Spiders Move To First In CAA Standings With 40-34 Win Over New Hampshire Saturday

Saturday, November 5

Richmond, Va.

3:30 PM

University of Richmond

New Hampshire (Homecoming)

Photo by: Mike Tripp

Spiders Move To First In CAA Standings With 40-34 Win Over New Hampshire Saturday

11/05/2022 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

Richmond, Va.— The University of Richmond football team handed No. 17/21 New Hampshire its first Colonial Athletic Association loss of the season at Robins Stadium Saturday, taking the Wildcats down to the wire before claiming a 40-34 victory. With the win, the Spiders (7-2, 5-1) move into first place in the CAA standings.

With seven seconds left in the fourth quarter and down six points, UNH quarterback Max Brosmer (23-36, 277 yards) threw up a pass to the endzone, but a swarm of Richmond defenders knocked the ball away to secure the Spiders' fourth-consecutive win.

"I'm proud of our guys," said head coach Russ Huesman. "This was a big game and our guys fought the whole time."

And fought they did. Even in the absence of a few key players, Richmond never trailed in the contest thanks to 408 total yards compared to the Wildcats' 288. Reece Udinski (North Wales, Pa.), threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns after going 30-43 on pass attempts. The Spiders' rush defense was elite, silencing the Wildcats' run game and holding them to -14 yards on the ground. Richmond also dominated time of possession, clocking 36:06 with the ball. Richmond had a major upper hand in first downs, holding UNH to just one in the first half and 12 total compared to the Spiders' 27.

UNH's best chance at taking the lead came in the fourth quarter with the score at 37-34. The Wildcats marched into Spider territory before Philip O'Connor (Philadelphia, Pa.) pounced on a fumble caused by a bad snap to give the Spiders back possession at the New Hampshire 33-yard line. Four plays later, Andrew Lopez (New Orleans, La.) (2-3 FG, 4-5 PAT) kicked a career-long 45-yard field goal to put the Spiders up 40-34.

Leroy Henley (Pompano Beach, Fla.) secured his third 100-yard receiving game of the season with seven catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown came in the second quarter on a four-yard pass before a flea flicker play in the third left him with a wide-open path to the end zone for his second multi-touchdown game of the season.

Aaron Dykes (Knoxville, Tenn.) ran in from two yards out to get the scoring started, Nick DeGennaro (Old Bridge, N.J.) caught a 13-yard pass in the endzone for his first score as a Spider and Fonnae Webb (Washington, D.C.) scored his second touchdown of the season after he took the snap at quarterback and dove in for a one-yard score. In three career carries, Webb has scored twice.

Aaron Banks (Stephens City, Va.), Angelo Rankin Jr. (Wichita, Kan.) and Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) led tacklers with six each. Bryson Parker (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded three pass breakups including one on third and goal in the fourth quarter.

Richmond has scored 40+ points on three occasions this season, something it hasn't done since 2015.

The Spiders now share 5-1 conference records with New Hampshire and William & Mary for a spot on top of the CAA standings. Richmond's next challenge comes Saturday, Nov. 12 when it travels to play Delaware. Game time is set for 1 p.m.