Football Wins With Two Touchdowns In The Final Seconds At Saint Francis

Thursday, September 13

Loretto, PA

5 PM

University of Richmond

2-1

Saint Francis University

1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Richmond

Saint Francis

Photo by: JD Cavrich/Saint Francis

Football Wins With Two Touchdowns In The Final Seconds At Saint Francis

09/13/2018 | Football

Box Score Richmond - Saint Francis Stat Book Photo Gallery Audio Highlights Postgame Radio: Huesman, Johnson, Brissett

RICHMOND, Va. – With its backs against the wall and down to the final seconds on the clock, the University of Richmond scored two touchdowns in the final 1.7 seconds of the game to take home a 35-27 victory over Saint Francis Thursday night at DeGol Field. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Richmond Saturday but was moved due to Hurricane Florence.

The Spiders trailed 27-23 with 1:05 remaining on the clock before starting their game-winning drive. Junior quarterback Kevin Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) guided the Spiders down the field, connecting with Cortrelle Simpson (Indian Head, Md.) and Dejon Brissett (Mississauga, Ontario) to move them into Saint Francis territory.

After a pass interference call on the Red Flash, Johnson and Brissett hooked up on a 16-yard gain to the 18-yard line with 19 seconds remaining. Johnson was sacked on the ensuing play before connecting with senior Jarmal Bevels (Fredericksburg, Va.) on a clutch 19-yard reception down to the six-yard line with 7.1 remaining.

Johnson put the Spiders in front with 1.7 seconds remaining when connected with Wilkins in the back of the end zone for the six-yard touchdown and a 29-27 lead. Richmond took a knee on the extra point attempt to prevent a blocked kick and kicked off to the Red Flash on a fair catch at the 34. Saint Francis tried to lateral the ball multiple times on the final play but fumbled and junior defensive end Maurice Jackson (Levittown, Pa.) scooped up the ball and returned it 29-yards with the clock at zero for the second touchdown in the last 1.7 seconds.

Brissett led the way with 286 all-purpose yards for Richmond. He caught nine passes for 104 yards on the night and accumulated 182 kickoff return yards, including a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The touchdown return was the first of his career and the first for Richmond since Justin Grant returned one against VMI in the 2012 season.

Johnson finished the game connecting on 22-of-29 for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 33 yards on the ground. Simpson added three catches for 58 yards and a touchdown while Wilkins had three catches for 26 yards, including the game-winning touchdown.

The game started slowly with the Spiders only holding a 9-3 lead at halftime courtesy of their special teams. Richmond scored a safety on the first possession by the Red Flash as the snap on the punt went out of the end zone. Brissett tallied the game's lone first half touchdown with his kickoff return for score.

Saint Francis (1-2) out-scored the Spiders 17-3 in the third quarter, taking a 20-12 lead heading into the fourth. Kam Lewis secured two receiving touchdowns for the Red Flash in the third quarter while the Spiders were limited to just a 29-yard field goal by Griffin Trau (Hanover, N.H.).

Trau added another field goal early in the fourth quarter to pull the Spiders with five at 20-15. Richmond's defense got the ball back and Johnson connected with Simpson on a 40-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead. The Spiders also converted a two-point conversion when Johnson hit Stephon Jacob (Damascus, Md.) to give them a 23-20 lead with 6:42 remaining.

The Red Flash drove down the field and took the lead back at 27-23 with 1:10 remaining when quarterback Bear Fenimore connected with Zach Campbell from 12-yards out, setting the stage for the Spiders final comeback.

Redshirt linebacker Billy Caughell (Apopka, Fla.) recorded eight tackles in his first career start, including 2.5 tackles for loss as the Spiders battled through injuries to its linebacking corps. Jackson added a sack to go along with his fumble recovery, raising his team-leading total to 4.0 on the year.

The Spiders open Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play next weekend on the road when they travel to Stony Brook. Game time Saturday is set for 6 p.m. on Long Island.

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