WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Interstat) — Holy Cross defeated William & Mary 41-14 on Saturday in an NCAA Football Championship Division game at Walter J. Zable Stadium at Cary Field. The visiting Crusaders scored 14 points in the first quarter, seven in the second, 10 in the third and 10 in the fourth. The Tribe scored seven points in the first quarter and seven in the second. Holy Cross improved to 2-4, while William & Mary fell to 2-4. The game featured a fast start by both offenses, a steady second-half push by Holy Cross and a final quarter in which the Crusaders put the result out of reach.

Winston Watkins paced William & Mary’s offense. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound quarterback from Pasadena, Md., completed 15 of 29 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns and ran 13 times for 18 yards. He connected with Khylil Johnson for a 75-yard touchdown in the first quarter and later found Kai Austin for a 28-yard score in the third quarter. Johnson finished with two receptions for 82 yards to go with one kick return for 16 yards and a touchdown. Austin had four receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. Luke Vanantwerp added three receptions for 32 yards. Jackson Blee caught one pass for 15 yards, Sean McElwain had one reception for nine yards, and Haven Mullins had one reception for six yards. Brayden Smalls returned three kickoffs for 66 yards, and Jor’dyn Whitelaw returned one kickoff for 15 yards. Nate Williams returned one punt for no gain.

David Lynch guided Holy Cross. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback completed 16 of 26 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns. He spread the ball to several receivers and helped the Crusaders control the second half. In his previous outing, Lynch completed 22 of 37 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-30 win at Lafayette. Against William & Mary, Lynch connected with Ty Curran for touchdown passes of 14 and seven yards. A 57-yard touchdown pass from Lynch to Curran in the third quarter was nullified by a Holy Cross pass interference penalty. Holy Cross also got touchdown runs from Joseph Williams on a 2-yard carry in the second quarter, Jake Croce on a 1-yard carry in the second quarter and Datrell Jones on a 12-yard carry in the fourth quarter. Owen Saraceno kicked a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 39-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. He also made all of his extra-point attempts.

William & Mary’s defense received production from several levels. David Roulley had five tackles and one interception. Brady Echols added five tackles, Christopher Higgins had seven, Jaden Ratliff had eight, Cade Ellis had nine and Elijah Rainer had 13. Davin Dzidzienyo recorded four tackles and 1.5 sacks. Ty Gordon had two tackles and 0.5 sack. Jaden Boring had four tackles, while Clayton Dobler and Stephon Hicks each had three. MJ Jackson Jr., Cameryn Heath, Gerald Williams and Brendan Robinson each had two tackles. Nathaniel McDonald, Tyler Kann, Isaiah McDaniel, Trevon Cannon, Ryan Matheny and Kyle Reviello each had one tackle. Max Lipinski handled kicking duties and made extra points. Carter Boyd punted four times for 190 yards. Josh Miller ran twice for 11 yards, Patrick Blee ran once for seven yards, and Andrew King had 10 carries for 25 yards and four receptions for 18 yards. Carter Carroll completed one of four passes for 10 yards.

Holy Cross also got contributions from its defense and special teams. Ethan Moss punted three times for 107 yards. Cameron Mills had four tackles. Tyler Georgs had five tackles and 0.5 sack, Brady Fodor had five tackles and 0.5 sack, and Cooper Ackerman had five tackles and 1.5 sacks. Jalen Rambert added six tackles. Garrett Baldwin had one punt return for one yard and three tackles. RJ Newton caught one pass for 12 yards. Luke Petitta had one reception for five yards, Lincoln Fisher had one reception for eight yards, and Mason McSweeney had two receptions for 11 yards. The Crusaders’ defense limited the Tribe after a quick start and gave the offense room to extend the lead.

The result continued a difficult stretch for William & Mary. Earlier this season, the Tribe lost to Duke, Fordham and Lehigh and defeated Delaware State and Villanova. Holy Cross entered the game after a 38-30 win at Lafayette. The Crusaders had earlier losses to Lehigh, Colgate, Miami (Ohio) and Yale. Holy Cross will next travel to Harvard before home games against Bucknell, Richmond, Villanova and Fordham, with a road game at Georgetown in between. William & Mary will next play North Carolina Central before hosting Georgetown. The Tribe then visits Colgate before home games against Lafayette, Bucknell and a road finale at Richmond. Both teams remain 2-4.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of William & Mary 46, Holy Cross 31, and its ELO system gave William & Mary a 64.8 percent probability to win. Holy Cross had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +6.5. The total score was 55 against an over/under line of 49.5.