Decker's effort not enough for UNH
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Kevin Decker set career highs in pass completions, pass attempts and passing yards, but the sixth-ranked University of New Hampshire football team saw its four-game winning streak snapped with a 24-10 setback against No. 15 William & Mary at Zable Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Tribe improved to 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association, by posting its ninth straight win over the Wildcats, who fell to 4-2, 2-1 in the CAA.
Decker went 34 of 50 for 422 yards and a touchdown but was sacked six times, including five by Marcus Hyde, and intercepted twice by an opportunistic Tribe defense that forced four turnovers.
New Hampshire outgained William & Mary, 517 yards to 429 yards.
Joey Orlando reeled in eight catches for 132 yards, and Mickey Mangieri also tallied eight receptions, a career high, for 100 yards.
Chris Beranger posted a game-high 16 tackles, seven unassisted, and Matt Evans chipped in with 13 stops.
Jonathan Grimes compiled 323 all-purpose yards in the winning cause for the Tribe and, in the process, set the William & Mary all-time rushing record. Grimes carried 28 times for 169 yards and accumulated a career-high 126 receiving yards on three receptions - two of them for touchdowns.
The lead was short-lived, as on the second play of the next drive, quarterback Brent Caprio (7-for-11, 167 yards, 2 TD, INT) dumped off to Grimes, who shed a few tackles and then raced for a 72-yard touchdown, putting the Tribe in front, 7-3, with 1:35 left before the intermission.
Moving into their hurry-up offense, the Wildcats responded immediately by marching 90 yards on eight plays in just 1:27, reclaiming the lead, 10-7, with eight seconds left in the half when R.J. Harris (two catches for 23 yards, TD) out-leaped a defender in the left corner of the end zone for a 15-yard scoring reception from Decker.
Grimes struck again on the Tribe's opening possession of the second half, collecting a pass from Caprio and dashing 50 yards for the go-ahead score with 8:57 left in the third quarter, staking the home team to a 14-10 advantage.
William & Mary's third home-run scoring play came on running back Keith McBride's career-high 50-yard scoring rush with 12:42 left in the game, building the lead to 21-10. McBride finished the afternoon with nine rushes for 68 yards.
Drake Kuhn's 45-yard field goal with 6:06 remaining represented the game's final points.
The teams exchanged turnovers on their respective first possessions. The Tribe's opening drive was halted when Alan Buzbee intercepted Caprio's pass at the UNH 11, returning it 15 yards to the 25. William & Mary returned the favor, forcing a turnover at its own 27 when Jabrel Mines ripped the ball away from Dontra Peters following a pass reception.
The Wildcats had another opportunity to strike first go by the boards when MacArthur's 27-yard field goal try went wide left with 1:24 remaining in the first quarter. It was his first missed field goal (eighth attempt) this season.
New Hampshire threatened on its next possession, advancing to the Tribe 22 before Decker was sacked on 4th-and-3. However, William & Mary's subsequent drive was squashed courtesy of a fumble by Caprio that was recovered by true freshman Shane McNeely at the Wildcats' 37 midway through the second quarter.
