THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9601010120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
Bryan Still was the starter for Virginia Tech on Sunday. The entire Hokies defense was the closer.
Virginia Tech routed Texas in the Sugar Bowl 28-10 before 70,283 fans in the Louisiana Superdome, capping what will be remembered as the school's finest football season. The 13th-ranked Hokies (10-2) won their last 10 games and likely will be ranked in the final top 10 for the first time ever.
Hokies players celebrated the win by going en masse to the corner of the Superdome where the bulk of their fans were seated to salute them. Some - led by quarterback Jim Druckenmiller - scaled the 10-foot wall to dive into the crowd.
Texas' offense must have felt it was diving into a crowd every time it snapped the ball. The Longhorns entered the game ranked 17th nationally with 433 yards per game but finished with 226. That included 78 on the ground in 33 attempts (2.4 average) against the Hokies, who led the nation in rushing defense. Texas committed four turnovers, all in the second half.
``We've been a pretty good defense all year long,'' coach Frank Beamer said. ``As we get in there and get adjusted, we get better as the game goes along. We played a great football game on defense against a great offense.''
Tech trailed 10-0 early in the second quarter, and Beamer said his team played ``lousy'' in the first half. The offense just needed a spark, and Still was the igniter.
The senior flanker returned a punt 60 yards just before the half for Tech's first touchdown. He made the key play on Tech's go-ahead touchdown drive in the third quarter. And he capped off his night with a 54-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter.
``We want this guy to touch the ball as many times as we can during the ball game,'' coach Frank Beamer said.
Still's two touchdowns, six receptions for 119 yards and 179 yards of all-purpose yards on seven touches earned him MVP honors.
On the punt return, Still ran up the gut, broke a tackle, cut outside at the 50 and motored down the right sideline for a touchdown with 2:34 left in the first half that cut Texas' lead to 10-7.
It was just Still's fifth punt return of the season, and Tech's first ever for a touchdown in a bowl game.
``That gave them a real shot of adrenalin when we had good control of the game at 10-0,'' Texas coach John Mackovic said. ``I think the punt return was a key play.''
It was Still who made the key play on Tech's go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter. Druckenmiller lofted a pass toward the sideline that Still grabbed at the Texas 2. Marcus Parker ran in on the next play, and with the point-after the Hokies had a 14-10 lead, their first of the game.
That would have been enough for Tech the way its defense was playing, but on the Hokies' next possession they got some insurance following an interception by William Yarborough.
Druckenmiller read an oncoming blitz, called an audible and Still ran a post pattern, beating cornerback Taje Allen by 10 yards. Druckenmiller hit him in stride for a 54-yard touchdown and 21-10 Tech lead with 12:28 to play.
``That was about the first time all year Taje has been beaten on a play like that,'' Mackovic said.
Jim Baron returned a fumble 20 yards for Tech's final score.
The Hokies defense stifled the No. 9 Longhorns (10-2-1) in the second half, holding them to just 100 yards and completely rattling all-Southwest Conference quarterback James Brown. Brown completed just 7 of 22 passes in the second half and threw three interceptions. Tech sacked Brown five times, including three by Cornell Brown.
Texas struck first, going 72 yards on a first-quarter touchdown drive that was aided by key Hokies penalties. That drive would be the only one of the night for Texas that covered more than 36 yards. The Longhorns totaled just 159 yards on their remaining 15 possessions, an average of 10.6 per drive.
Tech was fortunate not to be trailing by 21 early in the second quarter. The Hokies' Ken Oxendine fumbled following the Texas touchdown, and the Longhorns got the ball on Tech's 31. They ended up going backward 13 yards and punting.
On Tech's next possession, a Druckenmiller pass was tipped by his receiver and intercepted by Longhorn Jason Reeves, who returned it 35 yards to the Hokies' 33. This time three plays lost 2 yards, but Phil Dawson's 52-yard field goal eked over the crossbar for a 10-0 Texas lead with 13:19 left in the second quarter.
After that, the Hokies' defense was relentless.
``I thought their defense was outstanding,'' Mackovic said. ``We could not get anything going against them, they really kept the pressure on.''
The win marked the first time the Hokies have won 10 games on the field. They were credited with 10 one other season because of a forfeit. Beamer, who played at Tech and has coached there nine seasons, said the win was among the biggest ever for the Hokies.
``We've got our eye on some more in the future, too,'' Beamer said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Huy Nguyen, The Virginian-Pilot
Bryan Still, right, and Keion Carpenter celebrate Still's 60-yard TD
punt return with 2:34 to play in the first half. The play was a
game-changer - though Virginia Tech had sputtered to that point, the
Hokies went to the half down just 10-7 and dominated the second
half, Still catching a 54-yard bomb in stride for another score.
Photos by Huy Nguyen, The Virginian-Pilot
Top: Hokies players, tight end Todd Wheatley included, celebrated by
going to the corner of the Superdome where their fans awaited.
Left: Fullback Marcus Parker is swarmed by Texas defenders...
Left: A proud Hokies fan supports her team's defense...
Page C3 - Top: Virginia Tech's Lawrence Lewis, right, and Cornell
Brown congratulate each other for forcing a bad pass by Texas QB
James Brown, who was sacked five times...
Right: The Hokies Pierson Prioleau defends against Texas' Mike
Adams...
by CNB