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William & Mary scores 13 points in final minute to beat Villanova 35-32 in season opener
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- William & Mary scores 13 points in final minute to beat Villanova 35-32 in season opener
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Max Lipinski kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired to cap a run of 13 William & Mary points in the final minute and the Tribe beat Villanova 35-32 on Friday night in a season and Patriot League opener.
Lipinski's winner was his fifth field goal of the game and came after Cade Ellis returned an interception 24 yards to the Wildcats' 28.
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Winston Watkins passed for a 37-yard touchdown to Kai Austin and the PAT tied the game with 22 seconds remaining. That TD came after a Lipinski field goal with 53 seconds left followed by a recovery of an onside kick at the Villanova 39.
Villanova, an FCS semifinalist last year that came in ranked No. 8 in the Stats Perform poll, was making its Patriot debut as was William & Mary, both coming over from the Coastal Athletic Association.
Villanova trailed 22-17 in the second half before Jamie Tyson set the Wildcats up at the Tribe 32 with a 36-yard interception return. Pat McQuaide threw an 8-yard TD pass to Brandon Binkowski then a two-point conversion to Jake Hilton for the three-point lead with 3:47 remaining. After the Tribe turned the ball over on downs, Isaiah Ragland went 37 yards to extend the lead to 32-22 with 2:43 left.
Watkins threw for 254 yards with two touchdowns and an interception and ran for 72 yards on 21 carries with another score.
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Villanova had won nine straight season openers, all since Mark Ferrante became head coach.
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