Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511060121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Well, Saturday at freezer-cold Lane Stadium, the Tech quarterback made James eat his words.
Upstaging Syracuse freshman sensation Donovan McNabb, Druckenmiller threw for a career-high three touchdowns as the Hokies put a 31-7 squeezing on the 20th-ranked Orangemen.
The victory, Tech's seventh straight, vaulted the Hokies past the Orange into the Big East Conference lead. Tech (7-2 overall, 5-1 Big East) can assure itself of no worse than a tie for its first league title with a victory Saturday in Washington, D.C., against lowly Temple (1-8, 1-4).
Tech's offense, thanks to Druckenmiller and sophomore tailback Ken Oxendine's 118 yards rushing, and the Hokies' nationally-ranked defense simply were too much for 61/2-point underdog Syracuse (6-2, 3-1).
If Druckenmiller needed any extra fodder to play well Saturday, he was supplied room service by James two days early.
"I didn't hear [James], but my roommate Chris Malone [Tech offensive guard] did,'' Druckenmiller said.
"Chris said James said McNabb was by far the better quarterback than Jim Druckenmiller. Personally, I think he put down our whole offense. He said the only thing that was saving us was our defense.
"I took it personally. I know one thing: I was fired up right then to play this football game."
On a day when throwing the football was a risky proposition, Druckenmiller and his rifle right arm completed 16 of 27 passes for 224 yards.
Meanwhile, his more celebrated counterpart, McNabb, was 12-of-24 for 113 yards.
"McNabb's a great player,'' said Tech linebacker George DelRicco, "but our guy, Jim, one-upped him today.''
Of course, the Tech defense had plenty to do with one of the Hokies' biggest victories ever, considering what was on the line.
Led by junior defensive end Cornell Brown, who sacked the shifty McNabb three times for 38 yards, the Hokies' defense limited Syracuse to season lows in points, rushing yards (54) and total yards (167).
"I can't say enough about our defense,'' said Frank
Beamer, Tech's coach. "If you talk to them, they'd probably tell you they thought [the Orangemen] wouldn't get seven points.''
The Northern visitors hung up their "7'' with 5:48 gone in the game. That was it. In the final three quarters, Syracuse had minus-11 yards rushing and 102 yards total.
"I'm not going to make excuses. They just lined up and flat beat us,'' said Paul Pasqualoni, Syracuse's coach.
The Orangemen, working with the stiff breeze at their back in the first quarter, broke on top 7-0 on their second possession.
Set up at the Hokies' 43 after a 29-yard punt into the wind by Tech's John I. Thomas, Syracuse needed only three plays - all runs - to score.
After McNabb's 20-yard option keeper took the ball to the Tech 19, freshman fullback Rob Konrad blew untouched up the middle on the next play for a touchdown.
"They were a little higher than we were,'' Price said. "We were hot about it, but we knew seven points wouldn't win this game.''
Tech scored on three of its four second-quarter possessions with the wind to take a 17-7 cushion to the halftime heaters.
After squandering a first-quarter scoring opportunity when Druckenmiller kneeled down on a fourth-and-two at the Syracuse 8 when he thought an Orange defender had jumped offsides, the Hokies went to work.
Atle Larsen's 21-yard field goal with 12:50 left in the second quarter made it 7-3.
After Brown's third-down sack of McNabb killed a Syracuse threat following Kyle McIntosh' 54-yard kickoff return, Druckenmiller drove Tech 54 yards in nine plays to take the lead for good.
The final 25 yards came on Druckenmiller's shovel pass to fullback Brian Edmonds, who watched the seas part in front of him and galloped unchecked into the end zone with 3:22 showing.
"We hadn't run that play in three or four weeks,'' Edmonds said. "I'm sure it caught 'em off guard.''
When the Tech defense sent McNabb & Co. three plays and out again, the Hokies got the ball back again with 2:13 left. Knowing it needed to do all the damage it could with the wind, Tech marched 55 yards in eight plays. Druckenmiller and Jermaine Holmes punctuated the drive, hooking up on a 29-yard pass 34 seconds before halftime.
Tech, thanks to Druckenmiller's 179 yards passing, outgained Syracuse 261-68 in the first half. The Orangemen didn't record a first down and had minus-7 yards in the second quarter.
Any Syracuse second-half comeback hopes were extinguished quickly. McIntosh fumbled Larsen's wind-shoved second-half kickoff, with Tech's Jomo Nelson of Salem and Loren Johnson sharing the recovery at the Syracuse 25.
Seven plays later, it was 24-7. The touchdown came on Druckenmiller's pass in the flat to Dwayne Thomas, who lugged it 25 yards to the end zone.
Former Salem High School star Marcus Parker added the final touch for Tech with 9:22 left in the fourth quarter, bowling over from 1 yard for the final margin.
"I sure thought this game would be a little more of a struggle than this,'' DelRicco said. "I'm a little surprised it was this easy.''
After the game, Tech students ripped down the south-end goal post.
"I feel better after this one than any win ever at Tech,'' said Price, one of 16 seniors to play their last home game.
"Right now I'm so happy. It's just starting to hit me that I'm gonna have to take this jersey off after my last game at home. I don't want to take it off.''
The better team prevailed on this day, Druckenmiller said.
Was he the better quarterback on this day?
"Better ask Craig James,'' Druckenmiller said, laughing. "He knows everything, doesn't he?''
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB