University of Richmond Athletics
No. 25 Spiders Set To Host Towson On Senior Day At UR Stadium
Nov. 6, 2006
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The 25th-ranked Richmond Spiders will play their final home game of the season, Saturday, Nov. 11 when they host Towson. The Spiders will celebrate Senior Day prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff at UR Stadium.
Bob Black (play-by-play), former Richmond defensive standout Jasmonn Coleman (analyst) and Matt Smith (sideline) will handle the radio call which can be heard in the Richmond area on ESPN Radio 950 AM and worldwide at RichmondSpiders.com.
The Spiders are coming off a disappointing 31-21 loss at Villanova. Richmond, which was down 28-0 at halftime, pulled to within seven at the 11-minute mark in the fourth quarter, but a late Villanova field goal pushed the Wildcats lead to 10 points for good.
Richmond owns an undefeated mark of 2-0 in the all-time series with Towson, having met for the first time in 2004. The Spiders have outscored the Tigers 72-21 in the two all-time meetings, including a 48-21 win in 2005. With a win, Richmond will guarantee itself a winning season in back-to-back years for the first time since 1997-98.
Richmond is under the direction of third-year head coach Dave Clawson, who has compiled an eight-year career record of 46-45 and a 17-16 mark in his tenure at Richmond. Towson's Gordy Combs has compiled a 15-year career mark of 85-72, all coming during his time with the Tigers.
QUICK OUTS...
-- Richmond has been ranked among the Top-25 by The Sports Network each of the last 16 weeks, including a high of No. 7 from Sept. 18-Oct. 2.
-- The Spider defense failed to record a sack for just the second time this season against Villanova. Richmond's defense has now recorded at least one sack in 19 of its last 21 games dating back to the second game of the 2005 slate. The only other game this season when the Spiders did not sack the opposing quarterback was against Bucknell which attempted just nine passes.
-- Richmond has outscored its opponents in the second and third quarters this season. The Spiders' biggest margin of victory in a single quarter is the second (91-38). Richmond's opponents have outscored the Spiders 40-36 in the first quarter and 55-45 in the fourth quarter.
-- Freshman Andrew Howard is a perfect 29-for-29 in PAT attempts this season. The true freshman placekicker has also missed just twice in 11 field goal attempts. A 37-yard miss last week snapped a streak of four-straight makes dating back to Oct. 7 against New Hampshire.
-- The Spider offensive line ranks third in the conference giving up just 14 sacks this season. Towson comes into this weekend's contest having sacked opponents just 10 times in nine games. Richmond's defense has sacked opponents 14 times this season.
-- Prior to the Villanova contest, Richmond's defense had not allowed a team to gain more than 182 yards on the ground, or more than 385 total yards. Villanova finished with a 289 rushing yards (179 in the first half). The Wildcats also posted 404 yards of total offense.
-- Richmond's defense has only allowed two individuals to pass the 100-yard rushing mark all season. Marvin Burroughs of Villanova rushed for 124 yards on 14 carries, while Matt Dicken, also of Villanova, carried it 21 times for 120 yards. The Spiders have had four 100-yard rushing games spread through three different players this season.
LATE BLOOMERS
Sophomore quarterback Levi Brown and redshirt freshman wide receiver Jordan Mitchell turned in impressive performances Saturday at Villanova.
Mitchell garnered his first career catch in the second quarter then went on to haul in five more for 85 yards. Mitchell has played in all nine contests for the Spiders, and was recently inserted as one of Richmond's kickoff returners.
Brown replaced redshirt freshman Eric Ward in the second quarter against Villanova, and proceeded to complete 24-of-36 passes for a career-best 332 yards. The Mt. Juliet, Tenn., native hooked up with junior Arman Shields twice for five-yard touchdowns and also completed his longest pass of the game (40 yards) to Shields. Brown's 332 yards through the air ranked as the ninth-best total in school history.
Broken down, Brown completed four passes in the second quarter for 58 yards, 11 in the third quarter for 134 yards and nine in the fourth quarter for 140 yards (234 yards in the second half).
Brown and Ward combined to complete 34-of-50 pass attempts in the game for a combined 425 yards. The 34 completions and 425 yards both rank as the second-highest totals in school history. The 50 attempts are tied for the third-highest ever at Richmond.
