Sewell still the one
Quarterback expects to start despite an uneven performance in opener
Monday, Sep 03, 2007 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- There is no quarterback controversy at the University of Virginia, at least not for another week. Former Hermitage High star Jameel Sewell will start Saturday against Duke, U.Va. coach Al Groh indicated last night.

Sewell, a sophomore who started the final nine games last season, was stunningly ineffective two days ago in the Cavaliers' opener, throwing two interceptions and passing for only 87 yards in a 23-3 loss at Wyoming. Virginia gained four first downs and 94 yards when Sewell was at QB.

"I'm sure that nobody expected more out of the game than Jameel himself," Groh told reporters on a teleconference last night. "He's had an excellent preseason, and he's our guy, and we've got a lot of confidence in him, and he'll be back right out there again [today]."

Peter Lalich, the most heralded member of Groh's first-year class, took over for Virginia's final offensive series Saturday and completed 3 of 5 passes for 16 yards.

Asked if he planned to delay an announcement about this weekend's starter, Groh said Sewell is "our guy. For one thing, the other guy only played five plays. It's a little early for Canton."

Lalich told reporters that he hadn't expected to play in the opener. Groh, however, has never said publicly that he planned to redshirt Lalich, and apparently the coaching staff didn't seriously consider replacing Sewell with never-used junior Scott Deke.

"I just decided the way things were going ... that maybe it would best to get Peter in there," Groh said. "We'll see from week to week whether we have the opportunity to do that."

Junior tailback Andrew Pearman was among the Cavaliers who voiced support for Sewell after the Wyoming game.

"He knows what he's doing," Pearman said. "He'll know that he has to jump back and realize the game's over, learn from it, and come back next week stronger."

Sewell said: "I have no choice. That's not going to help us win if I'm [dwelling] on this last game."

Virginia hosts Duke (0-1) at noon in an ACC game that should boost Sewell's confidence. How many people will be on hand at 61,500-seat Scott Stadium is unclear. The Cavaliers failed to sell out any home games last season, and a crowd of 50,000 or so would not be a shock Saturday.

U.Va. has lost 15 of its past 27 games, and fans have grown increasingly critical of Groh, who is 42-34 in seven seasons at his alma mater.

After the Wyoming game, a message was painted -- presumably by irate students -- on Beta Bridge at U.Va. It was still there late yesterday afternoon: orange letters, against a blue background, that spelled out GROH MUST GO on the Rugby Road landmark.

On each side of that message was painted $1.7 million, a reference to a compensation package that makes Groh one of the nation's highest-paid coaches. With cost-of-living increases, he'll actually make closer to $1.9 million this year.

 

Groh says Cavs remain 'united'
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
September 3, 2007

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Altitude is off the hot seat. Aptitude has quickly taken its place.

After a month of hype and hope, Virginia’s football team is back closer to sea level yet mired in a desperate search for answers.

Wyoming created that dilemma inside the offices at the McCue Center after dominating Virginia on Saturday, claiming an easy 23-3 win at War Memorial Stadium in a game that could have been drastically worse than the final result implied.

How could Virginia’s offense look that dreadful after a month-long training camp? Is Wyoming, a team that had a thumb full of starters back on defense, that much better than the middle-tier, bowl-bound teams from the ACC?

Certainly, the questions about Virginia’s offense, a lackluster operation back in 2006, helped outweigh the explanations.

“[Virginia] stayed so conservative the whole game,” Wyoming defensive coordinator Mike Breske told reporters. “I kept thinking, ‘When are they going to try and win the game?’ We thought with eight minutes left it was still anybody’s game.

“I was waiting for Virginia to crank it up, but it never did.”

Instead, Virginia finished with five first downs, one of which came after true freshman Peter Lalich was inserted at quarterback. For the game, the Cavaliers stumbled for only 110 yards of total offense and netted only one rushing yard in the third quarter.

Virginia’s defense, which was on the field for almost 90 plays, allowed 471 yards of total offense to the Cowboys’ balanced attack. The Cavaliers were also exposed on third downs - Wyoming converted half of its 20 chances on third down.

