WORCESTER (Interstat) — Joseph Williams ran for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and Holy Cross defeated Richmond 33-14 in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday at Fitton Field. The Crusaders improved to 4-5, while the Spiders dropped to 6-3. Attendance was 7,769. Holy Cross leaned on Williams and a defense that made enough stops to keep Richmond from building momentum after an early exchange of touchdowns.

Richmond opened the scoring when Aziz Foster-Powell ran 3 yards for a touchdown and Kyle Bitsko kicked the extra point. Holy Cross answered with Williams’ 21-yard touchdown run and Owen Saraceno’s extra point. The Spiders moved back in front on Ashten Snelsire’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Andreas Hill, and Bitsko converted again. In the second quarter, Williams scored from 3 yards out, but Saraceno’s extra-point attempt failed. Holy Cross took the lead in the third quarter on Jake Croce’s 2-yard touchdown run, though a two-point pass failed. Early in the fourth, Bitsko missed a 35-yard field goal for Richmond. Williams then scored on a 62-yard run, and Croce added a 2-yard touchdown run with Saraceno converting. Holy Cross finished the game with 33 points, while Richmond was limited to 14 and did not score after halftime.

David Lynch completed 11 of 20 passes for 92 yards for Holy Cross and added one run for 10 yards. Williams carried 19 times for 206 yards and three touchdowns and caught one pass for minus-2 yards. Datrell Jones ran 14 times for 79 yards. Croce ran six times for 26 yards and scored twice, and he also returned a kickoff 21 yards. Lincoln Fisher caught two passes for 41 yards, Ty Curran had four receptions for 23 yards, and Luke Petitta and Drae Tyme each caught a 12-yard pass. Lucas Weir added a 4-yard reception, Mason McSweeney had a 2-yard catch, and Cal Swanson ran once for 4 yards. The Crusaders also got a 21-yard kickoff return from Croce and an 8-yard kickoff return from Nick Diamond.

For Richmond, Snelsire completed 9 of 20 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown and rushed 11 times for 46 yards. Foster-Powell led the Spiders with 57 rushing yards on 12 carries and caught three passes for 22 yards and a touchdown. Hill caught two passes for 38 yards and a score. Quanye Veney had one carry for 4 yards and two receptions for 8 yards, Jamaal Brown ran twice for 8 yards, and Donovan Higgins had a 16-yard run. Sean Clarke caught two passes for 13 yards. Jaiden Fair returned four kickoffs for 91 yards and two punts for 11 yards. Ned Gray punted six times for 252 yards.

Blake Houser led Richmond’s defense with 15 tackles and one quarterback hurry. Jordan Allen and Caleb Geronomi each made nine stops, while Braxton Lassiter had six tackles. Camden Byrd, Carter Glassmyer and Tramayne Bullock each finished with four tackles. Tayshaun Burney, TJ Baldwin and Moses Bailey added three tackles apiece. Jamar Hodges and Jeremiah Washington each had two tackles. Andrew McKenzie, Krystian Williams, Jordan Wilkes, Matthew Jones, Quintin McCray, Matt Holland and Jefferson Serkfem also recorded tackles. Andreas Hill added one tackle for the Spiders.

For Holy Cross, Adam Due made 14 tackles and half a sack. Cooper Ackerman had six tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry, and Juju Tackie had six tackles, one quarterback hurry and one interception. Rushaune Vilane added four tackles and one quarterback hurry. Garrett Baldwin made seven tackles and returned a punt minus-1 yard. Ethan Moss punted four times for 153 yards. The Crusaders’ defense recorded one interception, one full sack and two quarterback hurries while limiting Richmond to 14 points.

Richmond’s Jaiden Fair finished with 91 kickoff-return yards and 11 punt-return yards. Ned Gray averaged 42 yards on his six punts for the Spiders. Holy Cross’ Ethan Moss averaged 38.25 yards on four punts. Garrett Baldwin’s punt return went for minus-1 yard, and Nick Diamond returned one kickoff 8 yards for the Crusaders.

Holy Cross entered the game after a home win over Bucknell, while Richmond had beaten Colgate at home in its previous outing. The Spiders are next scheduled to visit Villanova on Nov. 7, then host Lehigh on Nov. 14 and William & Mary on Nov. 21. Holy Cross is scheduled to visit Georgetown on Nov. 7, then host Villanova on Nov. 14 and Fordham on Nov. 21. Richmond’s previous results this season also included a road loss at Fordham and road wins at Lafayette and Howard, while Holy Cross had road wins at William & Mary and Lafayette. Richmond opened the season with a home win over Bucknell and later beat Georgetown and Furman at home before falling to North Carolina State and Fordham. Holy Cross opened with a home loss to Lehigh and a road loss at Colgate before beating Lafayette, William & Mary and Bucknell.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Holy Cross 31, Richmond 29 before the game. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Holy Cross with a 55.3 percent probability to win.