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WILLIAMSBURG – No. 8 William and Mary opened Colonial Athletic Association football play Saturday night with a 27-10 loss to Elon.
In the second contest at newly renovated Zable Stadium, it was the first loss in three meetings for William and Mary (2-2, 0-1 CAA) against Elon (2-2, 1-0) and snapped a seven-game home winning streak for the Tribe.
William and Mary senior quarterback Steve Cluley (23 for 41, 231 passing yards) threw three interceptions, and the Tribe had a pair of punting miscues that led to points for Elon, which started the season with a 31-6 loss to Gardner Webb before a 47-14 defeat to Charlotte. The Phoenix’s first win came last week over Division II Fayetteville State.
“I’d like to think we could do a lot better than that,” William and Mary coach Jimmye Laycock said. “I don’t know. It wasn’t real good. We couldn’t get anything going on offense at all, and then in the second half, I think our defense kind of wore down a little bit. … We had some major mistakes in the kicking game that really hurt us. You name it, we had it.”
William and Mary outgained Elon 335-236, finished with 17 first downs to the Phoenix’s 10, but only entered the red zone once. The Tribe’s lone touchdown was a 77-yard reception by junior receiver DeVonte Dedmon on William and Mary’s first play of the second half to cut Elon’s 17-3 halftime lead to a touchdown.
Preseason All-America running back Kendell Anderson returned for the Tribe after not appearing in last week’s home-opening win over Norfolk State. Redshirt freshman Albert Funderburke had played well with Anderson on the sideline as he recovered from an ankle injury, but Funderburke was forced out of the game himself Saturday near the end of the first half with a lower-leg injury.
Funderburke still led the Tribe in rushing with 57 yards, and Anderson had 46.
“There are plays out there to be made,” Anderson said of the Tribe’s offensive woes. “We just have to make them.”
Elon kicker John Gallagher’s 27-yard field goal put the Phoenix ahead 27-10 with 10:43 remaining in the game to complete a 70-yard drive.
Elon extended its lead to 24-10 in the third quarter on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that might have ended after three plays if not for William and Mary safety Corey Parker being whistled for pass interference. Phoenix sophomore quarterback Daniel Thompson had completions of 16 and 18 yards on the drive, and sophomore running back Malcolm Summers had 14 yards on seven carries, including a 2-yard touchdown.
On William and Mary’s first play of the second half, Cluley connected on the score with Dedmon, who finished with four catches for 92 yards. After two catches for 22 yards last week against Norfolk State, Dedmon showcased his blazing speed on his third touchdown of the season, catching the pass in the middle of the field around the Tribe 40 before accelerating beyond Elon’s secondary down the left sideline.
The first half was downright nightmarish for William and Mary, which outgained Elon 158-73 in the first two quarters with eight more first downs.
But the Tribe’s only points were kicker Nick Dorka’s 43-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to make it 17-3, and the Phoenix’s longest scoring drive of the first half was 36 yards, coming in the second quarter after Elon backed the Tribe up inside its 5 for a punt.
Summers, who led the Phoenix with 120 rushing yards, capped a 36-yard drive with a 21-yard rushing touchdown, skirting Parker at the 15 before running over the goal line as Elon went up 10-0.
The Phoenix went up 17-0 with 7:32 left in the first half, taking advantage of the Tribe’s second special-teams miscue: a low snap that punter Hunter Windmuller couldn’t handle. Elon’s Cole Taylor sped in around the line of scrimmage unimpeded to force pressure on Windmuller, who abandoned plans to punt and attempted to look downfield to throw before being brought down at the 6 and injured.
Elon cashed in three plays later when sophomore quarterback Daniel Thompson hit Taylor on a fade to the back of the end zone, throwing right.
Elon got on the board quickly just a few minutes into the first quarter with a 35-yard field goal from kicker John Gallagher following Demetrius Oliver’s block of Windmuller’s punt that was recovered by Copeland Spell at the Tribe 22.