ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9601020112
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
As he took his position for Georgia's final kickoff Saturday night, Virginia wide receiver Pete Allen searched the crowd for his father, James.
``He threw his arms in the air [as if] signaling touchdown,'' the younger Allen said. ``Of course, he does that every time and I hadn't scored one before now.''
If Allen was going to go the distance, there was no more opportune moment than the final time he touched the ball as a college football player.
Allen's 83-yard return gave the Cavaliers the lead with 57 seconds remaining and Virginia held on for a 34-27 victory in the Peach Bowl.
It was the latest in a series of big plays for Allen, a 5-foot-10, 148-pound senior, who had scored only one touchdown in each of the past two seasons.
Allen didn't score his first touchdown this year until the sixth game, when he raced 49 yards on a flanker reverse against Wake Forest, but he's been a terror ever since.
Allen had scoring plays this season of 83, 82, 82, 72, 67 and 49 yards and also had a key 52-yard non-scoring reception early in Virginia's 41-14 victory over Georgia Tech.
Allen had set a Peach Bowl record with his 82-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter Saturday - a record that stood only until he lifted the standard in the fourth quarter.
``All season long he was a cut here or a block there from breaking a return for a touchdown,'' said UVa linebacker Skeet Jones, who has known Allen since they played sandlot ball as pre-teens in the Norfolk, Va., area.
Although Allen caught five passes for 111 yards Saturday, he had an undistinguished evening as a return man until the end. Allen's fumble at the 20-yard line helped set up a field goal that enabled Georgia, once down 14-0, to cut the deficit to 14-6 early in the second quarter.
``I was thinking field position on that last kick,'' Allen said, ``but then I saw that hole open and I was like, `Whoa, whoa.' I never realized until I saw the replay that I was as close to the sideline as I was.''
It was the first time UVa has returned a kick - either a kickoff or punt - for a touchdown in eight bowl games. The last time the Cavaliers had a kickoff return for a touchdown was during the 1994 season, when Joe Crocker returned an onside kick 46 yards against Maryland.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Allen's return was an early but much appreciated birthday present for tight end Walt Derey, who turned 21 on Sunday.
Derey's fumble led to the Georgia touchdown that tied the score at 27 with 1:09 remaining, but it took only 12 seconds for UVa to regain the lead on Allen's return.
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR: Shannon Wilson, a freshman defensive back from William Fleming in Roanoke, may want to pick up a copy of Sunday morning's edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The game story said it was Wilson, not Allen, who scored the winning touchdown. UVa issued duplicate jerseys to some of its walk-ons and Wilson got the same No.2 as Allen.
BENT, DIDN'T BREAK: Only Florida State had more yards in total offense against Virginia this season than the Bulldogs, who outgained the Cavaliers 525-256.
Remarkably, Georgia scored only two touchdowns, the second by the Bulldogs' defense on a 10-yard fumble return. It took a second effort by Hines Ward for Georgia to score its first touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the UVa 1.
``I don't think we have anything to be embarrassed about as a defense,'' UVa tackle Todd White said. ``We were out there a long time, but that's not the first time that's happened.''
The Bulldogs had the ball for 95 plays, the high against Virginia this season. Georgia attempted 59 passes - the fourth time this year that teams have thrown 50 or more times against the Cavaliers.
TOUGH BAPTISM: Robert Hunt, a redshirt freshman, played most of the second half at right offensive tackle after senior Chris Harrison experienced problems with dehydration.
The offensive staff is high on Hunt, but he was not listed on the Cavaliers' two-deep roster and was not among the 57 players profiled in UVa's postseason media guide.
LIKE IT LOUD: A Peach Bowl-record crowd of 70,285 at the Georgia Dome represented the fourth crowd of 70,000 or more to watch the Cavaliers this season.
``Never in my life have I experienced an atmosphere like this,'' Jones, a fifth-year senior, said. ``Not at Michigan, not at Clemson. It's amazing how loud it gets inside a dome.''
The Cavaliers were 2-2 in those games, with both of the losses on last-second plays. Although Virginia fans purchased an estimated 20,000 seats, the crowd Saturday clearly favored the home-state Bulldogs.
BY THE NUMBERS: Virginia improved its bowl record to 4-4 with its victory Saturday and squared its record against Georgia at 7-7-3. Fourteen of the 17 games were between 1897 and 1927.
UVa has won 29 straight games in which it has scored 30 or more points dating to a 41-38 loss to Georgia Tech in 1990.
LENGTH: Medium: 92 linesby CNB