University of Richmond Athletics
No. 8 Spiders Set To Host VMI At UR Stadium
Sept. 12, 2006
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The eighth-ranked Richmond Spiders return home after shutting out Duke on the road two weeks ago to open 2006 season. The Spiders will welcome VMI and former Spider head coach Jim Reid to UR Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff against the Keydets is set for 3 p.m.
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 13-0 win over Division I-A Duke two weeks ago in Durham, N.C. The win over the Blue Devils marked the first victory over a Division I team since 2000, and the first win over an ACC foe since 1978. The shutout was the first for a Spider team since the 2004 season, and marked the first for an Atlantic 10 squad over a Division I foe since the 2002 season. A bye week has given the Spiders time to regroup before they welcome the first of three-straight opponents to UR Stadium, Sept. 16.
Richmond is under the direction of third-year head coach Dave Clawson, who has compiled a eight-year career record of 42-41 and a 13-12 mark in three seasons at Richmond. Reid, who led the Spider Football program from 1995-2003, is in his first season as the Keydets head coach. Reid has compiled a 16-year career mark of 85-83-3, and is 1-1 in his tenure at VMI.
QUICK OUTS...
-- Richmond's offense has converted on 12-straight trips into the redzone dating back to the first round of the NCAA I-AA Playoffs at Hampton in 2005. The Spiders ended the 2005 season converting on 27 of 28 trips into the redzone, extending it to now 30-of-31. In the current 12-trip string the Spiders have scored nine touchdowns and kicked three field goals. Richmond has scored 21 touchdowns and kicked nine field goals in the last 30 successful trips.
-- Senior Adam Goloboski has amassed 306 tackles in his four-year career with the Spiders. He needs just 17 more stops to appear on Richmond's all-time career tackles list at No. 10 which would tie him with Taylor Lackey at 323.
-- VMI head coach Jim Reid makes his return to Richmond in this week's contest, after spending 11 of his 33 years in coaching with the Spiders. Reid served as defensive coordinator at Richmond from 1992-93 under head coach Jim Marshall. After a one-year stint as the defensive coordinator at Boston College in 1994, he returned to lead Richmond from 1995-2003. In those nine seasons the Spiders won two league crowns (1998 & 2000) and earned two trips to the NCAA I-AA Playoffs (1998 & 2000).
RESTED AND READY
Two fourth-quarter goal line stands helped the Spiders preserve their first shutout since 2004 two weeks ago at Duke. A large thanks should go to the offense, which gave the Richmond defense a long rest during the third quarter.
The Spider defense spent close to 13 minutes (12:51) on the bench in the third quarter while the offense mounted drives of 3:32 and 9:09 in length, as the final drive lasted 18 plays and 83 yards ending in a field goal.
Richmond's defense was on the field just 10:32 of the 30 minute total in the second half against Duke.
OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
True freshman Andrew Howard started his career off on the right foot. The Hermitage High School alum (Richmond, Va.) connected on all three of his kicks against Duke, including one PAT and two field goals (20 yds, 22 yds).
Currently Howard ranks sixth in the Atlantic 10 and 57th in the country in scoring with an average of seven points per game. His average of two field goals per contest is second-best in the conference and 10th-best in the country.
Howard is no stranger to success with his foot. In his two-year prep kicking career at Hermitage he was 101-for-104 in PAT attempts and 13-for-18 in field goal tries.
GET ME SOME YAC
Junior Arman Shields is not just a receiver who will take what he is given after the catch. The Washington, D.C., native has a nack for gaining yards on the ground after hauling yards through the air.
In the Spiders' 13-0 win at Duke, Shields caught five passes for 69 yards and one touchdown. His yards-after-catch (YAC) tally was 39 on those five receptions.
Breaking down the numbers shows more than half of his receiving yards came after the ball touched his hands. His 16-yard TD catch on a screen was made possible by Shields gaining 15 of those yards on the ground.
A RICHMOND WIN WOULD...
-- Make the team 2-0 to start the season for the first time since beginning the 1997 season 2-0.
-- Mark the first time head coach Dave Clawson has been victorious in a home-opener at Richmond.
-- Make the Spiders 1-0 at home this season and 7-6 all-time at UR Stadium under Clawson.
-- Mark the first win in a Spider home-opener since the 2002 season when Richmond topped No. 9 Delaware, 15-13.
-- Move Clawson to 43-41 as a head coach and 104-87-1 in his coaching career.
-- Give Clawson his third-straight win over VMI dating back to the 2004 season.
-- Extend the Spiders' win streak in the all-time series with VMI to six-straight and 17 of the last 20.
-- Give the Spiders seven-straight wins at home over the Keydets.
-- Give the Spiders 10 wins in their last 11 games dating back to a 38-20 win over Villanova, Oct. 8, 2005.
-- Extend the Spiders' regular season win streak to nine games and their regular season home win streak to six-straight.
-- Give Richmond an all-time record of 451-589-53.
A RICHMOND LOSS WOULD...
-- Make the Spiders 1-1 on the season for the first time since 2004, Clawson's first season at Richmond.
-- Make the Spiders 0-1 at home this season and 6-7 all-time at UR Stadium under Clawson.
