It Was Their Time

Ten years ago this month, the University of Richmond football team earned that singular distinction with a 24-7 triumph over Montana in the NCAA Division I FCS title game at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga.

 

Collin McConaghy and Chris Kondorossy – both of whom have served Collegiate pretty much since their college days – were there. In fact, both played integral roles in the Spiders’ success not just that memorable night but throughout their careers.

 

McConaghy, the director of Collegiate's Summer Quest and an assistant varsity football coach, was a three-season starting middle linebacker. Kondorossy, a partner with Drs. Rossetti, Myers, & Kondorossy, DDS and an assistant varsity football and track coach at Collegiate, played center.

 

While the 2008 season culminating with a national title was the high point in the history of a program which dates to 1881, the Spiders’ unparalleled success almost didn’t materialize.

 

You see, despite the fact that in ’07 they’d finished 11-3 and reached the national semifinals, they found themselves struggling at 4-3 after a 38-31 home loss to James Madison when the Dukes returned a late punt for the winning score.

 

The following day – a Sunday – the team lifted and watched film. Monday was a day off. A team meeting with first-year head coach Mike London at 2 p.m. Tuesday would prove pivotal.

 

McConaghy picks up the story.

 

“Coach London talked about it being a crucial week,” he recalled. “He said, ‘Guys, we have the opportunity to do something special. We really have to dial it in and take advantage of each day.’ It wasn’t fire and brimstone. He was a players’ coach. We were down. He rallied the troops.”

 

The Spiders responded by winning their last five regular season games to earn an at-large bid to the playoffs.

 

In the first round, they defeated Eastern Kentucky 38-10. In the quarterfinals, they took down their nemesis Appalachian State 33-13 in Boone, NC. The next week, they defeated Northern Iowa 21-20 in Cedar Falls to advance to the championship game.

 

“Our motto going into the season was ‘Family,’” said McConaghy, who played at 6-0, 215. “We held each other accountable on the field, in the cafeteria, in the classroom. We had fun. We enjoyed each other. It got to the point that we felt like we couldn’t lose. We weren’t cocky or arrogant. We were prepared. We fought for each other. A little adversity in the beginning set us up for a huge finish.”

 

Though the Spiders were rolling, they knew they couldn’t get ahead of themselves. They had been through so much together. App State had thwarted their dream a year earlier. Now was their chance. Now was their time.

 

“Collin and I were in Coach (Dave) Clawson’s first recruiting class,” said Kondorossy, who played at 6-4, 300. “Going forward, our class just got closer and closer. When Coach Clawson left (after the 2007 season to become offensive coordinator at Tennessee), we really had to come together. Our strength coach, Brandon Hourigan, was instrumental. Then Coach London came in and really melded the team together.”

 

Just as the ’08 Spiders overcame adversity, so too did Kondorossy.

In early August of that championship season, he tore his right ACL, an apparent season-ending injury. No way, he told himself. Three years before, he’d suffered the same injury to his left knee, underwent surgery, and returned in four months. This time, he was determined to defy the odds once again.

 

“It was non-contact, plant-and-pivot kind of injury,” he said. “I had ACL reconstruction in August. I understood the rehab. I’m a quick healer. It fired me up.”

 

He was cleared to play in November just in time for the regular season finale against William & Mary. In that game and throughout the playoffs, he alternated series with Drew Lachenmeyer, who had manned the center position during his absence.

 

With each victory, media interest in Richmond football intensified and expectations accelerated. Despite the attention, coupled with preparation for semester exams, the Spiders remained intentional and very much attuned to the task at hand.

 

“We were so focused,” McConaghy said. “That was a Coach London thing. We started 4-3. We lose again, and we’re not in the playoffs. We had the playoff mentality midway through the season. We knew if we won each week, everything will take care of itself.”

 

The title game was just another step in a wonderful journey.

 

“There was no more pressure than for any other game,” McConaghy said. “We knew we’d win if we played like we could. It was just, honestly, another opportunity to play for your brothers. That’s what we talked about the whole week.

 

“When it ended, confetti was falling. You don’t see that often. It’s pretty special. Folks stormed the field. They’re giving us hats that say, ‘National Championship.’ They’re putting up a stage (for ESPN2 interviews and the trophy presentation). But at the moment it was another football game. After the fact, it seemed surreal.”

 

The 2009 Spiders with McConaghy and Kondorossy opened 8-0 before Villanova, the eventual national champ, defeated them 21-20 to end their 17-game win streak. That year, they finished 11-2 and fell to Appalachian State 35-31 in the national quarterfinals. From 2007-2009, the Spiders went 35-8.

 

For McConaghy, Kondorossy, and their teammates, the experience remains deeply ingrained a decade later, and their UR Athletic Hall of Fame enshrinement is an indelible reminder. As is often the case in athletics, though, it’s more than victories and trophies that linger.

 

“It’s great to look back,” McConaghy said, “but it’s the relationships with teammates that were so important. We went through a really special time in our lives together. You have a bond that’s almost impossible to duplicate in the real world At the end of the day, it’s, Man, I love you guys. I’d do anything for you guys.”

  -- Weldon Bradshaw