Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511060127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
After Tech's 31-7 domination of Syracuse on Saturday at Lane Stadium, Price said Beamer had better look at another candidate.
"When we meet Tuesday,'' said Price, "I'm going to tell Coach Beamer to retract those statements about me. I think he'd better start pushing Mr. Cornell Brown for player of the year. I mean that guy is some kind of awesome.''
Brown, a 6-foot-2, 246-pound end from Lynchburg, led Tech's defensive charge against the Orangemen, coming up with three timely sacks of Syracuse's scrambler deluxe, freshman quarterback Donovan McNabb.
It marked the second consecutive week Brown has recorded three sacks. Saturday's trio gave Brown a career-high 12 for the season with two regular-season games remaining.
"That's great that J.C. is saying that stuff, but we don't really worry about stats and individual awards,'' said Brown, a junior. "We'll look at the stats at the end of the year.''
Brown's first sack quelled a Syracuse threat after Tech had kicked a field goal to close to 7-3. Brown then wrecked the Orangemen's next possession when he hit McNabb while he was trying to pitch the ball to Malcolm Thomas. The result was an 18-yard loss to the Syracuse 9 that shortened the field for Tech's offense for a go-ahead 54-yard drive.
"That guy [McNabb] is a tough guy to run down,'' Brown said. "He's a shifty as they come. I just tried to get in there as many times as I could and pressure him as much as I could.''
Brown doesn't hide his emotions on the field. After a big play, he's always dancing around. Saturday he spent much of his time flapping his arms up and down, in an attempt to raise the Lane Stadium noise level.
"With his emotion he carries us on defense,'' said Price, a senior. "He gets everybody all excited and hyped up.
"We didn't seem to have a lot of emotion early and Syracuse scored on us. When we came back to the sideline, Cornell started going nuts, just like he usually does when that happens.
"Thanks to him, we get a little crazy on the field and we play better because of it.''
Price said it has helped Brown that teams have started to key some on him.
"Last year, teams could easily focus on Cornell and what he was doing,'' Price said. "I have a couple of good games and it has helped take some of the focus off him.''
The Tech defense, ranked first in NCAA Division I-A against the run and third in scoring yield entering Saturday's game, continues to get it done. The Orangemen were held to season lows of seven points and 54 yards rushing.
While Tech had a hard time chasing down the shifty McNabb, the Hokies applied enough pressure that the heralded Syracuse freshman couldn't hook up with any regularity with his favorite receiving target, Marvin Harrison.
Harrison, who entered the game ranked fourth in the nation in receiving yards per game (129.4), managed only three catches for 51 yards, both season lows.
"We doubled Harrison most of the day,'' Beamer said. "We were able to get enough rush from our guys front on McNabb that we could get away with two guys on Harrison.''
Brown had much more than double coverage when he made it to the postgame interview session.
"We've came a long way after losing our first two games,'' Brown said of his Hokies (7-2). "We're playing our best football of the season right now. And now's when you want to be playing well.''
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB