University of Richmond Athletics
Derek Hatcher Honored As CAA Football Special Teams Player Of The Week
Oct. 19, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond senior punt returner Derek Hatcher was named the CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday after his 90-yard punt return for touchdown highlighted the No. 1 Spiders 38-21 win at Maine Saturday.
The Spiders are 6-0 overall, 4-0 in the league and in sole-possession of first place in the CAA South Division. Richmond owns the longest wining streak in the FCS at 15 games, while its 10-game road win streak is longest in Division-I football. The Spiders are one of just four remaining undefeated teams in the FCS (Montana, Colgate and Butler).
Hatcher, who's leading the conference and ranked 11th in the FCS in punt returns this season (12.6 yards/return), broke off his career-long return as Richmond pulled away from Maine with 28-unanswered points in the second half, after trailing 14-10 at halftime. Hatcher, the son of former MLB star and current Cincinnati Reds first-base coach Billy Hatcher, stands second at Richmond in career punt return yards (799).
The 90-yard return is the second-longest in school history, second-longest in the FCS this season and second-longest in CAA Football history. The Richmond record is a 92-yard return by Arthur Jones vs. VMI in 1938, while the CAA Football record is a 93-yarder by UMass' Ron Harris in 1974.
Richmond is home for the first time in a month Saturday, hosting nationally-ranked Massachusetts in a pivotal CAA Football game at UR Stadium. The Minutemen (4-2, 2-1), ranked 18th last week, are coming off a 23-17 upset win over No. 4 New Hampshire Saturday. Kickoff its set for 3:30 p.m. ET.