Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410250031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Sometimes, your stars align just right.
Maurice DeShazo, Dwayne Thomas and Antonio Freeman - Virginia Tech's offensive vanguard last year but unproductive or unavailable at times this year - kept the Hokies in the hunt for Big East Football Conference heaven Saturday by sparking a 45-7 league victory over Pittsburgh.
DeShazo threw for two touchdowns, Thomas returned from an injury-induced three-game absence to score twice and Freeman caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt 80 yards for a score as the Hokies won their 10th consecutive home game - this one before 48,462 spectators at Lane Stadium.
Seventeenth-ranked Tech (7-1 overall, 4-1 in the Big East) plays at Miami (5-1, 2-0) next Saturday in a game with league-title and bowl-coalition implications.
``This game is over with,'' Thomas said. ``The only thing on our mind is Miami now.''
That Pitt (1-7, 0-4) might pop Tech's balloon occurred to the Hokies, but they forgot about it by mid-afternoon. Tech, which beat Pitt 63-21 last year after leading 42-6 at halftime, took a 24-0 advantage into the break Saturday and piled on three more scores in the third quarter.
The Panthers trailed West Virginia 31-6 late in the second quarter on Oct.22, but took a 41-40 lead before losing 47-41. There were no such hijinks Saturday.
``We just said, `We're going to take the fight to them,''' said Pitt's Pete Gonzalez, one of three quarterbacks used by coach John Majors. ``But their defense really did damage on us.''
On offense, Tech's celebrities did the work. DeShazo tied Will Furrer's school record for touchdown passes (43); Thomas gained 121 total yards; and Freeman's 164 yards on seven punt returns broke Frank Loria's record of 138 set in 1967 and gave Freeman 423 punt-return yards this year, 3 more than Loria's school record set in '67.
It was Tech's first punt return for a touchdown since Greg Payne's 70-yarder against VMI in Richmond in 1976.
Ryan Williams used Tech's scoring frenzy to set a school record for points in a career. He has one more than Chris Kinzer's 234 from 1985-88.
DeShazo and Freeman connected on a 4-yard fade-pattern touchdown in the first quarter. Freeman's 22-yard punt return had put the Hokies on the Pitt 17.
Thomas, who had no hangover from his sprained ankle, jumped into the end zone for a 2-yard score with 5 minutes, 13 seconds left in the first half as Tech took a 17-0 lead. Supporting actor Bryan Still's flat-dive, 43-yard reception landed the Hokies on the 2.
A 30-yard Freeman punt return got Tech started at the Panthers' 13 with 1:53 left before halftime. Three plays later, Thomas spun for a 3-yard touchdown run as the Hokies took a 24-0 lead.
Freeman's 80-yard touchdown return, which featured several precise back-and-forth cuts before a dash up the right sideline, and the conversion kick put Tech up 31-0 with 8:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Or, as Beamer said, ``Really in control.''
Pitt punter Nate Cochran, who was listed as questionable for the game with an ankle injury, and Anthony Dorsett (Tony's son) had the last two shots at Freeman. Dorsett missed a diving ankle tackle.
``He was the last person I saw on all my returns,'' Freeman said of Cochran. ``He kept making me change my direction. [But] I had a clear shot at the sideline, and I stiff-armed him and got around him.''
Tech punter Robbie Colley had a notably different day than Cochran. The senior kicked seven times for a 44.7-yard average, gleefully giving Pitt poor field position.
The Panthers started five of their 15 drives at their 10 or worse and began only two possessions at their 20 or better.
``That punter had a hell of a game,'' said Gonzalez, who had not played this year before Saturday. ``Starting out from your own 5, there's not many things you can do.''
Gonzalez scored on a 12-yard keeper with 14:22 left in the game, making it the third time the Hokies have lost a shutout bid in the fourth quarter (Boston College and Temple were the others).
Pitt, which has lost five in a row, had 480 passing yards against WVU but only 130 against Tech. The Hokies had six sacks and three other tackles for losses.
Tech, meanwhile, had little trouble fending off the Panthers' defensive front. Thomas had 82 yards on 14 carries.
``Our offensive line stayed on their blocks,'' Thomas said. ``That helps me out if I can pick my own holes.''
DeShazo, sacked once, completed 16 of 29 passes and was not intercepted in three quarters of work. He missed four plays early in the third quarter when he was hit after pitching the ball and sprained his left knee.
He returned for three plays as that possession stalled.
``With time and rest, I think it'll be OK,'' DeShazo said of his knee.
by CNB