Archer, Tribe deal Delaware 30-20 defeat

WILLIAMSBURG -- They whole is impressive for William and Mary quarterback R.J. Archer. The half is almost unbelievable.

Archer, a former wide receiver in his first year starting at quarterback, continued to complete first-half passes with off-the-chart accuracy last night.

The senior connected on 15 of 21 passes -- including a school-record 91-yard TD pass to Chase Hill -- as fifth-ranked William and Mary jumped on Delaware and went on to a 30-20 Colonial Athletic Association victory before a sellout crowd of 12,259 at Zable Stadium.

With the Tribe (1-0, 4-0) off to its first 4-0 start since 1994, Archer is 50 for 62 (80.6 percent) for 673 yards and eight touchdowns in the first half.

He was at a little bit of a loss to explain it.

"I'm not really sure why, but it's good we're getting out to a quick start," said Archer, who finished 23 of 37 for 313 yards despite a sore knee.

For the season, Archer is 70 for 117 for 779 yards. He has eight TDs and two interceptions.

William and Mary coach Jimmye Laycock said Archer's quick starts are the result of understanding the offense, being on the same page with his receivers and getting good protection from the offensive line.

"He's being very efficient and very smart with the football," Laycock said.

Delaware (0-2, 2-2) came with the ninth-best scoring defense in Football Championship Subdivision (11 points per game). The Blue Hens had surrendered just three TDs before Archer and his receiving corps torched them while building a 17-7 first-half lead.

Backed up to the 9-yard-line on William and Mary's second possession, Archer faked a handoff, rolled right and found Hill crossing over the middle behind Highland Springs High redshirt freshman Marcus Burley, making his first start in place of injured cornerback Tyrone Grant (hamstring).

Hill gathered the ball over his shoulder and outran everybody for the record TD.

"That's the one he overthrew at U.Va., and he came back and made this one," Laycock said. "It shows you how he's improved. R.J. is getting better. He's learning."

Facing third and 3 at the Delaware 20 on the next possession, Archer, under pressure, stepped up in the pocket and found Hill near the sideline. He caught the ball at about the 15, shook off a tackler and scored to cap a seven-play, 77-yard drive.

Hill came into the game with two catches for 15 yards. The junior finished with six receptions for 148 yards.

Tribe running back Jonathan Grimes had 98 yards on 24 carries and scored two touchdowns in the second half.

William and Mary's defense, meanwhile, stuffed Delaware's running game and kept quarterback Pat Devlin under pressure until a few late drives.

The Tribe held the Blue Hens to minus-2 yards rushing. It marked only the second time in Delaware history the Hens finished with negative rushing yardage.

Devlin was 33 of 49 for 302 yards but was sacked five times, twice by end Adrian Tracy.

"The first thing we wanted to do was try to make them one-dimensional," Tracy said. "One of the big things going in . . . was how a lot of people thought they had a better front four. . . . We took it upon ourselves to kind of make this a statement game in that regard, so that we're not slouches."

Delaware ------------------------- 0 7 0 13--20
William & Mary ------------------------- 14 3 6 7--30
First Quarter

WM--C.Hill 91 pass from Archer (Pate kick), 7:19.

WM--C.Hill 20 pass from Archer (Pate kick), :52.
Second Quarter

WM--FG Pate 29, 1:45.

Del--Thaxton 30 pass from Devlin (Striefsky kick), :17.
Third Quarter

WM--Grimes 9 run (run failed), 10:03.
Fourth Quarter

Del--R.Jones 25 pass from Devlin (pass failed), 2:37.

WM--Grimes 4 run (Pate kick), 1:47.

Del--White 2 pass from Devlin (Striefsky kick), :31.

A--12,259.
 Del

W&M
First downs-------------------------18

22
Return yards------------------------- 9

24
Punts-Avg.-------------------------9-39.4

4-46.3
Rushes-yards-------------------------18-(-2)

42-145
Passing yards-------------------------302

313
Comp-Att-Int-------------------------33-49-0

23-37-0
Fumbles-lost-------------------------1-1

2-0
Penalties-yards-------------------------4-42

5-43
Time of possession-------------------------24:08

35:52
RUSHING

Delaware (18-(-2) , Hayes 5-8, Devlin 11-(minus 2), Thaxton 1-(minus 3), Butler 1-(minus 5). W&M (42-145) , Grimes 24-98, Marriner 7-27, Riggins 6-17, Archer 3-3, Team 2-0.
PASSING

Delaware (33-49-0--302) , Devlin 33-49-0-302. W&M (23-37-0--313) , Archer 23-37-0-313.
RECEIVING

Delaware , R.Jones 10-113, Crosby 8-63, Mackey 7-33, Thaxton 2-33, Hayes 2-25, Schenauer 2-23, Javier 1-10, White 1-2. W&M , C.Hill 6-148, Varno 5-40, Dohse 4-54, McAulay 4-33, Grimes 2-12, Marriner 1-17, Riggins 1-9.