Tribe smothers Towson, climbs to 8-1

WILLIAMSBURG - Strong safety David Caldwell was a starter on the 2007 defense that surrendered a school-record 427 points at William and Mary.

So you'd better believe the senior is eager to be part of the defense that has a chance to give up the fewest.

The Tribe warmed up for its two-game closing that will determine its place in the Colonial Athletic Association and the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs with a 31-0 shutout of visiting Towson yesterday.

Fifth-ranked William and Mary (5-1, 8-1) almost certainly has done enough to make the 16-team playoff field. The question is: Where? The answer will be forthcoming after the Tribe faces No. 8 New Hampshire and No. 1 Richmond in the final two weeks.

"If you play in this league and you get eight wins, I don't see how they can keep you out of the playoffs," Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said. "We're certainly not content right now."

Said Caldwell: "We're in that big-time football now. All of our focus will be on New Hampshire. We know they present a great challenge."

Likewise for Tribe opponents because William and Mary is strong on both sides of the ball. The Tribe leads the CAA in total offense and defense.

William and Mary's high-scoring offense wasn't particularly sharp yesterday - quarterback R.J. Archer was sacked five times, overthrow some balls and had several balls dropped - but it didn't have to be because of the defense.

Towson breached midfield just twice. The second time came in the fourth quarter, when the Tigers advanced to the Tribe 9. That threat was extinguished when Terrell Wells picked off Tommy Chroniger's pass at the 5-yard line.

Towson managed just 72 rushing yards against the nation's top rushing defense (61.6 yards per game). The shutout was William and Mary first in 49 games (Liberty in 2005), second in 98 games and third in 131 games.

"I think it's pretty close [to being a complete effort]," linebacker Wes Steinman said. "There's still a few instances where we might have been out of position or we didn't execute 100 percent. It's definitely a step in the right direction.

"Going into the two biggest games of the year, we're where we need to be. We've just got to keep improving."

William and Mary is allowing just 13.6 points per game. The 1976 outfit allowed 13.5.

Caldwell, Adrian Tracy, Sean Lissemore, Robert Livingston and C.J. Herbert - all seniors - were starters two years ago when the Tribe coughed up 38.8 points per game.

"We were definitely tired of being the weak part of the team," Caldwell said. "It was always, 'William and Mary's offense is good, but their defense is such and such.'

"I've never had [a shutout] on any level of football. It was something we were really going for."

Notes

Starting left guard Chris Sutton was taken to the hospital with a leg injury. Laycock did not have an update on Sutton's status after the game . . . William and Mary has won at least eight games under Laycock 10 times since he took over in 1980. . . . Laycock is three wins (197-139-2) from 200.

Towson ------------------------- 0 0 0 00
William and Mary ------------------------- 3 14 7 7-31
First Quarter

WM-FG Pate 39, 9:02.
Second Quarter

WM-Archer 8 run (Pate kick), 10:29.

WM-Grimes 2 run (Pate kick), 3:13.
Third Quarter

WM-E.Robertson 25 pass from Archer (Pate kick), 4:16.
Fourth Quarter

WM-Marriner 2 run (Pate kick), 1:01.

A-8,037.
 Tow

W&M
First downs-------------------------11

22
Return yards------------------------- 3

29
Punts-Avg.-------------------------6-40.7

6-32.7
Rushes-yards-------------------------29-72

42-147
Passing yards-------------------------129

249
Comp-Att-Int-------------------------15-29-2

17-30-0
Fumbles-lost-------------------------1-1

0-0
Penalties-yards-------------------------3-30

5-40
Time of possession-------------------------27:38

32:22
RUSHING

Towson (29-72) , Dameron 11-49, Booker 7-9, Newsom 1-7, Moore 1-5, Blake 1-3, T.Chroniger 8-(minus 1). W&M (42-147) , Grimes 21-91, Marriner 9-65, Riggins 3-5, Archer 9-(minus 14).
PASSING

Towson (15-29-2-129) , Jayne 9-16-0-86, T.Chroniger 6-12-2-43, Peterson 0-1-0-0. W&M (17-30-0-249) , Archer 14-26-0-206, Schmand 3-4-0-43.
RECEIVING

Towson , Moore 4-54, Dameron 3-2, Stefanik 2-11, Booker 1-17, Banks 1-15, Ryan 1-10, Godlasky 1-9, Blake 1-7, Newsom 1-4. W&M , Varno 4-70, C.Hill 4-48, Grimes 3-11, Dohse 2-52, E.Robertson 2-48, Conyers 1-12, Marriner 1-8.