“If this was a heavyweight match, we threw the first punch and we threw the last punches. We punched throughout the fight,” Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said. “Our kids fought and fought and battled. We just outplayed them in every sense of the word.”

The game, not necessarily the result, provided exactly what Virginia coach Al Groh envisioned.

“I didn’t have any expectations other than it was going to be a hard game,” Groh said. “It certainly proved to be that.”

It is clearly obvious that Virginia is headed in a critical direction, for better or worse, on a number of fronts as Virginia (0-1) welcomes Duke (0-1), a team with a 21-game losing streak, into Scott Stadium on Saturday.

Against the Blue Devils, Groh will start quarterback Jameel Sewell, who passed for 87 yards and tossed two interceptions before being pulled for Lalich.

Virginia does not have a quarterback controversy - for now.

“You don’t have to wait for any changes. [Sewell is] our guy,” Groh said Sunday night. “The one thing, [Lalich] only played five plays. It’s a little early for Canton.”

Virginia’s players promised better days were ahead. How that will happen was not revealed.

“I felt that we prepared better [than we showed against Wyoming],” Virginia offensive lineman Branden Albert said. “It is a shock. It’s just time to go back to the drawing board and correct the mistakes that we made.”

Groh said the team would remain “united.”

“We’re clearly not happy with the performance in any respect,” he said. “We’ve talked a lot about the fact and made the strong point of the fact that when we talk about our team, we talk about we, us and ours.

“That means all of us can do better and the most important thing to do at this time is continue to be cohesive and unified and when things don’t go as expectations are, whether internally or externally, there’s always plenty of circumstances out there available to divide teams and that’s the worst thing that can happen to you early in the season. That’s the only thing that doesn’t give you a chance.”

Extra points

Virginia reserve linebacker Darnell Carter has a foot injury that could sideline the redshirt freshman for an extended period of time. “It looks that way, yes,” Groh said. … After reviewing the tape, Groh said Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween was hit 18 times during Saturday’s game. Sween was sacked three times. … Wyoming returned six of Virginia’s 10 punts for 75 yards (12.5 ypr). That did not sit well. “We need a little bit of work on that,” Groh said, “and we’d like to see improvement in that area this week.”

 

Cavaliers need stronger defense to win
Virginia is eager to put its many mistakes behind it as it prepares for its first ACC game.
By Melinda Waldrop 247-4646
September 3, 2007

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Clint Sintim's voice was coated with shock. But it also held more than a little determination.

"We're gonna prepare and we're gonna get better, and we're gonna be a strong defense. We're going to," he said. "It's a matter of when, but this team will have a strong defense."

That's certainly what many expected from Sintim, a junior linebacker, and his Virginia teammates as the Cavaliers returned all but one starter from a defense that gave up just 15 points a game last season. But it's not what anyone saw on Saturday, as U.Va. lost 23-3 at Wyoming in its season opener.

The Cavs surrendered 471 yards of offense to the Cowboys' no-huddle, quick-strike attack. Sophomore quarterback Karsten Sween picked apart the U.Va. secondary for a career-high 253 yards passing, while Devin Moore's 125 rushing yards paced a ground game that picked up 218.

"That's certainly a lot less than what we expected," Cavs coach Al Groh said. " ... We've got a long ways to go. A lot of people put a lot into this to this point for a better result than that, and we'll continue to work to get that."

Virginia's defense wasn't helped by an offense that ran just 19 plays and mustered a meager 110 yards of offense — including one net yard in the third quarter. The Cavs couldn't capitalize on either field position — sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell threw an interception two plays after Andrew Pearman returned a kickoff to the Wyoming 29 — or turnovers — U.Va. went three-and-out after Mike Parker recovered Moore's fumble at the Virginia 19.

But members of the defense — which got less than 18 points a game from its offense last season — weren't pointing fingers.

"Some of being a defense is rolling with stuff, and I felt like we didn't roll with it well enough," senior defensive end Chris Long said. "We kind of let some of the other phases of the game down by being on the field a little too long, not being able to (make Wyoming) go three-and-out."

