Kuehn lifts 10th-ranked W&M to thrilling 27-24 Victory over No. 4 JMU

Tribe pulls into three-way tie for first place with JMU and Delaware

11/13/04 5:15PM

Harrisonburg, VA - Junior all-conference kicker Greg Kuehn (Potomac Falls, VA) nailed a 46-yard field goal as time expired to lead 10th-ranked William and Mary to a thrilling 27-24 victory over fourth-ranked James Madison in an Atlantic 10 Football Conference game Saturday in front of 13,904 fans at Bridgeforth Stadium.

With the win, the Tribe improves to 6-1 in the A10 and moves into a three-way tie for first place in the league standings with the Dukes and 11th-ranked Delaware, which claimed a 23-14 victory over Richmond Saturday, with one week remaining in the regular season.

The College gained possession at its 28-yard line with 38 seconds remaining in regulation, after Madison tied the game at 24-24 with 45 seconds left. With three timeouts in hand, senior All-American and Payton Award candidate, quarterback Lang Campbell (Winchester, VA) calmly led the Tribe on a five play, 43-yard drive to set up Kuehn’s game-winning kick that gave the Tribe its first win in Harrisonburg since 1998 and its second victory over a top-10 team on the road this season.

On the drive, Campbell completed an eight-yard pass to sophomore fullback LeVince Parrot (Williamsburg, VA), six and 18-yard strikes to senior wide receiver Dominique Thompson (Durham, NC) and an 11-yard connection to sophomore tailback Elijah Brooks (Largo, MD) to position the Tribe at the JMU 29-yard line with five seconds remaining. The kick was Kuehn’s second game-winning score of the season, as he also drilled a 28-yard field goal in overtime to beat 16th-ranked Northeastern, 38-35, on Oct. 2.

Campbell was brilliant all day, as he methodically picked apart the Dukes’ vaunted defense for 323 yards and two touchdowns on 26 of 33 passing. It was Campbell’s fifth 300-yard passing game of the season, as he moved over the 5,000-yard barrier for his career (5,302), becoming just the sixth quarterback in W&M history to accomplish the feat.

The College had an impressive opening drive on the Dukes’ highly rated defense, which entered the game as the Atlantic 10’s second-best unit, yielding just 290.2 yards per game. Campbell connected on 4-of-5 passes on the drive and the Tribe ran the ball well on the league’s best run defense, but W&M came away with no points as Kuehn missed a 32-yard field goal, his first miss inside of 40 yards on 13 attempts this season.

Madison cracked the scoreboard on its only possession of the first quarter, driving 69 yards on 13 plays to set up sophomore David Rabil’s 28-yard field goal, which banged off the left upright and dropped through to give JMU a 3-0 lead with 2:49 remaining in the opening frame.

The Tribe continued to move the ball effectively on its ensuing possession, as Campbell again completed 4-of-5 attempts for 44 yards, leading to a 28-yard field goal by Kuehn. On the Tribe’s first two possessions alone, Campbell threw for 92 yards on 8-for-10 passing, and the score was knotted at 3-3 with 13:18 remaining in the first half.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Dukes pulled ahead on a 17-yard scoring pass from sophomore quarterback Justin Rascati to sophomore wide out D.D. Boxley, giving Madison a 10-3 advantage with 3:19 remaining in the half. JMU moved 74 yards on 10 plays and took a seven-point advantage into the break, after the Tribe was forced three-and-out on its next possession. It marked only the second time this season W&M failed to score a first-half touchdown, with the only other occurrence coming in a rain-soaked 9-7 victory at New Hampshire on Sept. 18.

W&M pulled even on its first possession of the second half, as Campbell hit redshirt freshman Matt Otey (Hershey, PA) on a one-yard strike, capping a nine-play, 85-yard drive that consumed exactly five minutes. The key play of the drive came on a third-and-seven, when Campbell hit Thompson across the middle for a 35-yard gain. The score was Otey’s first career touchdown, and it evened the score at 10-10 with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter.