-- Move Clawson to 42-42 as a head coach and 103-88-1 in his coaching career.
-- Give Clawson his first all-time loss to the Keydets.
-- Snap Richmond's five-game win streak in the all-time series with VMI.
-- End the Spiders' six-game home winning streak over the Keydets.
-- Snap the Spiders' eight-game regular season win streak which dates back to the 2004 season.
-- End Richmond's five-game regular season home win streak.
-- Give Richmond an all-time record of 450-590-53.
SPIDER FOOTBALL IN THE RANKINGS
Richmond Football has now been in The Sports Network I-AA Top-25 for each of the last eight 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, and were one of five Atlantic 10 Conference squads in the preseason poll. After its shutout-win over Duke, Richmond jumped to No. 10, Sept. 4 and moved up two spots to No. 8 in the most recent edition.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
Richmond is all about adjustments in the second half dating back to the 2005 season. The Spiders, since the beginning of 2005, have outscored opponents in the second half 161-78.
Richmond won two of its games in 2005 using come-from-behind efforts in the fourth-quarter, and outscored its opponents 77-31 in the final period of play last season.
Richmond scored 21 unanswered points against Villanova, Oct. 8, 2005, in the fourth quarter to come from behind and win the first of what became an eight-game win streak.
The Spiders were down 30-17 against Hofstra, Oct. 22, 2005, going into the fourth quarter and scored 13 unanswered points to send the game to overtime. Each team tacked on a touchdown in the first overtime, but the Spiders blocked a field goal attempt in the second OT session then scored on the ensuing drive.
SPIDER SPORTS ON THE WEB
Richmond's official athletics website can be found at www.RichmondSpiders.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches, statistics and video highlights as well as audio broadcasts for every Spider Football game, is part of the College Sports Television Network. CSTV currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, as well as its newest member -- the Atlantic 10 Conference.
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 (sideline) rounds out the radio team, Smith will offer listeners a field level view of all of the action and will have the first word from the Spiders and head coach Dave Clawson following the game.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Not only have individual student-athletes received preseason recognition in 2006, but as a team Richmond has garnered some buzz.
Athlon Magazine ranked the Spiders No. 21 in its preseason poll. Lindy's Magazine has Richmond tabbed No. 19 in its preseason picks.
In a vote conducted by all Atlantic 10 Conference coaches and select conference media members, the Spiders were picked to finish second in the A-10 South, behind James Madison. Richmond received nine of the possible 27 first-place votes in the division.
I-AA.org, a nationally recognized entity which covers I-AA Football, has the Spiders picked to win the A-10 South, ahead of James Madison.
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 since head coach Dave Clawson first year at Richmond, but also in both the weight room and the classroom.
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.
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.
PLAYING AT THE NEXT LEVEL
One player on the Spider roster is certain he has the opportunity to play at the next level. Senior Danny Desriveaux (pronounced duh-REE-voh) was drafted as the 43rd overall selection by the Montreal Allouettes in last summer's Canadian Football League draft.
A native of Laval, Quebec City, a suburb of Montreal, Desriveaux will have the opportunity to attend the Allouettes' training camp next May to vie for a spot on the squad. The senior wide receiver is currently working on his master's of business administration at Richmond, and is due to graduate in May.
LEFTOVERS FROM DUKE
-- The win gave the Spiders a season-opening win for the first time since the 2000 season.
-- The win marked the first season-opening win on the road since winning at UMass, 21-6, Aug. 30, 1997.
-- The win gave Richmond its first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference squad since beating North Carolina, 27-18, in Richmond, Nov. 4, 1978.
-- The win marked Richmond's first win over a I-A opponent since topping Arkansas State, 30-27, Sept. 30, 2000.
-- The shutout-win was the first for an Atlantic 10 squad over a Division I opponent since Northeastern blanked Ohio, 31-0, in 2002.
-- The win gave the Spiders nine wins in their last 10 games dating back to a 38-20 win over Villanova, Oct. 8, 2005.
-- The win extended Richmond's regular-season win streak to eight games dating back to a 38-20 win over Villanova, Oct. 8, 2005.
-- Richmond's fumble recovery with just over 13 minutes left in the first quarter extended the Spiders' forced turnover streak to five-straight games dating back to Nov. 12, 2005 at Towson.
-- Richmond's defensive shutout in the first half marked the first time since Nov. 19, 2005 (William & Mary) a Spider opponent failed to score in the first half. Richmond last shutout an opponent for an entire half, Nov. 26, 2005, at Hampton (second half of a 38-10 win).
-- The Spiders' scoring drive at the end of the third quarter (18 plays, 83 yards, 9:09 TOP) was longer in plays and time than any scoring drive amassed by Richmond in the 2005 season. The 83-yard drive was the longest in yardage since Richmond gained 94 yards on a 14-play, 7:25 scoring drive against William & Mary, Nov. 19, 2005.
-- The shutout of Duke marked the first time the Spiders shutout an opponent since, Nov. 6, 2004, against Towson (24-0).
-- Richmond's defense limited the Blue Devils to 51 yards on the ground, the fewest since holding William & Mary to 18 yards rushing, Nov. 19, 2005.