University of Richmond Athletics
No. 25 Spiders Fall To Towson, 31-7
Nov. 11, 2006
RICHMOND, Va. -- The Towson Tigers defeated No. 25 Richmond, 31-7, Saturday, Nov. 11 at UR Stadium. The loss dropped the Spiders to 2-5 in conference play and 5-5 overall, while the Tigers improved to 7-3 and 4-3 in the conference.
Richmond, despite five takeaways to Towson's three, struggled to move the ball offensively and failed to reach the red zone.
All of the game's scores came in the first half, including Richmond's fumble recovery in the end zone on the opening kickoff to put the Spiders up 7-0 just 13 seconds in.
Towson sophomore kick returner Jimmy McClam, returning to the endzone after carrying the ball out to the one-yard line, tried to down it for a touchback. McClam realized he had brought the ball past the goalline and attempted to run it out again but was hit by junior Andrew Harris forcing a fumble, which was recovered senior Ryan Mace for a touchdown.
Towson's starting quarterback, sophomore Sean Schaefer, cut through Richmond's defense in the air with ease. Schaefer, despite throwing three interceptions, amassed 259 yards passing and one touchdown. The score came on a 14-yard catch by junior receiver Demetrius Harrison pulling the Tigers even with the Spiders at seven points apiece at the 11:42 mark in the first quarter.
Harrison, Schaefer's favorite target for the day, finished with five receptions totaling 82 yards. After the two teams finished the opening quarter tied at seven, the Tigers outscored the Spiders 24-0 in the second quarter to take a 31-7 lead. Field position and turnovers dominated the action in the second half as both teams failed to score.
Richmond's attack predominantly worked through the air as well, but experienced far less success. Sophomore quarterback Levi Brown started in place of the injured redshirt freshman Eric Ward. Brown completed 20 of his 41 attempts for 138 yards passing.
Spider junior tailback Tim Hightower managed 60 yards on just 13 rushes. The absence of injured sophomore fullback John Crone, Hightower's lead blocker, led to Richmond's offense lacking consistency against a tough Towson defense.
"For a guy who doesn't get the football much, I can't underestimate what he means to our offense," Spider head coach Dave Clawson said. "Our strategy to win this year was going to play good defense and to get the ball downhill with him as our lead blocker. We did some one-back stuff to mix it up and to give him a break and it's something that when he went down, our season has turned."
Richmond receivers junior Arman Shields and senior Danny Desriveaux worked hard all day for their receptions with Shields picking up 48 yards on eight catches and Desriveaux totalling 44 yards on five receptions.
Harris, after his forced fumble on the opening kickoff, also collected an interception and a fumble recovery in the first quarter alone. The junior defensive back from Dallas, Texas, finished with nine tackles in the game. Senior linebacker Adam Goloboski led the Spiders in that category with 11 to go along with one pass break-up and a half-sack.
Richmond's seniors were honored before the game against Towson, the last home contest of the 2006 season. The Spiders finish their year by traveling to Williamsburg, Va., continuing their long-standing rivalry with William and Mary. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
"We have one more week to prove ourselves," Clawson said. "I just hope we have a team with some pride and shows up and plays hard."