Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 31, 1993 TAG: 9310310164
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
"So many times they've ruined our possibilities for a winning season," Hokies receiver Antonio Freeman said.
On Saturday at soggy Lane Stadium, Tech redeemed its emotional voucher with a serious second half and a 31-12 victory that guaranteed the Hokies' first winning season since 1990.
Tech, ranked 24th in the USA Today-CNN poll, is 6-2 overall and has a bowl-influencing Big East Conference game at Boston College on Nov. 6. ECU, which had won three of its past four games with Tech, saw its record fall to 2-6.
And despite a sloppy first half on a muddy field, Tech players swore they weren't looking ahead to BC.
"ECU has hurt us [three of the past four] years," quarterback Maurice DeShazo said. "This time [we said], `We ain't gonna let it be close.' "
Excuse us, said the Pirates. ECU had a safety off a missed DeShazo-to-Dwayne Thomas pitch and a touchdown in a 24-second span late in the first half, and it seemed Tech had been caught goofing off.
Halftime was a memory exercise. In 1989, a midseason loss to the Pirates was blamed when Tech missed a bowl game. Same with a late-season '91 home loss to the Pirates. Last year, ECU's last-minute victory was the first of four such defeats for a 2-8-1 Tech team.
This time, though, the Hokies improved their record to 5-0 at home and finished 4-0 against non-conference opponents.
"Maybe this is the one that made us," said Frank Beamer, Tech's coach. "They had momentum; we had the pressure. [We] really performed extremely well in the second half. It was offense, it was defense, it was good special-teams play."
From linebacker Ken Brown: "We just were determined not to pull the shenanigans we did the last five games."
So Tech cleared its mental fog. Thomas returned the third-quarter kickoff 42 yards to the Tech 46. Eleven plays later, DeShazo threw to Thomas for a 10-yard touchdown pass and a 21-12 Tech lead with 9 minutes, 41 seconds left in the quarter.
The Hokies had gained 75 yards rushing in the first half. They got 31 on that drive.
Same plays as in the first half, Beamer said, just a different result.
"We were really embarrassed about the ending of the first half, especially as an offense," said Tech guard Damien McMahon. "Last week, we didn't play a great second half. [Saturday we said], `It's our ball, take it out and take it down the field.' "
East Carolina faded. Tech's defense held the Pirates to 68 yards in the second half - 2 rushing - and the Hokies' picked-on secondary had two of Tech's three interceptions.
It was the Hokies' first game since they lost All-Big East cornerback Tyronne Drakeford (broken leg) for the season, and free safety Antonio Banks (groin injury) played sparingly and was replaced by Torrian Gray. William Yarborough started instead of Scott Jones at cornerback. Jones, Gray and Yarborough each had his first interception.
Phil Elmassian, Tech's defensive coordinator, said he picked the starters based on who was playing well together. Although the Hokies let some receivers loose, Elmassian loved the second half.
"There's a point in time in the season that the experience of your past [several] games . . . needs to be applied to where you want to go," Elmassian said.
Yarborough said the secondary approached Saturday's game like the Miami game, in which neither Drakeford nor Banks played. ECU hardly was a Hurricane threat.
Quarterback Perez Mattison, who would have been a fourth-stringer had not the starter flunked out and two others been injured, was intercepted by Jones in Tech territory.
Starting at the ECU 46, Tech did another stuff job: Fullback Joe Swarm gained 23 and 14 yards on back-to-back runs to set up first-and-goal at the Pirates' 9; Thomas got the Hokies to the 3; and Tommy Edwards scored with 4:01 left as Tech took a 28-12 lead.
ECU's next drive featured a Tech pass-interference penalty and four incompletions by Mattison, whose 23 misses weren't all his fault. On fourth-and-one from the Tech 45, however, Mattison threw way wide of open Jerris McPhail on a flare pass.
On the Pirates' sideline, coach Steve Logan was grinding his teeth. One series earlier, McPhail dropped a pass on the same play. Logan remembered another dropped pass in the quarter.
"Our defense needs help from our offense," Logan said. "We had 21 offensive points go right down the drain. In our type of offense, you can't do that."
Tech took the ball at its 45, ran 11 consecutive times - including a 14-yard option run by DeShazo and a 17-yard bounce-and-batter run by Edwards - until it was third-and-goal at the 3.
DeShazo threw incomplete and Ryan Williams' 20-yard field goal made it 31-12 Tech with 11:49 to play in the game.
\ see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
Memo: ***CORRECTION***