Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 11, 1994 TAG: 9409190009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HATTIESBURG, MISS. LENGTH: Long
The Hokies couldn't get unstuck from Southern Miss on Saturday until quarterback Maurice DeShazo threw 41 yards to Bryan Still for the go-ahead touchdown with 10 minutes, 35 seconds left in the game. A few minutes later, 21st-ranked Tech was a relieved - and reprieved - 24-14 winner.
Tech (2-0) fumbled six times and lost four, threw two interceptions and committed various other foibles in a shaky victory, its first in three visits to M.M. Roberts Stadium.
And, afterward, the Hokies were loving it.
``I thought our team did just about - nothing intentional - everything you could do to get beat in a place like this,'' said Frank Beamer, Tech's coach. ``To come out a winner probably really says something about our football team and what we're made of.''
On this night, defense was the Hokies' foundation and infrastructure. After first-quarter fumbles inside the Tech 5 practically guaranteed Southern Miss scores, the Hokies' defense locked and boarded up the end zone.
Tech held the Golden Eagles to one earned first down (two came on penalties) from Southern Miss' second series of the game to its third of the third quarter. Runners Chris Buckhalter and Howard McGhee, who combined for 327 yards Sept.3 against Tulane, totaled 63 against the Hokies.
Tech's total yards against shrunk to 144 from Arkansas State's 177 - and that was the lowest figure against the Hokies since 1989 (Vanderbilt, 146).
Tech had three sacks (two by end Cornell Brown), two tackles behind the line of scrimmage (both by linebacker Brandon Semones) and three interceptions.
``Under the circumstances, I believe this is the best effort I've ever been involved in at Tech,'' said linebacker Ken Brown, a four-year starter.
The Hokies fell behind 7-0 with less than a minute elapsed on a rainy evening and trailed 14-0 after 10 minutes. Tech tied the score before halftime, but backup kicker Atle Larsen missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt with 11:51 left in the third quarter.
After that, three Hokies drives ended with turnovers - back-to-back interceptions of DeShazo (one coming on first-and-10 from the Southern Miss 29, and a fumble on an errant DeShazo option pitch).
``Take away the special teams, take away my stupidity ... the game shouldn't have been close at all,'' DeShazo said.
Soon enough, it was over. Rover Torrian Gray's second interception of the game gave Tech the ball at its 22 with 12:51 left in the game.
Five plays later, on second-and-six from the 41, DeShazo faked a handoff, rolled right without blockers and threw to Still, who made the catch in the end zone after Southern Miss's Derrick Hervey slipped and fell at the 5.
``Maurice saw that I had a couple of steps on him,'' Still said. ``I had him beat, and I felt him on my heels. I kept running.''
DeShazo, who completed 17 of 28 throws for 230 yards, knew who was out there; Still has a reputation as a go-getter.
``If he's got a step, I'll throw it up for him,'' DeShazo said.
The extra-point kick put Tech up 21-14 with 10:35 left. With 8:04 left, the Hokies started on their 18 and moved to the Southern Miss 26.
With 2:49 left, Larsen connected from 43 yards for his first field goal at Tech.
There should be more. Starter Ryan Williams is expected to miss two to three weeks of action with a separated shoulder he suffered in the first half. After holder Jon Shields fumbled the snap, Williams got the ball and tried to throw as he was tackled.
It was one of several comedy skits in Tech's repertoire Saturday. DeShazo's first-play audible didn't reach every Hokie's ear, and untouched defensive end Robert Brown drilled the quarterback, who fumbled. Steve Latson's recovery put Southern Miss on the Tech 4, and Golden Eagles quarterback Tommy Waters threw to receiver Adam Kennedy as Southern Miss took a 7-0 lead.
Tech punter Robbie Colley dropped the snap his first two times out; Southern Miss safety Shaun Gamble got the first at the Tech 2 to set up a Buckhalter score that made it 14-0 Southern Miss with 5:01 left in the first quarter.
Dwayne Thomas' 4-yard run ended the Hokies' first scoring drive after DeShazo almost ended it with an end-zone interception. Southern Miss' Michael Tobias was flagged for roughing the passer. The penalty nullified LT Gulley's pickoff.
The penalty also gave Tech first-and-goal at the 7. Thomas carried twice, scoring with 1:31 left in the first quarter.
Tommy Edwards finished the second scoring drive with a 2-yard run on which tackle T.J. Washington dragged him across the goal line with 10:20 left in the half.
Then, Colley dropped a punt snap at the Tech 31 with 6:23 to go in the half. But on fourth-and-one at the Hokies' 11, Cornell Brown and Waverly Jackson stopped Howard McGhee for no gain.
Tech then survived its third lost fumble, a Brian Edmonds drop at the Hokies' 27 with 2:30 left in the first half, when Southern Miss' Johnny Lomoro missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt wide left.
``Nobody gave us a chance against Tech,'' said Southern Miss' Waters. ``We were [seven]-point underdogs against a nationally ranked team. We took them into the fourth quarter.''
The Hokies might have expected as much. The teams' past two games had been decided by four- and one-point margins, respectively.
``We didn't go in the game thinking we were the No.21 team against Southern Miss,'' Gray said. ``[But] when the game was tight, you start questioning yourself: `Are you really that good?' We pulled together tonight as a defense, an offense and as a team.''
by CNB