Game Media Coverage On SportsPage Gleaner
LEXINGTON, Va. - Senior tailback Sean Mizzer rushed for 129 yards on 27 carries and one touchdown and quarterback Jonathan Wilson completed 15 of 18 passes for 147 yards and one touchdown to lead VMI to a 33-0 blanking of Davidson before 5,215 sun-splashed spectators at Alumni Memorial Field.
It was the season opener for both teams.
The Keydets registered their first shutout since a 14-0 blanking of Richmond on October 23, 1982.
VMI built a 23-0 halftime lead by scoring on all of its four possessions of the half while holding a 19:01 to 10:59 advantage in time of possession.
The Keydets, sporting new red jerseys, opened the scoring with an 11-play, 80 yard drive late in the first quarter that was capped by Mizzer's four-yard TD run. Mizzer carried six times for 48 yards on the drive while Wilson converted three of four passes on the possession for 24 yards while the offense converted two key third-down opportunities.
VMI made it 13-0 on the first play of the second quarter when Nat Jackson powered in from the one-yard line. The Keydets took advantage of a short punt which delivered excellent field position at the Davidson 42. Eleven plays later, Jackson scored on the drive that also contained a 19-yard third down conversion pass from Wilson to senior wideout Gary Price.
Wilson stayed hot on VMI's next drive, completing all three passes for 36 yards to move the Keydets within range for Barrett Way's 30-yard field goal to push the margin to 16-0 with 5:59 left in the half.
A Kamau Hull interception of a Ryan Alexander pass at the VMI 45-yard line set up the Keydet's final scoring drive of the half. Wilson's 12-yard scramble to left corner of the endzone gave VMI a 23-0 halftime lead.
The Keydets amassed two long scoring drives in the second half to wrap up the afternoon's scoring. Wilson's four-yard toss to fullback Mike Maleski topped a 13-play, 70-yard drive that made it 30-0 with 3:09 left in the third quarter. Mizzer rushed six times for 31 yards while Wilson completed four of five passes for 32 yards on the scoring drive that consumed 6:18 off the clock.
Way's 23-yard field goal with 9:53 left in the game closed the scoring.
Davidson twice threatened to break up the shutout, but penalties derailed both drives. The Wildcats moved to the VMI 22 on the opening possession of the game, but a holding penalty and a personal foul erased that threat. A Zach Long interception of a Wilson pass on VMI's first drive of the second half gave the Wildcats the ball at the VMI 42, but after moving to the 19, a holding penalty one play later knocked the Cats' off stride and the drive ended on downs.
Jonathan Hubbard led Davidson in rushing with 40 yards, while Ryan Anderson, relieving Davidson QB starter Beaux Jones, completed 10 of 16 passes for 95 yards.
Senior inside linebacker Justin Huggard led VMI in tackles with 10 stops including one for loss while senior strong safety Marcus Barnes had nine tackles, two for loss with a sack, and forced a fumble.
Davidson linebacker and co-captain Alex Arinsmier lead all defenders with 16 tackles.
VMI senior receivers Zohn Burden and Gary Price both turned in big days while setting a new VMI career mark with 24 consecutive games with a reception. Burden led the VMI receiving corps with six catches for 55 yards while Price snagged three aerials for 29 yards.
The 159 yards given up by the VMI defense was the first sub-200 yard total offense game by an opponent since 194 yards were surrendered to The Citadel on November 13, 1999.
The Keydets snapped a 12-game losing skid and moved into the win column for the first time since November 8, 2003 when they topped Austin Peay, 48-7.
VMI piled up 354 yards total offense on the afternoon, its first 300-yard game since a 401 yard effort against The Citadel in the 2003 season finale.
VMI faces state rival and #9 ranked William & Mary next Saturday in Lexington at 1:00 p.m. Davidson hosts Greensboro College next Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
VMI HEAD COACH CAL MCCOMBS-
"The thing that I was impressed about today was our execution on both sides of the ball. We only had one turnover and we didn't have a penalty until the second half. I don't think I've ever been associated with a team that had just one penalty. We did a lot of shifting and things like that, and for us not to put ourselves in a hole was a plus to us. Our defense came with some plays on third down and got off the field which is what we had trouble doing last year. We put a little bit more speed on the field and had guys like Marcus Barnes coming off the edge in pass rushes in blitzes helped us. We still have some work to do- they had a couple of long kickoff returns against us. We have to work on our kickoff cover team."
"I think Davidson was in a tough situation with their coach (Trip Merritt) not getting their until late June, so I think that hurt them as far as their team was concerned."
