The No. 21/24 William and Mary football team earned a 42-14 victory at Hampton on Saturday evening.
W&M (1-1, 0-0) scored five rushing touchdowns and piled up 216 yards on the ground en route to garnering the lopsided victory. Additionally, the 42 points were the Tribe’s most since defeating VMI, 45-0, in 2010.
Junior running back Mikal Abdul-Saboor equaled a career high with three rushing touchdowns and totaled 107 yards on 18 carries, while sophomore running back Kendell Anderson added a pair of scores.
Senior linebacker Airek Green led the Tribe defensively and posted six tackles, four tackles for a loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and a blocked punt. Senior defensive end Mike Reilly also came up big with a pair of sacks. As a team, W&M totaled six sacks, 8.0 tackles for a loss and three forced fumbles.
W&M got on the scoreboard first with a 33-yard field goal by senior John Carpenter midway through the opening quarter. The 11-play drive covered 64 yards and lasted 6:33, as 49 of the yards came on the ground.
A 2-yard touchdown run by Abdul-Saboor with 0:39 remaining in the first quarter pushed the margin to 10-0. The short run capped off an 8-play, 59-yard drive, which was highlighted by a 21-yard run by Abdul-Saboor and a 17-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Steve Cluley to senior wideoutSean Ballard.
A 2-yard touchdown run by Anderson midway through the second quarter increased the lead to 17-0. The score was set up on the previous play when Cluley connected on a 52-yard strike to Ballard. Freshman wide receiver DeVonte Dedmon also rattled off a 19-yard run on the quick four-play, 73-yard drive that lasted just 1:01 and began after W&M stopped the Pirates (0-2, 0-0) on downs.
The College added another field goal on a 38-yard kick by Carpenter with 2:37 remaining in the opening half. The nine-play, 36-yard drive was highlighted by a 23-yard scamper by Abdul-Saboor.
W&M outgained HU, 220-110, in the first half and held a 130-18 advantage in rushing yards.
The Tribe had an opportunity to put more points on the board early in the third quarter after taking possession at HU’s 2-yard line following a blocked punt by Green. However, Anderson lost a fumble on the following play at the 1-yard line. Shortly thereafter, HU’s running back Christopher Dukes rattled off a 54-yard touchdown run down the Pirates’ sideline.
W&M answered with a 3-yard touchdown run by Abdul-Saboor with 6:20 left in the third quarter. The short drive covered just 15 yards and began after junior cornerback DeAndre Houston-Carsonrecovered a muffed punt.
HU cut the margin to 27-14 on a short swing pass from quarterback Jaylian Williamson to wide receiver Jorrian Washington that went 50 yards for a touchdown with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter.
Abdul-Saboor’s third touchdown of the contest, coming on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal, capped off a 14-play, 66-yard drive that put W&M back ahead by a comfortable margin, 35-14, early in the fourth quarter. Cluley connected with sophomore tight end Eric Hensley on the two-point conversion.
The College posted its final score on a 1-yard touchdown run by Anderson with 5:31 left in the contest. The scoring drive began at HU’s 37-yard line after junior linebacker Luke Rhodes forced a fumble by Dukes near the goal line and senior safety Ivan Tagoe returned it 63 yards.
Hampton outgained W&M, 442-351, as Williamson completed 23-of-34 passes for 335 yards.
The Tribe will return to action when it hosts Norfolk State in its home opener next Saturday at 7 p.m.
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Chris Graham
