THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610270193
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: 59 lines
William and Mary quarterback Mike Cook, who had thrown just three interceptions all season, had three of his first 12 passes picked off Saturday. As a result, the Tribe trailed Northeastern 14-0 late in the second quarter.
Not a problem, Cook said.
``You've just got to shake those things off,'' he said.
Cook did, and with its defense pitching shutout ball the rest of the way, William and Mary rallied for a 21-14 win in front of a homecoming crowd of 11,373 at Zable Stadium.
The win, coupled with Delaware's win over James Madison, gives William and Mary a share of first place in the Yankee Conference and sets up a showdown with Delaware next week. The Tribe (6-2, 4-1 Yankee) and the Blue Hens (7-1, 5-1) are two of four teams with one conference loss.
For much of the day, it looked as if next week's game with the Blue Hens might not be so significant. Northeastern (3-5, 2-5) led 14-7 early in the fourth quarter before Cook finally got hot and the Tribe's defense started to get to Northeastern quarterback Jim Murphy.
``There's different ways to win,'' Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said. ``You get to this point in the season, you don't get style points.''
Cook, who was the highest-rated quarterback in the conference, threw a fourth interception in the second half, but never looked tentative.
``He was OK,'' Laycock said. ``I wasn't.''
Making things easier was a Tribe defense, which sacked Murphy five times and held the Huskies to 172 total yards.
``People start throwing the ball on us, we're going to get some sacks,'' said defensive end Mike Bertoni, who had two.
The biggest sack came early in the fourth quarter with Northeastern leading 14-7. Tribe linebacker Mike McGowan hit Murphy from the blind side, forcing a fumble. William and Mary gained possession on the Northeastern 33 and scored four plays later on a 15-yard pass from Cook to Dave Conklin.
``That was a big momentum swing for us,'' McGowan said. ``We needed to set the offense up for something.''
The Tribe's offense struggled all day, despite good field position. Trailing 14-0, the Tribe got a late score in the second quarter to make it 14-7 at the half. But any momentum they might have had was squandered when Alvin Porch fumbled on the Tribe's first second-half possession.
``That easily could have been the end,'' Laycock said. ``We finally had things turning back in our favor.''
Instead, the Tribe's defense took over. After a seven-minute drive by Northeastern ended with a missed field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Huskies managed just one first down the rest of the way.
``It was a matter of time,'' McGowan said. ``We just wore them down.'
The Tribe forced a final Northeastern punt with 2:01 left, and took over on the Northeastern 41. Porch finished a five-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 52 seconds left.
Porch was held to 55 yards, about half his average. Cook finished 20 of 39 for 244 yards.
``Some days things are clicking and some days you have to grind it out,'' Laycock said. ``This was a grinding day for him.'' by CNB