Richmond better by a half

University of Richmond coach Mike London called it a "gut check," the halftime predicament in which the Spiders found themselves yesterday at Maine.

On homecoming, the Black Bears led 14-10 at the break. UR quarterback Eric Ward had been rushed hard, and the Spiders hadn't established a running game. Maine went 77 yards on eight plays to score a touchdown just before intermission.

"I had to coach better. Players had to play better. We had to make better calls," London said. "It's hard to win a game on the road when you don't come out and kind of get after them."

The Spiders responded with authoritative running, a defense that prohibited Maine from moving the ball on the ground, and a 90-yard touchdown punt return by Derek Hatcher that gave UR momentum in a 38-21 Colonial Athletic Association win at Alfond Stadium.

Richmond (4-0, 6-0), which ran for 252 yards, held the Black Bears (2-2, 3-4) to minus-2 rushing yards, making Maine one-dimensional (58 passing attempts).

"We pride ourselves on stopping teams from running the ball on us," said UR defensive tackle Martin Parker. "Pass? OK, let's go. You don't have to worry about taking the technique steps to get into your rush lanes. All you've got to do is worry about getting off and getting in the backfield and trying to sack the quarterback."

That makes 15 consecutive wins for Richmond, the top-ranked team in the Football Championship Subdivision, and 10 consecutive road victories. UR led 38-14 with 3:52 left, then used numerous reserves.

The Spiders received the second-half kickoff and went on a 13-play, 76-yard scoring drive that set the tone. Richmond repeatedly picked up significant gains on first downs through the second half, the key to its offensive uprising.

Justin Forte gained 45 of his 91 rushing yards on that drive, which gave UR a 17-14 lead in a game that was about to become one-sided. Hatcher returned Maine's next punt 90 yards for a TD. He ran through an arm tackle and cut to the right sideline behind Richmond's blocking wall.

"It came at a critical moment," London said of the play that gave UR a 24-14 lead with 4:32 left in the third quarter. "It was a huge boost."

Garrett Wilkins continued the Spiders' rushing prowess with a 57-yard TD run that made it 31-14 with 12:02 remaining. Later, after Forte left with a shoulder problem that he said isn't serious and Wilkins was shaken up, third-team tailback Tyler Kirchoff ripped off rushing yards as the Spiders went ahead 38-14.

"At halftime, we were real disappointed with how we played in the first half. We felt that we should be able to move the ball much better," Forte said. "We sat down, we looked each other in the eye and said, 'Let's get it going right now. This is enough. We've got to take over.'"

Last week in a 21-17 win at James Madison, Parker, a junior defensive lineman, caused a fumble with 58 seconds left at the Spiders' 6. Yesterday, he was in on 10 tackles, four for losses, and had two sacks.

"All in all, I felt like we did what we had to do," said Parker.

Richmond ------------------------- 7 3 14 14--38
Maine ------------------------- 7 7 0 7--21
First Quarter

Rich--Gaskins 1 run (Howard kick), 11:43.

Me--W.Smith 1 run (Waxman kick), 5:43.
Second Quarter

Rich--FG Howard 20, 7:39.

Me--Ty.Jones 21 pass from W.Smith (Waxman kick), :02.
Third Quarter

Rich--D.Boston 3 pass from Ward (Howard kick), 8:16.

Rich--Hatcher 90 punt return (Howard kick), 4:32.
Fourth Quarter

Rich--Wilkins 57 run (Howard kick), 12:00.

Rich--Ward 1 run (Howard kick), 3:54.

Me--Ty.Jones 14 pass from W.Smith (Waxman kick), 1:32.

A--6,087.
 Rich

Me
First downs-------------------------19

18
Return yards-------------------------110

13
Punts-Avg.-------------------------4-34.0

6-33.7
Rushes-yards-------------------------40-229

17-(-2)
Passing yards-------------------------108

327
Comp-Att-Int-------------------------12-21-1

35-58-2
Fumbles-lost-------------------------3-2

2-0
Penalties-yards-------------------------3-29

6-57
Time of possession-------------------------29:57

30:03
RUSHING

Richmond (40-229) , Forte 16-91, Wilkins 5-78, Kirchoff 6-36, Ward 9-20, Gaskins 3-5, Team 1-(minus 1). Maine (17-(-2)) , W.Smith 9-5, Brown 2-3, Session 4-3, Brusko 1-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus 12).
PASSING

Richmond (12-21-1--108) , Ward 12-21-1-108. Maine (35-58-2--327) , W.Smith 35-58-2-327.
RECEIVING

Richmond , Gray 6-67, Grayson 3-24, Mitchell 1-14, D.Boston 1-3, Wilkins 1-0. Maine , Ty.Jones 9-78, Brusko 7-92, Williams 6-30, Buttles 4-29, Session 3-28, Kelley 1-38, Randall 1-14, McDonald 1-13, Falvey 1-7, Brown 1-0, W.Smith 1-(minus 2).
TACKLES

Richmond: McConaghy 13, Weldon 10, Parker 10, McBride 9, Williams 6, McMillan 6, Miles 4, Horton 2, Hamilton 2, Graham 2, Mayfield, Ward, Howell, Rogers, Pehanick, Ireland, Kirchoff, Mitchell. Maine: Ervin 7, Stevens 6, Coston 6, McMillian 6, McLaughlin 5, McCrossan 4, Barker 4, Givans 4, Cusano 3, Harris 3, Dennis 3, Phanor 2, Williamson, Smith, Russell, Serena, Charles, Bates, Roach, James.
SACKS

Richmond: Parker 2, Weldon. Maine: Stevens, McMillian, Charles.
INTERCEPTIONS

Richmond: Miles, Ireland. Maine: Alston.
FUMBLE RECOVERY

Maine: Ervin.