WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Blue Hens had opportunities.
They were left, instead, with regrets.
Delaware seemed poised to overcome a dreadful first half and 17-point third-quarter deficit Saturday at Zable Stadium.
But a turnover and foiled chances left previously unbeaten Delaware a 27-21 loser to William & Mary in a battle of FCS Top 25 teams in front of 12,506 on the Tribe’s Homecoming Day.
“We didn’t play as clean as we needed to to beat a really good team on the road,” Delaware coach Ryan Carty said.
GAME STATS: William & Mary 27, Delaware 21
The game ended with No. 6-ranked Delaware desperately lateraling the football numerous times after a short completion from the William & Mary 34 before the Tribe recovered a loose ball. Ethan Chang’s 41-yard field goal with 1:45 left gave the Tribe its six-point margin but also meant the Blue Hens still had a chance to win, which appeared quite improbable earlier.
Several minutes before that, Justis Henley had blocked Chang’s 49-yard attempt but Delaware was then stopped on downs at its own 43-yard line.
Having cut a 24-7 William & Mary lead to 24-21 in the third quarter, Delaware’s best chance to go ahead actually came earlier in the fourth period.
But a 33-yard TD scamper by Marcus Yarns off a direct snap was erased by an offensive face-mask penalty. Then, on third-and-6 at the 9, the ball got loose on a low snap and William & Mary recovered.
Delaware quarterback Nolan Henderson, who had reached for the ball while on the ground with defenders piling in, was hurt on the play. Henderson had 20- and 23-yard runs on that series. He did return.
“It was a big play and he knew he had to go dive on that ball,” said Carty, who added Delaware would have tried a game-tying field goal on fourth down. “Two bad things happened. We didn’t get the ball and Nolan got hurt a little bit so hopefully he’s OK.”
Henderson was 21-for-35 passing for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 16-ranked William & Mary outgained Delaware 423-331 in total yards with Bronson Yoder rushing for 114 yards on 20 carries. The Tribe had 266 ground yards.
HARVIN SHOWS HE BELONGS:UD receiver was overlooked, spurned as a recruit
It was Delaware’s first game here since 2016 and the Blue Hens (5-1 overall, 3-1 CAA) havenow lost in five of their last six visits. William & Mary improved to 5-1, 2-1.
Delaware has its open date next Saturday before resuming action with an Oct. 22 Homecoming game versus nonconference visitor Morgan State. The Bears (2-3) lost to MEAC rival Norfolk State 24-21 Saturday.
The CAA slate resumes the following week with a difficult trip to Elon (5-1, 3-0), a 27-10 winner over Towson Saturday.
“Momentum was going their way for a while,” Carty said. “We just kept continuing to fight, positive vibes on the sidelines. I think those things are good, and a good sign of who we think we are and who we want to be. But, obviously, the outcome isn’t what we wanted so we have to clean some things up.”
William & Mary went ahead 24-7 with 10:11 left in the third quarter on quarterback Darius Wilson’s 1-yard keeper after the Tribe recovered Zane Lewis’ fumbled punt at the 23.
But the Blue Hens, who’d gained just 75 first-half yards, scored on their next two possessions, Henderson passing 4 yards to Jourdan Townsend and 3 yards to Chandler Harvin for touchdowns. After a missed extra-point kick on the first, Henderson passed to Townsend for two points on the second as the Hens got within 24-21 with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
COLONIAL RULE:Delaware games at Wm. & Mary fraught with danger
“I do know that was a good football team and we played really well tonight,” William & Mary coach Mike London said.
Delaware was three-and-out on its first four possessions Saturday, certainly a concern for the Blue Hens, who had two total yards through that stretch.
They were then boosted by a timely takeaway, as Drew Nickles picked off Wilson’s third-and-13 pass from the Tribe 30. On Delaware’s first subsequent play, Henderson ran left and flipped the football back to Cumby, sprinting to his right. He went 38 yards for a touchdown as Delaware tied it 7-7 with 10:14 left in the second quarter.
Delaware did reach the Tribe 39 on its next series, electing to punt. But that was sandwiched by two William & Mary scoring possessions, the second of which demonstrated the hosts’ superiority.
The Hens did first limit Chang to a 44-yard field goal that put William & Mary back up 10-7. But after Ben Dinkel’s punt put William & Mary back at its 9-yard line, it promptly marched 91 yards on 12 plays to take a 17-7 lead 22 second before halftime.
What made it so alarming was that William & Mary gained all that yardage on the ground, with six runs of 7 yards or longer, before running back Malachi Ihoh threw 13 yards to tight end Lachlan Pitts for the touchdown.
William & Mary had gone ahead 7-0 on Bronson Yoder’s 4-yard run early in the second quarter after Delaware had thwarted Chang’s 39-yard field-goal try — Justis Henley nearly blocking it — on the Tribe’s second possession.
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com.