That was a rare sight indeed, as the Cowboys converted 10 of their 20 third-down attempts and one of two fourth-down gambles.

That 50 percent success rate was just one of a plethora of painful numbers for the Cavs, who also had just seven net rushing yards — their lowest total since 2003 — and five first downs to Wyoming's 27.

Sewell particularly struggled, completing 11 passes for 87 yards and two interceptions.

"We had some guys open there in the first half," Groh said. "We had a couple of seam routes that were open. ... If guys are open, we've got to be able to throw it, and we've got to be able to catch it."

Sewell wasn't on the field for U.Va.'s final snaps, replaced for the Cavs' last offensive series by true freshman Peter Lalich.

"I had a good couple weeks of practice," said Sewell, who said his left wrist was fine after December surgery to fix a broken bone. "I don't know what went on. I just had the wax paper still in my face."

Not surprisingly, Sewell was eager to forget Wyoming and look toward this weekend's home and ACC opener against Duke. Groh said the Cavs still have confidence in Sewell as the starting quarterback.

"I have no choice," he said. "That's not gonna help us win, if I'm (dwelling) on this last game. That's not gonna help us at all. That's not what we need. They need to see some leadership from me — being able to bounce back from things like this."

Given the Cavs' breakdowns on defense — a 49-yard pass set up Wyoming's first touchdown, and Moore reeled off a 49-yard TD run in the fourth quarter — and wheel-spinning on offense, how will that happen?

"We've just got to play better. We've just got to execute," said junior tailback Cedric Peerman, who had just 18 yards on seven carries. "We have to show up and mainly just execute. ... We have to put some plays together to be able to give (the defense) breathers."

That seems a reasonable goal against Duke, which lost its NCAA-worst 21st consecutive game to UConn this past weekend, if the Cavs can correct what went so wrong at Wyoming.

"We just have to stay focused," Peerman. "People are gonna try to divide us. But we just have to stay focused and keep on pushing and keep grinding. This is the first game and we expected a lot more, but we just have to keep on grinding."

 

Offense derails as Wyoming hands Virginia blowout loss
Cavaliers produce little offense: Sewell, Peerman ineffective, O-line struggles

Managing only 110 total yards on the day, Virginia fell to Wyoming 23-3 in its season opener.

Sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell was 11 of 23 for 82 yards and was intercepted twice. Junior running back Cedric Peerman gained 18 yards on seven carries.

Virginia coach Al Groh said he thought Peerman did a decent job, but added that some blocking decisions made by the offensive line hurt Peerman in the long run.

The lone score came from 42 yards out on the foot of Chris Gould. The senior kicker put the ball through the uprights as time expired in the first half.

The only play in which the Cavaliers really shined was a 67-yard kick return by junior running back Andrew Pearman.

Wyoming sophomore quarterback Karsten Sween stole the show Saturday, going 25 of 34 for 253 yards. Sween threw one touchdown and one interception, a pass that was batted down then caught by sophomore defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald.

The defense played well at times, picking up a fumble along with Fitzgerald's interception, but Groh said after racking up 90 plays (compared to the offense's 46) the defense was completely worn out. As the offense was unable to establish a rhythm, Wyoming held the ball more than twice as long as Virginia throughout the game.

True freshman quarterback Peter Lalich played the last drive of the game for the Cavaliers, going three for five for 16 yards. Despite Sewell's poor performance, Groh said he still has complete confidence in him and will start him Saturday in the home opener versus Duke.

Groh said the team needs to stay cohesive and unified as the Cavs continue the season. Losing the team mentality, Groh said, is the one thing that can hurt a football team the most.

 

Giallombardo's clean sheet lifts Cavs
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
September 3, 2007

Everyone needs a mentor, right?

After all, Plato had Socrates. Al Groh had Bill Parcells. Daniel LaRusso had Mr. Miyagi.

Virginia goalie Michael Giallombardo had Ryan Burke.

“Ryan was the best - and I’m not just saying that because I want to sound like a good guy,” Giallombardo said. “He treated me like I played every game. I learned so much about the college game from Ryan. I wouldn’t be playing as confident as I am now if it wasn’t for him.”

