Delaware was repeatedly foiled by its failure to seize opportunity Saturday afternoon, resulting in what will surely be remembered as one of its more excruciating football defeats.
The Blue Hens put together two late scoring drives to inch ahead of Richmond by one point in the fourth quarter of the showdown between FCS Top 25 teams. That looked like it would be enough to secure a satisfying win.
But Delaware couldn’t gain the yard or two that would have allowed it to run out the clock and gave Richmond one more chance.
What happened there will long haunt the Hens and many in the Delaware Stadium crowd of 16,534.
A 45-yard pass on fourth-and-4 set the stage for Richmond’s fifth field goal, a game-winning 39-yard try by Jake Larson with :04 on the clock that made it 15-13.
A fumble recovered for a touchdown on the subsequent kickoff made the final score 21-13.
“It came down to two plays, two fourth downs,” Delaware coach Ryan Carty said. “We didn’t convert on ours and they converted on theirs. That’s frustrating.”
GAME STATS: Richmond 21, Delaware 13
Delaware took its first lead 13-12 with 9:24 left when Marcus Yarns broke several tackles on a 36-yard run around the left side on third-and-5. A two-point pass was incomplete.
After a forcing a Richmond punt and retaining possession with 7:36 to go, Delaware was stopped on downs at the Richmond 7 on a fourth-and-1 run that gained zero yards. A third-and-2 carry got one yard.
Richmond retained possession with 1:23 left and on fourth-and-4 from the UR 30, Reece Udinski passed 45 yards down the middle to Jerry Garcia Jr.
No. 17-ranked Delaware (7-3 overall, 4-3 CAA) closes the regular season next Saturday at Villanova, needing a win to possibly earn a berth in the NCAA FCS Tournament. The Wildcats have won nine of the last 10 and 14 of the last 16 meetings between the rivals. Villanova (5-5, 3-4) lost 45-12 at William & Mary Saturday.
No. 12-ranked Richmond (8-2, 6-1) will host William & Mary in its traditional regular-season finale next week with the CAA championship on the line and both having cemented playoff spots.
Delaware outgained the Spiders 359-352 in total yards but had four turnovers and was 1-for-3 on red-zone chances and fourth-down conversion tries.
Nolan Henderson completed 23 of 37 passes for 196 yards and had several timely runs but was sacked three times. Quincy Watson’s 62 yards on 10 carries led Delaware.
Udiniski was 28-for-42 for 301 yards and was sacked twice.
Delaware trailed 9-0 before Henderson’s 2-yard keeper gave the Blue Hens their first points with 14:52 left in the game. Garrett Bennion, who’d earlier missed a field goal try, converted the extra point to make it 9-7. The 10-play, 64-yard drive featured Henderson’s 19-yard run on fourth-and-6 at the UR 26.
But Richmond responded with its fourth field goal in as many tries, Jake Larson converting from 48 yards with 12:11 left to make it 12-7.
Richmond led 6-0 at halftime thanks to Andrew Lopez’s 33-yard field goal in the first period and Larson’s 46-yard boot in the second period. The second came after Henderson’s pass bounced off the chest of receiver Josh Moran into the arms of Richmond’s Aaron Banks, giving the Spiders possession at their 45.
HOMEGROWN HEN:All-American Whitehead relishes Blue Hen accomplishments heading into home finale
Delaware was foiled by other first-half miscues and failures that prevented it from scoring.
The Hens reached the UR 38 on their first possession, but Henderson’s fourth-and-3 pass was intercepted by standout Spiders linebacker Tristan Wheeler. Another UD series led to a first down at the UR 27, but a third-and-13 strip sack ended that threat.
Two more late second-quarter chances eluded the Hens. They had a second-and-4 at the Richmond 25, but three incomplete passes followed.
Then Noah Plack recovered a Richmond fumble at the Spiders’ 44 with :46 left before halftime. The Hens lost 7 and 28 yards on two snaps before running into the halftime locker room with a zero still on the scoreboard.
That theme continued in the second half. Delaware had a first down at the UR 17 after a roughing-the-passer call on a fourth-down incompletion, with Henderson getting hurt and missing a play. But a holding penalty ended up pushing Delaware back and Bennion’s 40-yard field-goal try was wide left, leaving the Hens 2-for-8 on such attempts this season.
Just to rub it in, Richmond then increased its lead to 9-0 as Lopez drilled a 29-yarder with 3:50 left in the second quarter.
“We didn’t do enough things early to separate ourselves from what that ended up being,” Carty said.
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com