TACKLE THIS
Richmond seniors Adam Goloboski and Lance Gray are in search of the 100-tackle plateau over the next two regular season games.
Goloboski has gone over the 100-tackle mark in each of his last two seasons, and currently has 83 tackles on the season. Gray has 70 tackles in 2006, and is in search of his second-career 100-tackle season and the first since his sophomore stint in 2004 (102 tackles).
Gray has turned in double-digit stops each of the last two games for the Spiders, wracking up 13 against James Madison and 12 at Villanova.
Goloboski had his string of four-straight double-digit tackle games halted last week at Villanova. Prior to the game against the Wildcats, the Hereford, Md., native made 14 tackles at New Hampshire, 11 against Rhode Island, 17 against Delaware and 12 versus JMU.
A RICHMOND WIN WOULD...
-- Make the team 6-4 for the first time since 1997.
-- Guarantee the Spiders a winning season.
-- Mark the first time Richmond will have recorded back-to-back winning seasons since 1997-98.
-- Mark the first time the Spiders will record at least 15 wins in back-to-back seasons since 1997-98.
-- Make the Spiders 4-2 at home this season and 10-8 all-time at UR Stadium under Clawson.
-- Give Clawson his sixth-straight win over Towson and his third-straight win over the Tigers as the Spiders' head coach.
-- Make Clawson 6-2 in his head coaching career against the Tigers.
-- Move Clawson to 47-45 as a head coach and 108-91-1 in his coaching career.
-- Mark the Spiders' third-straight win in the all-time series against Towson.
-- Make Richmond 2-0 in games played at UR Stadium in the all-time series against the Tigers.
-- Give Richmond an all-time record of 455-593-53.
A RICHMOND LOSS WOULD...
-- Make the Spiders 5-5 on the season for the first time since 1999.
-- Mark the first time the Spiders have lost four-straight since the 2004 season.
-- Make the Spiders 3-3 at home this season and 8-9 at UR Stadium during Clawson's tenure.
-- Move Clawson to 46-46 as a head coach and 107-92-1 in his coaching career.
-- Snap Clawson's five-game win streak against the Tigers.
-- Mark Towson's first win in the all-time series with Richmond and make the series 2-1 in favor of the Spiders.
-- Give Towson head coach Gordy Combs his first win in the all-time series with Richmond.
-- Drop Clawson's career mark to 5-3 against Towson.
-- Give Richmond an all-time record of 454-594-53.
TURNOVERS LOOM LARGE
Winning the turnover battle is something Richmond head coach Dave Clawson has stressed ever since beginning his tenure as the Spiders' leader. Last season Richmond held a turnover margin of +5 which ranked fifth in the Atlantic 10.
This season, through nine games, the Spiders have a turnover margin of -8, 12th in the conference.
In the four games Richmond has lost the turnover battle, it is 1-3.
Another number to look at is points off turnovers. Opponents have scored 49 points off Richmond's 19 turnovers, while Richmond has scored 24 points off their 11 takeaways.
REDZONE ALERT
The Spider offense and defense are among the Top-2 in the Atlantic 10 inside the redzone. Richmond's offense is second in overall redzone efficiency (89.3 percent) and fourth in redzone efficiency in A-10 games (86.7 percent).
The Spiders have failed only three times this season inside the redzone, twice on missed field goals and once by kneeling on the ball at the VMI one-yardline to end the game, Sept. 16.
Of the Spiders' 234 total points scored this season, 147 of them have come on drives inside the opponents' redzone.
Richmond's defense is second in overall redzone defense (65.2 percent) and third in redzone efficiency defense in A-10 games (66.7 percent).
GREAT RECOVERY
Since missing the New Hampshire game due to a concussion (Northeastern), junior Arman Shields has been impressive in the passing game.
The wideout has caught no fewer than four balls over the last four games, and has recorded 50 or more yards through the air in the span. Over the last three games, Shields has caught five or more for 80+ yards.
Against Villanova, Shields caught eight passes, a season-best for the Spiders, for 124 yards. The 100-yard receiving game was the sixth of his career and just the second for the Spiders this season (Matt Hale - 102 vs. New Hampshire).
BIG PLAYS NEEDED
The Spiders are in search of big plays. Last season Richmond scored on eight plays of 35-or-more yards. This season, with only two games remaining in the regular season, Richmond has managed just four scores of at least 35-yards in length. The most recent coming against Bucknell, Sept. 23 (47-yd pass from Levi Brown to Andy Lehatto).
The Spiders are also lacking explosive plays overall. Through 13 games in 2005, Richmond had 26 plays of at least 35 yards. At this point in 2006, the Spiders have made just 11 plays garnering 35-or-more yards.
OVER THE AIR
Spider football games can be heard live on the Spider Sports Network. The network includes two new radio affiliates for all of Spider Athletics. ESPN Radio 950 AM will carry every Spider Football game in 2006, while The Wolf 93.1 FM will broadcast each the Spiders' scheduled three night games (at Duke, Delaware, at Villanova).
The "Voice of the Spiders" Bob Black, a veteran broadcaster in his 23rd season for the Spiders, will handle the play-by-play.
Former Spider defensive standout Jasmonn Coleman (analyst) will join Black in the booth for his second season with Spider Football. Coleman, a Henrico High School product, played in 42 games on the defensive line for the Spiders during his career. During the 1997 season, as a senior, Coleman tied for the team lead with seven sacks.
Matt Smith reports from the sidelines, offering listeners an all-access field level view of the action and will have the first word from the Spiders and head coach Dave Clawson live from the locker room following the game.
Matt Josephs rounds out the radio team, producing the broadcasts and anchoring the Spider Sportsdesk from the studios of flagship station ESPN Radio 950, keeping listeners up-to-date on Atlantic 10, state and national college football scores and highlights throughout the day.
SPIDER FOOTBALL IN THE RANKINGS
Richmond Football has now been in The Sports Network I-AA Top-25 for each of the last 16 weeks. The Spiders first appeared at No. 23 in the national poll, Oct. 31, 2005, after topping James Madison, 17-15. Richmond then moved up in the poll each week for the remainder of the season. The Spiders debuted at No. 15 in the 2006 Preseason poll. After its shutout-win over Duke, Richmond jumped to No. 10, then moved up two spots to No. 8 the following week. The Spiders jumped to No. 7 Sept. 18 after topping VMI, and remained in that position for three weeks. After falling to top-ranked New Hampshire, Richmond dropped to No. 10 in the Oct. 9 release and remained there until the Oct. 16 edition. After the loss to Delaware the Spiders dropped to No. 13 in the Oct. 23 edition, and have made stops at No. 15 (Oct. 30) and No. 25 (Nov. 6) since losing to JMU and Villanova the past two weeks. Below is a rundown of Richmond's chronological movement in the poll:
Date (Ranking): Oct. 31--No. 23, Nov. 7--No. 18, Nov. 14--No. 17, Nov. 21--No. 12, 2005 Final--No. 8, 2006 Preseason--No. 15, Sept. 4--No. 10, Sept. 11--No. 8, Sept. 18--No. 7, Sept. 25--No. 7, Oct. 2--No. 7, Oct. 9--No. 10, Oct. 16--No. 10, Oct. 23 -- No. 13, Oct. 30 -- No. 15, Nov. 6 -- No. 25
NCAA I-AA PLAYOFF RECAP & RANKINGS
Richmond was impressive in their two contests in last season's NCAA I-AA playoff run. The Spiders finished the Championship format ranked among the Top-5 in several categories combining all 16 teams in the field.
In its two games, the Spiders were a perfect 9-for-9 on trips inside the redzone -- one of just four teams in the entire field of 16 to be perfect in the category.
The Spider defense allowed an average of 17 points in its two games during the playoff run, which ranked second among the 16-team field. Only Nicholls State allowed an average of fewer points in its playoff run (14 points in one game).
Richmond's defense allowed opponents a 33 percent success rate on third-down conversions in the NCAA I-AA Championships. Only Texas State had a better opponent third-down conversion figure of 30.6 percent in the 16-team field.
The Spider offense rushed for an average of 223 yards in their two games during the NCAA I-AA Playoffs, ranking fourth among the 16-team field.
The Richmond defense allowed the third-lowest rushing average in the NCAA I-AA Playoffs, at just 147.0 per game.
BIGGER, STRONGER AND SMARTER
The Spiders have not only improved on the field, but also in both the weight room and the classroom since head coach Dave Clawson first year at Richmond.
