Stout Spider Defense Shuts Out Villanova on the Road, 22-0

Saturday, November 4

Philadelphia, Pa.

1:00 PM

University of Richmond

5-4 , 3-3

Villanova

4-5 , 2-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Richmond

Villanova

Stout Spider Defense Shuts Out Villanova on the Road, 22-0

11/04/2017 | Football

Box Score

By: Matt Moretti III (@Moretts13)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The University of Richmond football team (5-4, 3-3 CAA) needed a bounce-back effort on Saturday afternoon against No. 20 Villanova (4-5, 2-4 CAA) and got just that, in the form of a 22-0 shutout.

The Villanova defense entered Saturday's game leading the CAA and ranked second in the nation in rush defense, allowing just 57.8 yards per game. Yet, the game plan for the Spiders was to establish the run and move the ball that way early and often. Sophomore Xavier Goodall collected a season-high 116 yards on the ground on 19 attempts to go with a touchdown and QB Kyle Lauletta backed that up with 46 yards and a rushing score of his own.

The Spider defense was as impressive as it has been all season, allowing just 163 total yards, easily a season-low en route to shutting out the Wildcats for the second-straight season. The shutout marks just the second time in the last 164 games that Villanova has been shut out, both have come at the hands of the Spiders.

Dale Matthews led the way with nine total tackles and one of four Spider sacks. In total, Richmond had eight tackles for loss. Colby Ritten, Chad Wiggins and Andrew Clyde each added sacks to their totals. Clyde now has 8.5 sacks this season, the most since Lawrence Sidbury in 2008.

On offense, Lauletta finished with 259 yards through the air without a passing score. He will need to wait another week to try and move into sole possession of first place on the all-time passing touchdowns list. His 47 rush yards are both season and career highs and his rushing touchdown was the 11th of his career.

Offense was hard to come by in the first half. Villanova's rush defense came into the game with the hype but it was the secondary that kept Lauletta from getting into a rhythm early on. He was 18 of 25 for 156 yards but didn't have any touchdowns to show for it, and threw a pick. The big four of Tyler Wilkins (5 rec, 50 yds), Cortrelle Simpson (4 rec, 26 yds), Garrett Hudson (2 rec, 19 yds) and Dejon Brissett (2 rec, 17 yds) all had multiple receptions but none longer than 24 yards.

Griffin Trau was up to the task though, knocking in both of his first-half field goal tries including a season-long 41-yard try that found its mark to push Richmond ahead 6-0 early in the second quarter. With less than a minute to play in the half, Villanova lined up to punt but the snap soared over the punter's head and through the end zone for a safety, the first to go in favor of the Spiders since 2010, to make it 8-0 at the break.

The Spider defense had held the Villanova offense scoreless for six-straight quarters at that point, following a 23-0 victory at Robins Stadium in 2016. Richmond held the Wildcats to just 108 total yards in that first half and 1-7 on third downs.

The second half began with an 81-yard Richmond drive that was capped by Xavier Goodall breaking tackles at the goal line on his way to his first rushing score of the season. The defense forced another punt after just one Villanova first down and followed with an 80-yard drive that saw Lauletta gain 20 yards on the ground himself. He finished off the drive himself by diving for a two-yard, rushing score, the 11th of his career, to put the Spiders ahead 22-0 as the third quarter came to a close.

The Spiders held serve down the stretch in the fourth quarter, preventing Villanova from even crossing midfield to secure the victory and turn its attention to the nation's top-ranked team James Madison. The Spiders will visit Bridgeforth Stadium next weekend looking to continue its postseason push. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.