University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Top No. 17 James Madison, 18-15
Oct. 29, 2005
HARRISONBURG, Va. - Sophomore Tim Hightower's one-yard touchdown dive with 9:13 left in the game proved to be the game-winner as the Spiders downed their third consecutive ranked opponent, No. 17 James Madison, 18-15, Saturday Oct. 29 in Harrisonburg, Va. Richmond, now 5-3 overall and 5-1 in the A-10, remains atop the A-10 South Division and jumped into a tie for first overall in the conference after UMass fell to New Hampshire earlier in the day.
Hightower finished with a career-best 119 rushing yards on a career-high 20 attempts. He also scored a career-best two touchdowns and caught two passes for nine yards. His 119 yards on the ground are the most by any Spider rusher this season and only the second 100-yard rushing game for a Spider this season.
Richmond took its first lead with 14:05 left in the first half on a 23-yard field goal by senior Joseph Fore. James Madison answered on the ensuing drive with a six-yard touchdown pass from Justin Rascati to Tahir Hinds, taking its first lead of the game with 12:13 left in the first half.
Rascati, the nation's most efficient passer coming into the game, finished 18-of-27 for 179 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 11 times for 30 yards.
Trailing 7-3 at halftime, the Spiders came out and scored nine unanswered in the third quarter to take a 12-7 lead with 4:37 left in the third. Richmond's last six points came after junior Anthony Dabney blocked and recovered a punt at the JMU 33-yard line. The block was his second in as many games.
The Spiders had the ball to start the fourth quarter, and on the first play in the period senior Stacy Tutt made a remarkable play to find redshirt-freshman John Crone for a 14-yard play on second down. Tutt took the snap and when the pocket collapsed he fled left, but could not find any of his receivers downfield. He then looked right and began to scramble toward the opposite sideline where he heaved a 14-yard bullet to Crone who was wide open. Hightower's game-winner ended that scoring drive, the Spiders' longest in plays (13) and minutes (6:36) on the day.
Tutt finished the game going 9-for-19 for 103 yards. He also carried it 16 times for a total of 63 yards on the ground. Junior Matt Hale led the Spider receivers through the air by hauling in two balls for 59 yards. One of Hale's catches, a 51-yard strike down the middle of the field, came in Richmond's first scoring drive and marked the longest of his Spider career.