Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 8, 1993 TAG: 9310080012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
There have been no college football victories in Lexington this year. None. By either team. Period.
But you won't find any white flags flying just yet on the campuses of VMI or Washington and Lee.
"I think we're making progress," said Gary Fallon, W & L's coach. "It's tough when you're 0-3. I'd like to say that we're not performing up to our ability, but from looking at the video, I think we are."
The Generals have been outscored (92-35), outrushed (549 yards to 297) and outpassed (412 yards to 404) in losses to Centre and Old Dominion Athletic Conference foes Emory & Henry and Randolph-Macon.
Fallon said he's now fighting the frustration factor with his young team, which faces Davidson at home Saturday at 2 p.m.
"The kids want to see the win. They haven't so far, and we don't want to see frustration creep in," he said. "A dose of medicine right now would be a nice win."
The Generals have relied on freshman Brooks Fischer and sophomore Matt Reedy at quarterback. The pair has completed 35 of 79 passes for 404 yards.
On Saturday against Randolph-Macon, Fischer completed one of 12 passes - an 8-yard throw to W & L's second-leading receiver, junior Hayne Hodges. Reedy was 1-of-5 for minus-1 yard.
"We have to get the confidence level up," Fallon said. "Our young quarterbacks . . . neither has performed really well. They've done some good things. They just need consistency.
"I'm not frustrated and ready to throw in the towel on them. The talent is there. We just have to get on track."
Fallon said he was encouraged by the play of the Generals' defensive line, particularly 6-foot-3, 210-pound Lexington native Robert Hull, who leads the team in tackles (34) and sacks (five).
"Robert Hull has done a nice job as a young sophomore at defensive line," Fallon said. "His attitude, enthusiasm and hustle has been great. He still makes some sophomore mistakes, but his play has gotten much better.
"The whole line is cutting down on mistakes and showing better technique. I've also been more than pleased with the progress of the offensive line. But the bottom line is: Did you win or did you lose? We have to keep zeroing in, concentrating and learning from our mistakes."
The scenario is uncannily similar across the street, where winless VMI has had plenty of errors to use as educational tools.
"We've just got to keep our chins up," said Jim Shuck, the Keydets' coach. "The reality is we knew this would be a rebuilding year. We just have to work hard to reach our emotional peak each week."
The Keydets have scored just 36 points in four losses, the worst a 49-6 pounding by William and Mary on Saturday.
The Tribe ripped VMI for a school-record 667 yards of total offense - 238 passing and 429 rushing. William and Mary's defense also set a record by holding the Keydets to 11 yards passing.
VMI's impotence on offense has been a major concern for Shuck, who, until last week, alternated juniors Erik Reynolds and Spike Johnson at quarterback in the Wishbone.
Johnson is more of a threat passing, but Shuck has elected to start Reynolds, the better option quarterback. On Saturday, Reynolds was VMI's second-leading rusher, with 45 yards. His one completion out of eight attempts went to Marlon Anderson, the team's leading receiver with eight catches for 96 yards.
"Saturday, things were so bad that I decided we'd better just stay on the ground," Shuck said.
"We have to improve our ability to sustain drives on offense," he said. "We have to get consistency, where all 11 guys are playing together. We have to improve our ability to function effectively as an option team."
Shuck said he has been encouraged by the play of his defense, aside from Saturday's performance, when the Tribe had no punts, no turnovers and 36 first downs.
`We've struggled all year thus far on offense, but our defense has been playing good football," he said. "However, Saturday . . . we did not play well on defense. I was not by any means pleased with those performances.
"Excluding last week, from a penalty standpoint and turnover standpoint, I think we're improving. We've also done a good job defending the run and tackling."
Things don't get any easier for VMI, which travels to Huntington, W.Va., Saturday to meet Marshall, the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA champion. Also still on the schedule are dates at Furman (Oct. 30), Western Carolina (Nov. 6) and The Citadel (Nov. 13).
by CNB