DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9711020294

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                        LENGTH:   72 lines

HOKIES GET DEFENSIVE IN HOLDING UAB TO 65 YARDS

Virginia Tech was hobbled physically, but got well emotionally Saturday by pasting a patsy.

The Hokies dominated Alabama-Birmingham, winning 37-0 before 37,411 at Lane Stadium. They held UAB to 65 yards of total offense, a Tech school record.

The Hokies won despite a rash of injuries that sidelined quarterback Al Clark as well as their top three receivers. Redshirt freshman Nick Sorensen got his first start in place of Clark, and Tech grinded out 312 rushing yards. The Hokies scored 10 points in each of the first three quarters to pull away, while the Blazers never got close to Tech's goal line.

UAB was perfect salve for the Hokies after they were bludgeoned by West Virginia last week in Morgantown. Tech expects to have all its injured players back next week for Miami, except for receiver Shawn Scales and linebacker Korey Irby, who were operated on last week.

``With all the injuries and stuff this was a game where we could get some things done and have a game where everyone gets re-motivated and feels good about themselves,'' said Tech tailback Ken Oxendine, who rushed for 80 yards. His backup, Lamont Pegues, ran for 100 yards on 15 carries.

The win virtually assured the 23rd-ranked Hokies (6-2, 4-1 Big East) of their fifth-consecutive bowl trip.

``Now we're in a bowl, for the next three weeks we kind of determine which bowl we're in,'' Tech coach Frank Beamer said. ``It all gets down to how we play in November.''

The Hokies' defense began November by putting a chill in the Division I-A independent Blazers (3-5).

Tech's old record for fewest yards allowed in a game was 68 against Duke in 1984. The Hokies recorded eight sacks Saturday for 69 yards in losses. Defensive end John Engelberger had three and cornerback Anthony Midget two. Those were Tech's first sacks in three games, and came mostly with a straight four-man rush.

``Virginia Tech did not take the chances that I had hoped they would,'' Blazers coach Watson Brown said. ``Arizona and Cincinnati would blitz us and we could get rid of the ball quick and catch it. Tech did not do that. Tech rushed with four or five guys and had few blitzes.

``No one has pushed us around like this since I've been here and this is the best team we have faced in the last two years. We could not get passes off and Tech kept sacking us.''

Tech linebacker Jamel Smith said the Hokies only blitzed a couple of times, whereas normally they blitz 10 to 15 times a game.

``That's such a relief on our secondary,'' Smith said. ``When we were blitzing before we weren't getting enough pressure and they were getting big plays on us.''

UAB's deepest penetration was the Tech 29, but a sack pushed the Blazers back and the second-quarter drive that ended with a missed 50-yard field goal. The Blazers' offense did not cross midfield in the second half. In the first half they ran just eight plays on Tech's side of the 50.

``I thought our defense was great,'' Beamer said. ``The only disappointing thing was we missed a couple of more sacks I thought we had and missed a couple of interceptions I thought we had.''

Sorensen was adequate in his first start at quarterback in place of Clark, who has a sprained left knee. He completed 7 of 15 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 65. Sorensen threw two interceptions, one an underthrown deep ball while the other hit the receiver right in the numbers and he bobbled it.

Mostly his job was to hand off, as Tech was content to keep the ball on the ground to chew up most of the yards that led to touchdown drives of 71, 66, 44 and 48 yards.

``I felt real comfortable out there, I wasn't nervous,'' Sorensen said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

ROANOKE TIMES

Virginia Tech backup tailback Lamont Pegues pulls away from Rodregis

Brooks of Alabama-Birmingham. Pegues enjoyed a 100-yard rushing day

on 15 carries. Ken Oxendine added another 80 yards for the Hokies.

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