Boxscore

DURHAM, N.C. – Senior Day turned out to be special for the Saint Augustine's College football seniors.
 
It was also a great day for redshirt sophomore Brian Richards.
 
The Waldorf, Md., native played pitch-and-catch with Falcon quarterbacks all day over the Livingstone secondary. By game's end, Richards had 16 receptions for an astounding 222 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-14 win over Livingstone Saturday (Oct. 29) at Durham County Stadium.
 
The Falcons (3-3 CIAA, 4-5 overall) enjoyed their second consecutive win on a day that 11 seniors were honored. It was also Breast Cancer Awareness Day and the Falcons wore pink socks, shoelaces and towels in recognition of it.
 
Wearing pink socks made Richards easier to find, but Blue Bears' defensive backs still could not stop the 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver. His 222 yards is the most by a Falcons' receiver in the modern era, and he is the first St. Aug player with 200-plus receiving yards in a contest.
 
Richards, who scored on touchdown passes of 15 and 65 yards, is part of a talented receiving corps which has produced four of the top five individual performances by wide receivers in modern school history this season. He was one catch away from tying the school mark.
 
Despite having a huge game, Richards barely overshadowed several of his senior teammates, including fellow wideout Ashanti Robinson (Miami, Fla.). Seeing extended action in only his third game, Robinson made the most of it with two touchdown receptions covering 19 and 6 yards. It was the first two-score game of his career.
 
Robinson caught both touchdown passes from Joaquin Green (R-Jr./Pittsboro, N.C.), playing his last home game. Senior quarterback Gerald Marshall (Washington, D.C.) threw one pass the entire game but it went to Richards for a touchdown. Defensively, senior defensive end Isaac Wilson (Warner Robins, Ga.) recorded two sacks.
 
Head Coach Michael Costa says it was fantastic that the seniors stood out on Senior Day.
 
“Senior Day is tough and you hate to see them go,” Costa said. “We bring them in to graduate and, most importantly, they will.”
 
The Blue Bears (0-6 CIAA, 1-8 overall) tried to ruin Senior Day with an early touchdown for a 7-0. Led by Teddy Bacote's (Soph./Hampton, Va.) two touchdown passes including one to Jermaine Jones (R-Soph./Wilmington, N.C.) to tie the game, the Falcons' offense eventually got cranking. They took a 17-7 lead entering halftime.
 
Bacote, who was 23-for-37 for 206 yards, added another score on a quarterback sneak in the third quarter to push the lead to 24-7, and the rout was on. The Falcons have not beaten a team by this much since last year's 52-21 win over Lincoln (Pa.).
 
The win was the perfect ending for seniors Christian Pride (Newport News, Va.), Jamian Smith (Kenansville, N.C.), Shane Russell (Gary, Ind.), Jamil Berry (Jonesboro, Ga.), Dedrick Early (Warner Robins, Ga.), Dennis Mathis (Hampton, Va.) and Anthony Harris (Raleigh, N.C.) in addition to Green, Marshall, Robinson and Wilson.
 
Next Saturday, the Falcons are back at Durham County Stadium for their annual showdown versus Shaw. Game time is 1 p.m.
 
“We can't start off sluggish (against Shaw),” Costa said. “We have to start on top and stay on top. We can't turn the ball over and can't make mistakes.”
 
NOTES: An opponent scored first on the Falcons for only the third time this season… The Falcons held the Blue Bears to 158 total offensive yards including 40 yards on the ground… The Falcons gained 433 yards of total offense… Two Blue Bear fumbles set up two Falcon touchdowns… Linebacker Chaz Robinson (Soph./Hampton, Va.) led the Falcons with eight total tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery… Falcon defensive end Javarous Faulk (Soph./Macon, Ga.) added seven tackles and 1.5 sacks… Tyheim Pitt of Livingstone led all tacklers with 17 and he also picked off a pass… Michael Lima (R-Fr./Miami, Fla.) kicked his third straight field goal, a 39-yarder in the second quarter…