HOW SWEET ITWAS Richmond Spiders end '68 season with Southern Conference crown and win Tangerine Bowl thriller. By Walter Drewry
It was a glorious football season for Coach Frank Jones and his University of Richmond Spiders. Richmond captured all six of its Southern Conference games to win its first league crown. Then the surprising Spiders upset fifteenth ranked and previously undefeated Ohio University, the Mid-American champion, 49-42, in one of the finest offensive shows ever staged in Orlando's Tangerine Bowl. Overall the Spiders were 8-3, winning eight of their last nine games . Jones was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year for the second straight season and also was selected District 3 Coach of the Year. Quarterback Buster O'Brien , the Southern Conference's Player of the Year, and Split End Walker Gillette, a two-time All-Southern selection, were chosen the most valuable back and lineman for their record shattering performance in the Tangerine Bowl. O'Brien, the 6-1, 195-pound whiz from Virginia Beach who ranked tenth among major all-time passers for a career based on completions (349) going into the postseason Tangerine Bowl tilt, completed 39 of 58 passes for 447 yards, all three school and conference records, against the Bobcats. He tossed four touchdown passes against Ohio U., and ran 31 yards for another score as the Spiders rolled up a total offense of 556 yards. O'Brien, three times selected the Southern Conference's Offensive Player of the Week, had completed 149 passes for 1,961 yards and 21 TDs during the regular season. His career marks going into the Tangerine Bowl contest included 4,424 yards gained passing, with 34 touchdown passes. Gillette, 6-4, 193-pound junior from Capron, Va., who had caught 101 passes for 1,559 yards (50 this season for 857 yards and eight TDs), caught 20 passes against the Bobcats for 242 yards, both conference marks. / continued next page 3
