William & Mary bounces back, beats Towson to improve to 5-2

Any questions about the resilience of William & Mary and its true freshman quarterback were answered emphatically, and positively, as the Tribe routed Towson 40-14 in their Colonial Athletic Association game Saturday at Zable Stadium.

It’s not that there were huge doubts about whether the Tribe (5-2, 3-1 CAA) was a good football team, or if quarterback Darius Wilson was capable. But Wilson and the Tribe had to rebound from a disappointing 27-16 loss at Maine a week earlier to help their FCS playoff hopes, and they obliged in a big way against Towson, which beat then-No. 12 Rhode Island handily last week.

“You can’t let the highs get you too high or the lows get you too low,” Tribe coach Mike London said. “There are several games on your schedule you want to make improvements and you want to get corrected.”

One of those from the Maine game was falling behind 17-0, before seeing a rally fall short. The Tribe solved that by bolting to a 24-7 lead over the Tigers (3-4, 2-2) early in the second quarter.

Rushing dominance, on the way to 322 yards on the ground, was a big reason. After taking the opening kickoff, the Tribe, which entered averaging a CAA-best 189.7 yards rushing, drove 80 yards on five running plays to take a 7-0 lead.

Donavyn Lester (13 carries, 99 yards, three touchdowns) kick-started the drive with runs of 14 and 13 yards before Bronson Yoder ran 47 yards through a big hole on the right side to give the Tribe a 7-0 lead.

“Being No. 1 (rushing) in the CAA, with all these great backs we have, it’s just great to be in that position,” Lester said. “We’re going to do our best to run the ball each and every week. "

But as Wilson — a rushing threat in his own right — becomes more comfortable under center, the Tribe attack becomes more dangerous. His rebound day included 7 completions in 12 passes for 164 yards as the Tribe netted 512 yards.

The Tribe defense stumbled out of the gate, and Chris Ferguson’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Smith capped an easy, four-play, 75-yard drive as the Tigers retaliated to tie the game at 7. But the defense, led by end Nate Lynn (three sacks) recovered quickly and, with Wilson hitting his stride, the Tribe turned the game into a rout.

With Towson stacking the line to stop the run, Wilson responded to Towson’s touchdown with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Zach Burdick to give the Tribe a 14-7 lead on the first play after the kickoff. Cornerback Ryan Poole, who has been impressive throughout, cut in front of Smith on a sideline route to intercept a Ferguson pass that he returned to the W&M 46.

Malachi Imoh carries of 9 and 14 yards, and Wilson’s 10-yard pass to Anthony Mague, moved the Tribe to the 21. Lester followed terrific blocks by Ryan Ripley and Dan Evers on his 21-yard touchdown run off left tackle, and the Tribe led 21-7 with 5:53 to play in the first quarter.

Tate Haynes’ interception not only short-circuited a Towson scoring drive, but his 43-yard return, plus a Towson penalty, gave the Tribe the ball at the Tigers’ 27. That led to Ethan Chang’s 28-yard field goal that increased the Tribe lead to 24-7 early in the second quarter.

After the Tigers cut the Tribe lead to 24-14 on Devin Matthews’ 2-yard touchdown run, Wilson went to work again. He ran for 29 yards and threw for 23 to J.T. Mayo, setting up Chang’s 19-yard field goal late in the first half to make it 27-14.

After Poole forced a Towson fumble that Trey Watkins recovered at the Tribe 40 to start the second half, Wilson completed passes of 14 and 29 yards to Cole Blackmon. That set up Lester’s 12-yard touchdown run that increased the Tribe lead to 34-14 with 9:11 left in the third quarter.

“Darius is a young player, but he’s a guy who’s very mature,” London said. “He wants to find ways to improve his game, ways by play-calling, ways by getting the ball to Donavyn Lester, Malachi Imoh, Bronson Yoder or DreSean Kendrick, whoever it may be.

“It’s one of those things where you hope the growth and development comes by having some success. That’s only going to make him a better player as we go down the stretch.”