William & Mary Tribe NCAA Football News

It's been William and Mary 's mantra all season, uttered by players so often that one has to wonder if they're getting paid by the phrase.

William and Mary freshman cornerback B.W. Webb, a Warwick High graduate, is the CAA defensive rookie of the year and five of his teammates were named first-team All-CAA. Webb, who also made second team All-CAA and made the third team as a punt returner, had a league-high five interceptions, which was 14th in FCS.

It wasn't the smoothest announcement, but it was what William and Mary's football program waited five years to hear.

If you ever doubted the old adage that little things mean a lot, just ask the football teams from the University of Richmond and William & Mary.

UPDATE: Richmond and the Tribe are continuing a defensive battle. The team's have traded punts in the third quarter and the Spiders have the ball at their own 21-yard line with 5:57 to go in the third quarter.

He's soft-spoken, almost shy, an unassuming young guy with a flat top and a smile.

AP photo Three UNH defenders, including cornerback Dino Vasso , chase William & Mary running back Jonathan Grimes during last week's 20-17 loss to the Tribe.

The invitation is open-ended. Anytime Courtland Marriner feels the urge to put on a pair of spikes again, there's a spot waiting for him on the William and Mary track team.

William and Mary senior defenisve end Adrian Tracy entered this season with preseason buzz and accolades galore, and he's done plenty to live up to the hype.

A year ago, the only consistency in Jonathan Plisco's punting was the lack of it.

It's been a year, but the memory still lingers. On Nov. 22, 2008, Richmond beat William and Mary 23-20 in overtime on Andrew Howard's 37-yard field goal in the final game of the regular season.

In 2007 it was ground-breaking when New Hampshire got an at-large bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs with four losses.

The last time William and Mary 's football team was 9-1, Ruth Laycock was pregnant with her oldest son.

R.J. Archer ran for a first down on a third-and-seven play, then completed an 18-yard pass to get the Tribe into scoring position.

Brian Pate kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2:54 left to lift William & Mary to a 20-17 win over New Hampshire on Saturday.

It's never easy when a team has to travel as far as Virginia to play a conference football game that has serious implications.

Today, in a showdown in Williamsburg, Va., , the Wildcats will step it up in their level of competition and try to keep rolling against No.

For a football team that's lost just once in nine games, owns a Division I FBS win and is in a four-way dead heat to grab a CAA title, the University of New Hampshire freely acknowledges feeling like a second-class citizen this week.

William and Mary 's defense has no shortage of national accolades this season. Among other superlatives, the Tribe ranks third in yards allowed per game , second in rushing defense and third in scoring defense .

R.J. Archer will never approach William and Mary 's career passing records. But the owner of those marks believes Archer can secure what he could not: NFL employment.