Georgetown Stuns William & Mary 28-27 on Gavin Beard's Fourth-Down Touchdown Pass

Georgetown needed a second chance, and then it needed one more play on fourth down. It got both.

Gavin Beard hit Hassan Mahasin for a 10-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with 38 seconds left, and Georgetown beat William & Mary 28-27 on Saturday afternoon at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, spoiling the Tribe's Homecoming. Damon Narcisse then intercepted Winston Watkins near midfield on the first play of the Tribe's final possession, and that was that.

The win was Georgetown's third straight after an 0-4 start, and it moved the Hoyas to 3-4 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League. William & Mary, which had rallied with 13 unanswered points to lead 27-21, fell to 3-5 and 1-4.

A fast start for both sides

William & Mary did not waste any time. On the first play from scrimmage, running back Andrew King broke loose for a 68-yard touchdown, and the Tribe led 7-0 just 17 seconds into the game.

Georgetown answered with patience and then with speed. The Hoyas went 75 yards in 10 plays on their first drive, with Beard finding Samir Crosby for a 30-yard touchdown. Late in the first quarter, they needed only three plays to cover 64 yards, and Beard hit Jonathan Alexander for a 41-yard score with 44 seconds left in the period. Georgetown led 14-7.

The second quarter belonged to the William & Mary defense. Safety Bryce Barnes intercepted Beard in the end zone to end a Georgetown scoring chance, and the Tribe's offense put together a patient 13-play, 80-yard drive that ate 5:34 off the clock. Jah'Kei Chavis finished it with a 4-yard run with 3:43 left, and the game was tied 14-14 at halftime.

The third quarter trade

Georgetown came out of the break and went 75 yards in seven plays, with Beard finding tight end Isaiah Grimes for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 21-14 with 11:47 left in the third quarter.

William & Mary answered right away. Six plays into its next possession, Watkins found Khylil Johnson for a 52-yard touchdown, and the game was tied again at 21 with 9:04 left in the third.

From there, the Tribe took control. The defense stopped trading scores, and the offense started grinding. A 10-play, 45-yard drive ended with Max Lipinski's 32-yard field goal with 12:45 to play, giving William & Mary a 24-21 lead. Its next possession was even longer, 13 plays and 48 yards over 6:55, and Lipinski hit again from 22 yards with 5:05 left. William & Mary led 27-21, and Georgetown needed a touchdown.

How Georgetown stole it

The Hoyas nearly ran out of chances. They drove into the red zone, but on fourth-and-7, William & Mary defensive lineman Brady Echols broke up Beard's pass at the Tribe's 20-yard line with 1:52 left. Turnover on downs. The Tribe had the ball, the lead and less than two minutes to kill.

It could not do it. Georgetown's defense forced a three-and-out, and the Hoyas got the ball back with one more shot. This time Beard led them 48 yards in seven plays, and it took only 49 seconds. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 10, he found Mahasin in the end zone, and Thomas Anderson's extra point put Georgetown ahead 28-27 with 38 seconds to go.

William & Mary still had time to move into field goal range for Lipinski, who had been perfect all day. It never got the chance. On the first play of the drive, Narcisse picked off Watkins near midfield, and Georgetown ran out the clock.

The players who stood out

Beard carried the Georgetown offense. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns, spreading those scores among four receivers, and he made the throw of the game on fourth down with the game hanging on it. Alexander was his biggest weapon, catching four passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. Mahasin led the team with six catches for 49 yards, and Crosby added three grabs for 51 yards and a score.

Georgetown's run game was steady rather than explosive. Clay Ash ran 15 times for 66 yards and Jayden Sumpter added 53 yards on 13 carries. On defense, Jack Casey and Bryson Logan made nine tackles apiece, Folu Shobowale had two tackles for loss, and the Hoyas intercepted Watkins three times, with Quincy Briggs, Ryan Hussey and Narcisse each getting one.

For William & Mary, the ground game was the story. The Tribe ran for a season-high 203 yards. King had 96 yards on just 11 carries, and Chavis added 66 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts. Johnson caught three passes for 70 yards and the long touchdown, and with 109 yards on four kick returns, he finished with a career-high 190 all-purpose yards.

The Tribe defense had plenty of big moments, too. Linebacker Christopher Higgins led the team with 10 tackles and a pass breakup. Linebacker Stephon Hicks made nine tackles and forced a fumble with a strip sack of Beard that defensive lineman Nathaniel McDonald recovered. Along with Barnes's end zone interception and Echols's fourth-down breakup, that is a lot of stops that, on another day, would have been enough.

The numbers that matter

Georgetown outgained William & Mary 416 to 352 and won the first-down battle 26 to 19. The Hoyas threw for 265 yards and ran for 151, while the Tribe ran for 203 and threw for 149.

The turnover count favored Georgetown, but not by much. William & Mary forced two turnovers, and its quarterback threw three interceptions. That difference, and especially the last one, decided the game.

Both offenses converted five third downs. Georgetown went 2 of 4 on fourth down, and the second conversion was the one that won it. Time of possession was close, 31:01 for William & Mary to 28:59 for Georgetown. Both teams were sloppy with penalties, Georgetown flagged 10 times for 89 yards and William & Mary nine times for 96.

The full numbers are in the box score on ESPN (opens in a new tab), and the home side of the story is in William & Mary's official recap (opens in a new tab).

What it means

For Georgetown, this is a season that has turned around. The Hoyas lost their first four games, two of them by three points, including a 20-17 overtime loss to Columbia, and they have now won three in a row, all in Patriot League play. At 3-2 in the league, they are back in the conversation. Georgetown has an open date this weekend, then hosts Holy Cross on Nov. 7 before going to Fordham and Villanova to close the season.

For William & Mary, this one will hurt. The Tribe did almost everything it needed to do in the second half, with a season-high rushing total, two late field goals and a fourth-down stop inside two minutes. It still lost. At 1-4 in the league, William & Mary had a trip to Colgate next on the schedule for Saturday, Oct. 31, then home games against Lafayette and Bucknell before a finale at Richmond.

The last word

This game came down to a sequence that took less than two minutes. William & Mary stopped Georgetown on fourth down, went three-and-out, gave the ball back and watched Beard convert another fourth down for the win.

Narcisse's interception made it final, but the defining snap was Beard's fourth-and-goal throw to Mahasin. The Hoyas were a play away from a fifth loss. Instead, they left Williamsburg with three straight wins.

Sources: William & Mary Athletics recap and box score, ESPN, theScore and WYDaily. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: William & Mary Athletics.