ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 22, 1996 TAG: 9609230134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
THE CAVALIERS finally get a touchdown pass as their aerial game takes flight in a 42-7 romp over Wake Forest.
No one can underestimate the impact of one play Saturday in Virginia's 13th straight football victory over Wake Forest.
Never mind that the Cavaliers won 42-7 or that the Demon Deacons scored on their last offensive play. Sooner or later, UVa had to get something out of its passing game.
The Cavaliers got the confidence boost they needed when Tim Sherman lofted a 60-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Owen with 6 minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
It was the first touchdown pass of the season for 20th-ranked Virginia, which, one week earlier, had not completed a pass of any kind until the third quarter in a 21-3 victory over Maryland.
``We met as a team on Sunday and the general consensus was, this game couldn't get here any sooner,'' said Sherman, a fifth-year senior. ``We would have gone out there Monday if it was up to us.''
The atmosphere might be a little more pleasant as the Cavaliers prepare for a non-conference showdown Sept.28 with sixth-ranked Texas, a 27-24 loser Saturday against Notre Dame.
``It helps the offense that I won't be screaming at 'em right away Tuesday,'' said UVa coach George Welsh after watching the Cavaliers ring up 522 yards, 307 in the air. ``I expected another close game.''
The defense, which set up all three touchdowns against Maryland, was no less dominating Saturday. The Cavaliers had eight sacks and limited Wake to minus-45 rushing yards - the all-time low by a Virginia opponent.
Wake starting quarterback Brian Kuklick was victimized for six of the sacks, three by UVa defensive end Duane Ashman, and completed only 15 of 39 passes before giving way to redshirt freshman Ben Sankey.
``I feel sorry for him,'' said Sherman, who no doubt noticed the pounding Kuklick was taking even when he was able to deliver the ball. ``I know he'll be sore tomorrow.''
The Deacons, only two weeks removed from a 28-27 upset of then-No.13 Northwestern, fell so far behind early Saturday that they had little choice other than to throw the ball. During one stretch, they called 18 consecutive passing plays.
Rafael Garcia's third field goal put the Cavaliers ahead 25-0 at the halftime buzzer and they stretched their lead to 39-0 in the third period on touchdown runs by tailback Tiki Barber and his heir apparent, freshman Thomas Jones.
Barber had one rushing attempt in the fourth quarter before coming out of the game with more than 14 minutes remaining. He finished with 22 carries for 113 yards, his third straight 100-yard rushing effort.
``We worked hard this week on getting the passing game going,'' said Barber, who also had two receptions for 44 yards. ``That first pass [to Owen] was a great relief to me. I knew it wouldn't be easy running the ball inside.''
It was similar to the approach Wake took against the Cavaliers last year, when the Deacons held Barber to 85 yards, but quarterback Mike Groh passed for 335 yards in UVa's 35-17 victory in Charlottesville.
Sherman completed 11 of 19 passes for 183 yards and sophomore backup Aaron Brooks was 7-of-13 for 124 yards after making his first appearance with 12:59 remaining in the second quarter. Brooks also ran for a touchdown.
``Once I get settled, everything is OK,'' said Brooks, who was high on several early throws. ``It's a matter of getting over the butterflies, but I didn't think we had anything to prove out there.''
Maybe not, but the Cavaliers couldn't afford a repeat of the Maryland game, when Sherman and Brooks were a combined 5-for-18. They were limited Saturday by the absence of projected go-to receiver Germane Crowell with a dislocated toe.
Sherman's options included Derrick Byrd, who played quarterback in high school; Terrence Wilkins, who was a running back; and Owen, an ex-soccer player who originally hoped to be a kicker in college.
Owen's touchdown was the first of his college career and couldn't have come on a more well-executed play. Owen got a step on Wake corner D'Angelo Solomon and gathered in Sherman's pass without breaking stride.
``Bryan later told me that he thought he was going to have to dive for it,'' Sherman said, ``but I guess it had some air under it. It was a big lift for me and a big lift for the offense. You've got to take some of the heat off of Tiki.''
Virginia had outscored the Deacons 273-98 in the team's previous seven meetings, but that was little consolation to Welsh after the Cavaliers failed to score a touchdown against Maryland until the final three minutes.
``We had been struggling, obviously, since spring practice,'' Welsh said. ``We hadn't been throwing the ball well deep, [but] he put that on the money. That's why you practice, though, and why we keep working on it. Maybe it's starting to pay off.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for statistics.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. UVa's Thomas Jones (left) stiff-armsby CNBWake Forest's Jeffrey Muyres en route to a touchdown. color.