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Talawanda grad blasts seven punts
Sunday, September 07, 2008
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jake Richardson said, "I just got lucky."
A couple teammates sitting next to him at the postgame press conference shook their heads and laughed. They knew better.
Richardson wasn't lucky. He was good.
The Miami University senior punter launched seven punts Saturday, Sept. 6, during the RedHawks' 16-6 loss at the University of Michigan.
His first four punts traveled 67, 55, 53 and a career-high 74 yards. Overall, the Reily Twp. native and Talawanda High School graduate averaged 53.9 yards.
"I always one or two really good ones," Richardson said. "But today, right before ball was being snapped, I just felt real comfortable out there — nothing was going on around me."
A tough day, physically
Quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh wasn't the only Miami player knocked out of the game.
Miami sophomore right tackle Bob Gulley was sidelined with 27 seconds left in the first half. He was replaced by redshirt freshman Ken Staudinger and did not return.
"I'm not sure how long he'll be out," Miami coach Shane Montgomery said. "That'll hurt us up front because we're not real deep there."
Belton gets a chance
Raudabaugh's head injury forced redshirt freshman Clay Belton to make his collegiate debut at quarterback. He came into the game on second down and 10 yards to go from the 50-yard line, with Miami trailing by 10 points, with 6:31 remaining in the game, with more than 100,000 people screaming at him.
"That was not the best time to put him in," said Montgomery, who really had no choice. "But in the long run I think it'll be good for him.
"It's hard to judge Clay, putting him in that situation," the Miami coach added. "He'll be fine. He's got a lot of physical ability. He's a smart kid. ... He was back there like a sitting duck."
Belton completed 3-of-7 passes for 14 yards. He was sacked twice.
Showing progress
Before he was hit in the helmet and forced out of the game in the fourth quarter, Raudabaugh had shown improvement from the week before, according to Montgomery.
"I thought he played really well today," Montgomery said. "He made better reads, handled himself better under pressure.
"We did have some drops today," he added. "And he did get dinged up a little bit. He said his head was hurting a little bit."
Raudabaugh was 20-for-33 passing for 191 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Montgomery said it's hard to tell whether Belton will see a lot of playing time in next Saturday's home game against Charleston Southern.
"A lot of it will be how Daniel's feeling, a lot of it will be how we practice," the coach said.
That's a lot of people
The announced attendance for Saturday's contest was 106,724, the 210th consecutive game at Michigan stadium with an attendance of at least 100,000. Michigan has led the nation in attendance 33 of the last 34 seasons.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
