#4 Tribe Dominates Wofford In Home Opener With Fundamentals & Execution 23-6 (9-9-23)
By: Joe Dillard Jr.
All Photo Credit: William & Mary Athletics
On a gloomy Saturday afternoon, the fourth-ranked William and Mary Tribe (1-0) host the Wofford Terriers (0-1) out of the Southern Conference. With the Tribe coming out and executing on a 10-play 81-yard touchdown drive capped off by Bronson Yoder to give the Tribe an early lead. After a defensive stop, the Tribe got pinned back in their territory causing a punt and a short field for the Terriers. After a 43-yard kick by the Terriers, William and Mary’s offense came right back with an electric run by Malachi Imoh of 45 yards only to have the drive stalled.
As the first quarter ended, both teams ended the quarter with punts to one another. With the Tribe driving, multiple penalties brought this drive to a 40-yard attempt by transfer Caden Bonoffski which gave the Tribe a 10-3 lead at the beginning of the second quarter. With 5:04 left Wofford continued to move the ball but was unable to get 6 as they settled for their second field goal bringing the Tribe lead to 10-6. With the defense holding to field goals, the offense came out once again striking fast with consecutive first-down plays to move into Wofford territory. On a reverse flea flicker that had tight end Trey McDonald rumbling and stumbling down to the one-yard line on a third consecutive big play. After a failed option attempt Darrius Wilson gets his first touchdown pass of the game to JT Mayo giving the Tribe a 17-6 lead with 2:54 left in the half. As the half ended the second field goal by Bonoffski of 42-yards gave the Tribe a 20-6 halftime lead. As the game started to unfold the Tribe imposed their dominance in all phases of the game showing why they are the number four team in the country.
With Wofford getting the ball at the beginning of the third quarter, William and Mary forced a punt and took them down the field with the air attack and a mix of the run. You can tell this season they are putting more stock into the passing game. However, with a stalled drive the Tribe resorted to a fake field goal attempt for the first down that was unsuccessful. After a high-scoring first half, neither team put a point on the board going into the fourth quarter 20-6. After another field goal by Bonoffski the Tribe goes 2-0 with a 23-6 win against Wofford. Darrius Wilson was 12 for 23 with 185 yards passing and a touchdown pass. Bronson Yoder carried the ball 17 times for 88 yards while Malachi Imoh had only 9 carries for 80 yards. Tight End Trey McDonald had 63 yards receiving on 2 catches. The defense kept Wofford out of the endzone, under 10 first downs, and under 200 total yards of offense. This puts William and Mary on the road to South Carolina to face Charleston Southern on September 16 at 4:00 p.m.
