Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 14, 1993 TAG: 9311140129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
The Hokies trashed Syracuse 45-24 before a crowd of 44,722 on Saturday at Lane Stadium, then wallowed in the feeling for a while before voting unanimously to play in the Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl on Dec. 31 in Shreveport, La.
Beamer declared it a sign of Tech's resurgence. It will be the Hokies' first postseason game since Dec. 31, 1986, and the first bowl in Beamer's seven years as head coach. But before the game, Tech wasn't interested in firsts.
The Hokies were thinking about a Nov. 6 loss at Boston College, where a victory would have clinched a bowl berth.
"Most people don't have a second opportunity. We got a second opportunity," said Tech assistant head coach Billy Hite, who later was seconded by defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian.
Hite and Elmassian were on Tech's last bowl-bound coaching staff in '86.
Tech's seniors pulled the team together Friday to exhort the underclassmen. As the final seconds ticked away Saturday, three seniors - Joe Swarm, Chris Barry and John Burke - teamed up to soak Beamer with a bucket of water.
At the same time, Elmassian was crying as he hugged his players.
And with about 10 seconds left, Tech players surged onto the field, led by Barry and Jim Pyne carrying Beamer, fist raised and grin blazing.
Seconds later, Beamer and his son, Shane, wrapped in each other's arms, met wife and mom Cheryl in a happy collapse.
"That scene . . . I've been waiting for that for a long time," Frank Beamer said afterward.
"It's a very satisfying feeling, but it's kind of like you're on a journey," he said. "I've really got visions of this program becoming a lot better."
In three years since joining the Big East Conference, Tech (7-3 overall, 4-3 Big East) has gone from independents to Independence - not bad for a team that was 2-8-1 a year ago, and for a squad that lost games this year with bowl and poll implications to West Virginia and BC.
"The way we did it, the way we pounded them, against a reputable team . . . that's just great," said Pyne, a senior who thought he'd be playing in the postseason much sooner than this when he arrived in Blacksburg. "I guess it's sweeter now. I never did [get to a bowl before this season]. I had to pay the price."
Syracuse (5-4-1, 2-4-0) paid Saturday. The Orangemen gained 285 total yards, their third-lowest output this year, and ran for 53, their second-lowest total. Tech, unable to disrupt the surgical passing of Boston College's Glenn Foley a week earlier, sacked Syracuse's Marvin Graves four times and made eight other tackles behind the line.
Beamer said Tech had more movement on its defensive line, but Elmassian didn't overanalyze.
"Their line's not as good as BC's," Elmassian said. "That's the difference."
Freshman Torrian Gray, starting for the first time in place of demoted rover Stacy Henley, made two interceptions.
"I didn't want to let them down," Gray said.
Graves, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, threw three interceptions. He didn't lead a sustained scoring drive until he ended a 79-yard possession by throwing 11 yards to Marvin Harrison, cutting Tech's lead to 38-17 with 4 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Orangemen's first score was an 86-yard kickoff return by Jeyson Wilson, who took a reverse handoff from tailback Kirby Dar Dar. Syracuse's next possession started on the Tech 29-yard line after a 40-yard punt return by Shelby Hill, but the Orangemen lost 1 yard on three plays and settled for a 48-yard field goal by Pat O'Neill.
"I think Tech did a good job pushing upfield," said Paul Pasqualoni, Syracuse's coach. "Maybe they played a little more conservatively in [pass] coverage."
Tech got 163 rushing yards from tailback Dwayne Thomas, who became the first Hokie since Maurice Williams in 1986 to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season. Thomas has 1,041, the best Tech total since Cyrus Lawrence's 1,403 in 1981.
The Hokies used early first- and second-half sprints to ease their minds in their most important game of the season.
Thomas' 1-yard run to cap a 47-yard drive, Burke's 23-yard touchdown reception from Maurice DeShazo - after Gray intercepted a pass and returned it to the Syracuse 28 - and Brian Edmonds' 7-yard run after Tech recovered a blocked punt at the 7 gave the Hokies a 21-0 lead with 1:23 left in the first quarter.
"It took some pressure off," said defensive end Lawrence Lewis. "But we don't play by the score."
Tech eventually led 24-0, but the margin was down to 24-10 at halftime.
Less than four minutes into the second half, however, Tech led 38-10 and was smelling Cajun cooking. The second score in that stretch came when linebacker Ken Brown stripped the ball from Graves on the option. The fumble was scooped up by linebacker DeWayne Knight and returned 23 yards for a score with 11:10 left.
"I shot my hand through and punched the ball," Brown said. "I always try to strip the ball. Sometimes you get lucky, or blessed."
Saturday was a rebirth for the Hokies, who were picked to finish no better than sixth in the Big East during the preseason.
Instead, Tech will be the league's fourth bowl team and make the seventh bowl appearance in school history. Saturday's victory came in front of reunited players and coaches from the Hokies' 1966 and '68 Liberty Bowl teams - Beamer played on both squads - and came after a Friday pep talk from former Tech coach and Beamer mentor Jerry Claiborne.
Claiborne did the same thing before the Hokies' 38-13 victory over Virginia in 1990, at the time the program's biggest victory.
"I thought I'd give him one more shot," Beamer said, smiling.
Because Tech took advantage of their extra chance, they earned an extra game.
"Everyone deserves success," Elmassian said. "Especially when it's worked for and earned."
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB