Tribe spots 14 to Rhode Island to win 31-30, move to 7-1 on the season (10-29-22)
By: Joe Dillard Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: William and Mary football
As we head into the back end of the schedule a 6-1 William and Mary’s team looks to continue the momentum hosting a 5-2 Rhode Island in a must-win heading into the gauntlet of their schedule. Well as the first quarter started the Tribe seemed to forget the importance of getting off to a good start as their offense pounds the ball better than most in the nation so if I told you the tribe got off to a miserable start that is exactly what happened as they fell in the hole early 14-0 to a well-balancedRhode Island offense. However, the second quarter would be a different story as the Tribe came out and drove down the field off a 46-yard sprint from Hollis Mathis to get the Tribe down to the 5-yard. Bronson Yoder punched it in to bring the Tribe within one score of 14-7.
After the Tribe defense held off Rhode Island to a punt, the Tribe marched right back down again but this time had an array of plays that led to 6. On a crucial third down, Darrius Wilson completed a 25-yard first-down conversion to keep the chains moving. Multiple running backs later and a bootleg, shows that the Tribe offense is expanding and at the right time. Donavyn Lester capped off the great drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to tie the game off an Ethan Chain extra point. With six minutes left before the half, Rhode Island marched down the field with the help of a questionable targeting call that ejected senior Ryan Poole and continued the drive. Redshirt Freshmen Jalen Jones continues to impress with his fourth interception of the season to stall out a drive that had promise. With less than one minute to go all the Tribe needed was a rush on the ground and go into half, well that’s not what happened as Bronson Yoder fumbled the ball giving Rhode Island another chance at points before the half. After a second down fade was incomplete, Rhode Island marched on to try a 31-yard field goal only to have it hit the upright sending the teams in at half 14-14.
After a forced punt, the Tribe marched down the field led by Malachi Imoh who scored to give the Tribe a 21-14 lead which essentially lasted the whole quarter as both teams made mistake after mistake shooting themselves in the foot. After 3 consecutive turnovers by both teams, points were finally given up as Rhode Island tied the game up off a turnover inside the Tribe 10 setting up a great field position. With both teams looking to make a run at the playoffs, they will need to sure up the execution of protecting the ball as turnovers are key to victories at this level. With the start of the fourth and the Tribe driving deep into Ram territory, Rhode Island draws a personal foul giving the Tribe a fresh set of downs in the red zone.
Three plays later from the 2-yard line, the Tribe loses 8 yards and settles for a field goal by Ethan Chang from 23 yards. After the defense came up with a big stop the Tribe leaned on the rushing game and extended their lead to 10 with a touchdown run by Lester. Redshirt senior Kasim Hill looked very impressive both running and throwing the ball. Leading the Rams to a field goal bringing the game to a one-score lead with 6:51 left to play. As Hill got one more shot with 3 minutes left and 98 yards to go they convert the first down and then started to get in a groove. What would be ten minutes later in real-time and only 45 seconds of game clock, the Tribe had to make a goal-line stand with 9 seconds left on the 8-yard line.
After an incomplete pass Hill completes a touchdown pass to bring the game within one point. Instead of going for the field goal to tie the game, they decided to go for two and the conversion failed as the Tribe extend their winning streak and improve to 7-1. Both teams totaled over 450 yards of offense with the Tribe running for over 300 yards. With a trip next week down highway 64 East for a battle against Hampton which is in its first season of the CAA.
