WILLIAMSBURG, Va. ? Despite a third quarter rally that almost allowed VMI to climb back from a sizable deficit, the Keydets could not withstand the big play ability of the William & Mary offense as the Tribe handed the Keydets a 52-17 loss Saturday night at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg.

William & Mary (1-1) appeared to have things well in hand following two touchdowns over the first 1:26 of the second half to take a 38-3 lead, but the Keydets trimmed some of the deficit with back-to-back scoring possessions.

Junior quarterback Tim Maypray converted a third and 15 quarterback draw call into a career-long 65-yard TD run to pull VMI within 38-10 with 11:10 left in the third quarter. The Tribe fumbled at their own 21 on the ensuing possession and junior quarterback Kyle Hughes' six-yard keeper five players later sliced the Keydet deficit to 38-17 with 7:31 remaining in the third period.

But William & Mary got back on stride with an eight-play, 72-yard scoring drive capped by quarterback Jake Phillips' third touchdown pass, an 11-yard toss to Elliott Mack to put William & Mary ahead 45-17 with 3:29 left. The Tribe would add another touchdown near the final two minutes of the game for the final margin.

“Our kids wanted to win, but we didn't play very well,” said VMI head coach Sparky Woods. “William & Mary is a fine football team. They were impressive last week, and they probably got better this week. We have to impress upon our team to take care of the football on offense and not have those penalties that put us on long yardage. Defensively, it may have been most disappointing in the number of big plays. Give credit to William & Mary for making those big plays.”

William & Mary outgained VMI, 570-287, including 398 yards on the ground.

Maypray produced his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game as he gained 134 yards on 26 carries while junior fullback Howard Abegesah had 52 yards on 11 carries.

Running back Jonathan Grimes opened the scoring with a 29-yard run capping seven-play, 80-yard drive with 1:51 left in the opening quarter. Phillips added a 21-yard TD strike to tight end Rob Varno early in the second quarter to push the lead to 14-0 and the drive followed a fumble recovery that halted a Keydet drive at the William & Mary 39.

Phillips connected with wide receiver D.J. McCauley for a 28-yard TD pass for William & Mary's third straight scoring possession at the 7:27 mark of the first half, but the Keydets got on the board on the next drive when freshman kicker Greg Stevens converted his first college field goal, a 38-yard attempt that capped a 14-play, 53 yard drive.

The Tribe was able to tack on a field goal as time expired in the first half when Brian Pate converted a 42-yard field goal to send the teams into the dressing room at halftime with a 24-3 score.

VMI's defense produced four takeaways on the night, intercepting two passes on the Tribe's first two possessions and recovering two fumbles. Redshirt freshman cornerback Byron Allen wrestled the ball away from McCauley and returned it 24 yards to stop W&M's first possession, and sophomore linebacker Kyle Nikmard alertly gathered in a batted pass to stop the next drive.

The teams were flagged a total of 17 times with the Keydets drawing nine penalties for 74 yards and William & Mary penalized eight times for 80 yards.

“We'll go back and look at the film and try to dissect it one play at a time,” said Woods. “We have to tackle the ball better on defense and we have to secure the ball and not have penalties on offense. I think our kicking game was better this week and that was a positive.”

The Keydets return home to Foster Stadium next Saturday to face Chowan University at 1:30 PM William & Mary will play host to Norfolk State next Saturday at 7:00 PM.