THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410090167
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLIE DENN, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
William and Mary was often its own worst offensive enemy, but the Tribe overcame a rash of mistakes and edged winless Northeastern, 17-12, Saturday at Zable Stadium.
Among the miscues were five fumbles, three of which were recovered by Northeastern, plus two interceptions and a blocked punt.
Not even a 157-yard rushing effort by the Tribe's Troy Keen, on a record-tying 37 carries, could jump-start the offense. Keen, however, also fumbled twice.
But while the offense was sputtering, it was also a day of big plays for the William and Mary defense. The Huskies got only five first downs and 70 net yards in the second half, and twice the Tribe defense had to make a stand on fourth down. Both times it held.
``We felt like we had to turn it up a notch in the second half,'' said William and Mary defensive tackle Peter Coyne, a redshirt freshman. ``We made all the big plays when we had to have them.''
The victory boosted the Tribe's record to 3-0 in the Yankee Conference, 5-1 overall. It also marked William and Mary's 14th straight home victory, a school record.
``A lot of times up here, you get concerned when the offense doesn't put up big numbers,'' Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said. ``There are a lot of different ways to win a football game, though, and today we came up with a different one.''
It looked as if it would be easy for replacement quarterback Matt Byrne in the first period. Two of his first four throws in his first college start went for touchdowns as William and Mary led 14-0 less than 10 minutes into the game.
When Northeastern fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and the Tribe recovered at the Huskies' 40, the rout seemed on.
But the Tribe gambled on fourth down and came up short after the fumbled kickoff. On the next possession, punter Jeremy Littlejohn had a kick blocked. Suddenly, the flow of the game seemed to be shifting.
``The blocked punt was a big momentum turner,'' said Byrne, who finished with 12 completions in 22 attempts for 251 yards.
The Huskies didn't get any points from the turnover, but they did score twice to close to within 14-12 at halftime.
``Last year they had us down 39-0 at the half,'' Northeastern coach Barry Gallup said. ``I was pretty happy to be down 14-12 at the break, especially down here at their place.''
In the second half, however, the Huskies offense wasn't able to sustain a drive. Two of their five first downs came on their first possession of the half, which ended when place kicker Brandon Hanes' 29-yard field-goal attempt bounced off the crossbar.
But perhaps the two biggest plays in the second half were fourth-down gambles by Northeastern.
Down 17-12 midway through the fourth quarter, the Huskies had fourth-and-1 from their 29. Jim Murphy tried to run a quarterback sneak, but fumbled as he took the snap. Kevin Williams recovered for the Huskies and appeared to get close to the needed yardage.
But the officials gave William and Mary the ball on the 29 and ruled only the person who fumbles can advance it.
``The defense really did it for us today,'' said the Tribe's Keen, whose 37 carries matched the William and Mary record set by Wes Meteer in 1969 against Davidson.
``They don't get a lot of recognition, but they're a good unit.'' by CNB