WILLIAMSBURG — Of all the ways for this game to be sealed, a goal-line stand didn’t appear likely. Not the way William & Mary’s defense was leaking for most of the day.
But go figure.
Needing a touchdown and having driven from its 19-yard line to the Tribe’s 3, North Carolina A&T faced fourth-and-goal with less than three minutes left. But as Aggies quarterback Kevin Wight rolled left and looked for a receiver, he ran out of time and real estate.
Tribe linebacker Luke Banbury knocked him out of bounds for his 17th and final tackle. W&M twice moved the sticks, and quarterback Tyler Hughes took a couple of knees.
Saturday’s final score at Zable Stadium: William & Mary 38, North Carolina A&T 34.
“We were saying (on fourth down), ‘This is it right here,’” said Banbury, a graduate transfer from Cornell who set a career high for tackles Saturday. “That was the game right there and we knew we had to make a stop.
“They knew that we knew our offense was going to get a couple of first downs and run out the clock. So that was it right there.”
In a game it was favored to win by double digits, W&M (3-3, 2-1 CAA) didn’t take its first lead until Rashad Raymond’s 2-yard touchdown run with 11:15 to go in the fourth quarter. The Aggies (1-5, 1-2) ran 15 plays and took nearly 8½ minutes off the clock but came away empty.
Hughes, who accounted for 245 yards and three touchdowns, could only watch at that point.
“I had faith in those boys,” he said. “(The Aggies) were down and they were driving, but (we) didn’t waver. I love those guys. They’re a great unit, and I’m not surprised that they got a stop. At all.”
There was no official injury report, but Tribe coach Mike London said the team was missing eight starters Saturday.
“The learning curve was steep,” he said. “But at the same time, they just got a valuable lesson in how to win close games in the fourth quarter. … I told these guys afterward, the grit and resiliency of this team is pretty special.”
Offensively, W&M committed two turnovers, which doubled its season total coming in. But Raymond rushed for a season-high 124 yards, 67 coming on a second-quarter burst that seemed to ignite the unit, and the go-ahead touchdown.
Hughes, who has now attempted 138 consecutive passes without being intercepted, was his usual efficient self. And a big-play attack accounted for touchdowns covering 29, 75 and 66 yards.
The running game picked up a season-high 238 yards.
“That’s been an emphasis all week,” Hughes said. “We’ve been really trying to improve in the run game, on first and second down, and it was good to see all that work come into fruition this game. We really needed it.
“If we’re able to run the ball throughout the course of the game, especially late in the game, it’s good to see that. Hopefully we’ll keep building off that. If you are able to run the ball, you’re able to do anything.”
The Tribe trailed 24-14 at halftime but quickly chipped into that on Hughes’ 75-yard touchdown pass to Armon Wright on the second play of the third quarter. A&T responded with a touchdown and a field goal for a 34-21 lead with 5:27 left in the third quarter.
W&M answered quickly with a 66-yard touchdown run by Hughes, which made it a one-possession game again. After the Tribe’s Jaden Boring recovered a fumble at the A&T 23-yard line, the Tribe got closer on Keegan Shackford’s career-long 49-yard field goal.
The Aggies then went three-and-out for the first time since its opening drive of the game. Then came the Tribe’s seven-play, 78-yard drive that was capped by Raymond’s touchdown but sparked by Sean McElwain’s 40-yard catch-and-run.
