WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The No. 13 William & Mary football team fell to Towson, 34-24, with a record-breaking crowd of 13,713 in attendance for Homecoming at Zable Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
W&M (4-3, 2-2) led by two touchdowns, 17-3, at halftime, but Towson (3-4, 2-2) scored 31 unanswered points after the break to secure the road conference victory in front of the biggest crowd to see a Tribe football game in the stadium’s current configuration.
Things looked good shortly after kickoff, as W&M scored on its first three possessions and built a 17-0 advantage early in the second quarter. A 36-yard field goal by Caden Bonoffski put W&M on the scoreboard and was followed by a 1-yard touchdown run by Martin Lucas and an 8-yard scoring strike from Darius Wilson to Hollis Mathis.
However, Towson opened the second half with a 22-play, 82-yard touchdown drive and recovered a fumble on the ensuring kickoff, which led to a 10-yard game-tying touchdown run by Devin Matthews.
The Tigers tacked on 17 more unanswered points before W&M ended its scoring drought when Wilson connected with Mathis for an 18-yard touchdown strike with 0:47 remining in the fourth quarter.
Tribe Standouts
Wilson completed 12-of-20 passes for 129 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, while he rushed for 36 yards on nine carries.
Mathis finished with five catches for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while he also rushed for 36 yards on six carries.
Malachi Imoh led the Tribe’s rushing attack and posted 104 yards on 13 carries. Ninety-nine of his yards came in the first half.
Defensively, Kevin Jarrell recorded a team-high nine tackles, including eight solo stops.
John Pius also came up big with seven tackles and a sack, while Malcolm Spencer and Isaiah Jones recorded eight stops apiece.
Inside the Numbers
Towson outgained W&M, 396-341, which included a 270-95 advantage in the second half.
The Tribe outgained the Tigers on the ground, 212-208, and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
Towson owned an 8-minute advantage in time of possession, including a 24:17-5:43 margin in the second half.
Towson won the turnover battle, 2-0, as it forced a pair of fumbles that led to a pair of touchdowns.
Both teams were effective in the red zone, as Towson converted on all five of its trips (three touchdowns) while W&M scored on four of its five trips (three touchdowns).
The Opposition
Quarterback Nathan Kent completed 19-of-28 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns, while Carter Runyon totaled seven catches for 92 yards and two scores.
Matthews was the Tigers’ leading rusher and finished with 117 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown.
Daniel Raymond posted six tackles with 1.5 TFL, while Rodney Roane Jr. recorded a pair of sacks, one of which was a strip sack.
Notes
The loss snapped W&M’s six-game home winning streak … W&M is now 55-39 all-time on Homecoming … Despite the loss, W&M leads the all-time series versus Towson, 11-8, including a 6-5 edge at Zable Stadium … Towson’s two touchdowns in the third quarter marked the first points allowed by W&M in the third quarter this season … Wilson moved into ninth on W&M’s career list for total offense (5,551).
Up Next
W&M will return to action when it hosts Monmouth as part of Family Weekend next Saturday at 1 p.m.
