Tribe Holds On For 14-13 Victory At Liberty

Brooks Rushes For Two Touchdowns and Passes 2000-yard Mark in Win

10/14/06 5:00PM

Lynchburg, Va. - William and Mary senior tailback Elijah Brooks (Largo, Md.) rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns, and the Tribe hung on for a 14-13 victory over state-rival Liberty Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg.

[Story has been edited based on corrections in the game's official scoring]

Brooks eclipsed the 2000-yard career rushing mark in the second quarter en route to his seventh-career 100-yard game, as W&M (2-4) snapped a two-game losing streak. Brooks’ second touchdown with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter proved to be the difference, but the outcome wasn’t certain until Liberty kicker Ben Beasley missed a 37-yard field goal with 2:07 remaining, the Flames’ third failed field goal attempt of the contest.

Liberty (3-3), which churned out 315 yards rushing and held a 386-285 advantage in total yards, took a 13-7 lead on Zach Terrell’s 6-yard touchdown run and Beasley’s extra point with 10:57 remaining in the third quarter, but the advantage was only six points because the Tribe’s C.J. Herbert (Germantown, Md.) blocked a point-after attempt in the first half.

The Flames’ scoring drive was set up by Rashad Jennings’ 62-yard run on Liberty’s first offensive snap of the second half, but the bruising tailback was injured on the run and did not return. The loss was significant for the Flames, as Jennings had rushed for 186 yards on 22 carries to that point.

Trailing by six, the Tribe, which also snapped a four-game road losing streak, responded on its next series behind Brooks and quarterback Mike Potts (Middletown, Del.) to go back in front. Brooks gained five and three yards on first and second down, respectively, but after a delay of game penalty, it was Potts’ third down pass to Brooks that covered 11 yards and gave the Tribe a first down at the W&M 40-yard line.

Potts, who split time with sophomore Jake Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.), finished 5-for-8 through the air for 77 yards and connected on perhaps the biggest pass play of the game on the next snap, hooking up with redshirt freshman R.J. Archer (Earleysville, Va.) on a 46-yard completion to the Flames’ 14-yard line. Brooks took over from there, covering six yards on the ground and three on a screen pass to set up a fourth down-and-1 at the Liberty 5. Brooks’ number was called once again on fourth down, and the senior plowed through the left side of the line and into the end zone. Blair Pritchard (Mechanicsville, Va.) tacked on the extra point, which ended up setting the final margin.

The Flames had an opportunity to retake the lead on the next series, but senior Travis McLaurin (Wilmington, Del.) blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt by Beasley with 1:32 on the clock in the third.

Phillips completed two passes on the afternoon for 18 yards and was effective running the ball, gaining 42 yards on seven rushes, including a key 6-yard run on the game’s final possession that enabled the Tribe to run out the clock after Beasley’s missed field goal. After a couple of short runs and two Liberty time outs, the Tribe was facing a crucial third-and-six at its down 24-yard line with 1:38 remaining. Phillips escaped pressure in the backfield and raced to the left sideline, gaining the necessary six yards by the slimmest of margins for the first down. Phillips was hit late out of bounds on the play for an additional 15 yards, and the Flames were also called for a misconduct foul, moving the ball all the way to Liberty 40-yard line, before two Phillips’ kneel downs ended the game.

Brooks paced a Tribe ground attack that averaged better than five yards an attempt and became the 11th player in W&M history to reach the 2000-yard mark. The significance of the performance by Brooks was even greater based on the fact the Flames held over a 13-minute advantage in time of possession and ran nearly 20 more plays than W&M.

Possession was at a premium in the first half with both teams using a lot of clock and an effective running game, as the teams each had only three shots on offense. Liberty chewed up over seven minutes on its first drive, which resulted in a missed 30-yard field goal by Beasley, before W&M marched 78 yards in 6:51 on its first possession, only to see it end on E.L. Estes’ interception in the end zone.

On the Flames’ second possession, Jennings once again was able to gain yardage on the ground, but Alan Wheeling’s (Dublin, Va.) interception at the Tribe 30-yard line and 33-yard return ended the threat and set up W&M’s first score. Brooks gained three yards on first down, then ripped off a 17-yard run to pass the 2000-yard mark and give the Tribe a first down at the Liberty 18. Potts completed a 14-yard pass to Matt Trinkle (Whitehall, Pa.) to keep the chains moving, and Brooks eventually plunged into the end zone from three yards out, giving the Tribe a 7-0 lead with 8:27 remaining in the second.

But, behind Jennings, who rushed for 124 yards on 21 carries in the first half, Liberty answered on its next possession, driving 79 yards on 15 plays, ending with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Terrell. The drive consumed 7:18 off the clock, but W&M retained a 7-6 lead after Herbert’s blocked kick.

Despite the Flames’ final offensive numbers, the Tribe defense turned in a number of big plays in the second half, including McLaurin’s blocked field goal attempt. Sophomore Derek Cox (Winterville, N.C.) paced the unit with a career-high 14 tackles, including nine unassisted, and Chris Ndubueze (Lanham, Md.) had a season-high 11 stops, including a key unassisted quarterback sack in the fourth quarter for a 7-yard loss on a third down play. Wheeling finished 11 tackles as well, and sophomore Michael Pigram (Hopewell, Va.) finished with 10 stops.

W&M returns to Atlantic 10 play next Saturday, visiting James Madison at 3 p.m.

Corrected Box Score

Game Notes: W&M improved to 3-0 all-time against Liberty with today’s victory … The Tribe snapped a two-game losing streak and ended a four-game losing streak on the road, which dated back to last season … Senior tailback Elijah Brooks went over the 2,000-yard rushing mark for his career in the second quarter on a 17-yard run … Brooks, who needed 44 yards to reach the milestone entering the game, finished the same drive with a 3-yard rushing touchdown … Brooks is the 11th player in W&M history to reach the 2,000-yard mark and his career total now sits at 2,069 yards … He is 102 yards shy of 10th place on the school’s career rushing list (Phil Mosser, 2,171) … Brooks also had second 100-yard rushing game of the season and seventh of his career, which matches Michael Clemons’ for seventh on the W&M career list … Junior wide receiver Joe Nicholas caught two passes to extend his streak of games with at least one catch to 24 … True freshman David Caldwell returned a kickoff 46 yards in the second quarter, the first kickoff return of his career … W&M had four players with double-digit tackles for the first time this season (Cox 14, Wheeling 11, Ndubueze 11, Pigram 10) … Derek Cox had a career-high 14 tackles, including nine unassisted … Chris Ndubueze made his first start at linebacker since 2004 and finished with 11 tackle … Alan Wheeling’s interception was the third of his career and the Tribe’s fourth this season … It was also the Tribe’s first interception since the win over VMI on Sept. 23.