University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
#25/24 William & Mary (Youth Day/Hall of Fame Weekend)
Blue Hens Knock Off #25 William & Mary 24-23 on Last Second Field Goal
10/3/2015 11:19:00 PM | Football
• Boxscore
NEWARK, Del. -- As far as exciting wins go, it will be hard to top this one.
The University of Delaware fought back from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit and knocked off No. 25 William & Mary Saturday as redshirt freshman kicker Frank Raggo nailed a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the game to give Delaware a hard-fought 24-23 victory.
After Tribe kicker Nick Dorka converted his third field goal of the game with 12:01 left to give William 
& Mary (2-2, 1-1 CAA) a 23-14 lead, Delaware stormed back, pulling to within 23-21 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Walker to wide receiver Tre Brown with 6:41 left, making a big defensive stop, and grinding the ball 43-yards on 12 plays for the winning score.
Walker and Brown, a pair of redshirt freshmen, each collected his first career touchdown as the duo capped an 88-yard drive that consumed 5:16. Another redshirt freshman, running back Thomas Jefferson (above right), carried eight times for 57 yards to spark the drive. Delaware faced a third-and-7 from the 11-yard line but Walker spotted Brown across the middle and rifled the scoring pass into the end zone.
William & Mary took over from there but the Hens defense rose to the ocassion, holding the Tribe to just seven yards and forcing them to punt. Delaware took possession at their own 45 and set up Raggo's game-winner thanks to the running of Jefferson and Kareem Williams.
Jefferson, coming off a 163-yard effort last week vs. North Carolina, surpassed the 100-yard plateau again as he ran 28 times for 174 yards. Williams picked up 106 yards on 23 carries and also scored a 
a first-half touchdown as Delaware had a pair of running back go over the 100-yard mark for the first time since 2011 vs. Delaware State.
Raggo, who had missed a 25-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, redeemed himself in a big way with the winning kick, Delaware's first game-winning field goal since 2013 when Sean Baner's 33-yard field goal on the final play clinched a win over CAA foe Albany.
"I had to wait almost an hour to kick again," said Raggo of the time between his miss and his game-winner. "But I had total confidence in myself and just went back to basics. This is one of the best experiences of my life."
Delaware piled up a season-high 418 total yards, including a season-high 347 on the ground against 
a William & Mary team that entered the game ranked first in the CAA and eighth in the country in rushing defense at 87.7 yards per game.
In addition to the running by Jefferson and Williams, Walker ran for another 63 yards and hit on 9 of 17 passes for 71 yards. Freshman receiver Jamie Jarmon (at right), who entered with just one catch all season, hauled in seven for 56 yards.
Defensively, Delaware held the Tribe to just 290 total yards, including just 122 on the ground. Kendell Anderson had his second straight 100-yard rushing effort with 101 yards on 23 carries but William & Mary played without injured starter Mikal Abdul-Saboor, who ran for 198 yards and two touchdowns vs. Delaware last season.
The Tribe entered the game ranked third in the CAA in rushing offense at 213.3 yards per game.
"We certainly hope we can build off this momentum," said Brock. "William & Mary is one of the best teams in this conference and we were excited for the challenge. I don't know if we can play any harder. This was an exciting game and we are thrilled with the result. I thought we played really good defense."
Delaware drove 74 yards in just over six minutes on the opening drive of the game to take a 7-0 lead as Williams scored around the left side with 8:52 left in the opening quarter. But the Tribe came back on the ensuing kickoff when DeVonte Dedmon ran 89 yards up the middle on the return to knot the score at 7-7.
However, the Hens took a 14-7 lead into halftime thanks to special teams play as Ryan Torzsa blocked a punt by William & Mary's Hunter Windmuller at the 33-yard line and freshman Que'Shawn Jenkins fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown with 27 seconds left in the opening quarter.
William & Mary dominated the third quarter and took a 23-14 lead into the final stanza as Dorka nailed a 30-yard field goal 4:23 into the half, Dedmon scored on a 57-yard catch a run from quarterback Steve Cluley with 4:56 left in the stanza, and Dorka struck again with a career-high 47-yarder with 1:17 remaining.
HEN SCRATCHINGS:
• Delaware, which snapped a two-game losing streak, continues CAA action next Saturday at Rhode Island
• Jenkins became the first Delaware freshman to post consecutive 100-yard rushing games since All-American Andrew Pierce in 2010
• The Hens knocked off their first Top 25 opponent since a 32-31 win over No. 7 Towson in 2013
• Delaware defeated the Tribe for the first time since 2012. William & Mary had won two straight and five of the last seven meetings, including a 31-17 victory last season in Williamsburg, Va.
• The Hens have scored in the first half in 76 of their last 77 games since 2009 and extended their Delaware Stadium scoring streak to 214 straight games since 2013
• Sophomore LB Charles Bell led the Hens in tackles for the second straight game as he recorded nine stops.
• Delaware had possession for 12:55 of the opening quarter and ended the game with a 41:12-18:48 advantage, its highest time of possession in a game since 1986 (41:45 vs. UMass)
• The Hens converted on 10 of 17 third downs while the Tribe was just 2 of 9
• Opponents are 7 for 7 against Delaware this season on field goal attempts over 40 yards
