Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 8, 1994 TAG: 9411080107
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Frederick, one of the marquee players for Virginia's football team, was trying to deal with a 28-25 upset loss to Duke when he received bad news of another sort.
It seems that Frederick was in Roanoke on UVa's open date, Oct. 29, and ate at the Dairy Queen on U.S. 460 at Gus Nicks Boulevard.
The parents of Frederick's girlfriend, Cherye Beddingfield of Blue Ridge, called Sunday to report that a food handler at the Dairy Queen had tested positive for hepatitis A and that vaccinations were recommended for anybody who had eaten at the restaurant from Oct. 22-29.
``Can you believe it?'' Frederick asked. ``I mean, how random is that?''
Team physician Dr. Frank McCue said Monday afternoon that he had not spoken with Frederick, but that a hepatitis injection would not hinder Frederick's performance in a game.
``It's like a tetanus shot,'' McCue said. ``I had to get one last year when one of my patients came down with hepatitis, but it didn't hurt.''
Frederick will be happy to hear that. He had visions of trying to play Saturday with his arm numb or throbbing from multiple injections.
``What a weekend!'' Frederick said. ``You lose to Duke, then your plane is coming down for a landing and all of a sudden the pilot is gunning [the engine] because there's another plane on the runaway. A lot of the guys were pretty shook up about that.
``And now, this. I mean, how bad can it get?''
Frederick said he and his girlfriend only stopped by the Dairy Queen for an ice-cream cone after dinner.
``It was the week the star was red,'' said Frederick, more bewildered than upset. ``We like to go into Roanoke [from Blue Ridge], but I may never go back now.''
He won't have a choice. The Cavaliers, who visit Virginia Tech on Nov. 19, traditionally stay in Roanoke or Salem on the night before the game.
TRASH-TALKING: Duke wide receiver Corey Thomas, who suggested that the Cavaliers quit in the third quarter Saturday, didn't get much support Monday from the Virginia players or head coach George Welsh.
``It may have been our worst quarter of the season,'' Frederick said, ``but we certainly didn't quit. We turned it up in the fourth quarter. We fought it till the end. I don't know what that guy's thinking.''
Duke had a total of three first downs and 33 yards on five fourth-quarter series, when the Blue Devils were trying to preserve their lead by working the clock.
``If he's [Thomas] only a freshman, he'll be around,'' Frederick said. ``He'll get his eventually. That'll be on our board next year, so I'm glad he said it. Man, I wish I could come back for that game next year.
``Anybody can talk after a game. You may not agree with what Randy Neal said [about Duke's schedule], but at least he said it before the game, so people could take a shot at him.''
DEJA-HOO: As expected, the Cavaliers have been reminded of their annual November swoon at every turn. One of the student newspapers, the University Journal, said Saturday's loss was a case of ``Deja-Hoo.''
``It sure didn't feel like November,'' Frederick said. ``It was 85 freakin' degrees out there.''
STALLING OUT: Virginia has had 10 possessions inside the opposition's 10-yard line this year when it has failed to score a touchdown, including two Saturday, the second of which resulted in a missed field goal.
``To me, the ballgame came down to that,'' Welsh said. ``We've talked about it a lot, but there's other things you've got to practice. If we're not making the right judgments, we're not making the right judgments. Then, you get beat. If you get beat too much, you get fired.''
ODDS AND ENDS: ACC rushing leader Robert Baldwin of Duke gained 1 yard or fewer on 12 of 26 carries Saturday. ... Virginia had not played in a 28-25 game before Saturday and had scored 25 points only once previously, in 1941, in its 107-year football history. ... UVa, a seven-point favorite against Duke, has not lost when favored by more than seven since 1990, when 22-point underdog Maryland beat the Cavaliers 35-30. ... Virginia is a 15-point favorite to beat the Terrapins Saturday.
by CNB