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WILLIAMSBURG — In the playoffs, strange things tend to happen. William and Mary coach Jimmye Laycock has seen plenty, which is why he’s putting Saturday’s 52-49 win over Duquesne in its proper perspective.
Yes, the Tribe had four turnovers. Yes, the defense allowed 540 total yards and its highest point total since 2012. But this time of the year, it’s all about survive and advance, which is what the Tribe did in a Zable Stadium shootout.
“One team advances, and one team goes home,” Laycock said. “You kind of take whatever you can get sometimes. It’s not like the regular season. You’re just happy to get a win.
“We really haven’t been in whole lot of games like this, but we didn’t panic and throw things out the window. We kept playing. You have to be able to adjust to how the game is flowing, and I thought our guys did a good job of doing that.”
Not that the Tribe, which will travel to Richmond on Saturday for a second-round game, had much of a choice. Less than six minutes in, the Dukes (8-4) had taken a 14-0 lead.
The Tribe (9-3) came back from that early deficit with touchdowns on four of its next five drives and took a 28-14 lead with 3:58 left in the second quarter. But Duquesne, which was missing 1,000-yard rusher Rafiq Douglas to a high ankle sprain, came to score.
So did William and Mary, which made for an entertaining game for the fans and heartburn for the coaches.
Ten seconds into the fourth quarter, Steve Cluley’s 37-yard touchdown pass to DeVonte Dedmon put the Tribe ahead 45-31. But back came Duquesne with Dillon Buechel’s fifth of six touchdown passes to make it a seven-point game with 10:27 left.
Then came a strange sequence. In a span of 67 seconds off the game clock, Dedmon fumbled, Buechel was intercepted, and Cluley fumbled. After Cluley’s, which came at the Tribe 29, the Dukes pulled closer on Austin Crimmins’ 35-yard field goal with 7:01 left to make it 45-41.
Back came W&M with a seven-play, 68-yard touchdown drive; back came Duquesne with a six-play, 73-yard touchdown drive. The Dukes went for the 2-point conversion and got it, leaving them a field goal away from a tie with 1:11 left.
Duquesne went with an onside kick, but DeAndre Houston-Carson recovered. Kendell Anderson moved the chains on three straight runs, and it was over.
“I’m sure it was a really good game to watch,” Duquesne coach Jerry Schmitt said. “It was very challenging to coach.”
In a game that saw dozens of huge moments, none were bigger than Tyler Claytor’s blocked field goal, which set up Houston-Carson’s 65-yard return for a touchdown. It came in the third quarter with Duquesne in position to make it a 31-27 game. Instead, it became 38-24.
It was Claytor’s fourth block of the season. And it was Houston-Carson’s second return for points — he returned a blocked PAT, also by Claytor, against James Madison.
“I saw it taking that second long bounce, and I started looking for DeAndre,” Claytor said. “As soon as I saw DeAndre, I turned around and looked for somebody to block. I knew DeAndre would scoop and score it.”
The 52 points are W&M’s most since a 63-16 win over VMI in 2007. Anderson rushed for 137 tough yards, the biggest of which came on a third-and-2 with 50 seconds left to seal the win.
Cluley completed 11-of-15 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns. Dedmon had three catches for 99 yards, each of them touchdowns.
But the Player of the Game was Buechel, who completed 33-of-53 passes for 423 yards and six touchdowns. Dukes’ wideout Chris King had 12 catches for 221 yards and a score.
Duquesne had 540 total yards, the most W&M has given up all season. The Dukes scored on eight of their 14 drives.
“We’ll try again Monday,” Laycock said, referring to the start of another week.
Johnson can be reached by phone at 757-247-4649.