THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410160203
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLIE DENN, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
A sudden offensive slump has gripped William and Mary's football team, and not even the usually magical Shawn Knight could pull a rabbit out of his hat this time.
As a result, the Tribe dropped a 23-14 decision to Massachusetts Saturday at Zable Stadium. It ended William and Mary's 14-game winning streak at home and a run of nine straight victories in the Yankee Conference.
The setback also threw the conference's Mid-Atlantic Division into a real dogfight. The Tribe is now 3-1 in the league (5-2 overall) and has to play at James Madison next. The Dukes are also 3-1 in the conference.
The frustrating part of the defeat for William and Mary was that the Tribe's defense did a creditable job. They held the Minutemen to 204 total yards and just three first downs in the first half, when William and Mary led, 7-0.
But the Tribe offense, which had averaged 35.5 points for the first four games, was restricted again by turnovers, inconsistency and penalties. In its past three games, two of which were losses, William and Mary has scored just 34 points.
William and Mary's offense had a season-low 208 yards.
``It wasn't what they (the Minutemen) were doing that was stopping us,'' said Tribe quarterback Matt Byrne, who completed 10 of 21 passes with two interceptions. ``It was what I was doing. I was making bad decisions.''
Those decisions were crucial in the second half, when the Tribe managed just six first downs (two by penalty) and 54 net yards. The lone William and Mary score of the half was set up by an interception return.
``Things happen fast out there,'' Byrne said. ``You've gotta be sharp, and I wasn't sharp.''
Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock did not dispute Byrne's assessment of his performance.
``I don't think Matt played real well in the second half,'' Laycock said.
It didn't seem that it would matter at halftime. Just as it did a week ago, the Tribe took advantage of an early opportunity and led 7-0, when Troy Keen ran three yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
An interception on the next William and Mary possession and a missed 50-yard field goal stopped other potential scoring drives in the first half.
Then in the second half, the Massachusetts offense finally got going. The Minutemen took over on the William and Mary 45 on their first series and took nine plays to score.
The Massachusetts defense held William and Mary on its next possession, but a pass interception by Darren Sharper gave the Tribe the ball back at the Massachusetts 15.
It took three plays for Keen to score again as William and Mary led, 14-7.
But from that point it was all Massachusetts. The visitors drove to a field goal to slice the margin to 14-10 later in the third quarter.
Then early in the fourth quarter, a pass interception of a badly overthrown ball by Byrne set up the Minutemen on the William and Mary 22. Rene Ingoglia ran it in from seven yards out.
From that point on, it was a matter of when Laycock would use Knight. With 7:09 left, he sent in the partially hobbled senior to try to light a fire under the Tribe.
Knight, however, couldn't do it. He produced one first down on his first series, but then William and Mary had to punt. On the next possession, Massachusetts defensive back Tony Williams picked off a Knight pass and returned it 31 yards for the final score.
``We didn't want to be in that position (of using Knight),'' Laycock said. ``But we needed a lift.''
Knight was 0-for-4 with the one interception in his brief showing. Coupled with Byrne's 2-for-7 numbers in the second half, Tribe quarterbacks were 2-of-11 for five yards and two interceptions.
And Keen, who accounted for most of William and Mary's attack with 122 yards on 29 carries, suffered a sprained knee in the fourth quarter. His status for next week is uncertain. by CNB