ORONO, Maine – The William & Mary football team's resiliency was on display once again at Maine on Saturday afternoon, as it scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns in an unrelenting comeback bid but fell to the Black Bears, 34-25, on Saturday afternoon.
 
Although the Tribe (2-6, 0-4) trailed 31-12 in the fourth quarter, W&M charged back with a pair of touchdown runs by freshman quarterback Hollis Mathis to narrow the margin to just six, 31-25, with 6:59 remaining.
 
Maine (3-5, 1-3) answered, however, with a 24-yard field goal by Kenny Doak with 1:00 remaining, and W&M was unable to pick up a first down on its final possession.
 
The late comeback began when Mathis punctuated an 8-play, 55-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run with 10:25 remaining.
 
After Kevin Jarrell recovered the ensuing onside kick by Kris Hooper, Mathis found the end zone again with a 7-yard run with 6:59 showing.
 
The Tribe got off to an impressive start to the contest with a touchdown on the game's opening drive, as Mathis scored on a 6-yard scamper.
 
Although Maine answered with a touchdown early in the second quarter, W&M regained the lead with a 3-yard touchdown run by Bronson Yoder with 9:57 left in the stanza. However, UM responded with 24 unanswered points before W&M mounted its comeback bid.
 
 
Tribe Standouts
In addition to his three touchdown runs, Mathis rushed for 52 yards. Owen Wright also came up big on the ground and rushed for 73 yards on 13 carries.
 
Wideout Zach Burdick posted four catches for 68 yards.
 
Defensively, Will Kiely totaled a team-high eight tackles with a career-high 4.0 TFL, while Carl Fowler added six stops with 1.5 TFL.
 
In addition to the successful onside kick by Hooper and Jarrell, Corey Parker provided a highlight on special teams when he blocked a punt late in the second quarter.
 
Inside the Numbers
Although W&M outgained Maine on the ground, 226-164, and posted more first downs (19-17), the Black Bears owned a 275-68 advantage through the air and outgained the Tribe, 439-294.
 
W&M was penalized just three times for 24 yards, compared to UM's nine penalties for 67 yards, but lost the turnover battle (2-0).
 
W&M scored touchdowns on all four of its trips into the red zone.
                   
The Opposition
Quarterback Joe Fagnano completed 15 of 22 passes for 249 yards with two touchdowns, while Jaquan Blair recorded four catches for 115 yards with two scores.
 
Earnest Edwards also came up big for UM with four receptions for 92 yards with a touchdown, and he threw a 19-yard touchdown strike to Blair.
 
Defensively, Kayon Whitaker totaled 11 tackles with 4.0 TFL, a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery.
 
Notes
Despite the loss, W&M controls the all-time series with Maine, 8-7 … W&M has scored touchdowns on 11 of its last 13 trips into the red zone … Kiely's 4.0 TFL are the most by a Tribe player this season … W&M's 226 rushing yards marked the third time this season that the Tribe has eclipsed the 200-yard mark on the ground … The Tribe's 9.0 TFL marked its second-best effort of the season … W&M has now recovered a pair of onside kicks this season, as the first came at UAlbany … Parker's block was the team's second this season, but the first on a punt … Bill Murray blocked a field goal in the win against Lafayette.
 
Up Next
W&M will continue its conference slate when it travels to Elon next Saturday. The Tribe's next home game will be against Rhode Island on Nov. 9. Tickets for the W&M-URI game are available by clicking here or by calling the Tribe Ticket Office at 757-221-3340.