Football Falls To Rival William & Mary In Overtime In 130th Capital Cup Presented By C&F Bank

Saturday, November 23

Richmond, Va.

Noon

University of Richmond

5-7 , 4-4

William & Mary

5-7 , 3-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

William & Mary

Richmond

Photo by: Scott Brown

Football Falls To Rival William & Mary In Overtime In 130th Capital Cup Presented By C&F Bank

11/23/2019 | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Russ Huesman Post-Game Press Conference

RICHMOND, Va. – The 130^th playing of "The South's Oldest Football Rivalry" needed extra time as the University of Richmond football team suffered a 21-15 loss to William & Mary in overtime in the Capital Cup presented by C&F Bank Saturday afternoon at Robins Stadium. With the loss, the Spiders fall to 62-63-5 all-time in the series against the Tribe, snapping the Spiders two-game winning streak in the series.

The Spiders (5-7, 4-4 Colonial Athletic Association) committed five turnovers in the loss and all 15 of the Tribe's points in regulation came off of Spider miscues. Richmond fumbled the ball four times, losing three, and tossed a pair of interceptions.

Freshman running back Savon Smith (Winchester, Va.) led the offense with a career-high 132 yards of total offense. Smith caught a career-high 10 passes for 99 yards while adding 11 rushes for 33 yards. Graduate wide receiver Charlie Fessler (Erie, Pa.) added eight receptions for 84 yards and the Spiders' lone touchdown on the day. Redshirt junior quarterback Joe Mancuso (Blairsville, Ga.) went 27-of-46 for 270 yards but had two interceptions and a pivotal fumble in the second half.

Defensively, senior safety Daniel Jones (Williamsburg, Va.) had a season-high 14 tackles in the loss. Senior Trent Williams (Chester, Va.) recorded his first interception of the season and also blocked a William & Mary punt that turned into a Spider safety. Graduate corner back Brandon Feamster (Exton, Pa.) added 11 tackles, including his third sack of the year.

The linebacking duo of freshman Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) and junior Tyler Dressler (Covington, Va.) each added 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. Dressler recorded two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss while Wheeler forced a second half fumble.

The two linebackers finished the season tied for the team lead with 104 tackles apiece, becoming the first Spider duo each over 100 tackles in the same season since 2007 when Eric McBride (126) and Collin McConaghy (121) accomplished the task. Wheeler also becomes the first freshman in the CAA since Gage Steele of James Madison (redshirt freshman) in 2013 to reach the 100-yard mark and the first true freshman in CAA history to reach the mark. He is also the first freshman to reach the 100-tackle mark in a season at the NCAA FCS level since 2017 (Bryson Armstrong, Kennesaw State).

William & Mary (5-7, 3-5 CAA) scored the game's first touchdown, taking advantage of a Spider fumble on a punt return. Bronson Yoder ran in the score from 13-yards out and the Tribe converted the two-point conversion on a trick play for the 8-0 lead.

The Spiders answered back as freshman Jake Larson (Baltimore, Md.) hit a 39-yard field goal to make it an 8-3 contest. Richmond got the ball back with 2:03 remaining in the first half after the Tribe mishandled a snap on a field goal and marched 87 yards on 10 plays taking a 10-8 lead right before halftime. Mancuso connected with Smith on a 36-yard pass on the drive's big play before hitting Fessler on a 17-yard scoring pass with four seconds left in the half.

The defenses stepped up in the third quarter and kept the offenses at check. The Spiders forced a 3-and-out late in the third quarter and punter George Eberle has his kick blocked by Williams. The ball went out the back of the end zone for a safety and a 12-8 lead. The Spiders would take the ensuing drive off the free kick and Larson converted a 45-yard field goal extending the lead to 15-8 with 14:54 remaining.

The Spider defense came up with a big play at the 9:05 mark as Wheeler stripped Yoder on the Richmond 12-yard line and redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Kobie Turner (Clifton, Va.) recovered the ball, preserving the Spiders' lead. The momentum was short-lived though as Mancuso was sacked by Jones on the third play of the drive and he fumbled the ball that was recovered by Darius Fullwood at the three-yard line before rumbling in for the game-tying score.

Richmond came close to retaking the lead on the next possession as Fuller got behind the Tribe defense but wasn't able to haul in Mancuso's pass that would have been a go-ahead touchdown. The Tribe was stopped on its final possession of regulation as Jones sacked quarterback Hollis Mathis at midfield ended any chance of a William & Mary score.

The Spiders got the ball first in overtime and moved to the 15-yard line but were stropped by the Tribe. Larson's 32-yard attempted was blocked by Bill Murray, keeping the game tied. The Tribe won the game on their possession of overtime as Mathis connected with Zack Burdick on a 23-yard touchdown pass securing the win for William & Mary.

William & Mary linebacker Isaiah Jones was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the 2019 Capital Cup. Jones finished with nine tackles, 4.0 for loss, 2.0 sacks and one forced fumble.

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