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Richmond pulls shocker, knocks off Duke 24-16
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Published: September 6, 2009
DURHAM
David Cutcliffe said he was pretty shocked that his Duke football team wasn't better prepared to play last night.
But Cutcliffe, Duke's second-year coach, didn't point fingers at anyone but himself.
A blocked punt for a touchdown set the early tone, and defending NCAA Division I (Championship Subdivision) champion Richmond led the rest of the way in a 24-16 victory over the Blue Devils in the season opener for both teams in front of 33,011 at Wallace Wade Stadium.
"The thing that impresses me is the thing I'm supposed to be responsible for -- we're supposed to be absolutely ready to play football," Cutcliffe said. "(But) in our execution there was never a consistency tonight."
Thaddeus Lewis led the Blue Devils, completing 34 of 55 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns in a game that did not include a turnover. Johnny Williams caught seven passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, while Austin Kelly caught seven for 80 and another.
But the Blue Devils finished with just 19 yards rushing on 16 carries.
"Richmond was a veteran squad and they came out and played like one," Lewis said. "Hats off to them. This is very disappointing."
The Spiders were a model of consistency, with 125 rushing yards and 157 passing. Eric Ward completed 12 of 23 passes for 143 yards, while Justin Forte rushed 16 times for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Richmond, which went 13-3 last season and won the NCAA Division I (Championship Subdivision) title, came into the game on a nine-game winning streak. Duke went 4-8 last season, equaling its victory total of the previous four seasons combined.
The Blue Devils came in looking for revenge for a season-opening 13-0 loss to the Spiders in 2006, which propelled Duke to its only 0-12 season in school history.
"Any time you have a chance to play a BCS school in a sold-out environment and come out and win, it is significant," Richmond coach Mike London said. "I thought our conditioning showed in the second half."
The Spiders got on the board at the 8:45 mark of the first, when Tyler Kirchoff blocked a punt from Duke's Kevin Jones and Jonathan Mayfield scooped it up for a four-yard touchdown.
Duke got a safety at 4:56, as Richmond's Colin Pehanick snapped the ball over his punter's head and out of the end zone.
Richmond stretched its lead to 14-2 with 6:56 left in the half, as Forte bulled in from two yards out to finish a 13-play, 60-yard march.
But the Blue Devils recovered on their next series, as Lewis found Williams behind the defense down the right sideline for a 54-yard scoring strike to help cut the lead to 14-9.
Duke had a chance to cut into the lead on its first possession of the second half but Nick Maggio's 36-yard field goal attempt was wide right, his second miss of the game.
And the Spiders scored what proved to be the clinching touchdown with 9:39 to go, when Kirchoff went in from a yard out to complete a 12-play, 83-yard drive. Andrew Howard's kick made it 21-9.
Howard made it 24-9 on a 45-yard field goal with 4:16 to play.
The Blue Devils made things a bit more interesting when Lewis hit Kelly for a 21-yard touchdown with 2:13 remaining, but the Spiders covered the onside kick and dealt Duke its sixth straight loss
Richmond 7 7 0 10 -- 24
Duke 2 7 0 7 -- 16
First Quarter
Richmond--Mayfield 5 blocked punt return (Howard kick), 8:45.
Duke--Safety, 4:56.
Second Quarter
Richmond--Forte 2 run (Howard kick), 10:26.
Duke--Williams 54 pass from Lewis (Maggio kick), 9:09.
Fourth Quarter
Richmond--Kirchoff 1 run (Howard kick), 9:39.
Richmond--FG Howard 45, 4:16.
Duke--Kelly 21 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 2:13.
A--33,011.
TEAM STATISTICS
Richmond Duke
First downs 17 19
Rushes-yards 40-125 16-19
Passing 157 350
Comp-Att-Int 13-24-0 34-55-0
Return Yards 59 13
Punts-Avg. 6-37.0 6-32.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 3-30 3-24
Time of Possession 32:41 27:19
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Richmond, Forte 16-69, Ward 7-26, Kirchoff 7-20, Wilkins 6-14, Grayson 1-9, Gray 1-3, Team 2-(minus 16). Duke, Boyette 9-15, Hollingsworth 3-7, Team 1-(minus 1), Lewis 3-(minus 2).
PASSING--Richmond, Ward 12-23-0-143, Grayson 1-1-0-14. Duke, Lewis 34-55-0-350.
RECEIVING--Richmond, Gray 5-51, Mitchell 3-45, Wilkins 1-34, Ward 1-14, D.Boston 1-9, Keating 1-5, Kirchoff 1-(minus 1). Duke, Williams 7-115, Kelly 7-80, Varner 6-39, Vernon 4-48, Hollingsworth 4-15, Watkins 3-31, Boyette 2-17, Parker 1-5.
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