THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 15, 1995 TAG: 9510150218
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
William and Mary was as erratic as the weather Saturday at Zable Stadium, but the Tribe managed to hold on for a 48-34 victory over Pennsylvania.
The Tribe (5-2) led 34-7 midway through the third quarter in a contest that looked to be a blowout, but the Quakers rallied to score four touchdowns in the final 20 minutes.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Tribe. Penn, which saw its Division I-AA record 24-game winning streak end last week against Columbia, has lost two in a row for the first time in four years.
``I thought we took control in the third quarter; I really did,'' Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said. ``Give them credit. They hung in there and made some plays.''
On an afternoon that alternated between sunshine and driving rain, the Tribe defense intercepted Mark DeRosa five times. The last pickoff, by Darren Sharper, was returned 40 yards for a touchdown.
``Their defensive backs are the best we've faced all year,'' DeRosa said. ``They come off the ball faster than any team we've played.''
Defensively, the Quakers also had some trouble with speed - Derek Fitzgerald's. The senior tailback, who tied a school record with 37 rushing attempts, finished with 217 yards and one touchdown. And he did it without his rushing counterpart, Troy Keen, who sat out the game nursing a sore right ankle.
``I'm kind of used to having him in with me,'' Fitzgerald said. ``We're usually a one-two punch, and today it was like a one punch.''
With the score 7-7 in the second quarter, Tribe quarterback Matt Byrne and wide receiver Billy Commons combined for a 75-yard touchdown. After Penn failed to make a first down, Byrne unleashed another bomb - a Hail Mary with no time on the clock, to 5-foot-6 Terry Hammons, and the Tribe led 21-7 at the half.
William and Mary scored on its next two possessions to go up 34-7. But Penn wasn't done. Mark Fabish's 39-yard punt return made it 34-13, and Dion Camp's 12-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 14.
The Tribe answered with a drive capped by a 3-yard pass from Byrne to Tim Leedy. But DeRosa found Miles Macik on a 28-yard crossing pattern to make it 41-27. Sharper's interception return increased the lead to 21. Penn responded with a 1-yard run by Camp. The Quakers then recovered an onside kick with less than two minutes left but ran out of time.
``All of the sudden we got behind by two or three touchdowns and had to throw the ball up the field to create some plays,'' Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. ``They're very athletic and we knew that would happen if we tried to force plays.''
Byrne, who finished 9 of 17 for 165 yards and four touchdowns, put it more succinctly: ``The rain came and all hell broke loose.'' by CNB