(Photo by Rob Ostermaier of the Daily Press, 2010)
By: Luca Gomez
The Tribe is on a three-game winning streak; they’ve been blowing out opponents and winning in clutch moments. For a team that started 2–3 with a lot of issues, the team has had a more focused and polished look since then, winning 5 of their last 6. Unfortunately, the Tribe has 2 conference losses, with Rhode Island having 0 with one game left, eliminating the Tribe from CAA Champion title contention; however, they have something big to play for this weekend. The Capital Cup, known as “the South’s oldest rivalry,” kicks off Saturday at 1 p.m. with the Richmond Spiders (6–5) making a visit to William and Mary (7–4) for the 136th match in series history. How may the Tribe get ahead on Saturday? Here are some areas to watch:
Matchup #1: Most Favorable for the Tribe
W&M LB Luke Banbury vs. UofR Run Game
Senior William & Mary linebacker Luke Banbury has been the core of this defense all season. He so far has racked up a whopping 121 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and a fumble recovery. The Spider run game is the principal attack of their offense, leaving a lot of opportunities for the second level of our defense to make plays. Their lead back, junior Aziz Foster Powell, has 558 yards on 116 attempts and 4 touchdowns. With a team rushing average of 4.2 yards per attempt, Banbury will have his work cut out for him, but his growth over the season has been a huge part of the improvement of the Tribe run defense.
Matchup #2: Area Primed to Improve for the Tribe
W&M Third Down Offense vs. UofR Defense
When the team is on a 3-game winning streak and winning 5 of their last 6 games, it’s hard to find something to complain about. One area that could give the Tribe some issues is its 3rd-down offense. Richmond has one of the better defenses in their conference, allowing only 22.8 points per game. The Tribe has had one of the more efficient offenses in recent years, and they’re lethal when on schedule, but getting the Tribe into third-down situations has been the key for defenses. The Tribe converts 43% of their 3rd downs, which isn’t terrible by any means, but it’s been the game situations for the 3rd-down failures. In 3 of their losses (the fourth being when we played 19th-nationally-ranked Virginia) the offense had multiple opportunities in the 4th quarter to win or tie games, and drives stalled out in the red zone, or they opted to settle for a field goal. It’s been better lately, but struggles on 3rd down are what forced the Tribe to need to come back from 10 down and win in overtime against Campbell, and the struggles cannot be afforded against the Spiders.
Matchup #3: Dawg v. Dawg Matchup
W&M Offensive Line vs. UofR Defensive Line
The trenches will be where some of the greatest action happens on Saturday. William and Mary has only allowed 21 sacks all season, including only 4 over the last 4 games. The Tribe’s blocking has been a strong suit for a while, with multiple former W&M linemen currently in the NFL. This year’s line, made up of tackles Greg Klingensmith and Kamron Frye, guards Hayden Raley and Kadin Lynch, and anchored by the CAA award-winning center Ryan McKenna, has held strong. The Spiders, on the other hand, have one of the best pass-rush duos in the Patriot League with defensive ends Donovan Hoilette and Camden Byrd. They’ve combined for 16 sacks, with them having 8.5 and 7.5 respectively. The battles between these two lines on Saturday are not ones to miss.
Photos courtesy of Tribe Athletics
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