Albemarle graduate Archer leads Tribe to upset victory

R.J. Archer’s memory of the November night in 1995 remains as clear as ever. There he was, 8 years old, sitting in his family’s usual seats on the 40-yard line in the upper deck of Scott Stadium, cheering the Wahoos on.

On the final play of the game, former Seminole running back Warrick Dunn took a direct snap from center and raced toward the goal line but was stymied by a host of Virginia defenders.

UVa won the game, 33-28. It was FSU’s first-ever ACC loss.

That was Archer’s favorite Scott Stadium memory — until Saturday night.

The William & Mary quarterback, who grew up in Earlysville and starred at Albemarle High, has a new one. A much better one. A storybook one.

Archer, making just the second start of his college career, passed for 184 yards and a touchdown as the Tribe shocked Virginia, 26-14, at Scott Stadium.

“It was great,” said Archer, whose family had a pregame tailgate for about 150 people. “I had a lot of friends and people I went to class with at Albemarle. It was just a blast to do this in front of so many people.

“I think our defense really won the game for us. All our offense had to do was take care of the ball. … I just wanted to try and make smart decisions and not give [Virginia] the ball with a short field.”

Archer, who weighed just 175 pounds coming out of high school, was offered a spot as a recruited walk-on by former Virginia assistant coach Mike Groh. However, he decided that playing at what was then the Division I-AA level was a better fit.

When he got to William & Mary, he had two more experienced quarterbacks in front of him, so he decided to switch to wide receiver.

Last season, with just one quarterback in front of him — Jake Phillips, the younger brother of former Virginia tight end Jon Phillips — Archer moved back to quarterback.

He saw the field just twice. Once, in relief, he threw a touchdown pass in a season-opening loss to N.C. State. Later in the season, when Phillips got hurt, he started in the team’s loss to Villanova.

“I was more nervous before the Villanova game last season [than for the Virginia game],” said Archer, who has now added 45 pounds to his 6-foot-2 frame. “Coming in here, I don’t know why [I wasn’t nervous].

“I just went out there and had a blast. I had fun.”

It looked like it.

In the first quarter, Archer hooked up on a 48-yard pass with receiver Ryan Moody down to the Virginia 5-yard line. On the next play, Archer found Rob Varno on a 5-yard strike to tie the game at 7.

Archer finished the game 23 of 45 with just one interception — a pick that, for all intents and purposes, served as a punt. Mainly, he didn’t try to do too much — a concept that all three Virginia signal callers seemed to struggle with at times.

“He was so, so poised out there,” said William & Mary coach Jimmye Laycock. “He didn’t get down when one thing didn’t go right. I thought he made excellent decisions.”

Said Virginia coach Al Groh: “He brought his team home a winner. That’s what he’s supposed to do.”

Despite being a decided underdog coming into the game, Archer said he always felt like his team had a chance.

“Of course, we say that every year,” said Archer, smiling. “But I’d say at halftime it was pretty obvious — if it wasn’t before — that we’d be able to hang in there.”

But sitting at the postgame news conference with Laycock and four of his teammates, Archer, still wearing his full uniform — complete with grass and blood stains — seemed a little shocked.

“It hasn’t really sunk in too much yet,” said Archer, whose former coach at Albemarle, Rick Vrhovac, was in attendance. “It’s the first game still. But hopefully we can build on this and make it a nice season.”

If nothing else, he’s got a new favorite Scott Stadium memory.