Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 19, 1995 TAG: 9511210024
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
Only 47 seconds and one interception return separated Virginia from its third last-second, one-point loss of the season Saturday.
As Cavalier collapses go, however, this was vintage stuff.
Virginia, which could write the book on blown leads, added another chapter in a 36-29 loss to Virginia Tech at Scott Stadium.
The Cavaliers, ahead 29-14 to start the fourth quarter, lost for the second time this season and sixth time during the 1990s after leading by 14 or more points in the second half.
Does any team in America have a bigger reputation for choking?
``Getting to the question of us being a choking team,'' UVa defensive tackle Todd White said, ``I don't think we are. I think we're a team that loses focus sometimes.
``Winning the ACC championship was one of our main goals, we [shared] it and I think we lost focus after that. I think a lot of people were too concerned about how many diamonds were going to fit inside their rings.''
White was very nearly a Cavalier hero, intercepting a tipped ball that enabled Virginia - leading 29-23 at the time - to take possession at its 46-yard line with 4:08 remaining.
Virginia managed only one first down, however. So, after Rafael Garcia missed a 46-yard field goal, Tech got the ball for the last time at its 29 with 2:12 remaining.
Three incompletions left Virginia on the verge of victory before Jim Druckenmiller faked long and spotted Cornelius White over the middle for a 14-yard gain.
Druckenmiller's pump fake not only helped get the first down, but it was instrumental in a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Holmes that enabled Tech to take a 30-29 lead with 47 seconds remaining.
``They ran the exact same play,'' UVa free safety Percy Ellsworth said, ``and I tried to cheat up 'cause I didn't want to give them the pass over the middle again. They caught me. It was a great call.''
Ellsworth earlier was victimized on a 51-yard pass from Druckenmiller to Bryan Still that set up the Hokies' first touchdown. Tech had 128 yards in offense at the half - 110 on a pair of bombs to Still.
``I take full blame for this loss,'' Ellsworth said. ``On the earlier play to Still, both of us had the ball and maybe I should have knocked it down instead of trying to intercept it.
``I gave up 14 points today. That last series, it was all defense. More than that, it was all me. I try to say I come up with big plays. Today, I had the chance to come up with some big plays and I didn't.''
Clearly, the game got away from Virginia in several areas, most notably in the kicking game. A bad snap from Walt Derey, resulting in a 15-yard punt by Will Brice, set up the Tech field goal that made it 29-23 with 6:58 left.
The Hokies, whose 15.8-yard average ranked last in the Big East in kickoff returns, got a 47- and a 30-yarder from Antonio Banks. Larry Green, averaging 7.8 yards per punt return, had a 27- and a 16-yarder.
``We didn't win on special teams today,'' UVa running back Tiki Barber said. ``It hurt us. It almost cost us last week at Maryland [when the Terps blocked a late punt.]''
Barber, who came into the game with four straight 100-yard rushing games and eight for the season, was held to a season-low 58 yards on 18 carries. More than half of that came on one 35-yard burst, but UVa had more than enough offense to win.
Quarterbacks Mike Groh and Tim Sherman passed for a combined 317 yards despite the absence of leading receiver Patrick Jeffers, sidelined for the third straight game with a hamstring injury.
Sophomore Germane Crowell had five receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns, but Crowell limped off the field with 11:11 remaining in the third quarter and did not return after an apparent ankle injury.
Groh's receiving corps on UVa's final possession included walk-on Bryan Owen and seldom-used redshirt freshman Brian McCarthy, whose last reception was against Michigan in the Pigskin Classic on Aug.26.
``You gotta go with who's out there,'' said Groh, who sustained a knee injury with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter and, except for one play when Sherman was knocked woozy, missed the rest of the first half. ``Injuries are part of the game.''
Sherman tossed a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, as well as a two-point conversion pass, and might have been the story of the game had UVa won. Instead, he was a mere footnote.
It was easy to forget that on the same field, only 16 days earlier, Virginia had upset then-No.2 Florida State 33-28 and put itself in position for an ACC co-championship.
This time, the questions were about the Cavaliers' latest fold. Virginia (8-4) led in the fourth quarter of all of its losses, surrendering the lead three times in the final minute.
``We won the ACC championship and nobody can take that away from us,'' Ellsworth said, ``but we should have won every ballgame we lost. And that's what hurts the most.
``I've been here four years and we've lost every last game at home since I've been here. I never thought I could feel this bad over a game. Short of death, I never thought I could feel this bad.''
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB