Tribe last standing in heavyweight bout

Late field goal burns Dukes

Carolyn Walser / senior photographer Redshirt freshman tailback Antoinne Bolton turns upfield during JMU's 27-24 loss to the College of William & Mary Saturday. Tribe place kicker Greg Kuehn connected on a 46-yard field goal on the game's final play to win the game.

The math was simple. A win Saturday over the College of William & Mary would give the Dukes the Atlantic 10’s automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

William & Mary quarterback Lang Campbell had other plans.

Campbell engineered a 5-play, 43-yard drive in the game’s final 45 seconds. Place kicker Greg Kuehn connected on a 46-yard field goal as time expired as No. 10 William & Mary handed No. 4 JMU its first conference loss of the season Saturday 27-24 at Bridgeforth Stadium.

"The Atlantic 10 is tough," redshirt sophomore wide receiver D.D. Boxley said. "It’s hard to go through the A-10 undefeated. Any team can beat you."

Coach Mickey Matthews said, "It was a great pressure kick by their kid. It was into the wind — you have to give him credit."

JMU had tied the score at 24 on its previous possession on a 27-yard touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Justin Rascati to Boxley.

It appeared the game was heading for overtime.

"I was on the headset talking to coach Durden about what we were going to do in overtime," Rascati said. "It just didn’t happen."

The Rascati-to-Boxley touchdown nearly erased a mediocre performance by the JMU defense, which gave up 6.9 yards per play to the Tribe.

"We just played bad on defense," Matthews said. "When you tackle that poorly, you’re going to lose. It was like they had Heisman Trophy winners at running back and wide receiver."

Campbell was the beneficiary of the Dukes’ poor defensive showing, finishing the game 26 of 33 for 323 yards and two touchdown passes.

"We didn’t tackle well today," redshirt freshman free safety Tony LeZotte said. "We knew watching tape that he was a great quarterback, and he proved it today."

Tied at 17 apiece midway through the fourth quarter, the Dukes committed the game’s only turnover when Rascati fumbled the ball on a quarterback sneak. The mistake proved costly as Tribe running back Jon Smith scored from three yards out on the ensuing possession to give William & Mary a 24-17 lead.

"I thought that was the game," Matthews said. "You’re never supposed to stick the ball out in traffic."

The fumble was the lone big miscue for a JMU offense that was much more effective against William & Mary than it was against the University of Delaware Blue Hens last weekend. The Dukes amounted 425 total yards against the Tribe, 272 on which came on the ground.

Redshirt junior tailback Raymond Hines was the workhorse of that running game, carrying 36 times for 198 yards and a touchdown. The carries and yards were both career highs.

"Raymond’s a great back," Rascati said. "He runs with a lot of heart and confidence and he steps up to the challenge."

Hines said, "I was just trying to give my best effort and help my team."

The Dukes now find themselves in a three-way tie with the Tribe and the Blue Hens atop the A-10.

"It was tough," LeZotte said. "We worked hard to become outright champions and they took it away from us."

A Tribe win next weekend against the University of Richmond will give William & Mary the automatic bid. A Tribe loss coupled with a JMU win over Towson University will result in the Dukes getting the automatic invite.

Rascati said the Dukes will turn their focus to Towson and not dwell on William & Mary.

"We can’t hang our heads," Rascati said. "We have to bounce back and play hard next week and get a win. This is the most important part of the