Following three consecutive defeats, William and Mary football (2-4, 1-3 Patriot) looked to reverse its fortunes against Holy Cross (2-4, 2-2 Patriot) Saturday, Oct. 3 at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, Va.
However, early mistakes, special teams blunders and defensive miscommunication condemned the Tribe to a 41-14 defeat.
“Obviously, we have to do a better job starting fast,” said head coach Mike London following the game.
Holy Cross took full advantage of the short field, keeping the Tribe’s defense guessing through the air and on the ground. The Crusaders used pre-snap motion and balanced play-calling to exploit missed assignments by the William and Mary defense.
London quickly pointed to his team’s failure to execute consistently.
“When you’re not in the right position, or you’re not filling the right gap, that’s when you have issues,” he said.
On the other side of the ball, the Tribe struggled to build any meaningful momentum. The run game remained stagnant overall, even with the return of junior running back Andrew King, who missed the last game due to a lower-body injury. King provided brief bursts of agility, but narrow running lanes and a push from the Holy Cross defensive line kept him largely contained.
London noted that moving forward, the staff must tweak its offensive packages to give players like King more space.
“We have to come up with schemes or systems that are going to allow us to utilize players, like Andrew King, who is a really good back utilizing his legs,” London said. “I do think there’s ways to come up with finding plays or schemes or things that can accentuate your best players.”
The Tribe also struggled to protect the quarterback, as an aggressive Holy Cross defense sacked junior quarterback Winston Watkins five times.
“We have to make sure that we protect the quarterback,” London said. “[But] the quarterback has got to understand that you do not have all day to throw the ball.”
Amid the Tribe’s offensive struggles, freshman wide receiver Khylil Johnson was a bright spot. Johnson, who entered Saturday’s game averaging over 22 yards per reception, broke free from the Holy Cross secondary in the 5th minute for a 75-yard passing touchdown that briefly brought the Tribe level at 7-7.
With Saturday’s defeat marking the Tribe’s fourth consecutive loss by at least 20 points, team captains and senior leaders alike called a closed-door, players-only meeting in the locker room following the final whistle.
London welcomed the meeting, stressing that accountability must, at least partly, come from the players.
“We need those leaders that can call each other out because they know what they do after practice, how they hydrate and all the other little things — the details of things,” he said. “The same way they have that meeting is the same way we, as coaches, have to make sure that we do things that can allow them to have some success in what we’re asking them to do.”
London said setting the standard ultimately falls on him and the other coaches.
“We got good guys, we got good players, they show the example in the first couple games here, but we got to make sure we go down the long haul of keep pressing on about the things we do and take care of the details,” he said.
Saturday’s matchup also marked Tribe football’s annual “Get in the Game” White Out, an annual game supporting the National Marrow Donor Program.
London reflected on the game’s personal significance. In 2003, he donated bone marrow to save the life of his daughter, Ticynn London, who was diagnosed with Fanconi anemia, despite facing long odds of being a viable donor match. Since then, London’s drives at William and Mary have registered thousands of potential donors to the national registry.
“It’s mixed emotions,” London said. “When you think about it, there is a chance to be successful in a lot of things in life, especially when you give somebody a chance to have a chance.”
In desperate need of a victory, the Tribe will take a brief break from Patriot League action to face North Carolina Central (2-4, 0-0 MEAC) Saturday, Oct. 10 at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C.
