Sept. 25, 2004
Final Stats | Photo Gallery
RICHMOND, Va. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette's defense intercepted Richmond quarterback Stacy Tutt twice in the fourth quarter, including once in the end zone, kept the Spider offense out of the end zone after a first-and-goal from the six in the closing minutes and overcame a disputed call on a Hail Mary on the game's second-to-last play to spoil Richmond's home-opener, 21-16, on Saturday.
The Leopards (3-1 overall), still stinging from last weekend's loss at Princeton, went toe-to-toe with the full-scholarship Atlantic 10 school that was fresh off last week's convincing win at then-No. 9 Massachusetts. The win moves Lafayette to 3-1 for the first time since 1996 and marks the program's first win over a Division I scholarship program since a 24-17 win at Buffalo in 1995.
Torian Johnson's 46-yard interception return on the first play of the fourth quarter set up the Leopard offense at the Richmond 43. Junior quarterback Pat Davis, who played the entire second half, sandwiched completions to Brandon Stanford (16 yards) and Chad Walker (four yards) around a one-yard run of his own. On third-and-five, Davis and Jonathan Hurt ran an option out of the shotgun, with Hurt taking the pitch and slashing 22 yards for the go-ahead score.
Richmond (2-2) marched to the Lafayette six-yard line on the ensuing possession, where on third down Tye Murphy intercepted Tutt in the back corner of the end zone. Richmond's defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense again drove to the Lafayette six. David Freeman, who finished with 201 yards on 32 carries, picked up five yards on first down, Tutt was thrown for a loss on second down, Freeman ran for no gain on third down and Tutt was stuffed at the one on a quarterback sweep on fourth down with just over two minutes left.
Lafayette senior punter Mike Davis took an intentional safety with 38 seconds left, setting up a wild finish. Following the free kick, Tutt completed a pair of passes to move the ball to the Lafayette 23 with five seconds left. A desperation toss into the end zone was tipped and caught by a Richmond receiver, temporarily giving Richmond the victory. After a nearly 15-minute discussion, the officials ruled that a receiver had illegally touched the pass after stepping out of bounds. Lafayette was forced to accept the penalty, giving Richmond an untimed down from the 23. Tutt's final pass of the day fell incomplete, and the Leopards could finally celebrate.
Lafayette's offense had its most productive day in three weeks, amassing 301 yards of offense. Quarterbacks Brad Maurer and Davis combined to complete 15-of-19 passes for 151 yards, with the 15 completions spread amongst eight receivers. Hurt, making his first collegiate start, ran 20 times for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Defensively, Bryan Kazimierowski was in on 15 tackles, while Maurice Bennett added 12 and Larry Johnson and Trey Martell 10 apiece. Martell was credited with 2-1/2 sacks and a forced fumble. He twice came off the edge untouched and had clear shots at Tutt in the backfield.
Lafayette scored on two of its first three possessions, marching 65 yards on nine plays with the opening kickoff and later covering 72 yards in seven snaps. Maurer's 22-yard scramble on third-and-five from the Richmond 40 set up Hurt's one-yard plunge on the game's first possession.
The Leopards turned the ball over on a controversial interception on their second possession, but the defense forced a punt and the offense took over again at the Lafayette 24-yard line. On third-and-two from the Leopard 43, Maurer faked an option right, stepped back and hit Justin Lauver in stride on a post pattern. The play covered 45 yards. Two snaps later Maurer rolled left, cut back to his right and scampered into the corner of the end zone. Rick Ziska's second point-after put the Leopards up 14-0 with 9:43 left in the half.
Freeman and the rest of the Spider offense came to life in the closing minutes of the first half. They marched 83 yards in 11 plays for their first touchdown, with Freeman scoring from four yards out with 5:33 remaining. He pounded his way for 71 yards on seven carries on the drive.
Richmond knotted the score at 14 just before halftime. Tutt rolled to his left, wheeled back to the right and fired a screen pass to Arman Shields. Shields' 30-yard catch-and-run drew the Spiders even with 1:49 left in the half.
The Leopards held Tutt, who ran for 117 yards at UMass last week, to just 14 net yards on 14 attempts. The strong and shifty quarterback created a number of plays on his own, however, and did complete 18-of-30 passes for 234 yards, including 9-of-10 in the first half for 137 yards.
Saturday's game was the final in a three-game road swing. The Leopards posted a 2-1 record during the stretch, the first time since 1994 that Lafayette has finished above .500 when playing at least three consecutive games away from home.
Lafayette welcomes perennial Ivy League power Harvard to Fisher Field next Saturday. Kickoff for the Homecoming game is set for 1 p.m.
