RICHMOND, VA -- Freshman Jared Bradley scored his second touchdown of the game with just 43 seconds left to play as the University of Delaware withstood Richmond’s 24 unanswered points and knocked off the No. 10 ranked Spiders 28-24 Saturday night in an Atlantic 10 Conference football contest at Richmond Stadium.

The Blue Hens (4-3, 2-2 Atlantic 10), who won their second straight game, got a huge effort from quarterback Joe Flacco, who reached career highs by completing 31 of 45 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns, including an 11-yard strike to Aaron Love with 10:07 left to play to cut the Richmond lead to 24-21.

Aaron Love (at right) also had a career night, catching a career-high seven passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Bradley, who finished with 50 yards rushing and two touchdowns, played the entire second half in place of All-American Omar Cuff. Cuff, who missed the previous two games with an ankle injury, ran for 33 yards on 11 carries in the first half but was sidelined in the second stanza due to soreness.

After Delaware took a 14-7 lead into halftime, Richmond (5-2, 2-2 Atlantic 10) roared back with 24 unanswered to take a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. But Delaware followed with the comeback by scoring two touchdowns in the final stanza to down the Spiders for the fourth time in the last five visits to Richmond.

“This was a heck of a win against a team that is ranked 10th in the country at their place,” said Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler, who improved to 7-2 vs. Top 10 ranked opponents in his five seasons at Delaware. “That’s a difficult thing to do. A lot of guys came up huge against an outstanding defense tonight. It’s a big accomplishment. Our kids came back after Richmond scored 24 straight points and that says a lot about the way our kids battled. It was a gutty performance. It would be easy for our kids being 3-3 to come down here and not play well, but that’s not our kids. We are playing as if its a one-game season. That has to be our approach. We’ll enjoy this win.”

The Blue Hens’ 28 points were the most scored this season against the Spiders, who entered the game as the Atlantic 10’s top-ranked team in total defense (220.0 yards per game) and passing defense (119.7 yards per game) and the league’s No. 2 ranked scoring defense (11.3 points per game). Richmond had allowed seven points or less in four of its six games this season.

Delaware outgained Richmond 385-381 in total yards and did not commit a turnover while the Spiders lost two fumbles and the Hens’ Garrett Schultz intercepted Eric Ward’s desperation pass on the final play of the game.

“If you give our defense a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, you figure you're going to win the game,” said Richmond head coach Dave Clawson. “All year we’ve been able to run the ball and drain the clock and find a way to win. We couldn’t stop them when it counted and we couldn’t move the ball and drain the clock when we needed to. And the two turnovers killed us.”

Ward completed 16 of 26 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown while Josh Vaughan ran for 110 yards and Hightower picked up 80 on the ground. Defensively, linebacker Adam Goloboski recorded a game-high 17 tackles.

After Delaware jumped out to a 14-0 lead, Richmond stormed back with 24 unanswered points. Tim Hightower scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 8:42 left in the first half and followed with a two-yard burst just five minutes into the second half to tie the game. Andrew Howard followed with a 26-yard field goal with 4:01 left in the third stanza and Ward connected with Joe Stewart on a five-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to increase the lead to 24-14 with 11:28 remaining.

After the scoring pass from Ward to Stewart, the Hens needed little time to mount their comeback. Delaware took the kickoff and drove 66 yards on just three plays, ending the drive with an 11-yard scoring pass from Flacco to Love with 10:07 to cut the lead to 24-21. After a pass interference penalty on Richmond, Flacco hit Kervin Michaud for six yards and Love for 44 yards down to the Richmond 10-yard line. Michaud finished with a team-high eight catches for 61 yards.

Delaware’s defense then went to work, ending one Richmond drive when Jeremy Kametz recovered a fumble by Hightower at the Richmond 49-yard line with 8:14 remaining and holding the Spiders to just one yard on three plays and forcing them to punt with 4:15 remaining. After the Richmond punt, Delaware drove 69 yards on nine plays ending with Bradley’s game-winner. The game-clinching drive was highlighted by Flacco’s 17-yard pass to Robbie Agnone to open the drive and tosses of 11 yards to Love and 10 yards to tight end Ben Patrick. A 15-yard pass from Flacco to Love placed the ball on the Richmond two-yard line. Richmond was called for a facemask penalty on a Bradley run from the two-yard line, setting up the freshman’s game-winner one play later.

Delaware jumped out to a 14-7 halftime lead as the Hens scored twice against a Richmond team that had allowed just two first half touchdowns all season.

The Hens dominated the half statistically, holding a 230-154 edge in total yards and a 7:14 advantage in possession time. Delaware took the opening kickoff and marched 53 yards on 15 plays but came up empty when Zach Hobby’s 38-yard field goal attempt came up short.

Delaware held Richmond to just two yards on the Spiders’ first drive and started its second possession at the 43-yard line. The Hens needed just three plays to get on the board as Flacco threaded the needle and hit Aaron Love on a crossing pattern. Love caught the ball across the middle at the 30-yard line and outraced the Spider defense to give the Hens a 7-0 lead with 3:47 left in the opening stanza.

A big defensive play set up the Hens’ next score. Richmond’s Josh Vaughan took a handoff at the 21-yard line and broke through the Delaware line and rambled all the way down the right side for what appeared to be a certain touchdown. But Delaware’s Garrett Schultz chased Vaughan down from behind and knocked the ball out of his hands at the 10-yard line. The ball bounced out of the end zone, giving Delaware a touchback and the ball at the 20-yard line.

Delaware then marched 80 yards on 12 plays to take the lead again at 14-7 when freshman Jared Bradley broke through the line, broke a tackle, and rambled 22 yards for a touchdown with 13:58 left in the second quarter. Flacco completed seven passes for 45 yards during the drive.

Richmond finally got on the board midway through the second quarter when Tim Hightower scored his first touchdown of the night on a one-yard run around left end with 8:42 left before intermission. The touchdown was set up by a 23-yard pass from Eric Ward to Matt Hale to the Delaware one-yard line the previous play.

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