Richmond silences Delaware to hand Blue Hens their first loss

This isn’t the first time that Richmond has been a thorn in Delaware’s side.

But it may be the last time.

The 15th-ranked Spiders ended the Blue Hens’ dreams of a perfect final FCS season by dumping Delaware, 28-9, in a CAA football showdown at Robins Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Richmond dominated the first half, building its 28-9 advantage by intermission before beating the Hens for the fourth-straight meeting.

With the Spiders heading for the Patriot League next season and Delaware going to Conference USA, this might be the last time the two programs meet.

The Hens (3-1 CAA, 6-1 overall) will still win the all-time series, 22-15, but that felt like a hollow accomplishment on Saturday.

Richmond (3-0 CAA, 5-2 overall) and Rhode Island (3-0 CAA, 6-1 overall) are now the only two CAA teams still unbeaten in conference games. Fifth-ranked Villanova was also upset on Saturday, falling to Maine, 35-7.

Delaware hosts Rhode Island on Nov. 9.

All the scoring took place in the first half as the Hens hardly looked like a team that was averaging 42 points per game.

“We know what it takes to win and we didn’t do those things today,” UD coach Ryan Carty said on his post-game radio interview on WDSD. “We got out-coached and out-played and out-executed.

“I think they did a couple things, probably over the bye week, to scheme us up in the pass game. I think they saw some holes in what we were doing. I also think they made some plays early. There were a couple throws there that were really on target.”

Delaware actually did hold an early 3-0 lead after Jake Thaw’s 27-yard punt return led to Nate Reed’s 33-yard field goal just over four minutes into the game. But Richmond reeled off three-straight touchdowns to take control.

The Hens tried to get back in the game when a Phil Lutz 12-yard scoring pass from Zach Marker capped off a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. The reception added to Lutz’ school record of seven straight games with a TD catch.

Delaware missed a two-point conversion try to still trail, 21-9

And when the Spiders added another scoring drive to push their lead back to 28-9 at halftime, the Hens had dug themselves too big a hole to climb out of.

Richmond sophomore quarterback Cam Coleman was a dual-threat headache for Delaware.

He completed 16-of-23 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 79 yards and another TD on 10 carries.

The only Spiders’ touchdown Coleman didn’t directly have a hand in, he sprinted 59 yards to the Hens’ one to set it up.

“I think, with the bye week, we had a good week and a half of just great preparation,” said Coleman. “We all just came together. We knew what we could do.”

Forced to throw the ball more after it got behind, Delaware’s Marker completed 21-of-43 passes for 251 yards. QB Nick Minicucci, now recovered from a left shoulder injury, saw some second-half action and completed 2-of-4 passes for 37 yards with an interception.

Marker lost a first-half fumble for the Hens’ first lost fumble of the season. The two Delaware turnovers came against none for Richmond.

“In a game like this with a defense like Richmond’s, it’s really hard to put yourself in a hole,” said Carty. “If you have to be one-dimensional against them, and not be able to drive the field, you’re going to put yourself in a situation where now they can rear back — and they have two good pass rushers to do that. You have to keep those guys off-balance.”

Carty said the Hens will have to decide how they respond to their first loss of the season.

“We’re going to be judged as humans in life and in sports after our failures a little bit more than we’re judged after our wins,” he said. “How we bounce back, how we continue to fight and how we continue to believe in who we are and what we do believe in, we’ll find out.

“If we go up from this or if we stay down from this, it’s going to be a big key for this week in practice.”

EXTRA POINTS

The Hens ran the ball for just 36 net yards although it was 90 yards not counting the 54 yards Delaware lost on four sacks. ... Along with the four sacks, Richmond had six pass breakups and six QB hurries. ... Marcus Yarns ran for 31 yards on seven carries. ... Lutz finished with 93 yards on six catches. ... Linebacker Ty Davis had a team-high eight tackles. ... Delaware hosts Albany on Saturday at 3 p.m. for Homecoming.