By Jack Weiland
BROOKLINE – As he stepped out of the locker room, ready to be interviewed, William ‘ Mary quarterback Jake Phillips was serenaded with calls of “Jake Montana” by his Tribe teammates. They were kidding – sort of.
Phillips, W’M’s redshirt freshman backup quarterback, certainly gave his best impression of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana Saturday at Northeastern’s Parsons Field, guiding the Tribe to a 44-41 comeback victory in double overtime.
Phillips replaced ineffective starter Mike Potts with five minutes left in the third quarter, his team down 31-10. By the time the kid’s improbable comeback was complete, he had chewed up the Husky secondary for 256 yards on 18-of-20 passing and four touchdowns, not to mention the winning score, an eight-yard TD run in double OT.
“It’s a game that we allowed to get away from us,” NU coach Rocky Hager said. “Basically we stopped playing pass coverage. We had some good things happen defensively prior to that – takeaways, stops – but it’s like we clammed up, like we stopped reacting. You should never be able to throw the football down the field versus a thirds coverage, and we allowed two touchdowns in thirds coverage.
“It isn’t as though I don’t believe we didn’t have fight in ourselves today, because we did fight. Sometimes we were less than wise in our choice of punches.”
The Tribe (4-2 overall, 2-1 Atlantic-10) started their comeback on the first drive of the fourth quarter. Phillips tossed a 30-yard lob to Joe Nicholas on fourth-and-nine to pull his team within two touchdowns.
After holding NU (1-5, 1-3) to a three-and-out on its next possession, Phillips guided the Tribe on an eight-play, 72-yard drive. The QB hit fellow redshirt freshman Elliott Mack on a 22-yard score, again down the middle of the field.
The W’M defense held NU without a first down again, and Phillips got the ball back with 1:43 to play. It took him just four plays to tie the game. On third-and-two, he slipped under a sack by defensive end Matt Campopiano and hit Josh Lustig on the near sideline. The next play, Phillips pegged Lustig in the middle of the end zone.
Tie game.
“Sometimes when you make a quarterback change you’re looking for a spark,” W’M coach Jimmye Laycock said. “And you get a spark and then you get a little momentum going, and the next thing you know you make a play and the next thing you know, one thing leads to another.”
In the first overtime, the teams traded touchdown passes. Phillips connected with Nicholas on a 20-yard strike, while Northeastern quarterback Anthony Orio (11-for- 17, 195 yards, two touchdowns) hit senior Cory Parks on a nine-yard score. NU settled for a field goal in double overtime, a 20-yard Miro Kesic boot. The Huskies went from losing to winning to losing on three consecutive plays during the Tribe’s possession. Phillips hit Lustig on a pass to give W’M first-and-goal from the three. Warm up the fat lady.
On the next play though, running back Elijah Brooks fumbled and fell on it at the nine, giving NU new life. Phillips then faked a handoff to Brooks, tucked the ball and headed for the end zone. As he got there, he dove between a pair of converging NU defenders and over the line.
Another heartbreaking loss.
“Right now, if I said it didn’t hurt, I’d be lying,” said Parks. “It hurts right now. We’re gonna keep fighting, no matter what. I can promise you that.”
To think, there was a time it seemed NU was on cruise control to an impressive win. Maurice Murray (39 carries, 176 yards) scored from one yard out on the team’s first drive, while the Tribe’s Potts responded by hitting Matt Otey for a three-yard score.
At the half, it was 10-10.
NU scored 21 points on three one-play drives in the third. Orio hit Parks (four catches, 146 yards) for a TD. Then, after Jason Vega recovered a fumble forced by Cornelius Bunch, Orio scored on a 10-yard run. Finally, Jamil Young picked off a Potts pass and returned it to the 10, before Murray scored on a 10-yard run of his own.
The bad news? Young’s interception signaled the end of Potts’ day, and the beginning of Phillips’ uncanny performance.
