Oct. 13, 2001

Final Stats

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Sophomore Shane Laisle kicked a 38-yard field goal with 7:28 to play Saturday and David Jamison rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns to lift No. 4 Rhode Island to a 34-31 comeback win over visiting William & Mary.

The Rams rallied from a 31-17 halftime deficit to run their record to 6-0 (4-0 in the Atlantic 10), their best record in 103 years of football. They finished 5-0 in 1898 and started out 5-0 in 1957.

The Ram defense surrendered 31 points in the first half, then shut out William & Mary's shotgun attack in the second. It was Rhode Island's first win over the Tribe (3-3, 2-2) in seven all-time meetings.

Laisle's clutch field goal gave the Rams their first lead of the day, and the defense made it stand up by stopping William & Mary cold on third-and-one and again on fourth-and-one at midfield with 3:35 remaining. Sophomore tackle Eric Gray made the first big stop, and Keith Heinemann and Kareem Hinckson combined on the second.

William & Mary built its 14-point halftime lead on David Corley's 1-yard touchdown pass to Corey Paxton and scoring runs of 1, 2 and 13 yards by Jonathan Smith. Meanwhile Jamison scored on 4- and 13-yard runs for the Rams.

But Corley, who completed 14 passes for 225 yards in the first half, attempted only seven passes and gained just 49 yards in the second as Rhode Island shut off his passing lanes. Wideout Rich Musinski, who shredded the Ram secondary for four catches and 146 yards in the first half, didn't make a single catch after intermission.

Ram quarterback Vince Nedimyer replaced Corley and Musinski in the spotlight, tying the game on a 5-yard touchdown run and a 69-yard scoring pass to Wendall Williams on back-to-back drives in the third quarter. Nedimyer completed 10 of 12 passes on the day for 209 yards.

The winning field goal capped a six-minute, 13-play drive that began after the Rams intercepted Corley for the third time three plays into the final period. Senior cornerback Chuck Wesley made the pick at the Ram 25 and returned it 25 yards to midfield.