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Sports Editor Nick Cipolla Sports Editor Sumner Higginbotham flathatsports@gmail.com @FlatHatSports
The Flat Hat
Routed in Richmond
FOOTBALL
RAYNA MOHRMANN / THE COLLEGIAN
Sophomore receiver Daniel Kuzjak fails to catch a pass from Cluley.
RICHMOND
WM
20
9
TRIBE
(8-3, 6-2 CAA)
(8-3, 6-2 CAA)
NICK CIPOLLA FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
As junior quarterback Steve Cluley dropped back for a pass on Richmond’s 12-yard line, the clock reading 2 minutes and 35 seconds in the final quarter, it looked as if William and Mary might be able to score its first touchdown of the day. Instead, the pass became Cluley’s third interception as Spiders defensive back David Herlocker returned the pick 55 yards, effectively ending the game. In the 125th iteration of “the Oldest Rivalry in the South,” Richmond (8-3, 6-2 CAA) took the Capital Cup, as well as a share of the Colonial Athletic Association title in a 20-9 grind at Robins Stadium Saturday afternoon, denying the Tribe’s (8-3, 6-2 CAA) bid for picking up the title outright as the College failed to get into the end zone even once. “I was pretty disappointed with a lot of things about our play,” head coach Jimmye Laycock ’70 said. “I don’t think we were nearly to the level we have been in most of our games this year so far, and specifically, too, on the line of scrimmage. We certainly didn’t come close to controlling either side of the line of scrimmage and I think that was probably a big a factor as any and that caused some other things to escalate.”
SPIDERS
RAYNA MOHRMANN / THE COLLEGIAN
Richmond wideout Jacobi Green ran 218 yards on the Tribe’s defense Saturday.
The game began more optimistically for the Tribe, which entered Saturday on a six-game winning streak and ranked No. 7 in the Football Championship Subdvision. The first drive of the day saw sophomore kicker Nick Dorka, Jr. complete a 45-yard field goal for the 3-0 lead four minutes in. The Tribe’s bend-don’t-break defense stepped up after a string of successful completions by Spiders quarterback Kyle Lauletta. On 2nd and 1 on the Tribe 24, Lauletta made a completion to one of his favored targets, Richmond wideout Reggie Diggs, where senior linebacker Zach Fetters was waiting. Fetters forced a fumble and recovered it at the Tribe 23, preventing a Richmond score. On the Tribe’s second drive, the College began to falter. On 2nd and 10 just into Richmond territory, Cluley was intercepted for the first time since James Madison made a pick-6 in the Oct. 31 game at Zable Stadium. Richmond failed to score again and punted, but William and Mary seemed shaken, facing a much tougher team than the previous six opponents. The next set of downs saw the Tribe false start, bobble what appeared to be catchable passes, and have to punt from its own 13-yard line. Richmond finally put itself on the board with 3:54 remaining in the first half,
| Tuesday, November 24, 2015 | Page 10
taking a 7-3 lead. The touchdown was an 18-yard pass made to Spiders receiver Brian Brown on 3rd and goal after an offensive pass interference penalty backed Richmond up from the Tribe’s three yardline. Richmond made the pass look easy with nonexistent Tribe coverage. The next play appeared to be the College’s biggest lucky break of the first half, as junior punter Hunter Windmuller punted on 4th and 7 on the Tribe 36. Sophomore safety Richie DiPietro forced a fumble from Richmond wideout David Jones, although Jones had called for fair catches on every other punt this season. Sophomore safety Keanu Reuben recovered the ball on the Spiders’ 20, giving the Tribe a renewed chance to score. However, fate would not stand with the Tribe, as Jones made up for his lost ball by intercepting Cluley on the first play of the drive, tipping the ball up before catching it while falling. “Steve was under more pressure today than he’s used to being under and I think that may have affected his decisionmaking,” Laycock said. Despite the turnover, the Tribe held on to cut the Spiders’ lead. Dorka made a 51yard field goal — the longest of the season and his career — as time expired to make the score 7-6 at the break.
