Fourth-Quarter Surge Gives Delaware 22-21 Victory over Tribe

Redshirt freshman Phillips Accounts for Three Scores in Defeat

11/12/05 6:00PM

Williamsburg - Delaware quarterback Sonny Riccio threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Love with 4:17 remaining, and the Blue Hens turned away two late Tribe possessions to post a 22-21 victory over 24th-ranked William and Mary at Zable Stadium.

Riccio threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 17-for-29 passing for Delaware (5-5, 2-5 Atlantic 10), which handed W&M (5-5, 3-4) its third consecutive loss and second-straight one-point defeat.

Omar Cuff added 101 yards rushing and a touchdown on 28 attempts to become the first Blue Hen back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2003 and caught five passes for 49 yards.

W&M took its third different lead of the game on a 2-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman Jake Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.) to sophomore fullback Matt Otey (Hershey, Pa.) on the opening drive of the third quarter that broke a 14-14 deadlock at the half.

Phillips was 24-for-34 through the air for a career-high 289 yards and added a pair of 1-yard rushing touchdowns, his seventh and eighth rushing scores of the season.

On the Blue Hens’ next possession, W&M forced Delaware three plays and out, and Tribe junior defensive back Brandon Burrow (Colonial Heights, Va.) blocked the Blue Hens’ punt, which was recovered by W&M at the Delaware 11-yard line. But, the Tribe was unable to capitalize on the field possession, when senior All-American place-kicker Greg Kuehn (Potomac Falls, Va.) misfired on a 35-yard field goal, his second of three misses on the day.

W&M forced punts on the Blue Hens’ next two possessions, but on the second, Stuart Kenworthy’s 36-yard punt was downed at the Tribe 4-yard line, giving it back to W&M with 12:26 remaining in the game.

After redshirt freshman tailback DeBrian Holmes (Ft. Eustis, Va.) ripped off six yards on first down, Phillips was sacked in the end zone on second down by Delaware’s John Mulhern and Matt Marcorella, resulting in a safety that cut the Tribe’s lead to 21-16 with 11:35 to play.

W&M again forced the Blue Hens three-and-out on their next series, and the Tribe took over at its 41 after a 2-yard punt return by senior Josh Lustig (Erie, Pa.). Junior tailback Elijah Brooks (Largo, Md.) rushed for seven yards on first down and picked up four more and another set of downs on the next play, before Phillips was intercepted by Mulhern at the Delaware 38-yard line to end the drive.

Riccio and Cuff took over from there, as the duo led the Blue Hens on an 11-play, 62-yard march, ending with Riccio’s 6-yard pass to Love, which proved to be the game-winner with 4:17 remaining. Cuff rushed six times for 35 yards, while Riccio was 4-for-5 for 32 yards on the drive.

W&M regained possession at its 33-yard line after a 9-yard kickoff return by Holmes, but the drive stalled on downs at the Tribe 41 when Phillips’ fourth-down pass attempt to Lustig fell incomplete with 1:30 on the clock.

Using its final two time outs in the process, W&M held on four consecutive Delaware runs on the ensuing series, and the Tribe regained possession at its 34-yard line with 30 seconds remaining. But, after a incomplete pass on first down, Phillips was intercepted by Kyle Campbell at the Delaware 26, leaving the Hens to run out the clock with a kneel down.

Holmes led the Tribe with 66 yards rushing on eight attempts, while Brooks finished 43 yards on 12 totes.

Sophomore Joe Nicholas (Sugarloaf, Pa.) led the Tribe receiving corps with 121 yards on eight receptions, and redshirt freshman Elliott Mack (Irvington, N.J.) added seven catches for 106 yards. Holmes had a career-high seven receptions for 52 yards.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Josh Rutter (Union Bridge, Md.) led the defensive effort with 14 total tackles, marking his fifth double-digit tackle effort of the season.

W&M will play its season finale next Saturday at 1 p.m. at the University of Richmond, marking the 115th installment of the Oldest Rivalry in the South.

Box Score

Game Notes: W&M has now dropped three consecutive games, the last two by a single point, marking its longest losing streak since 2003, when the Tribe dropped four consecutive games … The Tribe lost for the second time in as many weeks after carrying a lead into the fourth quarter … W&M out gained UD, 393-339, marking the first time this season (4-1) W&M was defeated while leading an opponent in total offense … W&M now must defeat longtime rival Richmond next week to secure its 19th winning season in the last 23 years … The Tribe’s one-point losses in consecutive weeks equals the total number of one-point losses in head coach Jimmye Laycock’s 25-year career, prior to this season … Prior to W&M 30-29 loss to JMU last week, the last Tribe one-point loss was in 1991 (29-28 vs. JMU) … Today’s game marked the first time in 10 games this season W&M failed to gain a turnover … It was also just the second time W&M failed to intercept a pass (Northeastern, 10/15) … Redshirt freshman QB Jake Phillips set career-highs for pass attempts (34) completions (24), passing yards (289) and interceptions thrown (2) … Despite being sacked five times, Phillips finished with a net of 3 yards rushing with two rushing touchdowns … Phillips’ eight rushing touchdowns on the year equals 2004 Payton Award winning quarterback Lang Campbell’s 14-game total from last season … The last Tribe QB to rush for more touchdowns in a season was Chris Hakel, who rushed for a school-record 11 in 1990 … Sophomore WR Joe Nicholas had a season-high 121 yards receiving and tied his season-high with eight receptions … It was Nicholas’ fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season … Redshirt freshman WR Elliott Mack established career-highs in catches (7) and yards (106) … It marked the second time this season W&M had two different receivers with 100-yard games (Nicholas, Lustig vs. Northeastern) … Otey’s 2-yard touchdown reception was his second scoring catch of the season, his only two receptions on the season … It was his third-career receiving touchdown on four total receptions (at JMU, 2004) … Redshirt freshman LB Josh Rutter posted his fifth double-digit tackle game of the season (14), and it marked the sixth time this season the rookie led the squad in tackles.

W&M head coach Jimmye Laycock
“It is very tough to lose a game like this. We had a lot of guys who played hard and played through some pain, but things just didn’t go our way. We weren’t able to put them away in the second half. We played hard and we played smart.”

Senior corner Stephen Cason
“This is a tough one to take. We played well, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way. I had a lot of emotions before the game knowing this was my last game at Zable. I walked very slowly off the field, just taking everything in.”

Delaware Head Coach K.C. Keeler
“We came out of halftime and made some adjustments. We were able to get more pressure on the quarterback and we made some plays defensively to keep us in the game. It was very easy for this team to fold, but our seniors have done a great job leading this team. We kept our poise and we made plays when we had to. This is a very rewarding win.”