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NORFOLK, Va. — William & Mary quarterback R.J. Archer completed 15 of 20 passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns to lead the No. 5 ranked Tribe to a 27-15 win over host Norfolk State on Saturday night at Dick Price Stadium.
Archer connected on scoring passes of 10 yards to Jonathan Grimes and 13 yards to McAulay on W&M's first two possessions. He added a 30-yard hookup to a diving McAulay late in the second quarter that gave the Tribe (3-0) what proved to be an insurmountable 21-0 lead going into the half.
The Spartans (1-2) rallied with two late Dennis Brown (Miami, Fla.) touchdown passes, covering 32 yards to P.J. Hayden (Fredericksburg, Va.) and 16 yards to Chris Bell (Norfolk, Va.). Sandwiched in between was a safety on the Tribe after an errant punt snap to give NSU 15 fourth-quarter points.
NSU was held three-and-out on the game's first possession. W&M quickly marched 67 yards in eight plays, with Archer finding Grimes on second-and-goal from the 10 for the game's first score.
On the first play of the ensuing NSU possession, Brown's pass over the middle tipped off the hands of Bell and was intercepted by W&M linebacker Jake Trantin. W&M needed just four plays to score, with McAulay hitting Archer for a 13-yard TD on a post pattern. The point after made it 14-0 with 8:15 remaining in the opening quarter.
The only scoring of the second quarter came on McAulay's diving 30-yard TD catch along the right sideline, giving the Tribe a 21-0 lead with 3:18 remaining in the half. The Spartans had two botched field goal attempts in the second quarter. The first went awry thanks to an errant snap from center. A 47-yard attempt later in the quarter by Justin Castellat (Virginia Beach, Va.) was blocked by Sean Lissemore.
The Tribe continued to salt the game away in the third quarter. Two time-consuming drives limited NSU to just four offensive plays in the period. Brian Pate's 24-yard field goal provided the only points of the quarter for W&M, which led 24-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
Pate connected on a 32-yard field goal with 13:26 left in the fourth quarter to give W&M a 27-0 lead.
The Spartans scored their 15 points in the final 6:37 of the contest. Brown hit Hayden on a 32-yard TD pass on fourth-and-10 with 6:37 left. NSU then stopped the Tribe on its next possession, and the Tribe's punt snap sailed into the end zone for a safety to trim the lead to 29-9.
NSU then took the free kick and drove 44 yards in eight plays, with Brown finding Bell on a 16-yard fade pass for a score with 1:07 remaining. The two-point conversion failed.
The Tribe outgained NSU 312-206, but used a methodical running game to control the ball for 37:15 of the contest. Grimes led the way with 14 rushes for 73 yards, while Terrance Riggins added 12 carries for 68 yards. McAulay had 74 yards on a game-high six catches. W&M also converted 6-of-11 third downs.
Brown passed for a season-high 177 yards and two scores. Hayden notched career highs of four receptions for 84 yards, while Bell had four grabs for 66 yards.
Linebacker Anthony Taylor (Virginia Beach, Va.) led the Spartan defense with a career-high 10 tackles, 1.5 for loss. Safety Terrell Whitehead (Virginia Beach, Va.) had eight tackles, 0.5 for loss. Linebacker Frank Clemmons (Chesapeake, Va.) had his first career sack and forced fumble.
NSU returns to MEAC play in a 4 p.m. contest against Bethune-Cookman next Saturday at Dick Price Stadium. The game will be televised on a tape-delay basis at 10 p.m. on ESPNU the same night.
