Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 20, 1995 TAG: 9511210040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
What happens to the Cavaliers in the fourth quarter? How can they keep blowing two-touchdown leads? Stuff like that.
Then this: ``I know it's probably the least of your concerns at this point, but with [coach] Ray Goff being gone, your name was mentioned at Georgia,'' an unfamiliar TV reporter said
``Stop it,'' Welsh said. ``Please. I have no comment.''
Sometimes, a ``no comment'' means ``stay posted.'' However, in the case of Welsh's postgame news conference, rare was the question that elicited a lengthy response.
Before the Georgia question was raised, Welsh was asked about UVa's bowl prospects.
``I have no idea and I'm making no comment about the bowls,'' he said.
So, what about those two-touchdown leads Virginia has been blowing in the fourth quarter?
``I have no comment on that,'' he said. ``I told you why I thought we lost the game.''
There were breakdowns in virtually every phase of the Cavaliers kicking game in a 36-29 loss to Virginia Tech. They missed a field goal, had a 15-yard right-footed punt by a left-footed kicker, did a poor job of covering kickoffs and punts and were plagued by penalties on their own returns.
Rafael Garcia not only missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt with 2:12 remaining, but the Cavaliers had to use one of their timeouts after Garcia and holder Tim Sherman set up 9 yards behind the line of scrimmage instead of the customary 7.
Not too long ago, Welsh said he had two outstanding deep snappers in recruits Dillon Taylor and John St. Clair, but said he was unwilling to lose a redshirt year for either one.
Welsh pointed out that bad snaps had not cost Virginia in any of its losses, but Maryland scored a late touchdown following a blocked punt in a 21-18 loss to the Cavaliers, and two bad snaps gave Tech prime field position Saturday.
``But a lot of those other things [in the kicking game] hurt, too,'' Welsh said. ``The kicking game caught up to us. What was a plus in some of our wins has turned sour the last couple of weeks.''
Field position was a major factor in the Hokies' second-half comeback. Tech, down 29-14 late in the third quarter, got a break when center Dave Gathman rocketed the ball over the head of quarterback Mike Groh, who was in shotgun formation.
Groh alertly fell on the ball for a 19-yard loss, but the Cavaliers were forced to punt from their 13. Larry Green returned Will Brice's punt 16 yards to the UVa 39, and the Hokies needed only seven plays to make it 29-20.
Tech had 109 yards in total offense in the fourth quarter, but managed to score 22 unanswered points, including a 65-yard interception return by Antonio Banks as time expired.
The Hokies had 142 of their 319 yards on three plays, passes of 59 and 51 yards to Bryan Still that set up first-quarter touchdowns and the go-ahead 32-yard touchdown pass from Jim Druckenmiller to Jermaine Holmes.
``If you want to say, `What happened to the defense?' that's what happened,'' Welsh said.
For the most part, however, it was left to the players to explain the Cavaliers' inability to protect leads. Even in the Cavaliers' 33-28 upset of Florida State, the Seminoles came within inches of overcoming a 33-21 deficit in the last seven minutes.
``It keeps happening to us,'' tailback Tiki Barber said. ``We just can't put teams away. I couldn't tell you why. It's a mystery to me, just like it is to everyone else.''
Virginia had little success running the ball against the No.2-ranked run defense in Division I-A, which may have accounted for some of its problems running out the clock Saturday.
Barber carried 18 times for a season-low 58 yards and lost the ACC rushing lead to Clemson sophomore Raymond Priester, who returned from an injury to rush for 80 of his 85 yards in the fourth quarter of the Tigers' 38-17 win at South Carolina.
Warrick Dunn of Florida State could move past both of them with 166 yards against Florida, but, for now, Priester is No.1, with 116.9 yards per game, and Barber will have to settle for second at 116.4.
Welsh reacted with amazement when asked if he was disappointed that UVa did not have another regular-season game to help get the Cavaliers' minds off the loss to the Hokies.
Leading receiver Patrick Jeffers was out for the third straight game with a pulled hamstring, budding star Germane Crowell suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for good in the third quarter and Groh had a sprained knee.
``How many games you want us to play?'' Welsh asked. ``I'd say that 12 games in 13 weeks is enough. Under the circumstances, I wouldn't want another chance.''
by CNB