ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 10, 1996 TAG: 9611120010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
No longer can people say Virginia Tech's football team has beaten nothing but a bunch of pantywaists this season.
Led by Jim Druckenmiller's three touchdown passes and a career-high 117 yards rushing by Marcus Parker, Tech put the whip to highly regarded East Carolina, paddling the Pirates 35-14 on Saturday night at chilly Lane Stadium.
As a numb throng of 49,128 looked on, Tech ran up a season-high 591 yards of total offense, including 332 on the ground, in scoring its seventh victory in eight games.
Needless to say, the Hokies didn't miss All-America defensive end Cornell Brown and six other players suspended for the game Wednesday.
"I don't know when I've ever been as proud of a bunch of players,'' said Tech coach Frank Beamer, who registered his 100th coaching victory. "I think it says a lot about a football team that when you're facing adversity you can reach down and get a little extra. That's a great quality to have and this team has it.''
The Hokies had way too much for East Carolina (5-3), which was forced to play without injured star quarterback Marcus Crandell.
"That's the best team we've played in the last two years,'' said Pirates coach Steve Logan, whose club has played the likes of Tennessee, Syracuse, West Virginia, Stanford and Miami in the past two seasons.
"Their line was the best I've seen. We knew that they were going to be big. But, they were very big and athletic as well.''
Druckenmiller, who has thrown seven touchdown passes with no interceptions in Tech's four-game winning streak, completed 15 of 23 passes for 268 yards.
"I think we proved a point tonight,'' Druckenmiller said. "There's a lot of Top 25 teams who haven't played a lot of great teams. I think we proved to everybody tonight that we belong in the Top 25.''
After ECU had closed to 21-14 on backup Danny Gonzalez's 10-yard touchdown pass to Lamont Chappell with 14:43 left, Tech tried to answer, but fumbled on three consecutive possessions.
But the Tech defense, led by such unheralded players as Jason Berish, John Engelberger and Anthony Midget, wouldn't budge in crunch time.
"You can't say enough about the way some of those guys on that side of the ball played,'' Beamer said.
Berish, playing at Brown's end spot, had six tackles, a tackle for a loss and a sack. Engelberger, making his first start at the other end, had five tackles and a sack. And Midget, who entered the game when starting cornerback Antonio Banks suffered a pulled groin in the second quarter, came up with six tackles, a sack and an interception.
Tech then put away the Pirates midway through the final quarter, on Druckenmiller's 15-yard shovel-pass play to Brian Edmonds and Parker's 14-yard touchdown run with 4:39 left.
With its offense looking the best it has all season, Tech moved the ball at will in the first half.
Tech amassed 320 yards in the first 30 minutes on an ECU defense that entered the game yielding just 311 yards per game.
Druckenmiller, obviously not affected by the inclement weather, had a brilliant half, completing 10 of 17 passes for 206 yards.
After a scoreless first quarter, Druckenmiller and Michael Stuewe hooked up to make it 7-0. Stuewe took a 7-yard square-out pass from Druckenmiller, wriggled out the clutches of defender Kelvin Suggs, and raced 58 yards down the left sideline untouched to the ECU end zone.
After ECU's offense went three-and-out, Tech went 49 yards in seven plays for another touchdown. On a third-and-13 from the ECU 23, Druckenmiller found Cornelius White floating behind defender Tavares Taylor in the left corner of the end zone to make it 14-0 with 7:30 left in the half.
It appeared Tech would take the two-touchdown cushion to the halftime heaters.
But ECU, which had managed 70 yards total offense and ran one snap in Tech territory to that point, got back in the game with one big play.
ECU split end Larry Shannon got behind Midget and took a 74-yard pass to the house to make it 14-7 only 41 seconds before halftime.
Druckenmiller, not willing to back off, hurried the Hokies right back down the field. He hit three straight passes to rush the ball to the ECU 11.
The drive went for naught, however, when freshman Shayne Graham misfired on a 28-yard field-goal attempt with :03 on the clock.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. ALAN KIM\Staff. A long pass bounces out of the handsby CNBof Virginia Tech receiver Shawn Scales as East Carolina defender
Tabari Wallace tries to break up the play during first-half action
Saturday night. 2. GENE DALTON\Staff. Virginia Tech tailback Marcus
Parker (left) protects the football and looks for running room.
color.