VILLANOVA, Pa. — After giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half, William & Mary couldn’t quite come back.
The Tribe failed to make up a two-touchdown deficit late in the fourth quarter and fell 31-24 Saturday afternoon at Villanova, the Football Championship Subdivision’s 20th-ranked team according to the Stats poll.
After quarterback Tyler Hughes narrowed the margin to seven points with a 1-yard touchdown run with 4:38 remaining, W&M (2-3, 1-1 Coastal Athletic Association) reclaimed possession following a missed 36-yard field goal by Villanova’s Jack Barnum with 1:05 left. The Tribe drove to midfield, but time expired on a sack to extend the Wildcats’ home winning streak to 18 games.
W&M led 17-14 at halftime, but Villanova (2-2, 1-1) rang up 17 consecutive points before Hughes’ late score. Villanova’s Ja’briel Mace opened the third quarter with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and David Avit’s third rushing touchdown of the afternoon early in the fourth quarter completed the Wildcats’ scoring.
Villanova, which had lost in its last two meetings against the Tribe, scored first on a 1-yard touchdown run by Avit midway through the first quarter before W&M answered with a 10-yard scoring pass from Hughes to Tariq Sims and a 1-yard score by Hughes.
A 37-yard field goal by Keegan Shackford late in the second quarter gave W&M a halftime lead.
In addition to accounting for three touchdowns – two running and one passing – Hughes threw for 233 yards and rushed for a team-high 63 yards on 18 carries.
Three W&M wide receivers recorded at least 50 receiving yards – Isaiah Lemmond (four catches for 67 yards), Joseph Johnson (three for 60) and Deven Thompson (three for 50).
Linebacker Luke Banbury and safety David Roulley led W&M with eight tackles apiece,
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