University of Richmond Athletics
Josh Vaughan Named CAA Football, National Offensive Player of the Week
Nov. 10, 2008
RICHMOND - Richmond senior TB Josh Vaughan was tabbed the CAA Football and National Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after rushing for a career-high 240 yards and leading the seventh-ranked Spiders to a 34-14 win Saturday at Hofstra.
The performance helped No. 7 Richmond improve to 7-3 overall and 4-2 in CAA Football with two regular-season games remaining, including this Saturday's tilt at UR Stadium versus Delaware (3:30 p.m. ET, CN8).
The National awards came from both the Sports Network and College Sporting News, marking the seventh won by the Spiders since last season (junior QB Eric Ward won both earlier this season and Tim Hightower won three in 2007).
Vaughan, the CAA's leading scorer (7.8 points/game) and top running back (112.3 yards/game), established a new career high for the third-consecutive game by averaging 9.2 yards on his 26 carries, highlighted by runs of 51, 39, and 32 yards. He scored twice in the game - his fifth-consecutive game with two rushing TDs.
It took the senior just a half to reach the new career high with 166 yards in the first 30 minutes of the contest - surpassing 100 yards on his 11th carry at the 12:50-mark of the second quarter. He has now topped 150 yards in three-consecutive games (156 at UMass, 157 vs. Georgetown and Saturday's 240) and 100+ yards in four of the last five.
The 240 yards stands as the best in the conference this season and the fifth-best single-game rushing performance in school history, trailing Tim Hightower's 295 yards at Bucknell last season, the 280 by Barry Redden vs. Penn in 1981, and 246 by both Hightower (at Northeastern last season) and Cordell Roane vs. Hofstra in 2001.
Vaughan has vaulted to fourth on the Spiders' all-time rushing chart with 2,618 yards, passing TyRonne Turner's 2,603 (1997-00) and with 1,123 yards this season, the tailback has reached the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career.
The Offensive Player of the Week award is the second for Vaughan this season.
Also from Hermitage High School, junior kicker Andrew Howard was perfect on the day at Hofstra (two field goals, four extra points), including a career-long 53-yard field goal in the rain and wind. The kick ranks as the second-longest in school history and fourth-longest in the conference record books. Howard is the league's fourth-leading scorer this season (7.2 points/game).