Brown breaks Richmond receiving yards record in win over Colgate

Senior wide receiver Brian Brown broke Richmond’s all-time receiving yard record with a 23-yard touchdown reception as Richmond outlasted Colgate on family weekend.

Brown’s 148 receiving yards and two touchdowns were key for Richmond’s 38-31 victory over Colgate, another nationally ranked team. Colgate cut Richmond’s lead to one possession with three minutes left in the game after forcing a fumble and converting the drive on a fourth down. However, the game was already put away when Brown’s 66-yard touchdown reception extended the Spiders’ lead to 38-17 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. 

Tonight marks Brown's 15th career game with 100-plus receiving yards. Four games into his last season, Brown has 3,178 career receiving yards.

Head coach Danny Rocco praised Brown's performance and work ethic after the game. “What Brian has done here in his career is extraordinary,” Rocco said. “He’s an outstanding role model for our program and an outstanding student athlete who comes to work every day.”

Brown was one of the last people in the stadium to find out he broke the receiving record. “On that play I didn’t know I broke it,” Brown said. “It was definitely relieving to break it.” 

Brown realized he broke the record when he glanced at the jumbotron after his touchdown catch and noticed his accomplishment displayed on the screen.

Freshman Xavier Goodall was another player who had a career night with 127 rushing yards and a touchdown. Goodall is the first freshman in school history to rush for over 100 yards in a single game since 1991. He rushed for 127 yards on 20 carries. This past week in preparation for the game, Rocco said that the Spiders were fully committed to making Goodall the starting tailback.

In addition to Goodall’s vision and quickness, Goodall's preparation and understanding of the game were key in the decision to go with him over any other option. “He studies film like a hawk and he spends a lot of time on his trade,” Rocco said.

Other standouts in the game included Kyle Lauletta, who threw four touchdown passes, and Tafon Mainsah, who had two interceptions — one in the closing seconds of the game to assure Richmond’s victory.

The Spiders will return to Robins Stadium next weekend in their second conference game of the season against Towson.

Contact reporter Mike Cronin at michael.cronin1@richmond.edu