THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 5, 1994 TAG: 9411050929
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLIE DENN, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Two words have come to mean everything to William and Mary tailback Derek Fitzgerald. This week, he's heard them a lot.
``Fitzie's back'' is the refrain around the Tribe's practice facility. Quite simply, the slogan signals that Fitzgerald, W&M's leading rusher of a year ago, is back to being, well, Derek Fitzgerald again.
``Everyone's saying it,'' Fitzgerald said. ``It's nice to hear. It feels like a new season for me now.''
Heading into this afternoon's 1 p.m. homecoming date at Zabel Stadium against Maine (3-6), Fitzgerald's resurgence couldn't have come at a better time for the Tribe. W&M is 6-3 and the players all know they have to win their remaining two games to have any shot at making the I-AA playoffs.
A healthy Fitzgerald can help them.
Recovery from knee surgery in the off-season made Fitzgerald a shadow of his '93 self this fall. He ran for 1,101 yards last year but had seen only limited, and relatively ineffective, duty in 1994 until last week's game at Villanova.
Then he exploded with 138 yards and two touchdowns against the Wildcats. More importantly, he was able to cut and slash the way he did a year ago.
``My confidence rose,'' Fitzgerald said. ``I was able to play at a level I knew I was capable of but I just hadn't gotten there yet this fall.
``It was like, all of a sudden I was at the point where I had been trying to get to for months. It was a great feeling.''
If Fitzgerald liked the sensation, imagine how it raised the spirits of W&M coach Jimmye Laycock.
``Fitzie made the cuts and made the decisions to break in or break out,'' Laycock said. ``It really looked like the Fitz I remember before the knee surgery.''
Teammate Troy Keen, who had become the featured back while Fitzgerald recovered, also ran for 101 yards against Villanova. They become the first pair of W&M backs to each gain over 100 yards in a game since Robert Green and Alan Williams.
The duo played in the backfield together frequently, with Keen handling the fullback role. That's a look that Maine will see again today.
``Troy's a good blocker,'' Fitzgerald said. ``He reads the same thing I'm reading, and we know what each other is thinking.
``There's still competition between us even though we don't play the same position all the time now,'' he added. ``I think that's good. It's healthy.''
Laycock has a nice problem on his hands. He can shuttle Keen and Fitzgerald in on alternate series or he can choose to use them both in the same backfield.
``That's something we've wanted to do all year,'' Laycock said. ``But we couldn't with Fitzgerald's knee the way it was. They're both good backs and they both will play.
``We always try to put our most productive people in the lineup. This gives us a two-back type of offense and enables us to do some different things.''
In other games involving state I-AA teams today, James Madison (7-1) is at VMI (0-8), Richmond (3-6) hosts New Hampshire (7-1) and Liberty (3-5) plays at Appalachian State (6-2). ILLUSTRATION: Photo
William and Mary tailback Derek Fitzgerald ran for 138 yards and two
touchdowns last week against Villanova.
by CNB