WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -  The William & Mary Tribe intercepted five passes and handed VMI a 45-0 setback Saturday night at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg.

VMI suffered its first loss of the season and fell to 1-1. The Tribe victory in its home opener evened the host's season mark to 1-1.

William & Mary quarterback Mike Callahan keyed the Tribe attack by completing 12 of 17 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was Ryan Moody, who hauled in four passes for 110 yards.

VMI senior half back Gabe Itoka led all ground gainers with 85 yards on 21 carries. William & Mary tailback Jonathan Grimes rushed for 71 yards and three touchdowns.

The Keydets were shutout for the first time in 61 games - a scoring streak that dated back to the 2004 season. 

VMI took the opening drive and moved into William & Mary territory at the 43, but on a third-and-10 situation, starting quarterback Cam Jones had his pass picked off over the middle by Tribe strong safety Brian Thompson who raced 22 yards up the right sideline to the VMI 43. The Keydet defense forced the Tribe to punt on a three-and-out and the Keydets were able to escape further damage.

VMI was forced to punt on its ensuing drive and the Tribe special teams produced the game's first points. Return man B.W. Webb took a Marc Ray punt back 64 yards down the right boundary for a touchdown. David Miller's extra point was good and William & Mary took a 7-0 lead with 9:55 remaining in the first quarter.  

The Keydets bounced back with a 13-yard run by Itoka to the William & Mary 50, followed by a Jones 12-yard pass to wideout T.J. Talley to the Tribe 38. After a four-yard rush by Itoka, the drive stalled with a false start penalty and a two-yard rushing loss. The Keydets saw their best first half penetration into Tribe territory end when a fourth-and-two rush was thwarted at the 30.

William & Mary then moved 58 yards on nine plays but had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Miller to put the home team up, 10-0. A 33-yard pass from Callahan to Cameron Doshe was the big play of the possession which gave the Tribe a 10-0 lead with 2:56 left in the quarter.

The Tribe tallied its first offensive touchdown of the night in the opening seconds of the second quarter when it moved 66 yards in six plays on a drive capped by tailback Jonathan Grimes one-yard TD run. Another Callahan long pass play - this one to Moody covering 47 yards - keyed the drive. William & Mary led, 17-0, with 14:24 left in the second quarter.

Callahan teamed with Moody again for a 29-yard pass to spark William & Mary's next scoring drive that covered eight plays and 70 yards. Callahan tossed his lone touchdown of the evening to senior wide receiver Chase Hill on a 23-yard strike and following the extra point, William & Mary led 24-0 with 5:18 left in the half.

An interception by William & Mary free safety Terrell Wells set up the Tribe's last score of the half as it moved 52 yards in six plays to set-up a four yard TD run by Grimes with 1:30 left in the second quarter. A Callahan to Moody pass again led the way, this one covering 24 yards to the VMI 4. The Tribe took a 31-0 lead into the locker room.

Grimes' third touchdown of the evening, a one-yard dive at the 3:54 mark of the third quarter, capped a four-play, 48-yard drive that was set up by an interception.

William & Mary completed its scoring when redshirt freshman Jerome Couplin snatched a deflected pass from quarterback Eric Kordenbrock intended to tight end Josh Favaro and raced 22 yards for a touchdown with 6:50 left in the game.

VMI's bid to avoid a shutout fell short when Jeff Sexton's 47-yard field goal missed with 13:31 left in the game. The Keydets had moved to the William & Mary 17 during the drive.

The Tribe outgained VMI, 391-239, but limited the Keydet ground game to just 18 yards in the second half. William & Mary converted four-of-five scoring chances in the red zone.

VMI has an open date before facing Virginia on Saturday, September 25 in Charlottesville.

VMI HEAD COACH SPARKY WOODS - "Congratulations to William & Mary. They have a really sound football team and execute very well. We didn't execute very well tonight especially against a team like William & Mary. We have no chance if we don't execute our stuff. We had pre-snap penalties - something we didn't have in all of camp- and that had to do with the fact that they are quick and fast and they come off that ball. And we turned the ball over so many times."

"We got ourselves in long yardage situations, so offensively we weren't able to muster anything at all against a really good defensive team. I think our team suffered in other areas as well. We gave up a punt return for a touchdown to start the game off, and that was a good start for them and bad for us."

"Defensively, we've got to back sometimes and take the ball away from them and intercept some passes ourselves. Most important is that we are certainly are a long way from being a competitive football team. We've got to settle on who is going to play quarterback. We have to try to get some continuity there. I think when we look at the film we'll find that it's not as much scheme as it is execution. When you drop a pass or miss a block, good teams will always take advantage of that."