ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 20, 1997 TAG: 9704220012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING THE ROANOKE TIMES
There's no doubt Al Clark is the Hokies' No.1 quarterback, but who will play if he gets hurt?
The 7,500 or so die-hard faithful who showed up for Virginia Tech's spring football game Saturday all exited Lane Stadium with a sense of relief.
Their star may be gone, but, hey, this new guy isn't exactly a dud.
In his first major test as Jim Druckenmiller's replacement, Al Clark eased everyone's concerns while leading the Maroon squad to a 35-0 rout of the White team.
Showing absolutely no jitters, Clark threw the ball well and scrambled effectively in an impressive first taste of live action as the Hokies' No.1 quarterback.
The redshirt junior completed eight of 15 passes for 121 yards, including three consecutive strikes for a total of 52 yards on a game-opening touchdown drive, and ran for 42 yards.
Clark's performance garnered nothing but strong reviews, from the grandstand to the Tech coaching staff.
``I think that Clark kid is going to be good,'' a smiling Hokies backer said while filing out of Lane.
Rickey Bustle, Tech's offensive coordinator, wore a postgame look of satisfaction, too.
``I was pleased with what I saw,'' Bustle said. ``I thought Al made some decisions. I thought he made some nice throws. I thought he had a good day out there.''
Clark took care of business quickly, hitting Michael Stuewe with a perfect strike over the middle for 24 yards on his first pass. Two plays later, he hit Shawn Scales on a pinpoint 15-yard square-out. Another 11-yard rope to Stuewe set up the Maroon team's first score, Ken Oxendine's 1-yard run.
It was a pretty impressive showing by a guy who completed all of one pass last season as Druckenmiller's back-up.
``It's only a scrimmage, but you're on the stage and you have have to perform,'' Clark said. ``This was the biggest scrimmage, a game-type situation. I think everybody was happy.''
Clark, operating Tech's No.1 offense, did his damage against the Hokies' top defenders, who until Saturday, had pretty much owned the lead offense this spring.
The contest marked Clark's first taste of live action all spring. Until Saturday, the Washington, D.C., native had operated the past four weeks under the protection of a yellow jersey, which made him off limits to defensive hits.
``This was the first time the defense has had a chance to tee off on me and I knew they were coming after me,'' Clark said. ``But it was good. I got a chance to do what I have to do out there.
``I made a couple mistakes I'll have to learn from. As far as a grade goes, I'd have to give myself about 85 percent.''
Scales had a higher grading curve for Clark, saying: ``I'll give him a B-plus. I'd give him a A, but then you can't go any higher than that, and we don't want to do that.''
Bustle said the coaching staff debated whether to let Clark work without the yellow jersey Saturday.
``Finally, I was like, `Let him go out there and play,''' Bustle said.
``It's a good situation for him to be in, because he knows people are watching. You can't set that up for him. There's no way I can. He needed to be out there, having some people making some noise out there and oohhing and aahhing and booing and whatever.''
The Maroon squad dominated the game, outgaining the White team 248 yards to 17. The White offense couldn't move the ball with back-up quarterbacks Nick Sorensen, Dave Meyer and Mike Kocicka.
If the fans left with any questions about quarterback, it had to be what happens if Clark gets hurt.
``That's why it was a dilemma on whether to let Al go live or not,'' Bustle said.
``I think there are two good young prospects there. One of them [Meyer] throws the ball better than the other; the other one [Sorensen] understands what we're doing better. But neither one of them is anywhere near where one needs to be.
``They'll have to settle'' who's going to be No.2 behind Clark, Bustle said. ``I wish I could settle it, but I can't.''
Defensively, the obvious standout on the field was redshirt sophomore John Engelberger. The end was all over the place, recording a sack and a tackle for a loss.
``I was a little surprised the way the [No.1] offense moved the ball on the top defense,'' said Frank Beamer, Tech's head coach. ``Overall, we had a good spring practice. I think we'll figure in the Big East championship again. I don't know if we're good enough to win it, but we'll be there somewhere.''
TECH TIDBITS: Clark and Engelberger were unanimous selections as the offensive and defensive stars of the game, respectively. ... Oxendine ran for 36 yards on six carries. Backups Andre Kendrick and Clemson transfer Lamont Pegues had 33 and 29 yards rushing, respectively, and a touchdown each. ... The other Maroon scores came on a 5-yard reverse by Scales and a 42-yard return of a fumble recovery by Carl Bradley.
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. White quarterback Mikeby CNBKocicka (16) pays the price as he recovers a fumbled snap from
center while taking a hit from Maroon linebacker Tyron Edmond during
Saturday's Maroon-White spring game at Lane Stadium. 2. Maroon
quarterback Al Clark, a redshirt junior, completed eight of 15
passes of 121 yards and ran for 42 yards to spark a 35-0 victory.