Since first taking over the program in the spring of 2004, Clawson has talked about the correlation of off-the-field success and program success. The Spiders have done just that, raising the team GPA at least two points in each of the four semesters. The culmination of the success came in the transition from last fall's team GPA of 2.46 to the spring 2006 team GPA of 2.62, a jump of 0.16.
As mentioned above, the Spiders have also improved in the weight room. In 2004, Richmond had just 20 players on its roster with a three-lift combined total of 1,000 pounds. In 2005, the Spiders upped the total to 42 players of 1,000 pounds. The improvement happened once again this past off-season, as now 54 players (61 percent of the roster) has a three-lift total of more than 1,000 pounds.
LEFTOVERS FROM VILLANOVA
-- Makes the Spiders 5-4 on the season for the first time since 1999.
-- Marks the first time the Spiders have lost three-straight since the 2004 season.
-- Makes the Spiders 2-2 on the road this season and 8-8 on the road during Clawson's tenure.
-- Moves Clawson to 46-45 as a head coach and 107-91-1 in his coaching career.
-- Extends Villanova's lead in the all-time series to 18-8.
-- Marks the fourth-time in the all-time series the Spiders have failed to record consecutive wins against the Wildcats.
-- Marks the second-straight loss to the Wildcats at Villanova Stadium.
-- Extends Wildcat head coach Andy Talley's mark to 14-5 against the Spiders in his 22-year career.
-- Drops Clawson's career mark to 1-3 against Villanova.
-- Gives Richmond an all-time record of 454-593-53.
-- Marvin Burrough's 37-yard rushing touchdown with 13:31 left in the second quarter marked the longest rush allowed by the Spiders this season.
-- Redshirt freshman Jordan Mitchell eight-yard catch with 10:49 left in the second quarter marked his first career reception. Mitchell finished the game with six receptions for 85 yards.
-- Richmond's four fumbles and three fumbles lost are both season-highs for the Spiders.
-- Villanova's 21-point second quarter marks the most points allowed in a single quarter by Richmond this season.
-- Junior Andrew Harris' interception with 1:29 left in the second quarter was his second of the season and the fourth of his career.
-- Richmond's missed field goal to end the first half snapped a string of four-straight attempts made by freshman Andrew Howard. Howard is now 9-for-11 in field goal attempts this season.
-- Villanova's 28 first-half points mark the most single-half points allowed by Richmond this season and equal the most points allowed by the Spiders in a single game.
-- The Spiders' five-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Levi Brown to junior Arman Shields snapped the Richmond scoreless streak of four-straight quarters.
-- Brown's TD-pass to Shields marked his fourth TD-toss of the season and the first since throwing two against Bucknell, Sept. 23.
-- Villanova's 289 rushing yards are the most allowed by the Spiders' defense this season. The previous best for a Spider opponent came Sept. 23 when Bucknell gained 182 yards on the ground.
-- Brown's 24 completions, 36 attempts and 332 passing yards all mark career-highs.
-- Brown's 332 yards through the air mark the first time the Spiders have thrown for more thant 200 yards since Eric Ward threw for 218 yards against New Hampshire, Oct. 7.
-- Brown's single-game passing total ranks ninth on the all-time single-game list for passing yards and are the most since Stacy Tutt threw for 376 yards against Hofstra, Oct. 22, 2005.
-- Shields' second touchdown catch from Brown with 2:32 left in the third quarter mark the first multi-receiving touchdown game for the Spiders since junior Andy Lehatto caught two touchdown passes from Brown against Bucknell, Sept. 23. The two TD receptions also tie a career-high for Shields.
-- Shields ended the game with 124 yards receiving on eight catches marking the first 100-yard receiving game for the Spiders since Matt Hale hauled in 102 yards through the air against New Hampshire, Oct. 7.
-- The Spiders' 425 yards passing rank as the second-best passing total in school history, and is only the second time in school history Richmond has broken the 400-yard mark through the air.
-- Richmond's 50 pass attempts mark the third-highest total in school history, and equal Richmond's 50 attempts in its overtime game against Hofstra, Oct. 22, 2005.
-- The Spiders' 34 completions are the second-most ever for Richmond. The Spiders attempted 39 passes in the Tangerine Bowl, Dec. 27, 1968, against Ohio marking the most attempts in a single-game.