Griffin Trau did the rest in the first half, booting him three field goals to send Richmond into the break with a 23-7 advantage.
The Aggies came out of the locker room and got an early field goal to make it a 23-10 game, but that's all the scoring the Richmond defense would allow.
Less than two minutes later Trau connected on a 28-yarder that gave the Spiders a 26-10 lead, it also gave Trau a single-game tying record of four field goals and set a new single-season record with 20 field goals this year.
Just before the third quarter came to a close, Johnson connected with Brown on nearly back-to-back plays, the second a 32-yard bomb for the record-tying TD and a 32-10 Spider lead.
Johnson would cap off the scoring in the fourth quarter, leading a nine-play, 80-yard drive that finished with an eight-yard TD run by the Florida native to make it 39-10.
Richmond's defense wouldn't allow the Aggie into Spider territory the rest of the day to seal the victory.
The Spiders now head to North Dakota next Saturday to take on the seventh-seeded Fightin' Hawks. Game time is set for 6 p.m. EST.
Team Stats
NCAT 7, RICHMOND 0
NCAT - KEYES,Denzel 12 yd pass from BAMIRO,O. (JONES,Cody kick) 9 plays, 39 yards, TOP 4:10
NCAT 7, RICHMOND 7
RICHMOND - D. Thompson 2 yd run (Griffin Trau kick), 6 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:54
NCAT 7, RICHMOND 14
RICHMOND - Dejon Brissett 92 yd punt return (Griffin Trau kick)
NCAT 7, RICHMOND 17
RICHMOND - Griffin Trau 39 yd field goal 6 plays, 24 yards, TOP 3:03
NCAT 7, RICHMOND 20
RICHMOND - Griffin Trau 33 yd field goal 9 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:46
NCAT 7, RICHMOND 23
RICHMOND - Griffin Trau 34 yd field goal 12 plays, 76 yards, TOP 6:17
NCAT 10, RICHMOND 23
NCAT - JONES,Cody 28 yd field goal 5 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:59
NCAT 10, RICHMOND 26
RICHMOND - Griffin Trau 28 yd field goal 5 plays, 49 yards, TOP 2:02
NCAT 10, RICHMOND 32
RICHMOND - Brian Brown 32 yd pass from Kevin Johnson (Kevin Johnson passfailed) 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:17
NCAT 10, RICHMOND 39
RICHMOND - Kevin Johnson 7 yd run (Griffin Trau kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:19