In battle for CAA title, Spiders crush the Tribe in 125th meeting of the schools The Spiders made it to the end zone on their second-half-opening drive as star Richmond running back Jacobi Green rushed 12 yards to score, making it 14-6. Dorka’s 22-yard field goal marked the Tribe’s final scoring play as senior tailback Mikal Abdul-Saboor was stopped short of a first down on 3rd and 3, the team electing to score points rather than risk losing possession. The score stood 14-9 with 6:34 in the third quarter. Richmond scored its third and final touchdown on the subsequent drive, a pass to Diggs for 18 yards. The Spiders attempted a two-point conversion, which failed. The score, which would eventually be the final score, was now 20-9. The Tribe prevented any more Richmond scoring in the fourth quarter, but it didn’t matter as the Spiders also prevented the College from scoring. Windmuller punted 18 seconds into the quarter, Cluley threw incomplete to Dedmon in a big pass break-up on the penultimate drive for a turnover-ondowns, and Cluley’s third interception came on the final Tribe drive. “They did a good job pass rushing us today,” Laycock said. “It wasn’t so much blitzing it was some one-on-one plays up front. They got to us, hurried Steve, hit Steve a few times because of that.”
Statistically, the Tribe played its worst game of the season. Cluley threw three picks after only throwing a pair in the previous 10 games, and neither AbdulSaboor nor junior running back Kendell Anderson broke 100 rushing yards, nor did they even add up to 100 together (Anderson led with 47, followed by AbdulSaboor at 44). The Tribe’s ground game was stomped on as Richmond outrushed the College by a 235-95 yard margin, led by Green’s 218-yard effort. Cluley threw 20 for 37, a 54 percent effort following last week’s 91 percent, and was sacked for the first time in four games. Defensively, senior linebacker Luke Rhodes led with 13 tackles, but the defense didn’t stand out compared to the Spiders. “I felt like we were prepared and it just didn’t work out and we didn’t play the way we needed to play,” Laycock said. Richmond broke a two-game losing streak while the Tribe’s six-game win streak was snapped. Both teams share the CAA title with James Madison. Sunday morning, the NCAA FCS playoff field was announced. William and Mary hosts Duquesne in the first round Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Zable, the first playoff appearance since 2010. With a victory, the Tribe moves on to a rematch at No. 7-seed Richmond Dec. 5.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
COMMENTARY
How the Capital Cup was lost Tribe suffers first road loss Poor pash rushing, three interceptions doom College
Sumner Higginbotham FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
In light of the upcoming playoff game against Duquesne this weekend at Zable Stadium, I politely suggest that you keep this column near and dear to your heart to prevent the Dukes from gaining any advantage on William and Mary, and also recommend advising your friends to pick up an issue. Although in all honesty, Duquesne has tape of the Richmond debacle this past weekend — essentially a paint-by-numbers kit of how to defeat the Tribe. And it’s really not that complicated. Run the ball, stop the run, and have a little luck. Everything in head coach Jimmye Laycock’s offensive playbook hinges on establishing a solid running game. By rushing the ball early and often, the College forces the other team to put an eighth man in the box to slow down the tailback — usually junior running back Kendell Anderson — or at least bringing the safeties in closer to the line of scrimmage. As the College rushes out of the shotgun and pistol frequently, these safeties have to play the run even in these traditionally-passing formations with three wide receivers. Thus, the other team finds itself in the unenviable position of respecting the run by bringing up the safeties even when the Tribe is in the pistol and shotgun. Laycock adds a dash of play-action passing, and voila, sophomore receivers like DeVonte Dedmon and Daniel Kuzjak are facing one-on-one man coverage, while junior quarterback Steve Cluley gets extra time and extra space because defensive lineman, reading run first, aren’t pinning their ears back to rush the quarterback while the linebackers are late dropping back into coverage. All season long, it was a lethal combination, propelling the College to the third-best scoring and total offense in the Colonial Athletic Association. Yet the greatest benefit of the scheme was its conservatism. Anderson and senior tailback Mikal Abdul-Saboor didn’t fumble often, and Cluley, a fairly mobile quarterback behind a stellar offensive line, flourished in the play-action system to the tune of 13 touchdowns to two interceptions. The Tribe led the conference with just seven turnovers. Then Richmond happened. The College scrapped up a meager 95 yards on the
ground. Anderson, previously the No. 1 rusher in the CAA before being overtaken by Richmond’s Jacobi Green, rushed 12 times for just 47 yards. The Spiders forced the Tribe to rely upon the arm of Cluley. Three interceptions later, with no touchdowns to offset, the Spiders celebrated their fourth straight win over the College. The blame for the meltdown of the Tribe passing game rests on several players’ shoulders. Junior right tackle Jerry Ugokwe epitomized the struggles of the College’s offensive line with three holding penalties. Although the Spiders rarely blitzed, they still pressured Cluley all day by just sending four and dropping seven. The stat-book read just a single sack, but far too many pass plays ended with Cluley on his back and the pass incomplete. Kuzjak dropped a key third down pass, as did Anderson. Another reason for the loss was the performance of the man under center. Cluley had his worst game of the season against the Spiders. Each of his three picks killed the Tribe’s momentum, the first two nullifying takeaways as the College forced and recovered two Richmond fumbles, only to give it right back. Cluley The third ended the game. On defense, the Tribe couldn’t stop a nosebleed, much less Jacobi Green who cranked out 218 yards on 36 carries against a soft College front seven. Senior middle linebacker Luke Rhodes led the team in tackles, another way of saying he was the one defender Green usually tripped over after consistent gains of 10 or more. Senior linebacker Zach Fetters, who has shown a penchant for big plays this year, forced one fumble, then disappeared, joining the Tribe’s pass rush in obscurity. Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta, a turnover slot-machine for the past two weeks, had all day to throw to the top receivers in the conference, the Spiders’ Brian Brown and Reggie Diggs, and the Tribe paid dearly for its lack of pressure with two touchdowns. And then there’s the bad luck. On 3rd and goal from the Tribe’s 18, Lauletta hit Brown for the first touchdown of the game on an impressive catch right at the pylon. Two Richmond fumbles bounced out of bounds. Sophomore safety Mika Barta dropped a pick at the start of the game, and senior safety DeAndre Houston-Carson missed a blocked punt by inches. Needless to say, if this Hyde-version of the Tribe shows up Saturday, the College will not be staying in the postseason for long and definitely won’t get a shot at redemption against Richmond in the second round.
