Spider football fans and head coach Latrell Scott couldn’t have asked for a better scenario in the opening of renovated Robins Stadium on the campus of the University or Richmond last Saturday. In his first home appearance as a head coach, Scott, a Lee-Davis alum, not only got the opportunity to coach in front of family and friends but he also got to do so in the pristine environs of a fabulous facility. The weather was sunny and perfect, the seats were filled, Spider Hall of Fame players lined the sidelines, and there were sky divers and celebrity singers.

“It was awesome out there,” said Richmond quarterback Aaron Corp who, as a transfer from USC is no stranger to large crowds. “Every time you have a sell out no matter how many fans are in the stadium it was awesome. I’m glad to see a sell out.” 

To add to the excitement, the No. 9 Richmond team was slated to play No. 5 Elon in the first on-campus football game in 82 years.

Not even Hollywood could have scripted a better opening scene. So, how could it possibly be topped? How about playing one of the most exciting and dramatic games in Richmond football history.

Elon and Richmond went toe-to-toe, play-for-play and score-for-score to end the first half tied at 14-14 as both Corp and Elon quarterback Scott Riddle proved elusive and talented. 

The second half was a defensive battle where neither team scored until the final minutes. With 2:01 to play and looking at fourth and 20, UR’s Wil Kamin kicked a 42-yard field goal to put the Spiders on top 17-14. But Elon was penalized for running into the kicker and Scott was faced with the biggest decision of his early coaching career. Did he decline the penalty, leave the points on the board and try to keep Elon from scoring over the final two minutes or did he do the unthinkable; Take the points off the board and try to score in the final minutes and seal the win.

Scott did not hesitate.

“It was an easy decision because I didn’t want (Elon quarterback) Scott Riddle to get the ball back with time on the clock,” Scott said. “Our thought process was to take the points off the board and run it a couple of more times and get Wil back up to kick it because we have confidence in Wil.”

Scott wanted to make Elon coach Pete Lembo burn his timeouts so the Phoenix team could not effectively run their offense when they got the ball back.

But in the game of football plans often go awry.

Richmond’s plan to burn Elon timeouts worked to perfection but running out the clock was nullified when the Spiders’ Kendall Gaskins broke free of the line to run in for a score with 1:41 left to play.

Likewise when it came to Elon’s Scott being ineffective moving the ball with no timeouts.

The Phoenix took over on their own 21 and quickly moved 54 yards to the Richmond 25 where Scott spiked the ball to stop the clock at 0:03.

On the snap, the Richmond defense chased Scott from the pocket as the clock expired. But the elusive quarterback continued to scramble, dropped back and passed.

“I felt like Doug Flutie out there,” Riddle said. “But it’s fun running around like that with no time on the clock and making a play like that.”

In the corner of the endzone, Elon’s Aaron Mellette leapt past the defense of UR’s Mac Prokell and made a fingertip catch with 0:00 on the clock to send the game into overtime.

It appeared Elon would grab the lead in OT but Richmond’s Casey Cooley reached up to block Adam Shreiner’s 37-yard field goal attempt.

Then on the Spiders’ second offensive play of overtime, Tyler Kirchoff burst through a hole, racing 16 yards to score the game winning touchdown bringing Richmond players and students alike onto the field in celebration.

With a roaring crowd throughout the game, Robins Stadium had a big game atmosphere despite its comparatively limited capacity. “I thought it was a great atmosphere,” said Elon head coach Pete Lembo. “It was neat to see so many students show up and despite the modest size it was very loud and made for a really good game atmosphere. I think this place is the perfect size for a school this size.”

Richmond linebacker Eric McBride agreed. “It was better than I had imagined,” he said. “The student section I remember, one time they (Elon) were about to go in and score and the student section was just so loud, you didn’t realize it, you’d think there was more than 9000 people down there because the students did such a good job cheering. It’s more than I could imagine it to be. I look forward to the rest of the home games we have.”

But for Scott this is only the beginning. “It was extremely exciting,” he said. “We want more. We want the crowd to be louder. We want the Spider-Walk to have more fans around it. I think this is a great step for the University of Richmond, the city of Richmond and for our fans, our students and our alumni. We’re proud of all of them and I’m glad we were able to give them a win.”

Richmond also gave the football community a day they will not soon forget.