LEXINGTON -- There was no mercy.

Fifteen seconds into Saturday's game, quarterback Tim Maypray hit Daud Semalulu for a 74-yard touchdown, the first of 10 VMI scored on its way to a 69-20 drubbing of Division II Chowan at Alumni Memorial Field.

The Hawks certainly felt the sting of the Keydets' Big South single-game record 517 rushing yards and fullback Howard Abegesah's three touchdowns, but so did those members of the VMI freshmen class arrayed in the stands and not on the field.

Those rats, as freshmen are known at the Institute, pour out of the stands and count out the score in pushups each time their team scores. The final tally, measured in burning biceps, triceps and deltoids, was 375.

Keydets coach Sparky Woods' response: "I felt pretty good."

Sorry, rats.

The Keydets (2-1) were coming off a 52-17 loss at William and Mary last week.

"We were hungry after William and Mary," said defensive lineman Damiso Alexander, who recorded three sacks. "The biggest thing was how people would respond after losing."

Maypray, who also ran 60 yards for a touchdown, said that first touchdown gave the team "a lot of confidence."

Alexander said it gave the defense "so much momentum, especially to go out there and stop the run."

And, for the rest of the game, it forced the Hawks' defense to respect the possibility of a deep play enough to open up the inside.

Abegesah, a junior, ran for 123 yards on 12 carries for the sixth 100-yard game of his career. But the Keydets did not pound Maypray and Abegesah down the Hawks' throats. Chaz Jones had 97 yards on eight carries and 13 different backs -- four quarterbacks -- carried the ball.

Gabe Itoka ran for one touchdown and caught another.

Bobby Epps and Cameron Jones each ran for touchdowns and Kyle Hughes and Justin Hickman passed for touchdowns along with Maypray. Aaron Lewis had one TD catch.

Woods used the game to work on the Keydets' basic offense and basic defense, recognizing that the team needs as many "reps" as it can get.

The Keydets fumbled four times, though they didn't lose any of them, and were penalized eight times for 56 yards. There were significant breakdowns on both special teams and on defense.

Chowan quarterback C.J. Westler completed 19 of 32 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. At least four of those passes were for over 20 yards.

Those plays over 20 yards are what Woods classifies as "explosive," and he counts them among his keys to winning.

"We want to win the explosive-play battle," Woods said.

Maypray is a master of explosive plays, and five of VMI's 10 touchdowns Saturday qualify under the Woods scale.

But the Hawks managed five "explosive" plays too, including two of their three touchdowns. Their third score came in just under the bar, at 17 yards.

So the Hawks and the rats weren't the only ones to feel a little sting Saturday.

Chowan 0 0 0 20 -- 20

VMI 20 14 7 28 -- 69

First Quarter

VMI--Semalulu 74 pass from Maypray (run failed), 14:45.

VMI--Abegesah 4 run (Stevens kick), 11:29.

VMI--Abegesah 63 run (Stevens kick), 8:10.

Second Quarter

VMI--Maypray 60 run (Stevens kick), 14:49.

VMI--Abegesah 2 run (Stevens kick), 8:35.

Third Quarter

VMI--Itoka 34 pass from Hughes (Stevens kick), 3:07.

Fourth Quarter

VMI--Epps 1 run (Stevens kick), 12:26.

Chwn--Fox 22 pass from Westler (Cline kick), 12:07.

VMI--Itoka 9 run (Stevens kick), 10:25.

VMI--Lewis 24 pass from Hickman (Stevens kick), 3:54.

Chwn--Coard 17 pass from Westler (Cline kick), 2:29.

VMI--Ca.Jones 8 run (Stevens kick), :34.

Chwn--Fox 29 pass from Westler, :00.

A--6,793.

Chwn VMI

First downs 19 26

Rushes-yards 27-40 56-517

Passing 289 142

Comp-Att-Int 19-32-2 4-13-0

Return Yards 0 16

Punts-Avg. 6-35.7 2-29.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 4-0

Penalties-Yards 11-73 8-56

Time of Possession 31:37 28:23

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Chowan, Spates 8-30, Myrick 7-13, Westler 11-6,

Team 1-(minus 9). VMI, Abegesah 12-124, Ch.Jones 8-97, Maypray 4-73, Epps 9-66, Hughes 7-53, Talley 2-23, Rainey-Wiles 3-23, Hickman 4-22, Itoka 3-13, Ca.Jones 1-8, Luxhoj 1-8, Barnson 1-4, Jenkins 1-3.

PASSING--Chowan, Westler 19-32-2-289. VMI, Hughes 2-10-0-44,

Hickman 1-2-0-24, Maypray 1-1-0-74.

RECEIVING--Chowan, Coard 9-129, Fox 4-76, Spates 3-35,

Lawrence 1-32, Myrick 1-12, Lubin 1-5. VMI, Semalulu 1-74, Itoka 1-34, Lewis 1-24, M.Scott 1-10.