Richmond’s experience paid enormous dividends

HARRISONBURG Youth will be served, but more often than not, experience carries the day.

With 1:07 left in the game and victory just six yards away for the James Madison Dukes, redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Thorpe took the snap, stepped back, then darted up the middle.

He was almost around Richmond nose tackle Martin Parker and things were looking good for the Dukes, except for one thing.

Parker knocked the ball from Thorpe's hand. Richmond linebacker Eric McBride recovered the fumble, and the game was saved, 21-17, for the Spiders.

"He's a child," JMU coach Mickey Matthews said of former Varina High School standout Thorpe.

Matthews wasn't making a derogatory comment. He simply was assessing the situation. This is Thorpe's first year on the field in college football. Seasoning often is required before excellence is achieved.

Thorpe has to protect the ball, even when he thinks he's gotten past a tackler. Players who are determined to defend their national championship, as the Spiders are, do not give up just because the quarterback has a step on them.

On the opposite end of the spectrum yesterday was Eric Ward, redshirt senior quarterback for the Spiders.

Ward led Richmond on what became the game-winning drive, a 10-play, 76-yard effort that began with 13:06 left in the fourth quarter and ended at 7:20.

The final play was a 6-yard touchdown pass to fullback Ben Keating.

The call was perfect. The pass was perfect.

Ward, the experienced college quarterback, took care of business.

There are reasons the Spiders are the de fending national champions and the No. 1 ranked team in the Football Championship Subdivision.

They're talented and well-coached, but many teams fit that description.

The Spiders have a confidence and poise that separates good teams from championship teams.

It starts with head coach Mike London.

"Coach London does a great job of keeping us relaxed," said Spiders defensive tackle Parker Miles. "He says to be loose because if you practice tight all week, it carries over to the game."

Things were getting tight for the Spiders late in yesterday's game against a fierce Colonial Athletic Association rival.

After Ward's touchdown pass, JMU drove from its 37 yard line to the Spiders' 6 on 10 running plays and one pass.

Richmond's defense was reeling. The Dukes seemed destined to accomplish two things: score the winning touchdown and exhaust the clock.

Still, the Spiders never doubted they would win.

Then came Parker's play. It was an outstanding individual effort, made possible because the redshirt junior kept his wits about him.

"I kind of had him, but he came under me, and I kind of missed the tackle," Parker said. "My last resort was to hit the ball.

"If I hadn't done that, I would have been very disappointed in myself."

The Spiders can't remember the last time, or the first time, for that matter, they were disappointed in Ward.

His first play yesterday was a 43-yard pass to wide receiver Kevin Grayson. His last pass was for the game-winning touchdown. In between, he completed passes with JMU defenders in his face to keep drives alive. He was sacked twice, but he also eluded defenders and threw the ball away to avoid sacks.

On other occasions, he scrambled, bought time and at the last second, found a receiver in the open.

"He's got great pocket presence," said JMU defensive end Arthur Moates. "You hardly ever catch him from the blind side."

With the Spiders in almost desperate need of that final touchdown, Ward was calm and collected.

As they broke the huddle, he had some last-second advice for Keating.

"He told me to snap my head around because the ball was coming quick," Keating said. "We have 100 percent confidence in him."

The Spiders have great confidence in themselves, which is why they have one national championship and are in the hunt for another.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or . Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/World_of_Woody.