Dayton edges College 69-66 in close game
JOSH LUCKENBAUGH FLAT HAT ASSOC. SPORTS EDITOR
With a nine-point lead heading into halftime against Dayton, William and Mary looked poised to finish off another non-conference road win against strong competition and start the season 4-0. However, the upset was not to be, as the Flyers poured in 48 points on 57 percent shooting in the second half to upend the Tribe 69-66. Despite the setback, head coach Tony Shaver praised his team’s never-say-die attitude Saturday, as they faced a team that has not lost at home since January 2014 and had just annihilated Alabama 80-48 last week. “[It was] a hard-fought basketball game,” Shaver said to Tribe Athletics. “Really proud of our competitive spirit. We really played hard in a tough environment. [It’s a] sold-out arena here, or close to it, against a really fine basketball team … we really displayed a lot of heart and a lot of toughness here today.” The first half was characterized by poor shooting, as both teams shot below 40 percent. The difference came beyond the three point arc, as the College (3-1) knocked down five of 14 attempts from long Shaver range, while Dayton (4-0) only managed to hit one of eight. The Tribe defense was nothing short of excellent, forcing 10 turnovers and holding the highpowered Flyers offense, which averaged almost 87 points coming into the contest, to 21 points in the first 20 minutes. The second half was a much different story, as Dayton began to hit the majority of their shot attempts and forced the College offense into making more mistakes. The Tribe turned the ball over eight times in the half, resulting in 16 points for the Flyers. After the game, Shaver commented on the need for better offensive play. “Our execution must improve,” Shaver told Tribe Athletics. “We talk a lot about being an execution-driven team, not result-driven, and today we didn’t take care of the little things in that second half … We did way too much one on one play, not trusting the offense, not trusting our teammates … The little things add up to big things that allow you to win basketball games.” While seven Dayton players got at least two shot attempts in the second half, three players dominated the offense for the Tribe, taking 22 of the 28 shots: senior forward Terry Tarpey, and junior guards Daniel Dixon and Omar Prewitt. Dixon poured in 16 points on six of eight shots in the period, but Tarpey and Prewitt both struggled, each going two for seven from the floor. When the shots are not falling, the College’s stars must be willing to share the ball with their teammates, something Shaver talked about after the defeat when asked about Dixon’s strong shooting during the game. “It was [a great performance],” Shaver said to Tribe Athletics. “But I think Daniel, like Omar, Terry … got to do a better job executing offensively. We’re doing way too much one-on-one right now.” With 6:33 left to play, the Flyers flipped the script on the Tribe, having taken a nine-point lead. William and Mary did not back down, going on an 11-0 run to regain the lead 60-58 four minutes Prewitt later. After both squads traded baskets, Dayton went on a 7-1 spurt to take a two-possession lead. Dixon nailed a three pointer with three seconds left, trimming the deficit down to one. Dayton guard Charles Cooke, who had 18 points in the second half, was fouled and made the first free throw, then missed the second, but Flyer forward Kendall Pollard grabbed the offensive rebound with one second remaining, then hit one of two free throws. Prewitt grabbed the rebound, but it was too late, and Dayton celebrated a nailbiting 69-66 win. William and Mary returns to Kaplan Arena Wednesday with a 3-1 record to take on the Hampton Pirates. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., right after the women’s basketball game against American finishes.