Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509180141
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After Tech turned the ball over twice in a span of 64 seconds and fell behind 13-0 in the second quarter, many in the crowd of 36,328 at Lane Stadium cascaded the Hokies with boos.
The attitude of Tech's fickle fans didn't sit right with Jim Druckenmiller, who labored through a horrific day at quarterback.
``Talk about lack of fan support, it was ridiculous today,'' Druckenmiller said afterward. "I've never heard so many cheers one minute, then the next minute you hear so many boos.
"You're either with us or you're not. Right now, the only people we have are our teammates following us.
"I don't understand it sometimes. You get comments all week, like `Go get 'em' and this and that, then here comes the old stab in the back. It's a tough crowd, I tell you.''
Tech junior linebacker Cornell Brown didn't seem surprised by the crowd's reaction. He's heard this tune before.
"That's fans for you,'' Brown said. "They are there when the times are good and when times are bad they kind of look for something to blame. Today we didn't perform as well as we should have and I guess that's disappointing to them.
"But we can't worry about the fans because it's the guys on this team who are paying the price each and every week. We have to stick together and not worry about them.''
BOOTED?
Atle Larsen's miss of a 26-yard field goal at the close of the first half has Tech coach Frank Beamer considering using true freshman Jimmy Kibble. Larsen, who replaced Ryan Williams as Tech's No.1 place-kicker, has missed two field-goal attempts inside of 30 yards in the first two games and is only 1-of-5 inside the 30 in his career. Tech had Kibble practicing placements during the halftime break.
INJURY REPORT
Sophomore tailback Ken Oxendine, who missed his second straight game with a broken right hand, is listed as doubtful for next week's game against Miami.
Tech team doctor Duane Lagan said X-rays on Oxendine's hand Wednesday looked fine but showed no new bone growth, making his status for Miami more uncertain.
Beamer noted that senior Bryan Still, whose hands are desperately needed at flanker, will play against the Hurricanes.
NEXT WEEK
The Hokies will try to revive their Big East hopes when 19th-ranked Miami (1-1) visits Lane Stadium at noon Saturday. The Hurricanes, who were idle Saturday, never have lost to the Hokies, winning all 12 meetings between the schools. Tech officials say plenty of tickets are available.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB