ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 17, 1996 TAG: 9611180128
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: MIAMI
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
In the flag-stiffening and goalpost-bending atmosphere of the Orange Bowl on Saturday evening, Virginia Tech needed a calming force.
As usual, it found one behind center.
When the Hokies' first football victory in eight trips to Miami is recalled for historical purposes, it will be Keion Carpenter's 100-yard, game-clinching interception return that will be mentioned.
The game within the game that deserves to be remembered was the one played by Tech quarterback Jim Druckenmiller.
His numbers weren't particularly remarkable in a 21-7 victory. With the poised and patient Pennsylvanian, they usually aren't.
However, Druckenmiller looked into the eye of the Hurricanes and never blinked. He passed into a wind that wasn't quite up to tropical storm speeds, and he completed 15 of 24 passes for 203 yards, or 63 percent of the Hokies' yardage.
``The most important thing,'' Druckenmiller said, ``is that we won.''
After an 0-2 start last season as Tech's starter, Druckenmiller has guided the Hokies to 18 wins in 19 games. He has pitched what arguably are the two biggest victories in school history, last season's Sugar Bowl and one in a stadium where only five of the last 75 visiting clubs have won.
He became the first visiting Big East quarterback to win in the Orange Bowl. He just kept pitching and checking off for first downs.
Forced to be patient and forget throwing deep no matter the direction or field position, he did. Although Druckenmiller probably could have aired one out about 100 yards with the wind with his arm and strength , he refused.
``He's the best in big games,'' said Tech coach Frank Beamer of the 225-pound senior who's linebacker-tough.
There's another way to say that. Druckenmiller doesn't play much different against a Miami than he does against a Temple. That's reliability. That's consistency.
He didn't throw an interception - for the fifth straight game, all victories. He also completed a touchdown pass for the fifth consecutive game - and his third-quarter, 13-yarder to a diving Michael Stuewe was to the third receiver on the play.
That was Druckenmiller's 30th scoring pass in less than two full seasons as the Hokies' starter. In Tech history, only Maurice DeShazo and Will Furrer have tossed more.
Beamer, a coach whose alma mater is Tech, knows more than just the highlights of his school's football history, and wouldn't anoint Druckenmiller as the best QB in Tech annals.
After all, that argument could begin and end with Don Strock, a familiar name from his Miami Dolphins' days in the Orange Bowl.
Druckenmiller, 24, a solid NFL prospect, is playing for more successful Hokie teams than did Strock. He gets great protection, too. There is something to be said - make that a lot - for making few mistakes.
``He's just very calm,'' Beamer said. ``He's experienced now and Jim doesn't do things to get you in trouble. In a game like this especially, that means a lot.
``[Florida coach] Steve Spurrier said recently that these pro teams need to look at more than just numbers. They need to look at which quarterbacks are winning football games. How do you perform? Do you know how to win?''
Druckenmiller has been the right answer for Tech after DeShazo's departure. At that point, many assumed Al Clark, still the backup, would inherit the job.
Although Druckenmiller is a weight-room star, the issue never got down to arm-wrestling. Offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle liked a guy who out of high school took recruiting visits to Lycoming, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown and, Druckenmiller said, ``Penn State, but only as a walk-on, and it wasn't official.''
Now, after a prep year at Fork Union and plenty of clipboard-and-headset work, he's taken Tech (8-1) to its fourth straight bowl season - perhaps a Gator date with North Carolina? He's helped coax an inexperienced group of receivers to success.
``It is a dream come true,'' Druckenmiller said. ``At one time I was praying just to get a scholarship somewhere. I set my dreams high. If you work hard, you can make things happen. That's what this team is like, too.''
That pretty much has been a blue-collar attitude that has taken the Hokies from a nobody to a Big East beast in a few years. It has left little kids in the front row of stadiums screaming for the Hokie quarterback's sweatbands, too.
So, before he left the Orange Bowl grass which he seemed to be walking above, Druckenmiller turned and lofted one of his elastic rings toward the crowd.
It was a completion. Should anyone be surprised?
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB