University of Richmond Athletics
No. 12 Spiders Rout No. 2 Hampton In NCAA First Round, 38-10
Nov. 26, 2005
Defensive Lineman Sherman Logan
Defensive Coordinator Russ Huesman
HAMPTON, Va. - David Freeman and Tim Hightower each scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and A-10 Defensive Rookie of the Year Sherman Logan registered three sacks as Richmond defeated third-seeded Hampton, 38-10, on Saturday evening in the opening round of the 2005 NCAA I-AA playoffs.
Richmond (9-3) extended its winning streak to eight games and will host Furman (10-2) on December 3 in the quarterfinal round. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
The win marked the first for the Spiders in the I-AA playoffs since, 2000, when it defeated Youngstown State, 10-3. Hampton (11-1) entered the game as the lone unbeaten team in I-AA and boasted a 12-game home winning streak, the third longest in the nation.
"A great football game. Hampton is a tremendous football team," said Richmond head coach Dave Clawson, the 2005 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.
"I think in the second half, we started to establish ourselves on the line of scrimmage, both offensively and defensively. It was a tremendous team effort and we're excited to still be playing."
After holding Hampton to three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, Richmond junior Ryan Mace's muffed punt was recovered by Jahiri Jones of HU at the Spiders' 29-yard line. On the ensuing play, however, UR senior defensive back Joe Mallory intercepted his second pass of the season inside the five-yard line to keep Hampton off the scoreboard.
When Pirates' placekicker Andrew Paterini missed a 20-yard field goal, Richmond drove 80 yards on 10 plays, capped off by a one-yard scoring run by senior quarterback Stacy Tutt, his 11th of the season, to give the Spiders' a 7-0 lead with 2:58 to play in the opening quarter. Nine of the 10 plays on the drive for Richmond were runs, totaling 69 yards.
Hampton then went 69 yards on nine plays and opened the second quarter with a 44-yard field goal by Paterini to climb within 7-3 at the 14:48 mark.
An interception by Kensley Dougan with 13:59 remaining in the half gave Hampton possession at the Richmond 21-yard line. However, the score remained 7-3 as the Spiders did not allow a first down and Paterini's 34-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
After a Chris Radford punt, Hampton drove down the Spiders' seven-yard line before Antwan Smith hit Onrea Jones on a slant pass to give the Pirates a 10-7 lead with 7:58 to go in the opening half. Richmond answered right back, however, going 62 yards in 12 plays with senior Joseph Fore's 22-yard field goal at the 2:48 mark tying the score at 10-10.
Hampton held a 258-176 advantage in total offense at the intermission, with Freeman leading the Richmond attack with 55 rushing yards on nine carries.
After Richmond was forced to punt on its opening series of the third quarter, junior Ryan Mace's returned a Hampton punt 25 yards to the Spiders' 49-yard line at the 7:52 mark. It marked Mace's longest return of the season. Richmond capitalized on the return by going 51 yards in five plays, with Hightower going in untouched from three yards out to put the Spiders ahead, 17-10, with 6:11 to play in the third quarter. The drive featured several nifty runs by UR senior quarterback Stacy Tutt, who used an assortment of scrambles and designed bootlegs to move Richmond down the field.
The Spiders then followed up Tutt's touchdown by recovering an onside kick, their second successful attempt in as many weeks, to take over possession at the Hampton 37 yard line. UR capitalized just 1:32 later as Freeman barreled in on a two-yard run with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter to give the Spiders a 24-10 advantage.
An eight-yard run by Hightower extended Richmond's lead to 31-10 at the 10:28 mark of the fourth quarter before junior Johnny Campbell's first career interception set up a two-yard scoring run by Freeman with 3:17 remaining in the game. Freeman finished with a game-high 117 yards on 21 carries, while Hightower added 73 yards.
Tutt completed 12-of-19 passes for 102 yards and added 61 rushing yards on 15 carries.
"I think we worked really hard to get to this point," said Tutt. I just want to practice hard this week and get ready for Furman.
Smith completed 15-of-27 passes for 221 yards to lead Hampton, which was vying for its first-ever playoff victory. Junior linebacker Adam Goloboski led the Spiders with 12 tackles.