What does a crowd of 8,500 people sound like?
Saturday, Sept. 20, William and Mary football (2-2, 1-0 CAA) found out. The Zable Stadium stands were filled with green and gold as the Tribe defeated Charleston Southern (0-4, 0-1 OVC-Big South) 34-7, turning an explosive offensive showing into a lopsided victory. For the second consecutive home game, William and Mary fans withstood harsh weather conditions, stood in the rain and conquered humidity, unfazed by a delayed start time due to storms.
The win marked the 100th of Tribe football head coach Mike London’s career, a milestone that made him visibly emotional.
“I know in this profession we count wins and losses,” London said. “It’s important. But I’m supposed to pour into other people and know that we all have to operate in our gifts. And what a great opportunity to celebrate with these guys, my family, [my] team.”
London’s squad faced little resistance from the visiting Buccaneers. On the shoulders of freshman running back Hakeem Watters, who finished with 119 rushing yards on 13 carries, CSU accumulated 163 rushing yards to the Tribe’s 151.
Otherwise, William and Mary dominated both sides of the ball, getting back on track after its Sept. 13 blowout loss to Virginia (3-1, 1-0 ACC). The Green and Gold held the ball for 36 minutes, four seconds, compared to CSU’s 23 minutes, 56 seconds. The Tribe racked up 449 yards to its opponents’ 239 and converted 28 first downs to the Buccaneers’ 10. William and Mary’s long, successful drives limited CSU’s possession time and crushed the visitors’ morale.
The Tribe took a 14-7 lead going into halftime, after third-down failures and an unsuccessful fake field goal prevented it from claiming a larger advantage. Despite these mistakes, William and Mary excelled during the game’s second half. After the break, the Tribe outgained the Buccaneers 247-140, limited CSU to 4.8 yards per play and held redshirt sophomore quarterback Zolten Osborne to 30 passing yards.
The Tribe did not stifle Osborne alone — it wreaked havoc on the entire CSU offense, forcing and recovering two fumbles during the third quarter. In the same period, William and Mary replicated its defensive excellence on the other side of the ball: sophomore tight end Jackson Blee hauled in two touchdown passes to push the Tribe’s lead to 20 points.
The touchdowns, the first of Blee’s collegiate career, made the win especially meaningful to the underclassman.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Blee said. “Just getting that play from the sideline, that the first touchdown I knew was coming to me — I knew I had to make a play, and luckily, that’s what happened. I was ecstatic.”
One of Blee’s scores was from seven yards out, while the other was from 63 yards out. London attributed Blee’s success to his speed and his ability to accumulate yards after the catch.
“We talked about YACs — yards after catch,” London said. “That’s what happened particularly on [Blee’s] long run. I didn’t know he was that fast. This dude’s fast, you know. But it was pretty neat to watch, pay attention to the details and then watch the success of that materialize.”
Saturday’s game was part of William and Mary’s Hall of Fame Weekend, which honored former men’s basketball head coach Tony Shaver and former football player B.W. Webb ’12, among seven others. As the Tribe reflected on its history, it saw strength in its future. Blee, freshman wide receiver Alfred Honesty and junior wide receiver Joseph Johnson each recorded their first career scores, with Honesty’s touchdown giving William and Mary an early 7-0 advantage and Johnson’s touchdown sealing the Tribe’s victory in the fourth quarter. Junior quarterback Tyler Hughes, in his first year as a starter, had his undisputed best game of the campaign, throwing a season-high four touchdowns.
Hughes’ 296 passing yards and 51 rushing yards led William and Mary to a bounce-back win. He completed 22 of his 33 pass attempts, or 66.7%, demonstrating both his arm strength and the strength of the wide receiver corps. The Tribe’s offensive play was crucial in securing its victory against CSU’s run-heavy offense.
London credited his team’s performance to a stellar week of practice.
“The emphasis going into this week, it’s just the details of coaching,” London said. “There’s a lot of things that you don’t see on paper that could’ve gone differently. Going over the corrections and repping that all throughout the week, and watching film — we took that very seriously, and that caused us to have a great week.”
While the game marked just another early-season victory for William and Mary, it represented much more for London. As he looked back on his career, London reflected on his life experiences, making clear that his 100th win represents more than just a milestone on the football field.
“I’ve been a police officer,” London said. “I’ve been — trigger pulled and gun not go off. I’ve been a bone marrow donor to my daughter, saved her life when the odds were 10,000-to-1 that a parent could be a match to their own child. So there are things that have happened in this journey to the 100th win that it’s important to me to give back, to be a servant leader and enjoy the ride.”
According to London, he is grateful to coach at a place like William and Mary, where he can help develop college students into future leaders. London wore his late father’s dog tags at the press conference, honoring a man he said showed him how to give back to the people around him.
“These are my father’s dog tags,” London said. “He passed away a little bit ago. Military man that taught me everything I need, how to be a coach, what a father looks like with his family, as a husband, and so I’m supposed to give back to all the people.”
The Tribe hopes to use the experience it gained against CSU Saturday, Sept. 27, when it travels to face No. 12 Villanova (1-2, 0-1 CAA) at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pa. As the Wildcats were picked third in the Coastal Athletic Association preseason poll, the matchup will prove especially important.
Now on the journey to 200 wins, London said his squad will focus on the controllables during the week ahead.
“We just gotta keep stacking the opportunities, the wins, the corrections, the things that you can control,” London said. “Control the controllables. It’s a road game, they’re a good team, you know, they’re a nationally ranked team. So take care of it and make the corrections of this game, and then go on a game plan to get ready to play a top 20 team.”
