THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260579
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
William and Mary might have lost more than a football game last Saturday in the muck and mire at the University of Massachusetts' McGuirk Stadium. The Tribe's playoff hopes might have gone slip-sliding away as well.
The 20-9 upset loss puts William and Mary's record at 5-3. While that doesn't completely eliminate the Tribe from playoff contention, it leaves William and Mary no margin for error in the final three weeks.
``We have to win our last three games - and win them convincingly,'' cornerback Kendrick Ashton said.
That's a tall order. William and Mary closes with Villanova, Delaware and Richmond. Delaware looms as a big hurdle. The Blue Hens, who beat James Madison 48-19 last Saturday, are 7-0 and ranked fifth in the nation. Delaware is averaging 320 rushing yards and 36 points per game, and William and Mary plays the Blue Hens on the road.
The Yankee Conference champion gets an automatic bid to the playoffs, and the conference can probably count on two at-large bids as well. Sixteen teams qualify for the Division I-AA playoffs.
In addition to Delaware, James Madison and Richmond are ranked ahead of William and Mary in the Division I-AA poll. JMU and Richmond meet this week, however, and the loser likely will slip a few notches. JMU is 15th, Richmond 19th, and William and Mary 20th.
Connecticut, ranked 21st, also figures in the equation, as does Rhode Island, which is unranked but 6-2 in the Yankee Conference. Rhode Island must play Delaware, and Connecticut faces JMU.
If the right teams knock one another off, and William and Mary does its job, the Tribe still could get in.
``We don't worry about that,'' coach Jimmye Laycock said. ``We just worry about the game ahead.''
MORE TRIBE: William and Mary's Derek Fitzgerald needs 88 yards Saturday to pass Robert Green and become the Tribe's all-time leading rusher. Fitzgerald needs 65 yards to reach 1,000 for the season.
``Robert knows that I'm close to his record, and that me and Troy (Keen) are trying to do what he and Tyrone Shelton did in 1990,'' Fitzgerald said.
Green, now with the Chicago Bears, and Shelton each ran for more than 1,000 yards in 1990, the only duo in Tribe history to do so. Fitzgerald and Keen are trying to duplicate that feat this year.
While Fitzgerald looks like a cinch to reach 1,000, Keen's chances were hurt after he injured an ankle against Penn two weeks ago. Keen missed the Penn game but came back last week to pick up 69 yards against UMass. That gives him 638, with three games remaining.
AROUND THE STATE: A crew from NFL Films will be on hand at the William and Mary game Saturday. The Tribe's Zable Stadium was chosen as one of the most scenic settings in the nation for college football. . . .
Hampton's contest Saturday with Elizabeth City State will be shown live on ESPN2. It's Hampton's first football game on the cable network. ESPN2 televised a Norfolk State/Hampton basketball game live last year. . . . .
The Yankee Conference's athletic directors are meeting today in Boston, and the meeting is expected to include a discussion of the future of football in the conference. Some of the conference's northern schools have discussed the possibility of downgrading to non-scholarship football. That's prompted James Madison, Richmond and William and Mary to consider joining the Southern Conference. . . .
Lakeland High graduate Minoso Rodgers, Richmond's leading rusher, turned an ankle in last week's 3-3 tie with Fordham and is doubtful for the James Madison game Saturday. by CNB