EDITOR’S NOTE: Unfortunately, Virginia Sports Now was not able to get anyone up to Orono, ME. Too bad – great place, L.L. Bean is just down the road, Stephen King’s house is nearby. Always a great trip. The next time the Spiders go, we’ll have grown to the point where we’ll be there with bells on. We’re going to post the release sent out by the Spiders’ sports information ace Mike DeGeorge. He always does a great job with his info. We’ll add his notes and quotes later. Next week, yours truly will get his first look at the Spiders this season – very much looking forward to it. We’ll make this content free, of course, since we didn’t create it ourselves.
ORONO, Maine – No. 1 Richmond scored four consecutive touchdowns in the second half and ran past Maine, 38-21, Saturday at Alfond Stadium in Orono, Maine. Senior Derek Hatcher’s 90-yard punt return for touchdown highlighted the Spiders’ 15th-consecutive win and 10th-consecutive on the road.
Behind the running of senior Justin Forte and sophomore Garrett Wilkins, the Spiders (6-0, 4-0) outgained the Black Bears 252 to minus-two on the ground. Forte racked up 91 yards on 16 carries, while Wilkins had 78 on just five runs – including a 57-yarder for touchdown that put the Spiders up 31-14 in the fourth.
Sophomore WR Tre Gray reeled in six passes for 67 yards as senior QB Eric Ward was 12-for-21 passing for 108 yards and a TD pass.
Richmond found itself down at halftime for the second-consecutive week, but Ward muscled the Spiders downfield on the second-half’s opening drive and the reigning National Champions never looked back.
Ward’s three-yard TD strike to Donte Boston gave Richmond a 17-14 lead – the 55th career TD pass for Ward to break the school’s record – and Hatcher followed with his dazzling 90-yard punt return on the next series to stun Maine’s (3-4, 2-2) homecoming crowd.
Wilkins gave the Spiders insurance, when he broke a handful of tackles at the line and sprinted 57-yard down the Maine sideline, putting the visitors on top 31-14 with 12 minutes left.
Ward’s 20th career rushing score, which increased the margin to 38-14, was the Spiders fourth-consecutive touchdown after halftime.
The Spiders owned a 360-325 edge in total offense, including the decisive rushing advantage. Maine became the seventh Richmond opponent since last season to gain less than 40 total yards on the ground. Richmond rolled up 199 yards rushing in the second half and Ward was seven-of-10 passing for 70 yards after halftime.
Senior LB Collin McConaghy collected a game-high 13 tackles, forced a fumble and broke up a pass, while junior LB Patrick Weldon and senior NT Martin Parker each had 10. Parker was in on two sacks and four tackles for loss. Junior NG Parker Miles and senior SS Michael Ireland each had the interceptions.
After freshman Kendall Gaskins capped the Spiders first drive with a one-yard score, Maine QB Warren Smith answered with a one-yard keeper.
An Andrew Howard 20-yard field goal put Richmond back up midway through the second quarter, but Ty Jones made a leaping 21-yard TD grab in the end zone in the half’s final seconds to give Maine the 14-10 lead at the break.
Smith finished the day 35-of-58 passing for 327 yards and two TDs. He was sacked three times and picked off twice. Jones caught both of Smith’s TD throws and reeled in 78 yards on nine catches.
Team Notes
* The win extended the Spiders school-record winning streak to 15-consecutive games and the school-record road winning streak to 10-straight. Both those streaks rank as the longest currently in the FCS. Richmond’s 10-game road winning streak is the longest in all of Division-I football.
* Richmond improved to 9-2 all-time when playing as the No. 1-ranked team, including a 5-2 mark on the road.
* At 6-0, Richmond is off to its best start since a school-record 7-0 beginning the 1985 season.
* The Spiders improved to 19-3 overall (11-2 on the road) when playing as a ranked team in the last two seasons (28-5 since 2007 and 59-27 all-time).
* Richmond has now defeated nine-consecutive opponents from the CAA Football North Division and improved its all-time record in intradivision play to 12-2. Since the start of 2007, Richmond is 7-0 versus the North Division and out-scoring the North 460-242 in that span.
* Although trailing 14-10 at halftime, Richmond outscored Maine 28-7 in the second half Saturday. This season, the Spiders own an 87-35 advantage in second-half scoring, including a 56-22 edge in the fourth quarter.
* Richmond is now 3-0 this season when surpassing the 30-point mark (32-2 since 2005).
* Maine was limited to minus-two rushing yards for the game, marking the seventh Richmond opponent since the start of last season to not gain more than 40 yards on the ground. (The school record for fewest rushing yards allowed is minus-27 to James Madison in 1997.)
* Richmond allowed just one rushing first down in the game, which tied a school record for fewest allowed. The Spiders allowed just one to Delaware last season and one to Furman in 1969.
· Richmond trailed in time of possession by six seconds (30:03-29:57), marking the first time that has happened this season. It’s just the eighth time since 2007 that the Spiders have not won the time-of-possession battle (5-3 in those games).
Individual Notes
* Senior QB Eric Ward became the school’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with his 55th on Saturday. He broke the record previously held by Bob Bleier (1983-86). Ward also broke Bleier’s career record of 672 completions in the game. Ward now has 680.
* Ward scored his 20th career rushing TD in the game, which moved him into a tie for eighth on the Spiders’ career list.
* Senior Derek Hatcher’s 90-yard punt return for TD was longest punt return in his career and ranks as the second-longest in school history. Only a 92-yard return by Arthur Jones vs. VMI in 1938 is longer.
* The punt return for TD was the second of Hatcher’s career and ties him for the school record with three other former Spiders: Arthur Jones (1938-40), Mickey Marnikov (1955-58) and John Armstrong (1984-85). Armstrong is the only Spider to return two in the same season.
* Hatcher was last Spider to return a punt for a TD, taking one back 66 yards versus Stony Brook in 2007.
* For his career, Hatcher has 799 yards in punt returns, which ranks second all-time at Richmond and is 298 yards shy of Winston October’s career record (1,097 yards).
* The interception by junior NG Parker Miles was the first of his career. It also stands as the only career interception by any of Richmond’s current defensive linemen.
* The 57-yard TD run by Garrett Wilkins was a career-long rush for the sophomore. He finished the game with five carries for 78 yards (15.6 yards/carry). The 57-yard rush is the longest from scrimmage by Richmond this season.
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