Live Blog: No. 21 Richmond vs. Hampton

The Spiders finish the game with a 42-17 victory over Hampton. Thank you for following our live blog and we hope you join us next Saturday as we cover Richmond's matchup against New Hampshire at 4 p.m. 

4th Quarter, 2:06: Hampton scores on a 12-yard rush from Eric Carter, making the score 42-17 late in the fourth. 

4th Quarter, 4:42: Rocco runs into the endzone, displaying his power on a 9-yard touchdown. The Spiders now lead 42-10. 

4th Quarter, 7:21: Both offenses are beginning to stall now that the starters have left the game. The score remains 35-10, Richmond leads. 

4th Quarter, 10:45: Rocco comes in at quarterback and leads the Spiders down the field, but a fumble on the exchange with Hamlin gives the Pirates the ball back. 

4th Quarter, 12:45: Hampton fumbles the ball and Selton Hodge recovers for Richmond, giving the Spiders the ball back at their own 30. 

4th Quarter, 14:04: Hampton is driving against a Richmond defense composed of mostly backups. The Pirates are in Richmond territory at the 39-yard line. 

At the end of three quarters, Richmond has pulled away from Hampton and earned a comfortable lead. The run game is finally finding success, led by Green. 

3rd Quarter, 1:15: The Pirates make a change at quarterback, but not much else changes. The Hampton offense is still struggling to find room to run against a stout Richmond front seven. 

3rd Quarter, 1:45: Strauss lobs it to Fitzpatrick, who gets popped but hangs on for the touchdown. The Spiders are running away with this one, and now lead 35-10. 

3rd Quarter, 2:15: The Spiders are using short plays to draw closer to the endzone. They now face third-and-goal from the 5-yard line. 

3rd Quarter, 4:30: Strauss connects with Diggs for a huge gain down the sideline. Diggs is showing his athleticism, and seems to be a feasible replacement for Barnette while he is hurt. 

3rd Quarter, 6:00: Green is really starting to impress. A 27-yard run around the edge brings him to 128 yards for the game. 

3rd Quarter, 6:45: An 8-yard run for Green on first down puts him over 100 yards for the game. 

3rd Quarter, 7:53: Just as the Pirates start to gain momentum, Aaron Roane comes screaming off the edge, and makes a huge sack. The Pirates fail to convert their third-down play and are now electing to punt. 

3rd Quarter, 9:53: Hampton looks like it might be finding a groove on offense, running the hurry-up and moving the ball in big chunks against the Spiders' defense. 

3rd Quarter, 10:51: Green takes it to the house on the first play of the drive, racing for 50 yards and showing off his speed. The Spiders now have a more comfortable lead, with the score 28-10. It's about time the running game showed some promise for the Spiders. 

3rd Quarter, 11:20: The Spiders finally reach the quarterback, as Justin Williamson lays the wood on Hampton's quarterback. The Pirates are forced to punt again. Richmond's defense is beginning to take over. 

3rd Quarter, 11:47: Hampton is beginning to follow Richmond's lead, committing two straight penalties resulting in a second-and-33 for the Pirates. Williamson goes deep and Grant nearly misses another interception. 

3rd Quarter, 12:47: Williamson uses his legs on third-and-short to pick up a first down. The Pirates are driving in Richmond territory. 

3rd Quarter, 14:16: Justin Grant breaks on a Williamson pass beautifully, and nearly intercepts it. Had he caught the ball he would have certainly brought it the other way for a touchdown. Instead, the Pirates convert a long pass on the next play for a first down. 

3rd Quarter, 14:53: Hampton fields the kickoff and will start the half at its own 31-yard line. 

At the half, the Spiders find themselves with a two-possession lead. However, the team has to feel disappointed because of missed opportunities. A fumble and 55 yards of penalties have to be points of emphasis during the halftime discussion. Hampton likely goes into the locker room satisfied that it is only losing by 11 after an ineffective half offensively. The Pirates will look to adjust on defense to slow down the Richmond offense, and will come out on offense looking to find holes in Richmond's defense. Stay tuned for second half updates and analysis. 

2nd Quarter, :02: Despite the penalties, Strauss manages to find Brian Brown for a big gain to set up Yoder for the 51-yard field goal attempt. He fails to convert though, and the Spiders head to the locker room up 21-10. 

2nd Quarter, :16: Strauss finds Ponder for another huge gain, but another penalty negates the play and pushes the Spiders back into their own territory. The Richmond locker room at halftime will certainly feature some talk about all of these penalties. 

2nd Quarter, :25: Richmond seems to have lost its momentum following a penalty and a few negative plays. The offense faces second-and-long coming off of a timeout. 

2nd Quarter, 1:13: Rocco comes in the game on third-and-short and runs up the middle for 15 yards and a first down. The Spiders are in their two-minute drill and looking to score before the half. 

2nd Quarter, 2:45: Ponder comes up huge again on third-and-long, catching a short pass and maneuvering around multiple Hampton defenders to gain first-down yardage. 

2nd Quarter, 4:00: The Spiders continue to try the run game, but there is nothing there. Hampton looks as if it's figured out how to neutralize Hamlin and Green on the ground. 

2nd Quarter, 4:30: The Spiders' defense decided they had seen enough and stepped up to force a Hampton field goal. Anthony Prevost converts the kick, making the score 21-10 Richmond. 

