Lauletta's Record-Breaking Performance, Defense Guide Spiders to 23-3 Win at Towson

Saturday, October 14

Towson, Md.

4:00pm

University of Richmond

4-2 , 2-1

Towson

2-4 , 0-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Richmond

TOWSON

Lauletta's Record-Breaking Performance, Defense Guide Spiders to 23-3 Win at Towson

10/14/2017 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Matt Moretti III (@Moretts13)

TOWSON, Md. – The offense had been the side of the ball capturing headlines all season long but on Saturday evening it was the Richmond (4-2, 2-1 CAA) defense that dominated its way to a 23-3 victory at Towson (2-4, 0-3 CAA).

Not to be lost in this stellar defensive effort is that quarterback Kyle Lauletta threw for 325 yards and moved past Eric Ward (8,969 yards) to become the program's all-time leader in passing yards as well as the first 9,000-yard passer (9,076). This was his sixth; 300-yard effort of the season and 14th of his career.

The Spider defense forced a season-high six turnovers by way of four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Sophomore safety Daniel Jones paced the effort with two interceptions to with five tackles while Brendan Coniker and Samari Springs each added picks of their own. All four came from individuals playing the safety position. Jarriel Jordan and Dale Matthews each led the Spiders with 10 tackles apiece while Chad Wiggins made his first start of the season and made seven tackles to go with a sack, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble on Towson's last offensive play to seal this one.

As a team the Spiders had five total sacks to go with seven tackles for loss and five pass break-ups to complete what was without a doubt the best defensive effort for this group this season. Ten individuals ended up with at least five tackles.

Lauletta's three favorite targets all collected over 80 yards through the air. Dejon Brissett led the way with 101 yards, the third time he's eclipsed the century mark this season while Wilkins hauled in seven catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns and Simpson added 82 yards on five catches.

Deontez Thompson was the top rusher with 46 yards to his credit trailed by Gordon Collins who picked up the bulk of his yards on a 31-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

The start was shaky for the Spiders. Lauletta hooked up with Simpson on the first play from scrimmage for a 46-yard gain but Simpson fumbled at the end of the run immediately turning the ball over to Towson. Richmond forced the Tigers into a punt to erase the mistake but two more punts were traded before the first scoring drive of the game came to be.

Beginning at the 7:41 mark in the first quarter, Lauletta hooked up with Wilkins for a six-yard gain then rolled down the field quickly to score in just 1:47. That completed the scoring in the first quarter however as both sides struggled early on to find a rhythm.

At one point during the first quarter, the Spider defense forced the Tigers into three turnovers on three consecutive plays. After the Collins touchdown run, Ryan Stover threw an interception to Samari Springs on the first play of the drive. Richmond punted but this time on the first play of Towson's next drive, Trent Williams came out of the defensive backfield force Stover into a fumble that the Spiders recovered. Then it was Lauletta that threw an interception three plays later to give the Tigers a third possession quickly. Remarkably, on the very first play of its third-straight drive, a Stover interception gave the ball back to Richmond.

Towson attempted a 50-yard field goal at the end of its first second-quarter drive that fell wide-left, setting up another quick Richmond drive. The Spiders needed just four plays to go 67 yards in 1:53 to move ahead 14-0 on a Lauletta 15-yard pass to Wilkins. Trau added a field goal two drives later to send the Spiders to the locker room with a 17-0 lead.

Neither side put points on the board in the third quarter but Towson added its first points on a field goal at the end of its first, fourth-quarter drive. Lauletta added another touchdown toss to Wilkins in the middle of the quarter to complete the scoring in this one.

Towson did its best to fight its way back into the game but the Spider defense was up to the task, halting back-to-back drives that made their way into the red zone. Chad Wiggins broke through the line on second and 10 with just under a minute to play and stripped the Tiger quarterback, the Spiders recovered and two a pair of knees to close it out.

The Spiders will be back in action next weekend it travels to Delaware for a date with the Blue Hens. Kickoff from Tubby Raymond Field is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The following weekend (Oct. 28) Richmond heads back to Robins Stadium for Homecoming opposite Stony Brook.