Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 29, 1995 TAG: 9508290041
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Although the television cameras caught Garcia shaking his head in disgust, there was no microphone to record what he was saying.
``You don't want to know what I was saying,'' Garcia, the Cavaliers' place-kicker, said. ``When we decided to punt instead of going for the field goal, I was cussing my brains out.''
Garcia earlier had missed field-goal attempts from 39 and 38 yards, although his 30-yarder had given Virginia a 17-0 lead with 12:55 remaining.
The Wolverines came back to win the Pigskin Classic, 18-17, on a touchdown with no time remaining.
``I missed two,'' Garcia said, ``but I was kicking solidly. I was very, very calm and relaxed. I thought they would give me another chance and I would seal the game.
``I think [coach George Welsh] didn't go for the field goal because it was 49 yards, not because he had lost confidence in me. I think I've proved I can handle the pressure.''
Said Welsh: ``Those 49-yard field goals are hard to make. Plus, he wasn't in the groove. He did not have a good week of practice. You have to make some judgments along those lines, too.''
Michigan's kicker, All-American Remy Hamilton, missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt and was short on an extra-point kick. The Michigan Stadium field was full of divots even before Hamilton chunked the PAT.
``I could blame it on this or that; I'm not going to blame it on the field or the holder or anybody,'' said Garcia, referring to his misses.
``Sometimes, as soon as the ball leaves your foot, you know it's not good. I felt both [Saturday] were good as soon as I kicked them. When they went left, it was pretty frustrating.''
Garcia said his left leg is stronger than it was last season, one reason he was not intimidated by the 49-yarder. His first kickoff was not returned, although he was instructed to kick high and short on three subsequent kickoffs.
``I don't really know why that was,'' Garcia said. ``I was pretty upset about that, too. I felt like I was really killing the ball and could put it in the end zone every time.
``I think the coaches felt my leg got tired at the end of last season, so I haven't been kicking as much [in practice]. I've been lifting weights - last year I barely worked out - and doing a lot of running.''
Nothing would have been more special than a game-winning field goal, particularly since Garcia was playing for the first time in front of his mother and two sisters, who had made the trip from Barcelona, Spain.
``My mother had to leave her seat after the second miss,'' said Garcia, whose father saw him kick five field goals last year against Virginia Tech. ``She doesn't know much about football, but she can understand when people are booing.''
VERSATILE POIN-DEXTER: Little could Anthony Poindexter have imagined that the first ``big play'' of his college career would be a quarterback sack.
Poindexter, the Group AA state player of the year in 1993, frequently lined up at linebacker in the ``nickel'' defense employed by the Cavaliers in passing situations.
Poindexter, who played quarterback and safety at Jefferson Forest High School, was in position to make the play of the day when Michigan wide receiver Tyrone Butterfield dropped a pass at the 5-yard line with four seconds left.
Michigan was out of timeouts and the clock almost certainly would have run out if Butterfield had caught the ball and been tackled. After the game, Butterfield claimed he had dropped the ball on purpose.
``He didn't intentionally drop it,'' said Poindexter, who was standing behind Butterfield. ``He put his hands up and he missed it. I didn't see the replay. I didn't have to. That's not the way you try and drop a ball.''
JUST SORE: X-rays of Tiki Barber's right shoulder were negative, although Welsh said it was too early to tell if Barber will get the practice time necessary to play Saturday against William and Mary.
A DIFFERENT WAY: Fullback Charles Way had more than 100 carries last year, but his replacement, Darrell Medley, did not touch the ball Saturday. Medley told his hometown paper, the News & Record in South Boston, that UVa does not have any running plays yet for the fullback.
ODDS AND ENDS: Michigan had 22 yards in punt returns Saturday, which was more than Virginia allowed all of last season, when only 11 of Will Brice's 55 punts were returned. ... A court case involving back-up UVa fullback Charles Kirby was continued Monday until Sept.25. Welsh said he will await a verdict before deciding how to deal with Kirby, who has been charged with assault, battery and stalking.
by CNB