Seventh-ranked Richmond raced out to a 27-0 halftime lead and went on to a 34-14 victory over the Pride in a CAA matchup at James M. Shuart Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Spiders outgained Hofstra, 460-288, to improve to 7-3 (4-2 CAA). Hofstra dropped its fourth straight contest to drop to 3-7 overall and 1-5 in conference action.
The Pride was led by sophomore receiver Aaron Weaver (Freeport, NY), who registered the first 100-yard receiving game of his career, finishing with a game-high nine receptions and 132 yards. He also added a touchdown run on a fourth-quarter end around. Freshman quarterback Steve Probst posted the best statistical game of his brief career, setting a personal-best with 211 yards while completing 21-of-33 attempts with one touchdown.
Despite the rainy conditions, Richmond senior tailback Josh Vaughan rushed for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Eric Ward threw for 158 yards while completing 11-of-20 passes. But Vaughan carried the offense, consistently finding holes. The senior tailback recorded a 9.2 yards per carry average.
Richmond, the reigning CAA champions, built a 17-0 lead after the first quarter, outgaining Hofstra in total yards, 194-12, in front of a crowd of 1,766.
Richmond scored on five of its six first-half possessions, starting the scoring off quickly. On the first play from scrimmage, Ward connected on a downfield strike thanks to Kevin Grayson's sliding catch, which completed a 35-yard play. On the next play, Vaughan pushed his way past the line of scrimmage, sprinting down the Hofstra sideline for a 32-yard pickup. Ward's 1-yard quarterback keeper on the next play gave the Spiders a 7-0 lead just 52 seconds into the game.
Ward added his second rushing touchdown of the game midway through the first quarter, capping a nine-play, 81-yard drive with a quarterback keeper off a fake pitch for another 1-yard scoring rush, extending Richmond's lead to 14-0 at the 7:21 mark.
Richmond sustained the pressure as Hofstra's offense struggled on its first two possessions. Vaughan sustained another scoring drive, finding another seam on fourth-and-one for a 15-yard gain on a rush beyond the right hash marks. Vaughan also drew a personal foul facemask penalty, giving Richmond 30 yards on the play.
Andrew Howard's 22-yard-field goal with 20 seconds remaining capped Richmond's third straight successful drive as the Spiders built a 17-0 edge heading into the second quarter.
Howard increased the lead by 3 with 8:33 left in the half, as Richmond benefitted from a fortuitous bounce. Howard's 53-yard kick hit the crossbar and skipped over for a 20-0 lead. The field goal was just one yard shy of the stadium record and the second-longest in Richmond history.
The Pride defense, which was led by Nick Altomare's eight unassisted tackles, still couldn't find an answer for Vaughan. The 6-0, 232-pound rusher added his first touchdown run, scoring on an off-tackle rush to the left side for a 27-0 lead with 3:09 left in the first half.
Hofstra's offense awoke in the second half, led by Probst's methodical passing strike. The North Massapequa, NY native put the Pride on the scoreboard when he rolled out and found red-shirt freshman receiver Christian Dennis alone at the five-yard line. The rookie cruised into the end zone for his first career touchdown, cutting the deficit to 27-7 with 10:24 left in the third quarter.
Hofstra's defense followed up the offensive breakthrough with a goal-line stand. Pride tackles Elliott Antoine and Al Carmody stuffed John Crone at the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal, stalling a promising Richmond drive to give the Pride possession midway through the third quarter.
Richmond responded with another 75-yard drive capped by Vaughan's second touchdown run from 1-yard out just 46 seconds in the fourth quarter. Weaver's 1-yard TD run on a reverse was the Pride's last salvo, capping a 15-play, 80-yard drive that made it 34-14 with 4:16 left.
Weaver, who broke the school mark of 253 kickoff return yards (6 returns) last week in New Hampshire, returned three kicks for 63 yards against the Spiders.
The Pride will be back in action next Saturday when they close out their 2008 home schedule against CAA-rival Northeastern at Shuart Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Former San Francisco 49ers tackle and Hofstra alumnus (1992-95) Dave Fiore will have his Pride jersey number (74) retired during halftime ceremonies. To purchase football tickets online for the Hofstra-Northeastern game visit www.Hofstra.edu/athletics or call 516-HOF-TIXX.
-30-
