Rhody Meets No. 5/5 William and Mary at Home

Oct. 28, 2009

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KINGSTON, R.I. - The Rhode Island football team (1-6; 0-4 CAA) returns home to Meade Stadium on Saturday for its CAA matchup against No. 5/5 William and Mary (6-1; 3-1 CAA) Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Rhody enters Saturday's contest in the hopes of rebounding from its 36-7 loss at Villanova. In that game, junior quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne led the way offensively as he threw for 121 yards through the air and one touchdown. Paul-Etienne's touchdown pass was his fourth of the season.

Defensively, URI forced Villanova into three fumbles. This season, Rhody has forced its opponents into 15 fumbles. The 15 fumbles forced by the defensive unit ranks as the third highest mark for a single season in school history.

The URI school record for forced fumbles in a single season is 22, which was set back in 1995. This season, Rhody is averaging just over two forced fumbles per game (2.14).

Junior Steve Weedon forced two of those fumbles at Villanova. He also recorded a career-high 14 tackles (12 solo).

This week, Rhody takes on a William and Mary squad which enters Saturday's contest in the hopes of building on its best start to a season since 1998. William and Mary opened the year with four straight wins, including a 26-14 victory over Virginia (Sept. 5).

Its lone setback came at Villanova, which held a No. 2 ranking at the time. W&M is in the midst of two-game winning streak with wins over at Northeastern and at home against James Madison. The Tribe leads the CAA in total offense (386.3) and total defense (255.3).

Individually, All-American Adrian Tracy leads the Tribe defensive unit. In four league games, Tracy has recorded seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Offensively for the Tribe, running back Jonathan Grimes is the league's leading rusher, averaging 91.6 yards per game.

In addition to the game, the URI athletics department will honor the 25th anniversary of the 1984 team at halftime. The 1984 squad finished the year with a school-record 10 wins and featured two all-Americans, six all-New England honorees and 12 all-conference players.

As always, Steve McDonald and Terry Lynch will handle the play-by-play on the Rams Radio Network (WHJJ 920 AM).