William & Mary’s late stops protect Lipinski’s winning field goal

North Carolina Central gained nearly twice William & Mary’s yardage Saturday, but the Tribe stopped its last fourth-down attempt and held on for a 17–14 road win. Max Lipinski’s 41-yard field goal with 12:13 remaining supplied the final points.

NCCU still had two chances to answer. Riley Daniels missed a 32-yard field goal with 6:56 left, his second missed attempt of the afternoon. The Tribe then used Jah’Kei Chavis’s running to gain three first downs before punting the Eagles back to their own five with 1:55 remaining.

NCCU advanced to its 35, but three incomplete passes left it facing fourth-and-ten. Cobey Thompkins gained only two yards on his run before Stephon Hicks and Nathaniel McDonald stopped him. William & Mary took over with 56 seconds remaining and ended the game with three kneel-downs.

The Tribe had led almost from the start. Ryan Vail blocked a first-quarter punt, and Jack Reuter recovered the ball at the NCCU ten and returned it for a touchdown with 13:36 left. Joshua Jones’s one-yard touchdown run tied the game in the second quarter.

Winston Watkins restored William & Mary’s lead with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Alfred Honesty at 7:40 of the third, finishing an eight-play, 64-yard drive. NCCU answered quickly: Thompkins ran 69 yards for a touchdown to tie it again at 14–14.

Lipinski’s fourth-quarter kick broke that tie. The Tribe’s defense made it stand despite NCCU’s 439–221 edge in total offense and 282–115 advantage in rushing yards. The Eagles failed on all three fourth-down attempts.

Chavis led William & Mary with 70 rushing yards on 13 carries. Honesty caught three passes for 68 yards, while Watkins completed seven of 19 passes for 106 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

William & Mary improved to 3–4. Its blocked-punt touchdown established the early lead, and its final fourth-down stop kept the winning field goal from being overtaken.