LEXINGTON, Va. - Matt Trinkle's two-yard touchdown reception from Lang Campbell with 9:20 remaining in the fourth quarter lifted William & Mary to a lead it would never relinquish as the Tribe posted a 34-24 win over VMI Saturday in Lexington.
The 81st meeting between the two state rivals proved to be a close contest as the score was tied three times in the game before Trinkle's fourth quarter score, but the Tribe prevailed to secure its 18th straight win over the Keydets.
VMI quarterback Jonathan Wilson's 11-yard TD keeper allowed VMI to tie the score, 24-24, with 13:35 left in the final quarter. The drive was keyed by a 38-yard pass to sophomore slotback Gary Price and a 22-yard pass to sophomore wideout Zohn Burden. Sophomore running back Sean Mizzer, who finished as the game's leading ground gainer with 109 yards on 19 carries, rushed twice for 20 yards on the drive.
The Keydets forced W&M to punt on the ensuing possession, and took control at 26-yard line with 11:51 left. Three plays later, however, Wilson threw behind intended receiver Greg Carlson and the pass was picked off by senior defensive back Billy Parker at the William & Mary 48-yard line and returned 33 yards to the VMI 19.
Three plays later Campbell found Trinkle in the back corner of the endzone for his third TD pass of the afternoon.
The Keydets were unable to mount a serious threat from that point on, largely in part to a W&M 10-play, 33- yard drive that consumed a precious 5:05 off the fourth quarter clock. Greg Kuehn nailed a 47-yard field goal attempt with 2:05 left to cap the drive that was preserved by two-key third down conversions. Fullback Nick Rodgers blasted up the middle for 16 yards on a 3rd and 10 from the Tribe 37, and back Jon Smith fought for three tough yards on a third and two from the VMI 39.
VMI outgained William & Mary, 360-306, including 219 yards on 14 of 27 passing from Wilson. Campbell completed 12 of 24 passes for 167 yards and three scores for the Tribe.
Kuehn opened the scoring with a 36-yard field goal on the last play of the first quarter to cap William & Mary's third drive of the game. The Keydets countered to take a 7-3 lead when Mizzer scored on a five-yard option pitch to the corner of the endzone to finish off a nine play, 72-yard drive that consisted entirely of running plays. Mizzer rushed five times for 45 yards on the possession.
Senior placekicker Matt Sharpe extended the VMI lead to 10-3 at the 5:14 mark of the second quarter when he connected on a 36-yard field goal. The drive was sparked a 40-yard reception to wideout Zohn Burden.
The Tribe tied the score at 10-10 with 2:00 left in the half when Campbell connected on a crossing pattern to Danny Wade for a 10-yard score. The drive was aided by a 27-yard pass to John Pitts on a third and 22 and a 41-yard reception to standout receiver Rich Musinski to the VMI 17.
VMI handed W&M the go-ahead score on its first drive after intermission when Wilson, trying to avoid a quarterback sack threw the ball at Mizzer's feet. The ball was ruled a lateral as it hit the turf and linebacker Travis McLaurin scooped up the ball and raced 28 yards for the touchdown to give the Tribe a 17-10 lead 40 seconds into the second half.
The Keydet rebounded when a Derek Screen interception returned to the William & Mary 25-yard line led to a Mizzer 19-yard touchdown run two plays later to tie the score at 17-17 with 12:30 left in the third.
William & Mary retook the lead when Campbell found back Steven Hargrove for a 48-yard catch and run to the endzone with 8:10 left. The Keydets had initially forced the Tribe to punt earlier in the drive, but a running into the kicker penalty gave the ball back to the visitors and prolonged the 88-yard, nine play drive.
Musinski caught four passes for 53 yards to lead the Tribe receiving corps, while Burden (77 yards), Snelling (36 yards) and Carlson (33 yards) each caught 33 yards.
Screen led VMI with 17 tackles including one-for-loss. Senior cornerback Musa Sarki picked off his first pass of the year in the second half.
VMI (1-2) plays host to Norfolk State in Lexington at 1:00 next Saturday. William & Mary (1-1) opens A-10 play at Northeastern next Saturday at 12:30.
WILLIAM & MARY HEAD COACH JIMMYE LAYCOCK
"Anytime you're in a close game, the team that makes the big plays, comes out on top."
On Quarterback Lang Campbell: "Lang did well, but I thought he could've been a lot better."
On VMI's Performance: "They're a good team and they provided a great challenge for us."
VMI HEAD COACH CAL MCCOMBS
On Jonathan Wilson's fumble on a lateral in the third quarter: "There's nothing wrong with taking a sack because we can just punt the football. He (Jonathan Wilson) just needs to learn how to do that."
On VMI's offense: "We're going to be to be a good offensive team because we have a lot of weapons. Gary Price can catch and run the ball. We've got Titus Green, Sean Mizzer, T.J. Snelling and a good offensive line."
On whether he thought VMI could break the W&M's streak of 17 consecutive wins vs. the Keydets before today: "Even though we are young, I thought we could match up with them and we did."
On stopping W&M Payton Award Candidate WR Rich Musinski: "In past games, he's killed us, because that guy's a heck of an athlete. We bracketed him with a couple of defensive backs and tried to make the other guys beat us. They did, but at least he didn't hurt us (Musinski had four catches for 53 yards)."
On the difference between William & Mary and VMI: "I'm very encouraged by our football team. You look at where their football team is at and look at where our football team is at and I don't think we're that far behind."
