Football: Richmond Spiders fall to Holy Cross 33-14 after fast start

Richmond led 14-7 after the first quarter on Saturday, then did not score again and lost 33-14 to Holy Cross at Fitton Field in Worcester, Mass.

The Spiders (6-3, 4-2 in conference play) scored on their first two touchdown drives. Aziz Foster-Powell ran in from 3 yards out with 10:53 left in the first quarter. After Joseph Williams tied it with a 21-yard run, Ashten Snelsire found Andreas Hill for an 11-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left in the quarter.

Crusaders take over on the ground

Holy Cross (4-5, 4-2 in conference play) outscored Richmond 26-0 the rest of the way. The Crusaders ran for 323 yards on 43 carries, 7.5 yards per rush, and held the ball for 34:25 to Richmond's 25:35.

Williams ran 19 times for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He scored from 3 yards in the second quarter, and that point-after try was missed. He then broke a 62-yard touchdown run with 11:04 left in the fourth to make it 26-14. Jake Croce ran for two short touchdowns, from 2 yards in the third quarter and from 2 yards with 5:01 left in the game. Datrell Jones added 79 yards on 14 carries.

Holy Cross went 7 for 11 on third down and finished with 23 first downs and 415 total yards.

Richmond's offense stalls

The Spiders managed 209 total yards. Snelsire completed 9 of 20 passes for 81 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and also ran 11 times for 46 yards. Jack Callaghan went 0 for 1 passing. Richmond averaged 3.9 yards per pass attempt and went 4 for 12 on third down.

Foster-Powell led the ground game with 57 yards on 12 carries and caught three passes for 22 yards. Hill had two catches for 38 yards and the touchdown.

Richmond had a chance to cut into the deficit early in the fourth quarter. A nine-play, 62-yard drive ended with Kyle Bitsko missing a 35-yard field goal try with 12:44 left. On the Spiders' last two possessions, one ended in a punt and the other on downs. Callaghan was sacked on fourth-and-6 with 4:05 remaining.

Blake Houser led the Richmond defense with 15 tackles, including a half tackle for loss. Caleb Geronomi and Jordan Allen each had nine tackles. Ned Gray punted six times for a 42.0-yard average, with two kicks downed inside the 20.

Richmond was flagged five times for 44 yards, and Holy Cross four times for 43.

Next up

The Spiders travel to face Villanova on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. ET.