The teams again exchanged punts, and the Dukes took over at their own 44-yard line with 13:14 remaining. JMU quickly moved 56 yards on the strength of tailback Raymond Hines’ legs, as the junior carried seven times on the drive for 48 yards and scored on a four-yard run, giving the Dukes a 17-10 lead with 10:16 remaining in the game.

After a 27-yard kickoff return by junior defensive back Stephen Cason (Richmond, VA), Campbell and the Tribe wasted no time in pulling even once again, as the College marched 71 yards on eight plays in just 1:59, capped by a five-yard scoring pass from Campbell to senior John Pitts (Kernersville, NC). It was Pitts’ first touchdown reception of the season and Campbell’s sixth game with two or more passing touchdowns. On the drive, Campbell converted two third downs through the air, which included a 17-yard hookup with senior tailback Jon Smith (Cincinnati, OH) on third-and-10 from the W&M 43-yard line.

On the Dukes’ ensuing possession, the Tribe defense came up with its biggest play of game, as Rascati attempted to reach the ball over the line of scrimmage for a first down, when junior linebacker Chris Ndubueze (Lanham, MD) knocked it out of Rascati’s hands and it was picked up by Cason. Three plays later, senior tailback Jon Smith (Cincinnati, OH) found the end zone for the 10th time this season, from three yards out, to give the Tribe its first lead of the game, 24-17, with 5:40 remaining.

The Dukes, however, responded to tie the game at 24-24 on their next possession, as Rascati scrambled on third-and-long to connect with Boxley once again for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 45 seconds remaining, before Campbell and Kuehn’s heroics.

Redshirt freshman Joe Nicholas (Sugarloaf, PA) pulled in a career-high seven receptions for 77 yards, while Pitts hauled in four grabs for 61 yards. Sophomore Elijah Brooks (Largo, MD) was the Tribe’s leading rusher on the afternoon with 23 yards on eight carries and was a significant contributor as a receiver out the backfield, gaining 36 yards on four catches.

The Tribe was victorious for the second time this season after getting out-gained by its opponent, as the Dukes amassed 425 yards of offense behind a 198-yard rushing performance by Hines. Rascati completed 15 of 27 passes for 153 yards and two scores, while also rushing for 48 yards on 13 attempts.

W&M returns to Williamsburg next weekend for its regular season-finale with Richmond at 1 p.m. A victory over the arch-rival Spiders would secure at least a share of the conference championship and, pending the outcomes of JMU’s game at Towson and Delaware’s contest with Villanova, possibly the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA I-AA Playoffs.


#10 William and Mary 27, #4 James Madison 24
Box Score

Game Notes: With two field goals Saturday, Kuehn moved into fifth place on the A10 career field goals’ chart (42) … Kuehn’s first quarter miss from 32 yards was his first misfire from inside 40 yards on 13 attempts this season … It was Kuehn’s second game-winning field goal of the season on a final play of the game and his third game-winning field goal overall … The other last-play, game-winning FG came against 16th-ranked Northeastern in overtime on Oct. 2, while his other game-winning field goal came in a 9-7 win at 10th-ranked New Hampshire on Sept. 18 … With 323 passing yards, Campbell became the sixth player in W&M history to surpass the 5,000-yard mark for his career (5,302) … It also brought his season total to 2,746 yards, which ranks as the eighth-best, single-season total in school history … Senior TB Jon Smtih scored his team-best 10th rushing TD of the season … Redshirt freshman WR Joe Nicholas pulled in a career-high seven receptions for 77 yards … Sophomore fullback Matt Otey caught his first career TD pass, while senior WR John Pitts hauled in his first TD catch of the season … The victory marked W&M’s fourth over a ranked opponent this season, and its second over a top-10 opponent, both of which have come on the road (UNH, JMU) … Also with the win, its marks the ninth season under head coach Jimmye Laycock with eight or move victories … It was also W&M’s 10th conference victory in its last 11 league games, dating back to last season.