On Sunday evening at Klockner Stadium, the former Virginia goalie’s tutelage paid dividends. Giallombordo helped propel No. 5 Virginia to a hard-fought 2-0 win over Richmond.

Giallombardo, a redshirt sophomore from New Jersey, finished with four saves, including two outstanding stops in the first half that kept Richmond at bay.

“They had [two] very good chances off of restarts,” said Virginia coach George Gelnovatch. “One of those goes in and the game can get a little weird. [Giallombardo] did a great job. I’ve been very happy with him.”

The game marked the second straight shutout by Giallombardo and the Virginia defense. But UVa will likely face stiffer tests when it plays SMU and Tulsa in Dallas this weekend.

Virginia has now scored seven goals in its two games, an average offensive output that surpasses the school’s football team. So far, the Cavaliers have not seemed to miss Adam Cristman and Nico Colaluca, who are now playing Major League Soccer.

Against Richmond, Virginia got on the scoreboard in the 27th minute. Sophomore Neil Barlow snaked right between two defenders and blasted a shot past Spiders goalie Eric Sciocchetti.

“I just ran at them, saw the hole open up and just took a touch through,” Barlow said. “I was surprised. I didn’t think I’d get the space. I thought one of them would hit me and maybe we’d get a [penalty kick] out of it, but I got through.”

Virginia (2-0) took a 2-0 lead in the 51st minute when Barlow’s older brother, Jeremy, lofted a perfect ball downfield that Chris Tierney caught in stride and deposited into the net.

“That second goal made all the difference in the world because if you don’t get that second goal, they have hope right till the last second and just launch balls in there,” Gelnovatch said. “I think that goal took a lot of pressure off us.”

In the first half, Virginia’s leading scorer Yannick Reyering took a shot above his left eye. Reyering returned to the game, but the cut required 10 stitches.

“We had to deal with a physical game and some other things that added to the experience,” said Gelnovatch, referring to the officiating. “I felt like we were on the road today in terms of some of the fouls and all the stuff that went with it.

“But all this stuff you hope prepares you for the rest of the season.”

Giallombardo’s best save came on a headed ball from deep in the box.

“All I know is the ball came across, he headed it and I just threw my left hand up,” Giallambardo said. “It was more lucky than anything.”

Apparently, Giallombardo is as modest as his predecessor.

“[Burke] was a great keeper,” Giallombardo said. “I’m just trying to do my role because the team’s so talented this year. If I can just keep it out of the net, we should win a lot of games.”

 

Sewell to remain starter at QB
Al Groh says Jameel Sewell's mechanics and reads need to be better.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- On one side of Virginia's grounds, there was a call for football coach Al Groh's head Sunday.

On the other, Groh was showing a little forgiveness toward sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell.

Sewell, replaced by freshman Peter Lalich late in UVa's season-opening loss at Wyoming, apparently will start in the Cavaliers' home opener Saturday against Duke.

"You don't have to wait for any changes," said Groh in a teleconference with reporters. "He's [Sewell] our guy. The other guy only played five plays. It's a little early for Canton."

Sewell certainly wasn't ready for Canton, Ohio, or the Pro Football Hall of Fame either after he was intercepted twice and completed 11 of 23 passes for 87 yards in a 23-3 loss to Wyoming.

It was Virginia's 10th loss in its past road 11 games and the Cavaliers dropped to 10-24 in road games in Groh's seven seasons.

Within 24 hours, disgruntled fans had voiced their displeasure by painting "Groh Must Go" over one side of the Beta Bridge, one of UVa's most famous landmarks.

In large orange letters on a blue background, there were two references to Groh's $1.7 million per-year salary, which actually may have escalated with cost-of-living.

The media has seen Groh erupt on occasion, but he was restrained as he met with the media Saturday.

"Probably 50 folks around here would snicker in disbelief when I say it," said Groh, interviewed before reporters could confirm the Beta Bridge paint job, "but, best as I can, win or lose, I try to be somewhat restrained [after a game].

