WILLIAMSBURG — The William & Mary football team concluded its home slate with a 22-12 victory against Bryant on Senior Day at Zable Stadium.
The Tribe claimed a 10-point lead on a 62-yard touchdown run by Malachi Imoh with 11:34 remaining in the fourth quarter and then sealed the victory with a pair of tremendous stops at its own 1-yard line to preserve the victory. With the triumph, W&M keeps its postseason aspirations alive and secured the program’s fourth consecutive winning season.
Following Imoh’s electric touchdown scamper, Bryant (2-9, 0-7) drove to W&M’s 1-yard line but was stopped on a third-down run near the goal line by linebacker Harrison Johnson. Cornerback Sascha Garcia then blocked a 17-yard field goal attempt on the following play with 4:27 remaining.
After a W&M punt on its ensuing possession, Bryant marched to the Tribe’s 1-yard line again, but defensive lineman Ty Gordon intercepted Jarrett Guest in the end zone as time expired.
Things looked good for W&M early as it jumped out to a 15-point lead midway through the second quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Darius Wilson to wideout Matthew Akuchie and a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown by Carson Jenkins. Both scores were the first career touchdowns for Akuchie and Jenkins.
The Bulldogs gradually clawed back into the contest with 16-yard touchdown pass from Guest to Landon Ruggieri and a pair of field goals by Bryce Soli, but W&M held Bryant scoreless during the final 25:23.
Tribe Standouts
Running back Bronson Yoder rushed for a game-high 146 yards on 20 carries, as he eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second time during his career (1,083).
Imoh also provide tremendous production on the ground with 98 yards on eight carries with his 62-yard touchdown.
Defensively, linebacker Quinn Osborne totaled a game-high 10 tackles, while safety Marcus Barnes tallied seven tackles, a forced fumble and a career-high four pass breakups.
Linebacker Alex Washington also came up big with six tackles, a sack and two pass breakups.
Inside the Numbers
W&M outgained Bryant on the ground, 244-147, and averaged 6.8 yards per carry, but the Bulldogs owned a 410-348 advantage in total yards and threw for 263 yards through the air.
W&M limited Bryant to just 4-of-15 on third downs and held the Bulldogs scoreless on two of their five trips into the red zone.
Bryant controlled the clock (33:50-26:10) and recorded a 26-16 advantage in first downs.
The Opposition
Guest completed 26-of-47 passes for 263 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while Ruggieri posted a game-high nine receptions for 112 yards and a score.
Running back Dylan Kedzior rushed for a team-high 91 yards.
Defensively, Colin Elliott totaled a team-best seven tackles with a TFL and an interception.
Up Next
W&M will conclude its regular season slate at No. 7/11 Richmond when the longtime rivals vie for the Capital Cup Saturday Nov. 23 at noon. It will mark the 135th meeting in the series.
