Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 24, 1994 TAG: 9411040008
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Ever since safety Antonio Banks smacked a Southern Mississippi ballcarrier head-on two weeks ago - sending a rattled Chris Buckhalter to the sidelines and giving Banks a broken nose - members of the nation's third-ranked defense have been trying to top that collision.
``That was a beautiful hit,'' junior linebacker George DelRicco said Friday. ``We were talking about how you'd hit somebody and maybe their helmet would come off, [maybe] that would be better.''
Several entry blanks were filled out during the 14th-ranked Hokies' 34-6 Big East Conference rout of West Virginia Thursday. Banks laid out receiver Tony Minneyfield on the Mountaineers' fourth play, but DelRicco was the busiest basher.
He blasted WVU backup quarterback Chad Johnston on a second-quarter scramble, knocking both the ball and Johnston's helmet loose (Tech recovered the ball at the WVU 12 and scored on a field goal). Later in the second quarter, DelRicco drilled Minneyfield after a reception, causing another fumble that rolled out of bounds.
So, did DelRicco's helmet-loosening, ball-jarring hit on Johnston top Banks?
``I saw it on tape, and it's not close,'' DelRicco said, laughing.
That was hardly the last time WVU felt Tech's defense and DelRicco. With about five minutes left and WVU going for it on fourth-and-7 and the Tech 38, the Hokies' hungry defense sent DelRicco and Brandon Semones on a blitz. Both buried Johnston for the seventh of Tech's eight sacks, a flashy signoff to the Hokies' biggest victory over the Mountaineers since a 41-0 rout in 1912, the first time the teams met.
``That's kind of the attitude we have [on defense] - something big's going to happen for us, not for them,'' said DelRicco, who finished with 13 tackles, eight unassisted.
Tech's offense got first-quarter scoring plays of 33 yards (a Brian Edmonds run) and 29 yards (a Maurice DeShazo-to-Antonio Freeman catch-and-run) to help pack away its fourth straight victory this year and seventh straight overall, the school's longest winning streak since 1967.
A second quarter goal-line stand on which Tech pushed WVU from first-and-goal at the 1 to fourth-and-goal at the 4 ended with a 22-yard field goal by Bryan Baumann that made the score 14-6 Tech instead of 14-10. Ryan Williams field goals of 39 and 33 yards gave Tech a 20-6 halftime lead.
Tech extended that to 27-6 with 11:15 left in the game when DeShazo and Bryan Still connected on a 35-yard scoring pass. Freshman Ken Oxendine's 53-yard touchdown run up the middle finished the scoring with 4:33 left.
A national cable television audience and 49,679 Lane Stadium visitors saw 14th-ranked Tech improve to 2-0 in the Big East.
West Virginia trudged home with a 1-4 record for the first time in coach Don Nehlen's 15 seasons. The defending Big East champions, who went 11-0 during the 1993 regular season, are 0-2 in the league.
The Hokies committed four turnovers as DeShazo went 12-for-32 for 185 yards, throwing three interceptions and two touchdowns. Tech gained 389 total yards to WVU's 239; 204 came from a ground game that had been averaging 153 per game.
``We broke out a little bit, but still not what we're used to,'' center Billy Conaty said. ``It hasn't happened yet. I hope we don't miss an opportunity to win a game because of it.''
At the moment, Tech's defense wouldn't allow it. The Hokies collected four turnovers and held West Virginia to 91 rushing yards. Tech sacked WVU's quarterback duo of Eric Boykin and Chad Johnston eight times (three by sophomore end Cornell Brown), had 15 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses totaling 87 yards, and broke up eight passes.
West Virginia did take a 3-0 lead with 13:10 left, but only after Tech held the Mountaineers at the 10.
One possession later, Still's 15-yard reception and Thomas' 13-yard run put Tech at the 33. Edmonds bounced outside left and rolled in for Tech's first offensive touchdown in nearly five quarters.
On the first play of WVU's next drive, Tech end Hank Coleman batted Boykin's pass high in the air; Tech linebacker Semones settled under it at the WVU 29. After one incompletion, DeShazo threw a wide-receiver screen to Freeman, who used blocks by Jay Hagood and Chris Malone to navigate a thin corridor into the end zone.
His first touchdown this year gave Tech a 14-3 lead with 7:32 left in the quarter and tied him with Ricky Scales for Tech's all-time touchdown reception record (18).
"It was a relief,'' Freeman said. "For weeks, I was a little antsy. [But] we knew sooner or later our offense would click, and our defense would do a great job holding West Virginia's offense.''
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB