RICHMOND, Va. (Interstat) — Kyle Wickersham accounted for two touchdowns and Lee Bruner IV sealed the game with his second interception as Richmond held off a late Fordham rally for a 17-14 victory on Saturday at Robins Stadium.

The Spiders, now 5-4 overall, leaned on a balanced offensive attack and a stingy defense that forced three turnovers to secure the win. The Rams fell to 1-8 with the loss, their seventh in a row.

Richmond set the tone on the game’s opening drive, marching 75 yards on 11 plays. Wickersham, the quarterback from Metairie, Louisiana, capped the methodical possession with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Vion Griffin, tying the score at 7-7 after Fordham had struck first.

Fordham answered immediately, capitalizing on a special teams miscue. A muffed punt by Richmond’s Jayden Alsheskie was recovered by Fordham’s Chris Tuck II at the Spiders’ 4-yard line. Two plays later, Gunnar Smith connected with Jack Freeburg for a 4-yard touchdown pass, putting the Rams back on top 14-7.

The Spiders’ defense tightened from there, and the offense chipped away with a 36-yard field goal from Jayden Alsheskie early in the second quarter to make it 14-10. The score remained there until the third quarter when Richmond reclaimed the lead.

The pivotal sequence began when Bruner, a defensive back from Washington, D.C., intercepted a Smith pass and returned it 25 yards to the Fordham 47. Wickersham then hit Isaiah Dawson on a deep pass for a 42-yard gain down to the 4-yard line. On the next play, Wickersham powered up the middle for a 4-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Spiders a 17-14 advantage.

Fordham mounted a sustained drive in the fourth quarter to draw even. The Rams went 70 yards on 13 plays, with Jack Kaiser plunging in from 4 yards out for a touchdown with 8:18 remaining to tie the game at 17-17.

The Rams’ defense then came up with a critical stop, forcing a Richmond punt and giving Smith and the offense the ball back with 5:09 left and a chance to take the lead. The drive stalled, however, and Fordham was forced to punt it back to the Spiders with just over three minutes remaining.

Richmond managed to drain the clock, picking up two first downs behind the running of Aziz Foster-Powell, who finished with 62 yards on 15 carries. Fordham used its final timeout with 1:55 left, but ultimately got the ball back at its own 16-yard line with just 55 seconds on the clock and no timeouts.

On the first play of the desperate final drive, Smith’s pass was intercepted by Bruner for the second time, effectively ending the game.

Wickersham finished 23 of 35 for 193 yards and a touchdown through the air, adding 44 yards and another score on the ground. Smith struggled for Fordham, completing 19 of 36 passes for just 91 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He was also the Rams’ leading rusher with 41 yards.

The game’s final score of 31 points fell well under the pregame over/under line of 49.5. Richmond next travels to face Georgetown on Nov. 8, while Fordham returns home to host Bucknell the same day.