WILLIAMSBURG – Longtime William & Mary coach Jimmye Laycock couldn’t help but admit it.
He said was impressed with a particular throw JMU quarterback Bryan Schor made in the first quarter. After being forced to his right, the senior signal-caller fired a strike down the sideline and connected with senior receiver Ishmael Hyman for 37 yards.
“I mean I even kind of liked that play,” Laycock said with a painful chuckle postgame. “He did it against us, but you appreciate how good that was. That was really good. We’re playing really hard and it’s a great play.”
The throw came on a third-and-10 helping the Dukes move the chains and setup the eventual opening touchdown.
“And I thought we did a pretty good job against Schor and getting pressure on him and trying to contain him,” Laycock said. “But you got to give him his due too.
“Early in that ball game, he made a play that was just unbelievable when he got flushed out of the pocket and made that throw.”
Schor was up and down throughout JMU’s 46-14 romp of the Tribe. The low-point came on a throw he tried to make on the run while attempting to hit senior receiver John Miller in the end zone, but the ball was picked off by William & Mary’s Mike Barta.
Schor finished 13-of-24 for 186 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a touchdown.
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- Saturday win for JMU was its first in Williamsburg since 2011. It also secured the 28th winning season in program history.
- The Dukes have won 19 straight games overall, which is the nation’s longest-active winning streak in Division I. It was also the team’s 20th straight win over an FCS opponent and its 14th straight win in Colonial Athletic Association play – the conference record for consecutive wins was set by UMass (15 straight from 1965-67).
- Schor’s touchdown pass to freshman tight end Clayton Cheatham was the 51st touchdown pass of his career, tying him with Vad Lee and Justin Rascati for the program record.
- For the second straight week, JMU recorded six sacks. The defense has combined to produce 12 sacks and nine turnovers in the Dukes’ last two wins.
- JMU coach Mike Houston said the biggest difference with the team’s ability to force pressure this season is that entire unit is “on the same page.” He added that when a coach can take talented players and get them to do the right thing, then those players will be productive. The six sacks on Saturday gave JMU 24 sacks for the year (seven games), which is as many as it had all of last season (15 games).
- Houston said the defensive line has benefited “fundamentally” from a year and a half working with position coach Jeff Hanson.
- Senior defensive end Andrew Ankrah had a sack in the first quarter, marking Ankrah’s third consecutive game with at least one sack. Ankrah now sits seventh in program history for sacks with 22.5 sacks for his career.
- Junior cornerback Jimmy Moreland’s 38-yard interception return for a touchdown gave JMU its third straight game with a defensive touchdown. Ankrah had a scoop-and-score on Sept. 30 at Delaware and senior linebacker Brandon Hereford had an interception for a touchdown return last Saturday against Villanova.
