ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 5, 1993                   TAG: 9309050202
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLLEGE PARK, MD.                                LENGTH: Medium


CAVALIERS TURN TO FULLBACK TO CARRY LOAD AGAINST TERPS

Charles Way didn't give the slightest consideration to his rushing yardage Saturday until he had scored his third and final touchdown.

"I wasn't thinking about it till I came off the field after that last run," said Way, a junior fullback for Virginia. `'I was like, `I hope I didn't get 99 yards.' "

There have been many days in Way's football career when he would have been thrilled with 99 yards, but not Saturday, when he played such an integral part in the Cavaliers' 43-29 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Maryland.

Way, who previously had not carried the ball more than nine times in a college game, finished with 21 carries for 136 yards, including a 23-yard run that sewed up Virginia's victory with 2 minutes, 59 seconds remaining.

The Cavaliers, ahead 36-29, had used their second of three timeouts to set up a fourth-and-two play from Maryland's 25-yard line.

"I wasn't surprised," Way said, "but they depended on me to get that fourth down and I told them I was going to get it. I wasn't going to let anybody stop me."

It was obvious that Virginia had lost confidence in tailback Jerrod Washington, who fumbled on back-to-back carries in the first half, and Way had been tough for Maryland to tackle all day.

Way, 6-foot-2, 238 pounds, matched his career high with 55 yards on eight first-half carries and started the second half with his first of two 17-yard gains.

Coach George Welsh said part of the reason for Way's success was the Terrapins' concentration on the tailback, "but he's [Way] a pretty good running back now and he's got experience.

"We just feel our fullback has to carry more of the load on the ground this year," Welsh said. "It gives us a little more versatility. We can get out of the I [formation]."

Indeed, Virginia had two fullbacks in the game when Way followed Darrell Medley into the end zone for Virginia's final touchdown with 2:48 on the clock.

"Going into the game, we knew Charles was very capable," said assistant coach Ken Mack, who supervises UVa's running backs. "We wanted to get him seven or eight carries instead of two or three, but we didn't expect this to happen."

It was the most yardage for a Virginia fullback since Durwin Greggs rushed for 177 yards against North Carolina State in 1986.

"I probably would have been happy with eight carries for 60 yards," Way said. "Five yards a carry is really good for a fullback."

The Cavaliers didn't exactly ignore the tailback Saturday. Washington and sophomore Kevin Brooks combined for 24 carries, with Brooks gaining 82 yards on 14 rushes.

Virginia's emphasis on the tailback probably won't change, although Way is likely to get the ball at a greater rate than he did last season, when he had 17 carries in the last six games.

Part of the reason for that was the platoon system under which Way shared time with Gary Steele. But it also might have been a reflection on Way's lack of effectiveness.

"If I showed I could run, there's no reason they shouldn't have given me the ball [Saturday]," Way said, "but if I had to block, I wouldn't have minded that.

"To go downfield and pancake [flatten] a linebacker or defensive back is a thrill in itself."



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