The Sports Xchange
Sep 5, 2015

Maryland ground out 341 yards rushing and wore down FCS-foe Richmond, 50-21, in the season-opener for both teams at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md.

Senior running back Brandon Ross led the way with a career-high 150 yards on 18 carries, the sixth 100-yard rushing game of his career. Junior running back Wes Brown chipped in 13 rushes for 74 yards, and each runner had a second half touchdown.

Maryland piled up its most yards rushing since gaining 388 in 2002 against North Carolina.

The big Terrapin hero, though, was junior cornerback Will Likely, who amassed a school and Big Ten record 233 yards on eight punt returns, including an electrifying 67-yard return and dive into the end zone for a score at 10:30 of the fourth quarter.

The Terrapins won for the seventh straight year on opening weekend.

After trailing early, Maryland ran off 27 straight points before Richmond struck back with a 16-yard scoring run by Seth Fisher with 3:22 to play.

The Spiders bit the Terrapins early in second quarter, when quarterback Kyle Lauletta hitting Brian Brown on a 52-yard pass to set up Lauletta's four-yard run for a 14-13 lead at 10:35.

Maryland bounced back with a 12-play drive that yielded Brad Craddock's third field goal, this one from 30 yards, to put the Terrapins back in front.

Quarterback Perry Hills executed in the two-minute offense, reading a blitz and hitting receiver Malcolm Culmer for a 37-yard score a minute before the half, Maryland in front 22-14 at that point.

Hills was making his first start for the Terps since 2012.

The Spiders play at Hampton next week, while the Terrapins host Bowling Green.