THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410090156
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
Virginia Tech's football team wore bright orange jerseys for the first time since 1973 on Saturday against Temple. Too bad yellow isn't one of the school colors.
``If our defense had on yellow jerseys, they'd look like killer bees the way they swarm to the ball,'' Virginia Tech wide receiver Antonio Freeman said.
Tech's killer bees flew into the face of Temple's offense all afternoon at Lane Stadium in the 20th-ranked Hokies' 41-13 victory. The Owls had rolled up 385 yards last week against No. 4 Penn State, but managed just 216 against the Hokies, 59 in the game's final drive.
``They're the best defense we've seen,'' said Temple quarterback Henry Burris, who threw for a school-record 323 yards against the Nittany Lions, but had just 138 on 16-for-37 passing against Tech. ``Penn State, we saw some weaknesses in the defense and we took advantage of them, but looking at the Virginia Tech film it was hard to find a weakness.''
Only Syracuse has exposed any weaknesses in the Hokies' defense, with 461 yards in a victory last week. Tech (5-1, 3-1 Big East) is holding its other five opponents to an average 203.6 yards per game.
``You're not going to find too many defenses like that,'' Temple coach Ron Dickerson said. ``They had us cold. The coaches didn't know what to call and the offensive line got thrown around like toothpicks.''
Keep in mind the Hokies picked their teeth Saturday with one of the worst programs in college football the last couple years. But there was much back-slapping and many words of encouragement for the Owls (2-3, 0-1) after a respectable performance last week against Penn State. Dickerson said the coaches tried to convince the Owls to disregard the chatter.
``They didn't ignore it,'' Dickerson said. ``They thought we were good, and we're not good.''
Tech's offense is beginning to look good compared to the slow early-season start. The Hokies rolled up a season-high 245 yards rushing, with freshman Ken Oxendine gaining 71 yards on 16 carries in his first college start.
Oxendine was almost disconsolate afterward, however, because of two lost fumbles. The second one early in the fourth quarter at the Hokies' 19 set up Temple's first touchdown and spoiled a potential shutout. Temple scored its final touchdown with two seconds left in the game.
``Because of the two fumbles, I feel it was a letdown,'' Oxendine said. ``I've got to put this behind me. It was just an all right game for myself.''
Quarterback Maurice DeShazo's game was a bit better than all right. He ran for one touchdown on a nifty 4-yard scramble to the corner and threw for two more, marking the school-record 15th game of his career in which he's thrown multiple touchdown passes. Will Furrer held the old mark of 14.
DeShazo finished 11-of-18 for 115 yards with no interceptions. His prettiest pass of the day was a 29-yard strike to Freeman in the third quarter, which gave Freeman a school-record 19 career touchdown catches.
``It felt like the old days,'' said DeShazo, who has struggled so far this season.
``There was so much about the play that reminded me of the old times,'' said Freeman, a senior like DeShazo. ``I was in one-on-one coverage, I got separation and Maurice threw a good ball to me. We haven't seen too much of it this year.
``But it seems the offense is coming together and Maurice is out there having a good time and playing with confidence.''
The Hokies' special teams got the good times rolling when William Ferrell blocked John Shay's punt and Stacy Henley ran it 25 yards for a touchdown 3 1/2 minutes into the game. DeShazo passed 5 yards to Kevin Martin for one score and ran for another in the second quarter to give the Hokies a 21-0 halftime lead.
Meanwhile, Tech's defense was making big plays, stuffing the Owls twice on third-and-1 and once on fourth-and-1 in the first half.
``If we execute on defense, there's not much an offense can do,'' Hokies linebacker Ken Brown said. ``We dictate what plays they're going to run.''
Brown, the only senior on Tech's defense, had a team-high 11 tackles and batted down a pass.
``He was everywhere,'' Temple quarterback Burris said. ``He's big and quick and aggressive.''
Call him a killer bee. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
Virginia Tech's Cornell Brown, left, celebrates after sacking Temple
quarterback Henry Burris in the fourth quarter.
by CNB