Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410110040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Groh replaced injured Symmion Willis in the closing moments of the first half and gave Virginia's offense a much-needed lift in a 42-6 victory over the Deacons.
Groh, the ACC's top-ranked passer despite starting only one game, completed 10 of 14 passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns as UVa beat the Deacons for the 11th consecutive time.
``I think it definitely helped coming back down here,'' said Groh, who charted plays when his father, Al, was head coach at Wake from 1981-86. ``It's not just another game on the schedule for me.''
Until Groh entered the game, UVa's only scoring had come courtesy of a walk-on defensive back, Stephen Phelan, whose blocked punt led to a 10-yard touchdown return by Joe Crocker.
Virginia was unable to add to its lead and was in jeopardy of falling into a tie before Ronde Barber's end-zone interception - his second pickoff of the first half - with 5 minutes, 10 seconds left in the second quarter.
UVa (4-1 overall, 2-1 in the ACC) picked up two first downs and appeared to be on the move, even before Willis collapsed from a hamstring injury and had to be assisted from the field with 2:49 left in the first half.
``We're lucky [Groh] was ready to play,'' said UVa defensive end Mike Frederick. ``He could have come in and not been mentally ready and nobody could have blamed him.''
Groh completed four of five passes and needed only six plays to negotiate the final 44 yards of an 80-yard drive. His 5-yard touchdown pass with 42 seconds left and the conversion kick put Virginia ahead 14-0 at the half.
Willis had not played poorly to that point, completing nine of 14 passes for 137 yards, but his fumble on a bobbled exchange gave Wake possession at the UVa 29-yard line with 6:26 left.
The Deacons got as far as the 16 before Rusty LaRue's rushed first-down pass was intercepted by Barber in the end zone. It was the fifth interception of the season by Barber, a redshirt freshman from Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, Va.
``Some of the guys were telling me I had to be the luckiest DB in the country,'' Barber said. ``It was a gift, [but] I was reading the quarterback. He threw left whenever he squared his shoulders.''
Fumbles by Willis and Tiki Barber, coupled with a missed field-goal attempt by Rafael Garcia, prevented Virginia from pulling away during a first half in which the Cavaliers outgained the Deacons 253-57.
Wake rushed for minus-6 yards in the first half, one reason it had possession for only 11 minutes. The Deacons had four first downs in the first half, one of those the result of a roughing-the-punter penalty against the Cavaliers.
Virginia rushed Wake punter Mike Strazzeri at will and had a host of rushers in the area when Phelan got his block with 13:42 left in the first half. UVa had not returned a blocked punt for a touchdown since 1981.
A 21-point Virginia third quarter was highlighted by a pair of touchdown passes from Groh to Tyrone Davis, five of whose ACC-high six touchdown receptions have come on Groh passes.
Groh's second touchdown pass to Davis, which put the Cavaliers ahead 35-0 after the conversion kick with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, resulted from an interception and 36-yard return by linebacker James Farrior.
At that point, the only question was whether UVa's defense would give up a touchdown for the first time in three weeks, and it didn't. But, the offense did on an interception and 55-yard return by Mike Neubeiser with 12:23 left
``The first defense hasn't given up a touchdown in the last four games,'' Frederick said. ``If we can keep it up, we're going to win a lot of football games.''
The Cavaliers were ranked ninth in Division I-A in rushing defense entering the game and will not drop. Wake (2-4, 0-3) rushed for minus-21 yards for the game, with most of the losses the result of six sacks.
``We felt we were in the game at halftime,'' said Jim Caldwell, Wake's coach. ``We just didn't get it done. They just wore our defense down in the second half. They had the ball a long time.''
The Deacons, coming off a 10-year high of 30 first downs in a 33-27 victory over Army, had eight Saturday night. Virginia ran 89 plays, to Wake's 56, and had possession for more than 39 minutes. Junior tailback Kevin Brooks, who had rushed for a total of 196 yards in the first four games, carried 18 times for 112 yards before retiring with a tender shoulder. Tiki Barber had 17 carries for 71 yards.
``Wake wore down a bit; we knew it was a matter of time,'' said George Welsh, UVa's coach. ``Defensively, I can't complain, but how many good offensive teams have we played? I don't know how good Wake Forest is. The same with William and Mary.``
by CNB