Oct. 20, 2007
Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. - The No. 18 University of Richmond football team defeated the University of Rhode Island 38-6 in CAA Football action Saturday afternoon at Richmond Stadium. The win moves Spiders to 5-2 (3-1 CAA) while the Rams fall to 1-6 (0-4 CAA).
URI junior back Joe Casey (Sycaruse, N.Y.) led the offense with 94 rushing yards, moving him past Leroy Shaw (1977-80) into fifth place on URI's all-time rushing list. He left the game late in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury. Richmond running back Tim Hightower, who entered the game averaging a CAA-best 167.2 yards per game, rushed for 96 yards, ending his streak of five-consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He was also held without a rushing touchdown for the first time this season.
The Rams went three-and-out on offense to start the game. The Spiders' offense moved the ball 46 yards on eight plays on the ensuring possession and capped the drive with a 33-yard field goal by Andrew Howard at 10:48. Tim Hightower picked up 29 of the 46 yards on the ground for UR.
Following a second three-and-out by URI, the Spiders extended their lead to 10-0 on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Eric Ward to Tim Hightower at 4:56. The play capped a 10-play, 84-yard drive for Richmond. Ward converted a key third-down early in the drive and later scampered 36 yards to move the ball into Rhode Island territory.
Senior Brian Giannacchini (Cranford, N.J.) accounted for the only points of the second quarter for either team, kicking a 49-yard field goal at 3:19 to cut the deficit to 10-3. The field goal was the longest of his career and the third-longest in school history. Junior quarterback Derek Cassidy (Winter Haven, Fla.) and junior back Casey combined for 43 of the 49 yards of offense on the first scoring drive of the game for the Rams.
Reigning CAA Player of the Week Derek Hatcher returning the opening kickoff of the second half 33 yards to put the Spiders in URI territory. Four plays later, Josh Vaughn broke off a 30-yard touchdown run to stretch the UR lead to 17-3. The Rams answered right back with a 24-yard field goal by Giannecchini that capped an 11-play, 66-yard drive and made it a 17-6 Richmond lead. URI outgained the Spiders 135-49 in the third quarter, 32 of those yards picked on a rush by senior Jerell Jones (Yonkers, N.Y.) on the only scoring drive of the quarter for the Rams.
The Spiders went ahead 24-6on a one-yard touchdown run by Ward with 7:47 remaining in the fourth. The touchdown capped a seven-play, 53-yard drive that ate up 3:10. On the Rams next possession, Justin Forte blocked a punt attempt by sophomore Shawn Leonard (Stoughton, Mass.) and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown, putting UR in front 31-6. Justin Forte capped the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown run for Richmond with 1:40 remaining that gave the Spiders a 37-6 lead.
Cassidy finished the afternoon 8-for-16 for 77 yards while UR signal caller Eric Ward completed 11-of-20 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns (one rush). The Spiders - who sacked Cassidy six times - have won 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two schools. Leonard finished with three catches for 36 yards for URI.
The Rams return to action next week when they travel to Durham, N.H. to take on nationally-ranked New Hampshire at 1 p.m.
