THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 10, 1994 TAG: 9410100171
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 155 lines
For Stacy Henley, his senior season at Virginia Tech has been one of small, anonymous victories - break up a wedge, make a tackle or a key block on special teams.
Saturday against Temple, he got the satisfaction of a bigger personal victory. In the first quarter, Hokie William Ferrell knifed through the line and blocked a Temple punt, and Henley scooped it up at the 25 and ran it in for a touchdown that gave the Hokies (5-1) their first lead of the day.
It also gave Henley his first brush with notoriety since last November, when he went from the first team to the scout team in one week. It wasn't easy for Henley to handle, but he stuck it out and accepted his diminished role.
``Scoring the touchdown felt like, `Wow, I finally got a reward for going through what I went through,' '' Henley said.
He started 10 games as a cornerback in 1992, nine as a rover last year. But after Boston College tore up Tech's pass defense, secondary coach and defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian soured on Henley and replaced him with youngster Torrian Gray. Henley didn't even dress for the last three games.
You can't argue with the results. Tech opponents have averaged 166 yards passing since, and the 19th-ranked Hokies' are No. 1 nationally in pass defense this year with 132.8 yards allowed per game.
Henley is among a handful of onetime-promising players who were supplanted by youth when Elmassian revamped the defense. He fell out of favor and out of sight.
This year he was moved to the offense as a flanker, where he played five snaps in one blowout victory. The bulk of his action has come on special teams.
``It has been hard at times watching the defense out there and I'm not a part of it,'' Henley said.
Henley serves as a reminder that the progress programs like Tech have made comes with a price to some individuals. To his credit, Henley accepted it.
``He's come back from some disappointment and has done well,'' coach Frank Beamer said. ``It kind of makes you proud.''
- STEVE CARLSON Virginia defense shows mettle vs. weak foes, but real test is yet to come
The numbers are impressive.
They suggest that, yes, this Virginia defense just might be as good as defensive coordinator Rick Lantz said it could be.
``Maybe the best we've ever had here at Virginia,'' Lantz said.
It didn't look that way, though, in the opening game when high and mighty Florida State torched the defense for 41 points and 513 yards.
But that was Florida State, which plays on a different level than anyone else in the ACC. Just look what the Virginia defense has done since leaving Tallahassee.
It has permitted only one touchdown, a gift really, in the final 15 seconds of a 47-10 romp over Navy. Since then the defense has given up only a pair of field goals to Clemson, one field goal to William and Mary.
Wake Forest's only points in Virginia's 42-6 victory Saturday night came on an interception return.
The defense was stunning, limiting the Deacons to minus-21 yards rushing and sacking Wake Forest quarterbacks six times.
The defense scored Virginia's first touchdown on a blocked punt and intercepted four passes, two by freshman Rhonde Barber.
Impressive, for sure.
But, objectively, we can't be sure if the defense is that good or the competition since the Florida State game has been that bad.
It probably is a heavy helping of both. But who knows for sure?
In the next couple of weeks we should have a much better handle on the strength of this Virginia defense.
Next Saturday's opponent, Georgia Tech, doesn't have any more victories than Wake Forest.
But the Yellow Jackets have taken Arizona, N.C. State, and North Carolina to the wire, and have the best passing attack Virginia has seen since FSU.
North Carolina, two weeks away, has the best ground game Virginia will see all season.
We are about to learn just how good this defense really is.
- FRANK VEHORN Spartans hope Sparrow's confidence is contagious after spectacular game
Call him Airin' Sparrow.
Alcorn State, after all, has Steve ``Air'' McNair. Aaron Sparrow, Norfolk State's superb junior quarterback, lacks a nickname, but he hasn't lacked much else in the Spartans' past three games.
In those games, Sparrow has thrown for 1,098 yards, an average of 366 per contest. Through five games, he has 1,621 yards, which puts him on pace to throw for more than 3,200 this year.
The school record is 2,024, set last year by Kermit Buggs.
Before the season, Norfolk State coach Darnell Moore talked about the importance of having a balanced offense. But with the running game sputtering and Sparrow with a hot hand, all pretense of balance went out the window Saturday in a 50-48 win over Winston-Salem State.
``How many times did we throw today?'' Moore asked afterward. ``60?''
Actually, it was 43. To Winston-Salem, though, it must have seemed like 83.
Sparrow riddled the Rams for 516 yards passing and seven touchdown passes. After being knocked out of the game briefly in the fourth quarter - one of five times he was sacked - he returned to lead Norfolk State to two touchdowns in the final 2:42.
``After I got hurt, a lot of guys came over,'' Sparrow said. ``The thing I wanted to do was help the team get up.''
Sparrow has emerged as a team leader, and his confidence is contagious. The Spartans could still use a running game and an improved defense, but with the league's best quarterback, and its best group of receivers, Norfolk State will at least remain dangerous.
And fun to watch.
``If our offensive line can give Sparrow the time, nobody in the league can cover us,'' said wide receiver Darius Blount.
- ED MILLER Backup QB played well, but he's no Knight in shining armor for W&M
The jury is still out on the effectiveness of William and Mary backup quarterback Matt Byrne.
On the surface, Byrne's performance as a replacement for injured Shawn Knight Saturday against Northeastern looked very satisfactory: 12 completions in 22 attempts for 251 yards and two TD's.
But Byrne was also intercepted twice. And the normally proficient W&M attack, which had averaged 35.5 points a game against I-AA rivals, was also bogged down by five fumbles, three of which were lost, in a 17-12 win.
``We were very fortunate to get out of here with a win,'' Byrne said. ``One more fumble or one more interception and we'd be 4-2 instead of 5-1.''
Byrne accepted a lot of the blame for the turnovers, including the fumbles.
``I know I rushed some things out there,'' he added. ``Sometimes we had guys so wide open, and I was eager to get the ball to them. I hurried my throws a little bit, and that made a difference.''
So where does that leave the Tribe, 5-1 heading into Saturday's 1 p.m. home game with Massachusetts? And who will start at quarterback?
Knight was seen warming up on the sidelines in the second half against Northeastern. W&M coach Jimmye Laycock, however, said he had no intentions of using Knight. ``He was throwing some on the sideline, that's all,'' Laycock said. ``That was just a case of Shawn wanting to have something to do.''
One guess is that Knight will play some against UMass, perhaps several series, maybe even a half or so. But the coaching staff undoubtedly wants to take no chances their ace will not be ready for the Oct. 22 game at James Madison, a game that likely will decide the Mid-Atlantic division race in the Yankee Conference.
Laycock did not commit to Knight's availability for the UMass game.
``I guess he's on schedule as to where you should be at this point,'' Laycock said. ``Next week we'll just go day-to-day and see it goes.''
It's obvious, though, the Tribe sorely misses Knight's leadership and ability.
- CHARLIE DENN ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Wake Forest's David Zadel, center, recovers a Virginia fumble on
Saturday. U.Va. quarterback Symmion Willis, top, who dropped the
snap from center, looks on. Willis was later replaced by Mike Groh,
who threw three touchdown passes.
by CNB