Image courtesy of Connor Caldon
By Paige Messier
NEFJ Correspondent
KINGSTON, R.I – It was another rainy Saturday in Kingston and unfortunately for URI, the weather matched the result in a matchup with CAA foe Richmond.
With every game crucial in a pursuit of a postseason berth, the Rams fell to the Spiders, 24-17.
Although it wasn’t the prettiest game on either side of the ball, Richmond Head Coach Russ Huesman was just happy to get out of Kingston with a win against the No. 22-ranked Rams.
“We have good players, we made some mistakes today but somehow, some way we are finding a way to win these games.” said Huesman.
“A very disappointing loss obviously,” said URI head coach Jim Fleming. “I thought there was some good stuff in all three phases, we just couldn’t capitalize. I don’t think we played our best, executing, throwing and catching, but give Richmond a little credit. I thought defensively after the first drive we settled in. You guys saw the game. It was an ugly game. That’s not just on us. That’s it.”
It was a defensive frenzy on the Richmond side racking up six sacks and forcing three interceptions for Kasim Hill which turned into 14 points. Half of those sacks came from senior defensive lineman Jeremiah Grant.
“We have some really athletic guys up front that can rush the passer,” said Huesman “They’ve done a great job all year and for them to get six sacks against them today was huge for us.”
With URI (4-3, 2-2) leading 10-7 in the second, arguably the biggest play of the game was actually a controversial one with the Rhode Island sideline hoping for an offensive pass interference call after believing Richmond’s Nick DeGennaro pushed off Frederick Mallay. The call stood on the field resulting in a 69-yard touchdown, putting the Spiders up four with 7:44 left in the half, a lead Richmond would never relinquish. Degennaro had a career high outing with 132-yards and 2 touchdowns.
DeGennaro’s first touchdown of the day went back to the first three minutes of play after Richmond forced an interception on the first play of the game. DeGennaro had a 9-yard and a 12-yard touchdown completion during the first drive.
The Rams had a tough offensive go all afternoon, but were able to stay within one score for most of the game. The Rams started off with an edgy offensive decision going on a 4th-&-18 after Kasim Hill was sacked in the backfield. That call certainly paid off for the Rams resulting in a 32-yard touchdown completion from John Erby, tying the game at 7-7 with 3:19 to play in the first
“I’m a little stubborn, I have a hard time punting the ball from the 32 and I didn’t think we had the opportunity to get the field goal in that situation,” explained Fleming. “The wind was blowing into our face at that time and I think Ty [Groff] has range, but not that kind of range.. We were fortunate enough to come out with a touchdown.”
A Ty Groff 27-yard field goal with 13:11 left in the second gave the Rams the 10-7 lead before the controversial TD for Richmond. After a scoreless third, Andrew Lopez made it 17-10 seven seconds into the fourth quarter and the Spiders pushed it to 24-10 with 4:47 remaining on a seven-yard TD run by Kyle Wickersham.
Rhode Island continued to battle until the end with a two-yard touchdown run from Hill following a big 28-yard reception from Kahero Summers, but with less than two minutes to go and a failed onside kick, the Rams came up just short.
“We didn’t execute the onside kick very well and they got the ball, we still got a ball back to get a chance late to tie it up which is what you’re hoping for in a game like that. But we just did too little too late,” Fleming added.
While the dream of a playoff berth certainly isn’t dead, it did take a big hit on Saturday. The Rams will now head on the road for another conference opponent in Albany, who just lost a shootout to UNH.