Tribe Defeats Liberty in Double-OT Thriller

Phillips Passes for 335 Yards, 3 Touchdowns

09/15/07 11:59PM

WILLIAMSBURG - William and Mary quarterback Jake Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.) scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, before the Tribe came up with a big defensive stop in the second overtime period to defeat state-rival Liberty, 48-41, Saturday night at Zable Stadium.

W&M (2-1) forced the second overtime on Phillips’ 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Drew Atchison (Charlottesville, Va.), after Liberty (2-1) went in front, 41-34, on Rashad Jennings’ 25-yard scoring run in the first extra session.

Phillips threw three touchdowns, completing 20 of 28 attempts for 335 yards, his second 300-yard passing game in three outings. Atchison had a team-high six receptions, finishing with 103 yards for his second 100-yard receiving game.

W&M piled up 524 yards of total offense in the victory, giving the Tribe three-straight games with over 500 yards to open the season. W&M also won back-to-back games for the first time since 2005.

Jennings rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns, and Brock Smith passed for 203 yards and a pair of scores for Liberty, which sent the contest into overtime with a late game-tying touchdown drive.

After Brian Pate (Fredericksburg, Va.) kicked a 19-yard field goal with 7:12 remaining, W&M held a 34-26 lead. David Caldwell (Montclair, N.J.) then halted the Flames’ next possession, as it started, intercepting a Smith pass on the first snap at the Tribe’s 31-yard line. W&M picked up a first down behind the hard running of Tony Viola (Broadway, Va.) and Phillips and ran the game clock under 2:30, but eventually had to punt.

A 17-yard return by Patrick Calvary left Liberty with the ball at its 29 with 2:19 remaining. Smith would complete 6-of-9 attempts, including a key 11-yard pass to Dominic Bolden on a third-and-three, on the game-tying drive. Zach Terrell eventually found the end zone on a 3-yard run with 16 seconds on the clock, and Smith hit Jennings in the left side of the end zone to convert the two-point attempt. Terrell finished with 58 yards rushing on seven attempts.

W&M won the overtime toss and elected to send the defense out first, but Liberty kept its offensive momentum going when Jennings broke through up the middle for the 25-yard touchdown run on the second snap.

Viola, who finished with 57 yards rushing on 15 tries, had a key 9-yard run and converted a critical fourth-and-one to move the chains on the Tribe’s first overtime possession. On first down from the 15, Phillips connected with Atchison in the right front corner of the end zone, and Pate nailed the extra point to send the affair into a second overtime.

In the second overtime, Viola carried on five consecutive plays to set up a first-and-goal at the Flames’ 3-yard line. Viola ran for eight yards on the first play of the drive, and moved the ball to the 1-yard line moments later. Phillips went up and over from the 1-yard line, and Pate again knocked through the extra point to make it 48-41.

On Liberty’s double-overtime possession, Caldwell turned in a huge unassisted tackle for loss, then combined with Michael Pigram (Hopewell, Va.) to stop Jennings and set up a fourth-and-one at the Tribe 16. Needing a first down to stay alive, Jennings carried to the right side but was stopped for no gain, after an agonizing few moments while the officials measured. Nick Dewispeleare (Virginia Beach, Va.) was credited with the stop.

DeBrian Holmes (Ft. Eustis, Va.) rushed for a pair of touchdowns and finished with 96 yards on 23 carries before leaving with an injury in the fourth quarter.

Phillips threw a 27-yard touchdown to Cameron Dohse (Clifton, Va.), and Pate connected on a career-long 43-yard field goal as time expired to give the Tribe a 17-13 edge at intermission.

Holmes’ second scoring run, an impressive five-yard scamper to the right pylon, pushed the advantage to 24-13 later in the third. Liberty answered quickly though, thanks in part to a 32-yard kickoff return by Wynton Jackson, covering 45 yards in seven plays. Smith hooked up with Bolden for a 13-yard pass, but a failed two-point try left the Tribe with a 24-19 advantage.

Phillips completed 4-of-5 attempts for 46 yards on the Tribe’s next possession, engineering a nine-play, 59-yard scoring march that ended with a 7-yard touchdown toss to Elliott Mack (Irvington, N.J.). Phillips converted a second-and-20 with a 22-yard strike to Atchison on the drive and hit Joe Nicholas (Sugarloaf, Pa.) for a 17-yard completion, giving Nicholas his first reception this season.

Liberty would once again respond in hurried fashion. Smith completed three consecutive attempts, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jennings with 12:11 remaining, to cut the deficit to 31-26, before Pate’s 19-yarder pushed the lead back to eight.

Mack finished with five receptions for 71 yards, and R.J. Archer (Charlottesville, Va.) had three catches for 56 yards. Dohse also had a 40-yard reception to finish with 67 yards, and Viola added a pair of grabs for 14 yards.

Josh Rutter (Union Bridge, Md.) led the way defensively with 15 total tackles, and Max Harris (Marietta, Ga.) finished with a career-high 11 total stops.

W&M returns to action next Saturday, traveling to FBS (Formerly Division I-A) opponent Virginia Tech. Kickoff in Blacksburg is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

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