Rapid Recap: Richmond 39 - Stony Brook 31

Final Score: Richmond 39 - Stony Brook 31

What Happened: Michael Strauss threw for 360 yards and five touchdowns as Richmond beat Stony Brook, 39-31, to get its first road victory of the year. Stony Brook came into today's with one of the league's best-scoring defenses and worst-scoring offenses, but Saturday's game became a shootout that Richmond pulled out late in the fourth quarter. After stopping Stony Brook on its opening drive, Richmond drove 77 yards on 16 plays, but had to settle for a field goal. Eric Wright made his first interception of the season two plays into Stony Brook's second drive, and Michael Strauss hit Seth Fisher for a 15-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing play to give Richmond a 10-0 lead. Justin Grant looked to have Richmond's second interception of the game early in the second quarter, but a Richmond penalty negated the interception. Stony Brook took advantage of the penalty and scored its first points of the game on a 22-yard rushing touchdown by James Kenner. Richmond responded with a 15-play 85-yard touchdown drive that concluded with a seven-yard pass to Edwards and a successful two-point conversion to give the Spiders an 18-7 lead. Kenner scored his second rushing touchdown of the game with a minute remaining in the first half, but the Spiders took an 18-14 lead into the half. The Spiders offense came out flat to start the second half, and Stony Brook scored 14 consecutive points in the first seven minutes of the half to take a 28-18 lead. Strauss responded with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ben Edwards to cut the Seawolves' lead to 28-25. After a Stony Brook field goal, a 13-yard touchdown reception by Stephen Barnette gave Richmond the lead for good midway through the fourth quarter. Strauss connected with Rashad Ponder for a touchdown with 1:36 remaining to increase the Spiders lead, and Stony Brook could not score on its final drive.

Spider Positives: Richmond's passing offense carried the Spiders to today's victory. Strauss had one of his best performances of the season as he threw for 360 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Strauss completed 28 of his 38 pass attempts. Four different Spiders - Edwards, Barnette, Ponder and Fisher - had touchdown receptions today. Edwards had one of his best games of the season, as he made 13 receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Stephen Barnette had 115 yards and a touchdown on his seven receptions. The Spiders' offense also made big plays when it needed to. The Spiders were 12 of 15 on third down conversions today and did not turn the ball over. Eric Wright's first-quarter interception extended Richmond's streak of games with an interception to 20 games.

Spider Negatives: Richmond's defense struggled to contain one of the CAA's worst offenses, especially on the ground. Stony Brook running back James Kenner had 136 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on the day. Conversely, Richmond's running game, which was missing feature-back Jacobi Green, was bailed out by the passing game. Richmond ran for 68 yards on 30 attempts. The Spiders looked shaky punting the ball. On one occasion, punter Joe Gulli Jr. was tackled before he could punt the ball deep in Stony Brook territory.

Up Next: The Spiders take on Delaware next Saturday in their final road game of the season.

Contact staff writer Jack Nicholson at jack.nicholson@richmond.edu

Follow him on twitter at @URJackNicholson