THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410160189
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENVILLE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Virginia Tech quarterback Maurice DeShazo said Saturday he's ``starting to roll, starting to play the game.''
He started just in time Saturday against East Carolina, leading Virginia Tech to a 27-20 victory before 34,741 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The 19th-ranked Hokies are 6-1 for the first time since 1980.
DeShazo shook off a slow start and engineered a pair of pivotal third-quarter drives. With the Hokies nursing a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter, tailback Tommy Edwards ground out key yardage and DeShazo repeatedly made big plays on third down that kept the Pirates' high-octane offense off the field.
``They're a good football team, and that's what makes this win so good,'' Hokies coach Frank Beamer said. ``We beat a good football team at their place.''
Tech didn't do it in normal fashion. A defense that was ranked first nationally against the pass went soft as the Pirates' passing game poked and prodded the Hokies' soft underbelly.
``They knew us as a defense pretty good, where our little open spots were,'' Virginia Tech defensive end Lawrence Lewis said.
Lewis opened the scoring for the Hokies, scooping up the ball after Cornell Brown separated it from Junior Smith and running 60 yards for a touchdown with 12:09 to play in the first quarter.
Ryan Williams' extra-point try was wide right, leaving it 6-0.
``I thought somebody would come catch me and clip me at the ankles,'' said Lewis, who scored on a similar play in the Independence Bowl.
It was the second consecutive week the Hokies were on the scoreboard before their offense took the field. Against Temple, a blocked punt produced Tech's first score.
East Carolina (3-3), however, was no Temple. Sophomore quarterback Marcus Crandell passed for 221 yards - in the first half - against a defense that hadn't allowed 200 passing yards all season and came into the game permitting an average of 132.8 per game.
Crandell finished 30-of-50 for 332 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The interception was costly, as Tech linebacker Ken Brown killed the Pirates' last drive.
While DeShazo's numbers weren't as gaudy (14-of-27 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions), when the game was on the line he was in command.
The Hokies increased their 16-14 halftime lead to 19-14 on Williams' second field goal of the game. Tech had a first down at ECU's 1, but had to settle for a field goal.
East Carolina came back with an 80-yard drive, scoring on a 5-yard pass from Crandell to 6-foot-6 Larry Shannon, who out-leaped Tech cornerback William Yarborough for the second time of the day for a touchdown. ECU went for two and ran the same play, but this time Yarborough went up and batted it down, giving the Pirates a 20-19 lead with 6:59 to play in the third quarter.
The teams exchanged possessions and then the Hokies went on what proved to be the winning drive, which was all DeShazo.
DeShazo passed 16 yards to Bryan Still to convert on third-and-10, then hooked up with Jermaine Holmes for 21 yards on third-and-9. A quarterback draw went for 18 yards to the ECU 6, and on the next play DeShazo ran the draw again for a touchdown with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. DeShazo hit Holmes for a 2-point conversion, and Tech led, 27-20.
``(Offensive coordinator) Gary Tranquill made a great call and my line did a great job,'' DeShazo said.
And the Hokies did a good job keeping East Carolina's offense off the field after that.
``We knew if we just wore them down our offense would start clicking, and that's what happened as the game went on,'' Tech receiver Antonio Freeman said.
The Pirates failed to convert on fourth-and-6 from the Hokies' 31 with 12:05 to play, and Tech's offense ate up slightly more than eight of the remaining minutes. Edwards, in for injured starter Ken Oxendine, gained 40 of his game-high 96 rushing yards in the final 12 minutes. DeShazo kept the drives alive, converting one third-and-long situation on a quarterback draw and another with a pass to Freeman.
``I thought Maurice played great at the end,'' Beamer said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Virginia Tech's William Ferrell goes high and teammate Danny Osborne
takes the low approach to stop ECU's Mitchell Galloway.
Photo
PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Virginia Tech linebacker Ken Brown, left, stops East Carolina
running back Junior Smith for a short gain Saturday.
by CNB