2nd Quarter, 6:30: Williamson shows his versatility, following up a nice sideline throw with a run up the middle for a big gain. The Pirates are driving and seem to have found new life following the fumble recovery. Williamson has the Pirates at the Richmond 10-yard line. 

2nd Quarter, 7:20: Green carries up the middle and coughs the ball up. The fumble is recovered by the Pirates, who take over at the Richmond 46-yard line. 

2nd Quarter, 7:47: Richmond steps up on defense to force another Hampton punt. 

2nd Quarter, 9:30: Hampton runs for no gain on first down, but Terrence Fullum clobbers Williamson after he makes the hand-off. The referee did not penalize him. 

2nd Quarter, 9:56: Strauss continues to shine against the Hampton defense. He connects with Hunter Westfall, who makes a beautiful diving catch for a 6-yard touchdown. The Spiders now lead 21-7, and it doesn't appear that the scoring will stop any time soon. 

2nd Quarter, 11:00: Diggs catches a short pass from Strauss, and drags a Hampton defender for extra yardage. 

2nd Quarter, 12:30: Ponder is stepping up in the absence of Stephen Barnette. He catches another first down pass and now has 57 yards for the game. 

2nd Quarter, 13:30: Although it appeared Hampton had figured out Richmond's offense, Strauss came back in as quarterback, and connected with Ponder for 27 yards on third-and-long. The Spiders are now in Hampton territory again. 

2nd Quarter, 14:24: Michael Rocco takes over at quarterback for the Spiders, but Hampton looks prepared as they stop a quarterback run on first down.

2nd Quarter, 14:28: Williamson finishes off an impressive drive for the Pirates with a 13-yard pass to Rashawn Proctor. Hampton has narrowed the gap to 14-7, and the Spiders will have to find a way to stop a confident offense for the rest of the game. 

At the end of the first quarter, the Spiders lead 14-0. The Richmond offense found its stride immediately and has not been slowed down yet. Hampton took a while to do the same, but Reggie Barnette's ejection seems to have brought new life to the Pirates, who are putting together their best drive of the game and find themselves in the redzone. 

1st Quarter, :15: Hampton continues to capitalize on the momentum swing, as Jorrian Washington picks up another first down to the Spiders' 17-yard line. 

1st Quarter, 1:57: A penalty flag finally flies in Richmond's favor, as Hampton is called for holding. The Spiders needed that because Hampton has stolen all of the momentum and is driving, now at the Richmond 25-yard line. 

1st Quarter, 2:40: Things are getting chippy here in Richmond. Safety Justin Grant is called for unsportsmanlike conduct after an altercation with a Hampton player. The fans here are not happy with the referees right now. 

1st Quarter, 3:38: Reggie Barnette hits a Hampton defender high as the pass sails over his head, and is subsequently called for targeting. This results in disqualification for Barnette.  

1st Quarter, 3:50: Back-to-back good plays from Hampton's defense leave Richmond with a third-and-long. The Spiders convert on a laser pass from Strauss to Rashad Ponder for 17 yards. T.J. Moon caps off another effective Richmond drive with an 8-yard touchdown catch. The Spiders now lead 14-0.

1st Quarter, 6:20: Strauss finds Hamlin on the swing pass, and Hamlin makes a few Hampton defenders look silly on his way to a 25-yard first down.

1st Quarter, 7:00: The defense continues to take control, pushing Hampton backwards on third down. Hampton attempts a 53-yard field goal but comes up short. 

1st Quarter, 8:00: The Spiders defense is looking strong so far, with the line bringing pressure and defensive backs holding solid coverage. Reggie Barnette broke on a pass on second down and almost intercepted it. 

1st Quarter, 8:26: Two ineffective plays from Richmond's offense leave them with a third-and-long from the 4-yard line. Strauss rolls out and looks for Diggs, but the pass falls incomplete. The Spiders will punt. 

1st Quarter, 9:07: Richmond's defense comes up strong on third-and-long to force a punt from the Pirates, but the Spiders will have to start from their own 3-yard line.

1st Quarter, 10:30: Jaylian Williamson connects with Riddick on third down with an impressive throw-and-catch to give Hampton its first first down of the game.

1st Quarter, 12:00: Peter Yoder kicks off out of bounds, giving Hampton the ball at the 35-yard line.

1st Quarter, 12:00: Green takes the handoff and bounces off of a Hampton defender into the endzone. Richmond used a nice balance of run and pass to score on its first possession. The score is now 7-0, Spiders lead. 

1st Quarter, 13:00: Michael Strauss connects with Reggie Diggs, who makes a few defenders miss, and gains 18 yards along the sideline. The Spiders are on Hampton's 21-yard line. 

1st Quarter, 14:00: Four run plays in a row from Jeremiah Hamlin and Jacobi Green give the Spiders two straight first-downs early in the game.

1st Quarter, 15:00: The Spiders will start on offense at their own 37-yard line.

Hey everyone! I'm Charlie and I'll be providing you with live updates during today's game against Hampton. We are about 10 minutes from kickoff here at Robins Stadium, and the Spiders look ready to go. It seems that the Spiders will be without standouts Stephen Barnette and Seth Fisher today, but that shouldn't stop the team from coming away with a victory. 

Look for Strauss to continue his success through the air and expect the running game to be emphasized early. Freshman back Jeremiah Hamlin will likely get more action than he has in previous games. It should be a high-scoring game, with both Richmond and Hampton boasting powerful offenses. Stay tuned for updates starting at kickoff.