Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 7, 1993 TAG: 9311070189
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
The issue Saturday was not whether Virginia's football team would squander a big halftime lead, as has been the Cavaliers' custom.
There was no lead to squander.
Virginia, a 23-point favorite, did not take the lead for good until late in the third quarter before pulling away for its 10th consecutive victory over Wake Forest, 21-9, at Scott Stadium.
Representatives from the Peach Bowl watched 21st-ranked UVa improve its record to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers' chances for a bowl bid looked brighter Saturday after Duke handed North Carolina State its third ACC loss, 21-20.
"Did [the Wolfpack] get beat?" coach George Welsh asked during his postgame news conference. "Amazing!"
Virginia was coming off a 34-29 loss to North Carolina State, a game in which the Cavaliers led 27-17 entering the fourth quarter.
"I told our players Monday and Tuesday this was a crossroads game," Welsh said. "Then, we had another crossroads at the half. You know and I know there's a big difference between being 7-2, coming off a win, and being 6-3, [with] two losses in a row and three in the last four."
The Cavaliers trailed 9-7 and needed two interceptions by Keith Lyle, one in the end zone, to be that close at the half. Wake quarterback Jim Kemp had 10 consecutive completions during one stretch, and the Deacons (2-7, 1-5) had 249 yards total offense at halftime.
Virginia had 237 yards at the half, but quarterback Symmion Willis was intercepted three times and entered the second half without his leading receiver, Patrick Jeffers, who was lost for the season with a fractured collarbone.
"I was thinking at the half that we were lucky to be where we were," said offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien, who admittedly considered benching Willis for the first time this season.
The situation didn't improve immediately. On the second play of the second half, Willis was intercepted for the fourth time, leaving him one interception short of the school record shared by Gov.-elect George Allen and two others.
That didn't stop the Cavaliers from throwing, however. UVa took possession at the Wake 11-yard line with 4 minutes, 40 seconds left in the third quarter and needed just seven plays and 2 1/2 minutes to go ahead 14-9, with senior Jerrod Washington running the last 30 yards for the touchdown.
The key play was a 31-yard pass from Willis to Tyrone Davis on third-and-eight from the UVa 38.
"I think that gave us the momentum," O'Brien said. "After the first couple of series, I thought about taking [Willis] out, but I got him on the phone [from the press box] and told him to start playing. It was better for us to have him fight through it."
The best thing that happened to the Cavaliers' passing game was the play of Washington, who rushed for 119 of his 148 yards in the second half, including a 6-yard run for UVa's final touchdown with 6:38 remaining.
"Did he show up or did he show up?" said Cavaliers offensive guard Mark Dixon. "We gave him one of the game balls after the game. He definitely earned it."
It was Dixon, a UVa co-captain, who spoke up when Welsh asked for the players' comments at the half.
"I said, `No matter what happens, let's play hard. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out,' " Dixon said after the game. "The locker room was dead, which was confusing to me because it's a football game. Hell, you've only got so many in your career."
Dixon was one of several UVa players who felt the season was at stake.
"It definitely crossed my mind," he said. "We laid down in the first half. If we lay down in the second half, then we've quit. It was embarrassing in the first half. I was scared to death."
A pass-interference call on fourth-and-five kept alive UVa's final touchdown drive, but the Cavaliers dominated the second half, putting together touchdown drives of 89 and 93 yards while outgaining the Deacons 222 yards to 67.
Virginia's final touchdown followed an ill-fated Wake drive that ended when defensive end Mike Frederick smothered Roger Pettus for an 8-yard loss on a reverse and then sacked Kemp for another 8-yard loss with 12:24 left.
That was the last play of the afternoon for Kemp, who did not have his favorite receiver, Todd Dixon, after Dixon sprained an ankle on the third play of the game. Rusty LaRue played the final two series and threw the last of Virginia's four interceptions, two each by Lyle and Greg McClellan.
"We knew if we played like we did in the first half, we were going to lose that ballgame," said Frederick, who had three tackles for losses in the fourth quarter, including two sacks. "[But] we've seen teams play totally different in the second half against us."
The Cavs temporarily moved into a tie for second place in the conference, pending the outcome of Saturday night's game between North Carolina and Clemson, both 4-2 in ACC play. It appears likely that all three will receive bowl bids.
"Playing Clemson next week at Death Valley, we've got other things to think about," Frederick said. "We've never beaten Clemson at Clemson and, now that we've finally gotten out of this one alive, I can't wait." \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB