Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9510020127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
Virginia didn't like the direction its football game with Wake Forest was taking Saturday, so the Cavaliers shifted their offense into reverse.
An end-around to Petey Allen restored the Cavaliers' momentum and 11th-ranked UVa pulled away for its 12th straight victory over the Deacons, 35-17, before 37,500 at Scott Stadium.
Virginia won its fifth game without a loss in September and raised its record to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC. The Cavaliers are 26-3 in September since 1989, including 15-0 at home.
The victory Saturday didn't come as easily as the oddsmakers had predicted when they made UVa a 32 1/2-point favorite, nor was it the rout that appeared likely when the Cavaliers led 21-0 and had 309 yards in total offense at the half.
``I was concerned at the half,'' Virginia coach George Welsh said. ``I was concerned two hours before the game. I was concerned all week because [the UVa players] read all that stuff about how good they are and how bad Wake is. I don't know if they took [the Deacons] lightly or not.''
Wake Forest (1-4, 0-2) limited the Cavaliers to a total of 12 yards in their first four possessions of the second half and cut the deficit to 21-14 on a 4-yard touchdown run by John Lewis with 13:34 remaining.
``I think the momentum had twisted a little bit,'' Allen, a fourth-year wide receiver, said. ``I knew somebody had to make a big play. I didn't know it was going to be me.''
Tiki Barber, contained by Wake Forest for most of the afternoon, got the drive started with a 26-yard run off left tackle. On the next play, quarterback Mike Groh tossed the ball to his right, where Barber took off on an apparent sweep to the wide side of the field.
Just as the Deacons converged on Barber, he handed the ball to Allen on a reverse. Allen followed the blocking of tackle Jason Augustino, center Tom Locklin and Groh on his way to a 49-yard touchdown run with 13:08 left.
``I made sure I got the handoff first,'' Allen said. ``If I dropped it, I didn't want to face Coach Welsh when I got to the sideline. Once I turned the corner, all I saw was three of my guys and one of their guys and he was getting pounded.''
It was the first touchdown of the season for Allen, who had carried the ball only once since the 1993 season.
``I knew it would go from the way I saw them play defense and the way they had everybody go to the ball,'' UVa offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien said. ``We were going to toss a little bait at them and watch them take off.
``We put the toss in this week for Tiki to try and get him outside a little more and it was natural to run the reverse off the toss. It was just the right play call in the right situation. Sometimes we're allowed to do that, right?''
If the game wasn't over at that point, the clincher came with 11:28 remaining, when the Cavaliers went ahead 35-14 following a 5-yard touchdown run by Barber, his ninth of the season.
It capped a two-play, 24-yard drive that originated when Wake Forest quarterback Rusty LaRue tossed the ball behind Lewis on an option play and UVa defensive end Duane Ashman recovered the resulting fumble.
``The back had a little trouble handling it,'' LaRue said. ``'m not sure it was the best pitch in the world, but we've got to be careful with the ball when we're backed up like that. Obviously, you're not satisfied unless you come away with a win, but I feel we played well against one of the best teams in the country.''
LaRue completed 28 of 44 passes for a career-high 277 yards and one touchdown, but couldn't match Groh, who was 21-of-34 for 335 yards and two TDs. It was the second-biggest passing day in school history, behind Shawn Moore's 344-yard effort in a 41-38 loss to Georgia Tech in 1990.
``They committed so many people to the run, it was like Tiki had a bull's eye on him,'' O'Brien said. ``They were going to run him down wherever he went. It got to the point there for a while where [it was], `Why call a run? Might as well throw the ball every down.'''
The Cavaliers dropped at least four passes, including a ball that slipped through Patrick Jeffers' hands on a post pattern that had the potential for a 62-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
``I can think of about five or six plays, where, if I'd thrown a little better ball, the record would be over 400,'' said Groh, who had not previously passed for 200 yards in a game this season.
Virginia finished with a 442-336 advantage in total offense, including a 36-yard loss on a bad snap, one of many UVa mistakes on a day when the Cavaliers were penalized 12 times.
``I can't assess what happened,'' Welsh said. ``I don't understand it. Obviously, we're still having problems in the second half. The trick is to keep playing at the level we did [in victories over] Georgia Tech and Clemson, but we didn't. You're only as good as your last game.''
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by CNB