Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410180044
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENVILLE, N.C. LENGTH: Long
This is what Virginia Tech does when it plays East Carolina. In a series of football games that usually are as close as snuggling lovers, the Hokies kissed the lush turf at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for the first time in four years after beating East Carolina 27-20.
Quarterback Maurice DeShazo dragged Tech into the lead with a 6-yard touchdown run and a pass for the two-point conversion late in the third quarter, but no Hokies partisan relaxed.
The previous three games in the series played here had been decided by three, one and four points; two years ago, Tech lost here by three points on a touchdown pass with 42 seconds left.
On the Pirates' last drive Saturday, quarterback Marcus Crandell threw perhaps the worst of his 50 passes. Hokies linebacker Ken Brown's second interception of the season allowed 19th-ranked Tech to let out that breath.
The Hokies (6-1) clinched a winning season with their ninth consecutive non-Big East Football Conference victory (including the 1993 Independence Bowl) and can have their best eight-game record since 1967 with a victory at home Oct.22 against Pittsburgh.
East Carolina finished with 419 total yards, including 332 passing, but saw its record fall to 3-3 when Crandell threw to Brown.
``To be honest, I didn't really look him off,'' Crandell said. ``I was really looking at the free safety [Antonio Banks]. I saw him on the hash [mark], and then he rolled off. Really, I rushed myself.''
DeShazo ran Tech into its third road victory this year, the most since 1986. He gained 58 yards rushing (before sacks), including 24 on back-to-back draw plays in the third quarter, the second of which was the Hokies' go-ahead touchdown.
He was 14-of-27 passing for 198 yards with no interceptions against the nation's top pickoff team, and the senior's hold on the game was obvious. Plastered with preseason publicity, he was a washout in a couple of nationally televised Tech games and his enthusiasm had been dampened.
``[Today] Maurice was confident, he was happy and having fun, and our offense clicked,'' said receiver Antonio Freeman.
Added DeShazo: ``I'm starting to roll, starting to play the game.''
Tech had a few other participants. Tailback Tommy Edwards gained 96 yards on 29 carries and scored once; defensive end Cornell Brown had 21/2 sacks, a tackle for a 5-yard loss and a forced fumble returned for a score by Lawrence Lewis; and Ryan Williams made each of his two field-goal attempts.
Brown's helmet bopped the ball out of tailback Junior Smith's hands in the first quarter, and Lewis reprised his Independence Bowl adventure by running 60 yards with the ball to put Tech ahead 6-0 with 12 minutes, 9 seconds left. Williams missed the extra-point kick.
``The Independence Bowl was a kick [J.C. Price booted the ball trying to pick it up] and there was a nice bounce,'' said Lewis, who had a 20-yard return in the bowl. ``This time, I just picked it up. I was expecting to get tackled.''
He got to the end zone, which is where East Carolina's Damon Wilson wound up with 2:45 left in the first after a 1-yard run.
Edwards' 7-yard touchdown run with 13:25 left in the first half put Tech ahead 13-7. But East Carolina's next possession was an 80-yard drive that included Crandell completions of 22, 25 and 20 yards. A 6-yard alley-oop to 6-foot-6 freshman Larry Shannon - the same play the Hokies used to run with former two-sport player John Rivers, who was on Tech's sideline Saturday - put the Pirates ahead 14-13 with 8:58 left.
Williams' field goals of 21 and 19 yards gave Tech a 19-14 lead, but it could have been larger. Edwards stuck the ball over the goal line on a 3-yard run before the 19-yarder, but the officials ruled one of his knees was down at the half-yard line.
On the next play, Edwards was hit at the 1 but struggled free and scored - except an official ruled Edwards' forward progress had stopped. Two more Edwards runs resulted in minus-1 yards.
``As soon as I hit the guy, they blew the whistle dead,'' Edwards said. ``I was still moving. It makes you feel kind of like back in high school, sometimes you go to some of your rival away games and you feel like the ref went to that school.''
Another Crandell-to-Shannon alley-oop, this one from 15 yards over William Yarborough and Antonio Banks put East Carolina ahead 20-19 when Crandell missed the same play to the other side on the two-point conversion try.
Later in the third, DeShazo hit Jermaine Holmes for 21 yards on third-and-nine at the Pirates' 45. Two draws later, DeShazo was in the end zone.
Neither play was an audible; offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill called them back to back.
``Got to, man,'' DeShazo said, smiling. ``He's not afraid to.''
Fourth-quarter East Carolina possessions ended on a 6-yard pass on fourth-and-seven on which Allen Williams caught the ball with a knee on the ground; on Price's no-gain stop of Crandell; and, finally, on Brown's interception.
Early in the fourth quarter, Crandell threw to Jason Nichols for a 24-yard gain to the Tech 10, but a holding penalty wiped out the gain.
Crandell had season highs in completions and attempts against what came in as the nation's top pass-efficiency defense, which did hold him to 111 second-half yards. He's played eight games and already is the Pirates' No.10 all-time passer (1,799 yards).
``Great quarterback,'' Ken Brown said of Crandell. ``That's been the thing with our defense. We really haven't been beating any great quarterbacks. This is the first great quarterback we've beaten.''
see microfilm for box score
by CNB