Box Score WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - In a tough, physical football game, VMI fell 38-6 to the homestanding William & Mary Tribe Saturday night before a crowd of 10,208 spectators at Zable Stadium.
William & Mary running back Elijah Brooks rushed for 146 yards on 15 carries and scored three first half touchdowns to lead the Tribe attack.
VMI running back Sean Mizzer bounced back from a 34-yard effort last weekend at Richmond and notched his 16th career 100-yard rushing game with 101 yards on 26 carries.
The Keydets got their points on a pair of Barrett Way field goals from 26 and 40 yards.
William & Mary outgained VMI, 472-243, but the Keydets were able to hold the advantage in time of possession for the first time this season, 35:15 to 24:45.
The Keydets lost the services of senior quarterback Jonathan Wilson with three minutes in first quarter when he went down with a separated shoulder. Wilson is expected to miss 2-3 weeks of action.
Freshman quarterback Kyle Hughes, a local Williamsburg product from Lafayette High School, took over for Wilson and completed four of nine passes for 72 yards including a 28-yarder to Chris Gilliland in the fourth quarter.
The Keydets took the opening drive of the game up field but fumbled it away at the VMI 46. Four plays later, Brooks cut back on a 20-yard scamper for the game's first score with 11:26 remaining in the first quarter.
VMI cut the deficit to 7-3 with a 12-play, 50-yard drive that was capped by Way's 26-yard field goal with 5:12 remaining. The drive consumed 6:14 of the clock and Mizzer rushed six times for 35 yards on the possession.
Brooks added touchdown runs of 16 yards and 11 yards before halftime, putting the Tribe up, 21-3 at the break. By that time the Keydets had lost Wilson (with three minutes to go in the first quarter) and Hughes took over at quarterback and completed his first collegiate pass on a 26-yarder to Joey Robinson.
A Trevor McLaurin interception of a tipped pass intended for
Tim Maypray set up a 30-yard field goal by Blake Pritchard with 7:53 left in the third quarter, putting William & Mary up, 24-3.
W&M head coach Jimmye Laycock yanked starter Jacob Phillips on the next drive and reserve QB Micheal Potts responded with two touchdown passes in six snaps, one to Elliott Mack for 32 yards and one for Joe Nicholas for 54 yards to close out the W&M scoring.
VMI forced three Tribe turnovers including an interception by junior cornerback Marcus Brown in the second quarter. Senior Eric Hall and freshman Kris Ware both recovered fumbles.
The Keydets return home next Saturday to face James Madison at 1:00 p.m. It will be homecoming and VMI's newly refurbished stadium will be officially dedicated and renamed Foster Stadium.
VMI Head Coach Jim Reid-
On his team's effort Saturday night-
"In the first four games, and I know we won the first game, but tonight was a very, very physical game. We hit them, they hit us - there was some cracking going on out there, some good smacking and we were the ones that were initiating it a lot. I know we have a lot of work to do on defense, but we had some banging going on tonight and I think it excited our football team. We dragged them into a physical match- last week we were pillows and the week before at Norfolk State we hustled around but nothing happened. It was a soft game. This game I'm going to remember for a while because on this field there were some pads pumping out there. You have to build an identity before you can build any foundation and that identity has to be some physical toughness and mental tenacity and I think that we had that tonight."
"It took four games, and it is a loss and it wasn't pretty, but it was something you could build off of there, at least that was our impression."
On Jonathan Wilson's injury-
"Jonathan Wilson fell on his elbow and he has a grade 3 separation of his shoulder. It's better to have a grade 3 than grade 2 because it means that the separation is right beside the bone and up a little bit, and as soon as the tendons heal, he puts his arm over his head, he'll be able to play again. Three weeks. Two weeks. Jonathan says tomorrow, that's the way he his."
On Kyle Hughes -
"I thought Kyle Hughes looked quick out there and he made some good decisions. We put him in some tough spots and he played with poise. Now he's going to have to play again with poise."
