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WILLIAMSBURG, VA. -- On their first ever trip to the East Coast, the Weber State Wildcats were dominated on both sides of the ball by the William & Mary Tribe, 38-0 in Williamsburg, Virginia Saturday afternoon in the first round of the FCS Division 1 playoffs.
Wildcat quarterback Cameron Higgins threw four interceptions, two of which were returned by William & Mary for touchdowns as the Tribe defense had their way with the Wildcats, holding them to only 161 yards of total offense.
The Wildcats had two scoring opportunities in the first quarter. Wildcat kicker Mike Snoy missed two field goals of 40-plus yards, sending one to the right and the other to the left; other than that the Wildcat offense was non existent.
With 9:05 in the second quarter, Higgins threw the first of his four interceptions which was returned by Jake Trantin 60 yards for a touchdown to give the Tribe the early 7-0 lead. All the momentum the Wildcats had built quickly evaporated the last 40 seconds of the first half.
The Tribe marched down the field with a 13 play, 72 yard drive, capping it off with a 27-yard field goal by kicker Brian Pate, to give them a 10-0 lead. Then with 12 seconds left until halftime, Wildcat quarterback Cameron Higgins threw his second pick of the half to redshirt freshman B.W. Webb. Webb took the interception 58 yards for a touchdown giving the Tribe a commanding 17-0 going into the half.
One of the trademarks of William & Mary football is that their defense gets stronger in the second half and the Tribe did just that, completely shutting down the Wildcats offense, holding them to minus-six yards rushing for the game.
The Tribe came out of the locker room and marched down the field 73 yards in 10 plays. The drive was capped off by a quarterback sneak by R.J. Archer from the one yard line as he put the Tribe up 24-0.
Another long drive taking 6 minutes and 29 seconds off the clock in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Tribe. R.J. Archer ran it in from six yards out to extend the lead to 31-0. Then off another Wildcat turnover the Tribe put the final nail in the coffin when Tribe running back Terrence Riggins went on a 23-yard scamper across the goal line to add another seven and make the score 38-0.
The Wildcats will say goodbye to 19 seniors and finish off another winning season at 7-5, 6-2 in the Big Sky Conference.
William & Mary will march on in the FCS Division 1 playoffs and will take on the winner between No. 3 ranked Southern Illinois and Eastern Illinois next Saturday.
