Football Drops Heartbreaker In Final Seconds To Yale

Saturday, October 19

Richmond, Va.

6:00 PM

University of Richmond

3-4

Yale

4-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Yale

Richmond

Photo by: Keith Lucas

10/19/2019 | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Post-Game Press Conference

RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond football team held a 27-7 lead early in the second half only to see Yale score the game's final 21 points, including the game-winning touchdown with nine seconds left in a heartbreaking 28-27 loss Saturday at Robins Stadium. The Spiders return to Colonial Athletic Association play next weekend when it travels to Newark, Del., for a meeting against nationally ranked Delaware.

The Bulldogs (4-1) came up with three keys plays in the comeback win, converting two fourth downs on the last two drives and recovering an onside kick with 1:23 remaining in the game. Yale scored 14 points in the final 1:14 of the game as quarterback Kurt Rawlings hit a pair of touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to the win.

The Spiders conversely had four drives in the game that were in the red zone but only accounted for six points as they missed a pair of field goals in the game and settled for two other kicks instead of touchdowns.

Richmond (3-4) finished the game out-gaining Yale by a 464-316 margin, including 217 rushing yards as redshirt junior quarterback Joe Mancuso (Blairsville, Ga.) led the way with 117 yards on 13 carries. Mancuso's 117 yards on the ground are a career-high and marks the first time a Spider has eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground this season. He finished the game with 364 yards from scrimmage as he was 15-for-31 with 227 passing yards and threw three touchdowns to three different receivers and also caught a pass for 20 yards in the first half.

Redshirt freshman running back Aaron Dykes (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 77 yards rushing on 12 carries, marking a new career-high surpassing his previous mark of 76 yards set last year against Elon. Graduate transfer Keyston Fuller (Griffin, Ga.) caught three balls for 58 yards and a touchdown while Charlie Fessler (Erie, Pa.) finished with eight catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Junior linebacker Tyler Dressler (Covington, Va.) led the team with 15 tackles, five solo and a sack. Dressler has 35 tackles in his past two games after posting a career-high 20 tackles last weekend against Maine. Freshman linebacker Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) finished with nine tackles as the Spiders held the Bulldogs to just 67 yards rushing.

The Spiders opened the scoring with a 10-play 66-yard drive capped by a 21-yard field goal from freshman Jake Larson (Baltimore, Md.). Richmond opened the second quarter with a three-play 85-yard drive that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Mancuso to redshirt freshman Justin Jasper (Mechanicsville, Va.) to go up 10-0. The touchdown was the first of Jasper's career.

After Larson's second made field goal gave Richmond a 13-0 lead, Yale scored on a Rawlings one-yard pass to Reed Klubnik making it a 13-7 advantage with 8:02 remaining in the first half. Richmond responded with a 7-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by a Mancuso to Fessler connection from five-yards out giving the Spiders a 20-7 lead at the break.

Richmond would take a 27-7 lead at the 12:53 mark of the third quarter when Mancuso hit Fuller on a 15-yard touchdown for the 20-point lead. Yale came right back with a score of its own as Rawlings hit Jaylan Sandifer on a 35-yard score at the 10:59 mark of the third making it a 27-14 contest.

The Spiders had a chance to put it away with a drive late in the fourth quarter as they drove down to the Yale 20-yard line with a first down. Mancuso and Dykes did most of the damage during the drive but a big Richmond personal foul on first down push the Spiders backwards. The Spiders couldn't get any closer and Larson's 44-yard attempt at the 4:20 mark of the fourth quarter was well wide setting the table for the Yale comeback.

The Bulldogs drove the ball 72 yards on nine plays in 2:57 on the clock, ending with the 15-yard pass to JP Shohfi. The big play on the drive was Yale converting a 4^th and 13 in Spider territory with a 25-yard pass from Rawlings that set up the score. After the touchdown, Yale was able to secure the onside kick and set up its game winning drive. That drive also saw a big fourth down conversion for the Bulldogs as Rawlings hit Klubnik on a 23-yard completion on a 4^th and 12 to keep the drive alive.

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