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Terps: 27 William & Mary: 14
My take on the game: By John F. Overall: Well the 2006 season is finally underway and although the Terps won and are 1-0 on the season I don’t think anyone can be too pleased with a 27-14 victory over a I-AA opponent. We can really look at this game in two ways, either the Terps are in a lot of trouble or this was a warm-up game to get the kinks out with one more coming before the big showdown in Morgantown with the Mountaineers. I prefer the latter. Game Highlights: By far the brightest spot for the Terps was the running game. In somewhat of a surprise Keon Lattimore got the start which he proved he deserved gaining 89 yards on 13 carries (6.8 yards per carry) and 1 touchdown. He looked like the quickest back that the Terps have had since Bruuuuuuuce Perry! Not to be outdone, Lance Ball ran for 86 yards and a touchdown on the day. If this continues the Terps will have a nice one-two punch in the backfield all year long. Also, things should just improve once the Terps get Jared “T-Rex” Gaither, who seems to be having some off-field issues, back on the field to get the offensive line back to full strength. Game Lowlights: The primary lowlight of the game came from the quarterback position. Sam Hollenbach had a decent game on the stat sheet completing 9 of 15 passes for 153 yards and zippy turnovers. Sammy definitely didn’t look completely comfortable back there and I’m pretty certain that against stiffer competition there could have been a couple of INT’s to add to the stat line. Jordan Steffy entered the game for one series late in the 2nd quarter and went 0-5 with one interception, enough said. A secondary low point of the game was the fact that of the D7Tailgaters that were in attendance only 3 out 6 actually made it into the game. I never thought that we’d see the day Mr. Bixler, Mr. Wevodau, and Mr. Leavitt (the one with more facial hair) didn’t make it in to the game and I did. Oh well, I can see how one would be more interested in the just introduced L-R-C dice game (see the Tailgate recap) and a cooler full of beer than the Terps playing against a I-AA opponent. Game MVP: There were a couple of solid candidates for MVP in this one…Wesley Jefferson 11 tackles (1 tackle for loss of 8yds), 1 sack…Lance Ball 15 carries, 86 yards, 1 touchdown. But I have to give the MVP to Keon Lattimore who looked explosive after intense off season training and shedding 20 lbs. with an average of 6.8 yards per carry and a touchdown. Congrats Keon on adding a D7 Tailgate Game MVP Award to the trophy case!
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