Richmond football won their first game of the season against Colgate on Saturday after making adjustments following their loss to Sam Houston State last weekend.
The Spiders lost to Sam Houston State, 48 - 34 after a comeback that never fully developed. Despite a tough loss, quarterback Kyle Lauletta threw for a record-breaking game. Lauletta and his 546 passing yards, now hold the Richmond single-game record as well as the fifth most passing yards in a single game in CAA football history.
Sam Houston played a stronger defensive game even though both teams put up points. Cortrelle Simpson, a wide receiver that transferred from Temple, had seven catches for 204 yards and a touchdown. Scott Day, Football PR Director, said that the first half was difficult for the team because there were actions that were not executed that came back to hurt the team.
“Special teams —- we didn’t tackle well in the first half,” Day said. The nine penalties that accounted for 139 lost yards only fought against the comeback that the Spiders had planned for the second half of the game.
Coach Russ Huesman also had similar worries that were expressed during the press conference on Wednesday, saying that the defense simply had to tackle better. Huesman said that from the first to second game, the team would identify their weaknesses and improve.
The Spiders did just that with a hard-fought win against the Colgate Raiders.
Photo courtesy of Richmond Athletics.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Raiders struck first taking the lead early in the second quarter. The Spiders answered right away with a 75 yard drive up the field, ending with a five yard touchdown run from running back Deontez Thompson. The game was tied 7-7 at the half.
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After a Raider’s touchdown in the third quarter, the Spiders responded at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a one yard run by running back Gordon Collins. With the game tied 14-14, defensive lineman Andrew Clyde shut down the Raider’s that led to the Spider’s successful drive ending with a field goal.
The Raider’s tried to come back, scoring another field goal before the Spider’s follower with yet another field goal. With 1:23 on the clock, defensive back Daniel Jones made a key play by intercepting a pass from Breneman so the Spiders could gain possession.
When asked what Spiders fans should expect this season, Day’s response was simple.
“A team that is going to compete for championships,” Day said, “We’ve built a program here that can win and win significantly into the playoffs.”
Even though Richmond has a win, their upcoming games will not be easy. The Family Weekend game next week against Howard will be a difficult game, but the team is not going to shy away from the challenge.
Contact sports writer Lindsay Emery at lindsay.emery@richmond.edu.
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