For the second straight season, the University of Richmond football team captured the ever-elusive Capital Cup trophy against its longtime rival, the College of William & Mary.
In this year’s iteration of the storied tradition, over 7,500 fans were in attendance at E. Claiborne Robins Stadium as the Spiders ultimately took care of business, shutting out the Tribe 27-0 on Nov. 23 to finish out a memorable 2024 regular season.
This is the Spiders’ third Capital Cup victory in four years and ninth in the last 12 matchups. The victory over the Tribe also marked UR’s tenth-straight win, as the Spiders have not lost since Sept. 7 when the team dropped its second game of the year to Wofford College.
With the win, the Spiders also captured their second-straight Coastal Athletic Association championship, which officially granted them a third-straight bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs – something set in motion following their win last week against Hampton University.
“It’s a great feeling, no question about that,” UR Head Coach Russ Huesman said. “For our players to play this well in really all three phases, to beat a rival who’s got a really good football team, you can’t explain it.”
The Spiders got to work early against the Tribe. Even on the first series when William & Mary began to settle into its offense, UR’s defense played to spoil any hopes of the Tribe taking to the scoreboard first.
Redshirt senior linebacker Wayne Galloway set the tone for UR with an interception on the first series of the game, giving the Spiders possession after they decided to defer the kickoff to the second half. Galloway’s timely forced turnover ultimately led to a 51-yard field goal from first-year kicker Sean O’Haire which put UR ahead 3-0 early in the contest.
From there, the momentum was UR’s for the taking. And take it and run with it the Spiders did.
The Spiders forced a punt on their next defensive series then marched down the field all the way into the end zone. This was the first of two rushing touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Camden Coleman, and gave the Spiders a two-score lead in the first quarter.
Even when William & Mary put itself in a good position to score, the Tribe could not capitalize to break their goose egg on the scoreboard. A 53-yard field goal could have cut the Tribe’s deficit to seven points, but William & Mary’s kick fell short, leaving the Spiders still with the shutout with 10:23 remaining in the first half.
Coleman’s second rushing touchdown came with 2:14 to go in the second quarter. Prior to breaking into the end zone, it looked as if the Spiders would have to settle for just a field goal despite being in the red zone. A roughing of the kicker penalty gave UR a first down, however, leading to Coleman’s score and a 17-0 lead heading into the break.
At the beginning of the season, Huesman said the Spiders made the announcement that they were going to redshirt Coleman, meaning he would only be allowed to play in four games. With redshirt junior quarterback Kyle Wickersham injured, however, Coleman moved into the starting role and UR hasn’t looked back since.
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“I saw [Coleman] in the hallway down by the locker room and he was tore up a little bit,” Huesman said, recalling when Coleman received the quarterback news. “And I said ‘Cam, let me tell you what man. We’re gonna try to play you in four games, but there’s no question we’re gonna need you somewhere down the line.’ And sure enough, we’ve needed him, and he’s done a great job.”
Coleman finished the game 9-for-14 in the air for 69 yards. He did throw an interception to begin the third quarter, but his attack on the ground more than made up for the turnover. Coleman tallied rushing 73 yards to go along with those two rushing touchdowns.
“I prepared every week as if I was the guy, and when my name was called, I was able to step into the role like I knew I’d be able to,” Coleman said of his journey to becoming the Spiders’ starting quarterback.
The Spiders were scoreless in the third quarter, but were able to extend their lead with a field goal in the early seconds of the fourth quarter as a continuation of the drive that had been building in the previous quarter.
At this point, there was 14:56 to play and the Spiders were firmly in the driver’s seat, with a 10-2 regular season record and conference championship awaiting them.
With 5:54 to play, junior running back Zach Palmer-Smith capped off his big day on the ground with a rushing touchdown to put the Spiders ahead 27-0. Palmer-Smith finished with 129 rushing yards, which gave the Spiders another strong option in the run game in addition to Coleman.
On the defensive side of the ball, graduate linebacker Quantraill Morris-Walker led the way with 11 tackles to go along with a sack. Redshirt senior defensive lineman Jeremiah Grant and redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Camden Byrd also picked up a sack apiece during the game.
The Spiders will find out who they face next during the FCS Selection Show, which is set for 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 24.
It is unclear where UR will fall in terms of seeding and matchup, but the Spiders defeated their last two first-round FCS opponents, Davidson College and North Carolina Central University, in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.
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