Tribe Topples VMI

William and Mary Scores 63 in Victory

09/08/07 7:00PM

Lexington, Va. - The College of William and Mary football program used a nearly flawless offensive performance to power its way to a 63-16 win over hosting Virginia Military Institute on a balmy Saturday afternoon in Lexington, Va.

The win evened the College’s record at 1-1, while the Keydets fell to 1-1 on the young season. William and Mary has now won 22-straight games in the series which dates back to 1905.

The Tribe offense rolled to 524 total yards and scored on nine of its 12 total possessions in the contest. William and Mary has now scored 95 points and rang up 1,066 yards of total offense over the first two games of the season. Each number represents the highest two-game total to start a season in school history. On the defensive side, the College limited VMI to just 22 passing yards and 271 total yards. The unit also forced and recovered a pair of fumbles.

Junior quarterback Jake Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.) was the offensive catalyst, as he completed 13 of his 15 attempts for 242 yards and three scores in just one half of work. Sophomore safety David Caldwell (Montclair, N.J.) led the defensive charges with 14 total tackles, including a TFL and forced fumble. Phillips has now thrown for 675 yards and five scores over the first two contests of the season, completing 39 of his 56 attempts (.696) with no interceptions.

The afternoon got off to a rocky start for the College, as Phillips fumbled the game’s opening offensive series which VMI recovered on the Tribe’s 34-yard line. The Keydets eventually turned the miscue into the game’s initial score, as Patrick Sweeney’s 24-yard field goal staked the home team to an early 3-0 lead. But, the William and Mary attack quickly regrouped and responded with an eight-play, 73-yard drive, which ended with an eight-yard touchdown run by junior tailback DeBrian Holmes (Fort Eustis, Va.), his first of a career-high three rushing TDs on the game.

The Tribe defense provided a spark on the next VMI series, as Caldwell came up from his free safety spot and forced a fumble by laying a big hit on VMI slotback Gabe Itoka. Junior linebacker Josh Rutter (Union Bridge, Md.) cradled the first of his two recoveries in the contest and set the Tribe up on the VMI 41-yard line. Phillips cashed in on the opportunity by hitting sophomore receiver RJ Archer, in-stride, down the middle of the field for a 34-yard gain to the Keydet four-yard line. Holmes found the end zone on the next snap and staked the College to a 14-3 lead with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter.

After the Tribe defense forced a punt on VMI’s next series, the College offense took over on its own 33-yard line and pieced together an efficient, seven-play, 67-yard scoring drive that ended with a acrobatic 31-yard touchdown catch from Phillips to junior WR Elliott Mack (Irvington, N.J.). Mack’s efforts staked the College to a 21-3 lead with 13:20 remaining in the first half.

The Keydets rallied with a sustained scoring drive of its own and inched within 21-10 with 11:26 remaining in the half. But, the College’s offense would prove to have a few too many weapons for VMI this afternoon, as it took over on it’s own 37-yard line and used consecutive runs of 13 and 12 yards by speedy redshirt freshman Courtland Marriner (Chesapeake, Va.) to cross over into Keydet territory. After a Holmes rush, Phillips found sophomore tight end Rob Varno (Wilmington, Dela.) running wide open down the seam for his first career reception, a 32-yard gain that put the College in business on the VMI four-yard line. Holmes ended the drive on the next play, with a four-yard scamper and effectively put the game out of reach, 28-10, with 9:15 remaining in the second quarter. The College went onto score two more times in the half, using Phillip scoring tosses of two and 22 yards, to senior tight end Drew Atchison (Charlottesville, Va.) and redshirt freshman Cameron Dohse (Clifton, Va.), respectively. Dohse’s scoring grab was the first of his career and sent the two teams to the half with the Tribe holding a commanding 42-10 lead.

The second half brought more of the same for Virginia Military Institute, as William and Mary scored on three of its four second half possessions with senior quarterback Mike Potts (Middletown, Del.) at the controls of the offense. He ended the half completing five of his six attempts for 33 yards. All three of the scoring drives he engineered ended via the ground, as Marriner, redshirt freshman Thomas Schonder (Round Hill, Va.) and senior Tony Viola (Broadway, Va.) each contributed touchdown runs.

The College will return home next Saturday evening to host Liberty University in what will be a 7:00 pm kickoff at Zable Stadium. The College will be looking to improve its all-time record vs. the Big South Conference to 9-0 vs. the Flames.

Game Notes: Redshirt Freshman Courtland Marriner ended the game with 107 rushing yards on just 13 carries … He became the first redshirt freshman to rush for over 100-yards since Delmus Coley turned the trick four-straight games in the 2003 season, the last of which was against New Hampshire … 63 points stands as a single-game high in the 28-years in which Jimmye Laycock has been at the helm of the Tribe program … One has to go back to the 1932 season to find the last time a Tribe team has scored more points in a single game (77-0 win over Bridgewater) … The 46-point margin of victory is the most since the Tribe defeated fellow Big South Conference member, Liberty, 56-0 in 2005 … 56 of the 58 member Tribe travel party saw action in Saturday’s game … Defensive end Mike Stover (Millersville, Pa.) saw the first action of his career vs. VMI and joined Terrell Wells as true freshman to see playing time this season for the College … As impressive as Phillips’ 242 passing yards and three TDs were for one half’s worth of work, it is only his second best career single-half effort, as he threw for 256 yards and four scores in leading the Tribe to the improbable 21-point, fourth quarter comeback at Northeastern and eventually led the team to a 44-41 double overtime win … Senior tailback Tony Viola rushed for a career-high 58 yards on 12 carries … Tailback DeBrian Holmes three rushing touchdowns surpassed his career total of two coming into the game … Cameron Dohse performed very well in his first career start, replacing the injured D.J. McAulay, by bringing down a team-high 77 yards and a touchdown on four catches … Sophomore WR RJ Archer extended his streak of consecutive games with at least two catches to nine, as he brought in a pair of spirals for 46 yards … Archer has now caught at least one pass in every career appearance (13) … William and Mary was not penalized on the afternoon … The Tribe defense limited the Keydets to just two third down conversions on 12 attempts.

Box Score | Photos | Video Highlights