"We've got quite a ways to go. Clearly, we're not happy with the performance, but we talk in terms of we, us and ours. There are circumstances out there that can divide teams and that's the worst thing that can happen to you early in the season.

"That's the only thing that doesn't give you a chance."

Groh said he agreed with Sewell that poor mechanics were a major contributor to his inaccuracy.

"That certainly did show up," Groh said after watching film. "That's part of the issue."

And, the other part of the issue?

"Probably some of the reads weren't as fast as you'd like," Groh said. "We need to get the ball out a little quicker.

"I'm sure that nobody expected more out of the game than Jameel himself. He's had an excellent preseason. We have a lot of confidence in him."

With his decision to use Lalich, who no longer can be redshirted, Groh bypassed junior Scott Deke. Deke, who has not played in a college game, was listed as UVa's co-No. 2 quarterback.

Groh didn't fully explain the decision to go with Lalich instead of Deke but said developments Saturday convinced him that the Cavaliers needed to get playing time for Lalich in case changes were necessary for physical or performance-related reasons.

"We'll see from week to week whether we'll have the opportunity to do that," Groh said.
 

Foley in command as UVa tops WVU
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
September 3, 2007

Having the ligament that holds your kneecap together shredded doesn’t sound like the most pleasant experience. In fact, it might cause some athletes to throw in the towel.

But Virginia forward Shannon Foley wasn’t about to let a little injury get in her way.

“I love the team. I love soccer. Not coming back would have been a really big personal defeat,” Foley said. “I’m not a quitter, so there was no other option than to come back.”

Virginia fans are certainly glad that the Californian - even though she had already graduated - decided to return as a fifth-year senior.

On Sunday, Foley notched a career-high five points and led No. 11 UVa to an impressive 3-0 victory over No. 15 West Virginia.

Virginia (2-0), which plays at Stanford on Friday and at Santa Clara on Sunday, now heads west with some momentum.

UVa coach Steve Swanson said his team played much sharper than in its season-opening win over Delaware on Friday night.

“I think our team deserves a lot of credit,” Swanson said. “I think West Virginia is a very good, athletic team that pressures very hard.

“I think we stuck with it and were able to break them down.”

The teams traded punches before Foley helped break a scoreless tie in the 51st minute, beautifully placing a free kick into the box that Nikki Krzysik punched into the net.

The assist was the 28th of Foley’s career, which moved her into second place on the all-time school list. It was Foley’s 11th career game-winning assist, the most in school history.

But Foley was far from done.

Less than two minutes after rewriting the record books, Foley took a pass from Caitlin Miskel and beat goalie Mallory Beck with a low liner.

Foley capped off her day with a corner kick that would have made David Beckham proud. Foley beautifully bended the ball into the Mountaineers’ net to give Virginia a commanding three-goal advantage.

“For some reason, I get a lot of bend on my balls,” Foley explained. “The goalkeepers have problems with them sometimes because they just tend to go in. It’s a nice thing.”

Virginia cruised the rest of the way, enabling Swanson to play eight substitutes. For the game, UVa outshot West Virginia, 16-7.

Swanson was very happy for Foley.

“I said last year that the one person we could least afford to lose was Shannon - just because she’s such a creative presence,” Swanson said. “I think it was hard for her initially because that was a long time to be away and not play, but now I think she’s coming into her own.”

Foley said all the grueling rehabilitation she did was worth it.

“It feels good because it’s been a lot of hard work, but it was just really nice to have the team play as well as we did today,” she said. “This was a really good confidence booster for us.”

Foley’s teammates were glad to see her shine.

“She hasn’t missed a beat and is back here helping us,” Krzysik said. “She played awesome today.”

Foley will now have the chance to play in front of some 15 family members and friends when Virginia heads to California this weekend.

Foley, who is getting her graduate degree in elementary education at the Curry School, said she learned a lot in her time away from the sport.

“Not being able to play makes you realize that you take things for granted,” she said. “Last year was a big wakeup call that you have to take advantage of every single day because it really could end just like that.”