Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 21, 1993 TAG: 9311210119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
The Hokies, who partied Nov. 13 after clinching their first bowl bid in seven seasons, threw another midfield bash Saturday, this time after a 20-17 victory over No. 23 Virginia before a crowd of 42,100 at Scott Stadium.
"I'm having trouble explaining it exactly, but I know it's good," said coach Frank Beamer, whose Tech team is ranked No. 25.
Last week, Beamer got a shoulder ride after the game. On Saturday, Maurice DeShazo, John Burke, Ranall White and assorted students took the pleasure trip.
At one point, DeShazo sat atop somebody's shoulders and slapped high-fives with a swelling crowd of fans.
Even DeShazo said afterward, however, that Tech's defense dragged the Hokies through this one. Virginia held Tech to 263 total yards - including 110 rushing - 146 fewer than the Hokies' average.
Assistance was at hand, however:
Freshman Brandon Semones' blocked punt set up Tech's first score, a 30-yard Ryan Williams field goal.
Defensive tackle Jeff Holland's 8-yard fumble return gave Tech a touchdown in the second quarter as the Hokies took a 17-3 lead.
A third-quarter goal-line stand prevented UVa from tying the score at 17.
And linebacker George DelRicco's line-of-scrimmage interruption of Symmion Willis' fourth-down pass with 1 minute, 30 seconds left finished the Hokies' remarkable regular-season turnaround.
Independence Bowl-bound Tech, 2-8-1 last year, is 8-3 and figures to move up in The Associated Press Top 25 - not an insignificant notion.
"We've been ranked before, and the game right after that, we lost," said receiver Steve Sanders, referring to the Boston College game on Nov. 6. "We're for real. We're in [the Top 25] for a good reason."
Said Beamer: "We're a Top 20 program right now, I would think."
Virginia (7-4) came in thinking it had to win to clinch a bowl bid, but Tech had some thoughts, too. Until the Hokies beat Syracuse on Nov. 13, they had beaten one team this year with a winning record. Syracuse and UVa were a combined 12-6-1 when Tech played them.
"Each game, you earn respect," said center Jim Pyne. "This was a big respect game."
Tech beat UVa for the first time since 1990, and for the first time in Charlottesville since 1985. The Hokies will go to Shreveport, La., having won five of their past six games, while Virginia lost for the third time in its past four games.
Tech's three losses this year have come to teams with a combined record of 26-4.
It was Beamer's second victory over UVa in seven tries and gives the Hokies' seventh-year head coach a chance at his 75th collegiate coaching victory in the Independence Bowl.
UVa's offense was shackled by the loss of three starters: receiver Patrick Jeffers (injured collarbone), tight end Aaron Mundy (injured knee) and guard Mark Dixon (academically ineligible).
"We lost a lot of weapons," said George Welsh, UVa's coach. "Did we miss [Dixon]? He's an All-American. Would he have made a difference on the scoreboard? I don't know that. Our pass protection wasn't as good when the quarterback was in the pocket."
Tech's Bernard Basham and William Yarborough said the Hokies wanted Willis out of the pocket - and UVa obliged, using Willis on numerous rollouts.
After two three-and-out possessions in the third quarter with Tech ahead 17-10, Welsh replaced Willis with Mike Groh, whose first play was a handoff to Jerrod Washington that gained 40 yards to the Tech 12.
Washington ran three times for 5 yards, and UVa had fourth-and-five at the Tech 7. On came kicker Kyle Kirkeide, who received a verbal lashing from Tech's DelRicco.
"I told the kicker he was going to miss the field goal," DelRicco said. "I said it, like, a few times."
Too many times for the officials, who flagged DelRicco for taunting. That gave UVa fourth-and-one at the Tech 3 - and Welsh went for six.
Washington hit the middle and hit Hokies, including DelRicco and rover Torrian Gray. He didn't make it, and Tech danced off the field.
"Should I have kicked?" Welsh said. "Who knows?"
Said Beamer: "I thought we had some winners out there on the goal line."
He had to wait awhile for the victory. Tech's Ryan Williams - who had missed three of his past four field-goal attempts - gave the Hokies a 20-10 lead when he hit a 20-yard field goal with 8:19 left in the game.
One exchange of possessions later, Willis returned and completed passes of 12 yards to Demetrius Allen and 28 to Tyrone Davis to put UVa at the Tech 3. Washington scored, and Tech's lead was 20-17 with 5:41 to go.
Willis brought Virginia to its 30 on the Cavaliers' next possession. But on second-and-two, Larry Holmes, who had scored on a 28-yard receiver screen in the first half, dropped a similar pass with Tech's Torrian Gray bearing down.
On fourth-and-two, DelRicco knocked down Willis' pass.
"I had man coverage on [fullback Charles Way]," DelRicco said. "He came to cut [block] me, and I got my hands up to block the ball."
Virginia got in its own way, with 70 yards in penalties, including two personal-foul flags on Tech's second scoring drive. DeShazo had hit Sanders for 13 yards to the Virginia 15, but the fouls moved Tech to the UVa 3. After an illegal-motion penalty against the Hokies, Dwayne Thomas scored on a 6-yard run as Tech made it 10-0 with 7:42 left in the first half.
"We were shooting ourselves in the foot too much," Welsh said.
The Cavs fired again about 30 seconds later, when Tech's Cornell Brown hit Willis, who fumbled. Holland picked it up at the UVa 8 and his short trip to the end zone produced six points as the Hokies went up 17-3.
"He was just running around, and I was there to hit him," Brown said simply.
Things became more complicated for Tech before the game was over, and the Hokies hadn't won a non-blowout game this year (Rutgers trailed 49-21 in the fourth quarter before losing 49-42).
But slumping UVa lacked the firepower for a sustained rally. And the Hokies, despite having settled their bowl plans Nov. 13, still were hungry enough to raid the Cavaliers' refrigerator.
"To no one but ourselves," linebacker DeWayne Knight said, when asked if Tech felt it still had something to prove. "People picked us to go 3-8 at best. We wanted to turn that around."
And then there was that bowl thing. For the moment, the Hokies told themselves they had stolen a bit of Virginia's holiday happiness.
"They can watch us on TV Dec. 31," Basham said.
by CNB