ODU tops W&M 35-31, ends first CAA season at 9-2

WILLIAMSBURG

Playing on one good ankle, Eriq Lewis came up with the two biggest plays of his young career.

Lewis, who missed the last three games because of a high ankle sprain, intercepted two passes by William and Mary quarterback Brent Caprio in the final two minutes as Old Dominion defeated the Tribe 35-31.

The Saturday afternoon game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 12,259 at Zable Stadium.

Lewis, a redshirt freshman, was asked 10 days prior if he thought he would play in the regular-season finale against a Tribe team the Monarchs desperately wanted to beat. He shook his head, saying, "I hope we win and I have a couple of extra weeks to get better."

ODU trainer Marty Bradley had other ideas.

"Miracles do happen," Bradley said at the time.

They must, because at 9-2 and ranked No. 11 in the country coming in, ODU is pretty much guaranteed an at-large berth in the upcoming 20-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in only its third year of football.

The playoffs begin Nov. 26. ODU coach Bobby Wilder, however, said he doesn't expect to be playing on that day.

"We are a top-12 team, and I believe we deserve a bye," Wilder said. "Our body of work is very strong."

That would put the Monarchs (6-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association) in a second-round game, probably at home. ODU athletic director Dr. Wood Selig said before Saturday's game that the Monarchs had presented what he believes is a "very strong" financial bid to host playoff games in the first three rounds.

The Monarchs must wait, with all others, to hear their fate when the selections are announced Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. on ESPNU.

Lewis said his right ankle, which he injured against Towson on Oct. 15, was "about 85 percent. But the other ankle is 100 percent, and I jumped off the good ankle on both of those plays."

In a seesaw battle in which the Monarchs had gobs of trouble tackling Tribe senior tailback Jonathan Grimes, this game came down to an expiring clock that didn't play to William and Mary's grind-it-out approach.

For the first 51 minutes, it was Grimes' day. He ran a school-record 38 times for a career-high 227 yards. He scored three touchdowns, on runs of 25, 5 and 2 yards, and spent most of the day just plain barreling over ODU defenders.

"No doubt we were frustrated," defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron said. "They were committed to the run today, and he's a complete back. We had to be relentless and understand that at the end of the day, it's a 60-minute battle."

The game turned with 8:01 left when Grimes dropped a swing pass from Caprio that likely would have given the Tribe a first down inside the ODU 15.

After the Tribe was called for a 5-yard illegal formation penalty, Caprio took off scrambling on the next play but was stopped 2 yards short of a first down at the ODU 14 by Neal-Anthony Hale, a walk-on, true freshman forced into action by a slew of ODU injuries.

"That's how beat up we are right now," Wilder said. "It's every man in, and we're in a situation where we are playing (third-stringers). And a true freshman walk-on from Maury High in Norfolk who has been seeing action on kickoff team ends up making a big play."

The Tribe settled for a 31-yard field goal by Drake Kuhn, and for the first time in the second half the Monarchs weren't looking to match William and Mary. Instead, they were looking to take a lead.

It took them all of 10 plays. The last play of the drive encapsulated the seasons both squads have had.

On third-and-1 from the Tribe 7, ODU true freshman quarterback Taylor Heinicke saw the Tribe go to a specific defensive set and called an audible. Heinicke pitched out to Angus Harper in the right flat, and Harper broke a shoulder-high tackle by senior linebacker Jake Trantin. Once free, Harper scooted into the end zone, and the Monarchs had a 35-31 lead with 2:48 to play.

Heinicke said offensive coordinator Brian Scott had pointed out the defensive set on film "and told me I better call an audible if I saw it or he'd call a timeout."

Of course, it only added to the moment. The game was already on the line, and the Monarchs were driving toward the south end zone, where William and Mary's student body sits.

With an expiring clock, William and Mary was forced to throw rather than count on Grimes. And Lewis was just healthy enough to make some plays.

With the Tribe at the ODU 33 with 1:50 left, Lewis leaped high along the right sideline to pick off a pass intended for Alex Gottlieb.

ODU went nowhere on three plays and had to punt the ball back to the Tribe. This time, William and Mary got to the ODU 37 with 30 seconds remaining. And this time Lewis picked off a pass up the left sideline intended for D.J. Mangus on a wheel route.

"I think Eriq is an all-conference cornerback," Wilder said. "Unfortunately, he hasn't played enough games because of the injury to build up the kinds of numbers you need to be considered."

He played enough Saturday, however, to make a difference.

Rich Radford, (757) 446-2463, rich.radford@pilotonline.com