THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 5, 1994 TAG: 9410050678
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
William and Mary quarterback Shawn Knight probably won't play Saturday when the Tribe hosts winless Northeastern.
Knight sprained his ankle early in the second quarter of the Tribe's 37-3 loss at Virginia last weekend. The score was 6-0 when he was injured during a drive in which the Tribe scored its only points on a Brian Shallcross field goal.
With Knight gone, U.Va. shut down the Tribe offense.
Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock says Knight, a senior from Norfolk, is listed as ``doubtful'' and is on crutches.
``He's progressing. He's doing everything he needs to do,'' Laycock said.
``But it's a thing that's probably just going to take time.
``It's a sprain. It's no more significant than what we thought it was at the game, but it's significant enough for him to be hobbling around pretty good.''
He will be replaced by Matt Byrne, a junior who completed 12 of 20 passes for 135 yards against U.Va.
``Matt was a little indecisive in the first quarter,'' Laycock said. ``But in the second half he played pretty well. He made some nice throws under difficult circumstances.''
NO COMMENT: Laycock would not add fuel to the fire begun by U.Va. coaches last weekend.
U.Va. coaches told their players in practice last week that Laycock had told a recruit the Cavaliers were no better than Delaware, a team the Tribe thrashed, 31-7, and that this was the worst U.Va. team since 1987.
Laycock strongly denied the allegation, and U.Va. coach George Welsh later acknowledged that he might have been mistaken about what he says an assistant told him.
Moreover, some U.Va. players accused the Tribe of playing dirty. Tackle Mike Frederick was among those who accused Tribe players of trying to intentionally hurt the Cavaliers by ``chop'' blocking, or blocking at their knees.
Laycock would not respond directly when asked if he had any feelings about U.Va. coaches misquoting him to fire up their players.
``Yeah, I've got feelings about it. But I don't want to share them,'' he said.
``I'm not going to get involved in any of that. I certainly did not say any of those things. I'll just leave it at that.''
UNEXPECTED BONUS: What does a Division I-AA team gain from a 37-3 thrashing to a I-A opponent besides a hefty paycheck? Laycock said the Tribe benefited in several ways.
``Initially, when you play a game like that and lose, you think you don't have anyone who played well,'' he said. ``But we had a lot of people who played well and gave a good effort. Some guys got to see themselves against a fine team and more than hold their own.
``A game like that shows up weaknesses that otherwise may not surface. We learned a lot about our team.
``Hopefully we can build on that and continue to improve.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Shawn Knight
Sprained ankle against U.Va.
by CNB