No. 13 Spiders Fall To No. 5 Dukes, 27-10

Oct. 28, 2006

Richmond, Va. -- No. 5 James Madison (7-1, 5-0) defeated the No. 13 Richmond (5-3, 2-3) football team 27-10 Saturday in front of 11,150 fans at UR Stadium during Homecoming Weekend.

The Spider rushing attack, missing starting fullback John Crone due to injury, never quite got rolling and the Dukes' defense spoiled any hope Richmond had of knocking off its undefeated Atlantic 10 foe.

"They were the better team today," said Richmond's Tim Hightower, a junior tailback. "They made plays and we didn't. We just have to stick together, keep watching film, keep practicing hard like the championship team that we are. We're going to take it one game at a time. We're not going to get down."

James Madison struck first midway through the first quarter with a two-yard touchdown run from junior quarterback Justin Rascati, who finished with 48 yards on the ground to go along with 137 yards through the air. Senior David Rabil converted on a 37-yard field goal to push the Dukes up 10-0 to close the first quarter.

The Spiders opened the second quarter with a dominating attack through the air led by redshirt freshman quarterback Eric Ward. Ward, who finished with 167 yards passing with 17 completions on 30 attempts, found senior wideout Matt Hale for a seven-yard score with 11:41 remaining in the second quarter.

Richmond junior wide receiver Arman Shields, who finished with five catches for 80 yards, also helped the Spider offense stretch the field against the Dukes.

JMU, racking up four sacks and two pass breakups, put tough pressure on Ward and Richmond's offensive line throughout the entire game. On one critical occasion late in the second quarter before Ward was taken to the ground in the backfield, the ball popped loose and JMU senior defensive end Kevin Winston returned it to the endzone 38 yards to push the score to 17-7 in favor of the Dukes.

A successful 45-yard field goal from Spider freshman Andrew Howard, the longest of his career, closed the gap to 17-10 just before the end of the first half.

As the wind continued to whip around UR Stadium, both defenses held the attacks scoreless in the third quarter. Richmond junior defensive back Stephen Howell picked up his second interception of the game late in the third quarter when a pass was tipped by a JMU receiver close enough to Howell's hands for him to react and make the play.

Spider senior linebackers Lance Gray and Adam Goloboski combined for 25 tackles in swarming to the JMU ballcarriers.

James Madison's first drive of the fourth quarter ended up putting the game away for good though as it was capped off by a 43-yard touchdown catch by JMU junior wideout and Richmond native L.C. Baker. Baker was able to split two Spider defenders through the middle of the field on a deep post route.

A late field goal from Rabil helped the Dukes go up 27-10 where the score stayed.

Richmond will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to play Villanova on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m.

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