Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 17, 1993 TAG: 9309170204
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium
He hasn't experienced it lately.
The Cavaliers returned to one of their favorite haunts Thursday night and emerged with a 35-14 upset victory over Georgia Tech.
It was UVa's fourth win in its last five visits to Grant Field, with the only loss coming on a last-second field goal in 1991, 24-21. Since then the Cavaliers are 7-1-1 on the road.
Welsh saw his road record improve to 27-27-2, the first time in his 12-year UVa career that he has been at .500 away from home. UVa (3-0 overall, 2-0 ACC) has won both of its conference games on the road.
Georgia Tech (1-1, 0-1) came into the game as a two-point favorite over 25th-ranked Virginia, but the Cavaliers took advantage of four Yellow Jacket turnovers, including three interceptions of quarterback Donnie Davis.
UVa quarterback Symmion Willis, who played at nearby Mays High School, completed 16 of 21 passes for 185 yards and one touchdown. He was not intercepted.
"I told him just to forget about all this other stuff and play the game," Welsh said. "I don't know if he was good, bad or indifferent, frankly. The team won the game."
Redshirt freshman Kyle Kirkeide had three field goals for Virginia, including a 20-yarder that put the Cavaliers ahead 21-7 with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter.
A 33-yard touchdown run by Charles Way made it 28-7 with 10:15 left in the game and Kevin Brooks added his second TD run of the game from 8 yards with 34 seconds on the clock.
By that time, only a handful of Georgia Tech fans remained from a crowd of 41,300. The game was televised nationally by ESPN.
"There were a lot of times when it seemed like our fans were making more noise than theirs," said Mike Frederick, one of the leaders of a UVa defense that held Tech to 321 yards, 145 in the second half.
"It's a great feeling to go into someone else's backyard and beat 'em. It's almost sweeter than winning at home."
In hopes of gaining an emotional edge, Georgia Tech changed uniforms before the game, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect. After warming up in their customary blue jerseys, the Yellow Jackets switched to gold for the first time since 1971.
Both teams seemed tentative early, with Virginia getting an early edge in field position when a 55-yard punt by freshman Will Brice was downed by Joe Rowe at the Yellow Jackets' 2-yard line.
After holding Tech without a first down, UVa took over at the Yellow Jackets' 35-yard line following a 13-yard Larry Holmes punt return. The Cavs got as far as the 10 before Kirkeide's 27-yard field goal.
Georgia Tech was poised to tie the score before fifth-year senior Tyler Jarrett was wide left on the first field-goal attempt of his career to start the second quarter.
Virginia, inconsistent to that point, needed only four plays to go 80 yards, the last 30 on a touchdown pass from Willis to Holmes, who caught two TD passes against Tech here two years ago.
After the Yellow Jackets closed to 9-7, Holmes contributed another big play with a 65-yard kickoff return. The second of three four-play UVa touchdown drives culminated in a 7-yard run by Brooks.
UVa failed to add an extra point following either touchdown. A bad snap prevented the Cavaliers from kicking after the first TD and Willis was downed on a two-point try with the score 15-7.
Virginia took an 18-7 lead into the locker room at halftime and Georgia Tech was fortunate it wasn't any worse. The Yellow Jackets had turnovers in their territory on their last two series of the half.
A Matt Mikeska fumble recovery resulted in Kirkeide's second field goal with 1:37 remaining in the half, but the Cavaliers failed to capitalize on a P.J. Killian interception and return to the Tech 29.
A hurried snap from shotgun formation caused the first of three big UVa losses to end the half. When the clock ran out following the second of back-to-back sacks, the Cavaliers were at their 30.
"I probably should have called time out," offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien said. "One of the problems was, we had a wet ball [before the bad snap] and the referee wouldn't change it."
Georgia Tech outgained the Cavaliers 176-138 in the first half, including 103-9 on the ground. Virginia rushed for 191 yards in the second half, one reason the Cavaliers had the ball for almost 37 minutes.
"I don't think we wore them down," Dixon said. "We just started to pick up some of their stunts and blitzes. They took some gambles and we made 'em pay. The only thing that was going to hit [Way] on the touchdown was the goalpost."
See microfilm for statistics.
by CNB