THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060609
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: 70 lines
Fans are screaming for the coach to go for it. Offensive players want to get into the end zone. No one is happy with a field goal.
Except, that is, the kicker. Virginia Tech place-kicker Shayne Graham made four field goals Saturday, setting one Big East record and tying another in the process. Three of them came when the Hokies' offense stalled inside Southwestern Louisiana's 10-yard line, and another when Tech ran aground at the 15.
``I'd like to see us score touchdowns, but I'm not going to argue when we do kick a field goal down there,'' Graham said.
The fans, however, sometimes do argue.
``It's a little hard to deal with when you know they want a touchdown and I'm going in for a field goal,'' Graham said.
Graham has had no trouble dealing with the adjustment to college football. The true freshman is the leading scorer in the Big East with 7.71 points per game.
Graham's 17 points (four field goals, five extra points) in the win over the Ragin' Cajuns Saturday set a Big East record for kick scoring in a game, and tied the conference mark for field goals made in a game. Graham fell one point shy of Mickey Thomas' Tech record for kicking points in a game, set in 1989 before the Big East football conference was formed.
Coach Frank Beamer called Graham - the Hokies' first true freshman place-kicker since Don Wade in 1981 - one of Tech's most consistent performers this season. He's made 9 of 13 field goals and all 27 of his extra point tries. The one thing Graham has yet to experience on the college level is the pressure of a late-game kick that could decide the outcome of a game.
``I haven't had any pressure kicks like that, so I don't know what to expect,'' Graham said. ``I would hope for myself that it wouldn't be that much of a difference.''
DAY IN COURT: Blacksburg police officers who investigated the Aug. 31 melee on campus allegedly involving Tech football players will present their evidence to a five-member grand jury in nearby Christiansburg this morning. The grand jury is expected to return indictments, which could spell suspensions for any Hokies who might be charged.
Beamer declined to talk about it Tuesday, but said he would comment on the matter today.
WHOOPS: The two-deep rosters in East Carolina's football press release list the ``Virginia Tech Indians'' as the Pirates' opponent Saturday in Blacksburg (7 p.m., ESPN2). ECU played the Arkansas State Indians last week.
OX TROT: Tech junior tailback Ken Oxendine's 105.8 yards rushing per game would lead the Big East, but he has not played in the necessary 75 percent of his team's games to be ranked among league leaders. Oxendine would also lead the conference in all-purpose yardage (117.6 per game) and be tied with Graham for the scoring lead (7.71 per game) if he qualified. He will after the East Carolina game.
Oxendine missed two games with a shoulder injury, but has scored nine touchdowns in just five games. With four to play, Oxendine could challenge Tech's single-season record of 14 touchdowns, set by Tommy Francisco in 1966. Oxendine has run for 163, 111 and 140 yards in his last three outings.
QUICK QUIP: Queried about the disparity between Virginia Tech's ranking of 17th in the USA Today/CNN coaches' poll and 25th in the media (Associated Press) poll, Beamer deadpanned: ``I think it's another example of who you ought to be listening to, coaches or writers.''
QUICK HITS: Tech's right guard Gennaro DiNapoli (foot) and defensive end Danny Wheel (shoulder) are nursing injuries, but are expected to play Saturday East-leading average of .57 per game . . . Seven of the nine games in the Tech-ECU series have been decided by 11 points or fewer . . . The only Big East team to throw the ball less this season than the Hokies (23 attempts per game) is Syracuse (19). Tech is averaging 49 rushes per game . . . Beamer's next win will be his 100th in 16 years as a head coach. He won 42 in six years at Murray State and is 57-50-2 in his 10th season at Tech. by CNB