WILLIAMSBURG — The No. 12/13 William & Mary football team concluded its non-conference slate with a 34-24 victory against Furman at Zable Stadium on Saturday evening.
After falling behind 14-0 early in the first quarter, W&M (3-1) charged back by scoring 27 unanswered points to build an advantage it never relinquished.
The Tribe outgained the Paladins, 482-348, and piled up 384 rushing yards — mostly coming from the trio of running back Bronson Yoder (166 yards), quarterback Darius Wilson (155 yards) and running back Malachi Imoh (50 yards).
Although W&M led 27-14 midway through the third quarter, Furman (1-3) responded and drew within 27-24 following a 33-yard field goal by Ian Williams with 6:18 remaining.
However, the Tribe answered with an 11-play, 75 yard touchdown drive that was punctuated by a 12-yard scoring run by Yoder with just 0:57 remaining.
W&M sealed the victory on the first play of the ensuing series when linebacker Christian Hamm strip sacked Trey Hedden and quarterback Davin Dzidzienyo scooped up the loose ball and returned it to FU’s 3-yard line.
Tribe Standouts
Yoder rushed for a career-high 166 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown, while Wilson also recorded a career day on the ground with 155 yards on 17 carries (9.1 yards/carry) with a score. Wilson also threw touchdown passes to Hollis Mathis and Sean McElwain.
Yoder’s effort helped him become just the sixth player in school history to rush for more than 3,000 yards, as he now has 3,066.
Alex Washington totaled a team-high nine tackles, while Dzidzienyo posted five stops to go with his fumble recovery and a TFL.
TJ McGill and Bryce Barnes also came up big with interceptions, while Jalen Jones recorded a career-high four pass breakups.
Eric Bernstein made both his field goal attempts (35, 28), which came in the second quarter and helped the Tribe rally back and built its lead.
Inside the Numbers
In addition to outgaining Furman, 482-348, W&M owned a 384-84 advantage on the ground and piled up 25 first downs (compared to 16 for Furman). The Tribe averaged 7.1 yards per carry.
The Tribe continued its success on third downs – both offensively and defensively – as it converted 9-of-17 and limited Furman to just 2-of-11.
W&M controlled the time of possession by nearly 10 minutes (34:58-25:02).
Both teams were flagged for significant yardage as the teams combined for 247 yards in penalties – Furman (10-120), W&M (11-127).
The Opposition
Hedden led Furman offensively and completed 13-of-26 passes for 264 yards with two touchdowns.
Brock Chappell recorded four catches for 42 yards, while Colton Hinton posted two receptions for 89 yards with a score.
Myion Hicks was the Paladins’ leading rusher and posted 46 yards on 10 carries.
Evan DiMaggio and Tre’ McLeod tallied 12 and 10 tackles, respectively, while Maurice Perkins registered nine stops with a sack and 2.5 TFL.
Notes
With the win, W&M concluded its non-conference slate with a 3-0 record versus teams from the Southern Conference … Additionally, W&M improves to 86-20 all-time against teams from the SoCon … The Tribe has now won 44 of its last 46 games against non-conference FCS opponents during the regular season … W&M has limited its last three opponents to a combined 7-of 34 on third downs … Wilson moved into fifth on the program’s career total yards list (7,229).
Next Up
W&M will return to action when it opens its conference slate at home against Hampton at Zable Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at TribeAthletics.com.