Spiders drenched by rain, trounced on by UVA in season opener

The University of Virginia proved too much for the University of Richmond football team two years ago in the Spiders’ 2022 season opener, and two years later, an almost identical result on the scoreboard ensued.

The Spiders ultimately fell to the Cavaliers 34-13 in a rain-defined game at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia on Aug. 31 to officially open up UR’s 2024 campaign. By the end of the first quarter, UR had fallen behind 17-0 on the scoreboard, making for another tough hole to climb out of against an early season Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in UVA. 

“At the end of the day, when the lights come on and we line up in between those lines, we have to be better players, and we will be better players,” redshirt senior defensive back Jabril Hayes said in a postgame press conference. 

Just when the Spiders got on the scoreboard for the first time, thanks to a rushing touchdown from redshirt junior quarterback Kyle Wickersham to cut the score to 20-7 in the second quarter, a weather delay put the game on hold for over two hours. 

Thunder roared, lightning struck and rain came pouring down on David A. Harrison III Field as teams congregated in their respective locker rooms to await a decision on the game. Competition eventually started back up again at 9:17 p.m. for a game that began at 6:00 p.m., and the Spiders and Cavaliers played out the remaining 4:48 left on the game clock in the first half. 

With the game already running behind schedule, no halftime ensued but instead just a media break. Then it was off to the third quarter, with UVA leading UR 27-7. 

Much like in the first half, not too much changed output-wise in the second half for the Spiders. UR’s efforts ultimately resulted in just two field goals in the final 30 minutes of gameplay. 

Throughout the game, the Spiders did show some signs of promising play, however. 

Wickersham had several chunk runs and finished with 40 rushing yards to go along with his 110 passing yards. Redshirt senior Nick DeGennaro had seven catches for 70 yards. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Matei Fitz and redshirt senior defensive lineman Jeremiah Grant each had a sack in the game. Junior running back Zach Palmer-Smith tallied 77 rushing yards. 

What ultimately killed the Spiders, though, were the chunk plays that UVA continually connected on throughout gameplay. It was the Cavaliers’ field-shifting and yardage-stacking plays that kept taking the Spiders out of competition. 

“It was hard,” UR Head Coach Russ Huesman said in a postgame press conference. “A lot of team speed over on the other sideline there and I think [UVA] outran us quite a bit. When they got in space, it was tough sailing for us.”

Luckily for the Spiders, however, their football club has proved to be seemingly immune to tough starts to the season, especially in the last two campaigns. 

In 2022, after a loss to the Cavaliers, the Spiders won eight of their final 10 regular season games and ended up in the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs for the first time since 2016. 

A similar fate ensued for the Spiders in 2023. After losses to Morgan State University and Michigan State University and a 2-3 record through its first five games, UR won its final six games of the season. The Spiders then clinched a piece of the Coastal Athletic Association Championship and with that, a second-straight trip to the FCS Playoffs. 

There were certainly question marks coming into this new season, as the Spiders lost several key roster pieces to graduation or the transfer portal. Players like linebacker Tristan Wheeler, offensive lineman Ryan Coll, running back Savon Smith and defensive lineman Marlem Louis were all integral to the Spiders’ back-to-back FCS Playoff runs.

As such, this season, new players will be required to anchor the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. 

“I think we learned that we can do it, we have the ability, we have the guys to be a great team like we have been in the past,” Hayes said. “And obviously resiliency, that’s one of the biggest things that we have to continue to move forward with and I think that we will.”

The Spiders’ next opportunity to showcase what they have in store for the 2024 season will be against Wofford College in their home opener at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 7.  

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.