Cavs drive the point home
Late march downfield seals win for Virginia
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 29, 2006

It took three quarterbacks and 11 months, but Virginia’s football team finally boasts a winning streak.

And thanks to a game-winning scoring drive in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers wake up today tied for second place in the ACC’s Coastal Division.

Tailback Jason Snelling scored with 1:31 remaining on a 17-yard touchdown run, and safety Tony Franklin intercepted a pass just 30 seconds later as Virginia beat North Carolina State, 14-7, at Scott Stadium in front of 55,730 fans, the smallest home crowd since 2002.

Virginia improved to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in the ACC, while N.C. State (3-5, 2-3 ACC) lost its third straight league contest and remained dreadful in Charlottesville. The Wolfpack have not won at Scott Stadium since 1994.

That streak looked to be in jeopardy after N.C. State tied the game with its lone touchdown with 4:48 left, but the Cavaliers’ offense, a unit that struggled for most of the game, came to the rescue with a nine-play, 80-yard drive.

“They only scored 14 points, but they scored 14 huge points,” UVa defensive end Chris Long said of his offensive counterparts. “It was when they scored that mattered. We got on the board first and we got on the board when it mattered.”

Virginia’s celebration will be short. The Cavaliers must win two of their final three games to become bowl-eligible. Two of those three, including Saturday’s showdown with Florida State, are on the road.

“We didn’t win any championships today, but we’re making progress,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “We’re better than we were last week. Last week we were better than the week before. Next week, if we’re going to have a chance to get a similar result, we’re going to have to be better than we were today.”

After gaining just four yards on its first six offensive plays, Virginia put together the game’s first scoring drive. Snelling, who finished with 99 yards on 20 carries, capped a 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:19 left in the first quarter.

N.C. State had a chance to trim the margin late in the first half. The Wolfpack had the ball at the UVa 16 with 2:01 left in the opening half, but the Cavaliers’ defense forced a 33-yard field goal attempt from John Deraney that sailed wide right.

“The first three plays were the stop,” Groh said. “The players deserve a lot of credit for that. They didn’t break when it was down there.”

Despite excellent field position on numerous occasions, Virginia couldn’t get on track offensively in the second half. Like they had done throughout the first half, the teams exchanged punts.

N.C. State quarterback Daniel Evans, a redshirt sophomore, helped change that in the fourth quarter. After starting at their own 13 with 9:06 remaining, the Wolfpack successfully went to the air.

Evans, who was 21 of 35 passing for 220 yards, completed five passes for 87 yards and converted one of the game’s biggest plays. On fourth-and-5 at the UVa 32, Evans scrambled away from pressure and connected with Darrell Blackman on a 24-yard strike.

Three plays later, Evans hit John Dunlap on an 8-yard touchdown pass for the equalizing score.

The pressure was promptly placed on the shoulders of Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell. The redshirt freshman responded with a message for his teammates.

“It was just straight forward, ‘We have to score. We have to get this first first down and then we have to score,’” Sewell said he told the huddle.

The drive almost started on the wrong foot. On first down, Sewell was almost sacked by N.C. State’s Martel Brown, but the southpaw scrambled out of the pocket and threw the ball away toward Virginia’s sidelines.

“I really couldn’t get away from them,” Sewell said. “I tried my best to get away from them and then to get upfield,

but I noticed I was outside the tackle box so I just threw the ball away so we would have another down right there where we started.

“You can’t get sacked and get put back there deep.”

Groh agreed.

“It’s tremendous considering with the wind in our face, if we had to kick the ball in that case, who knows how far we would have kicked it,” Groh said.

Sewell took advantage of his heady play one snap later when he found senior wide receiver Fontel Mines for what appeared to be a short 6-yard gain.

Mines had other ideas. After a juke move, he rumbled for a 13-yard gain.

“That was a big play,” said Sewell, who finished 12 of 22 for 131 yards. “Once he got that first down it ignited the whole offense because that’s what we needed. We need a first down on our first drive back out.”

Groh said Mines’ reception “might turn out to be his most memorable play here in terms of helping his team win.”

The Cavs followed with another 13-yard reception - this time Sewell found Kevin Ogletree. After three rushes turned into another first down, Sewell found tight Tom Santi for 9 yards, which set up Snelling’s heroics from the N.C. State 35.

After an 18-yard run to the left side, Snelling broke free for the game-winning score.

“The run previous to the touchdown, I felt like I should have scored,” Snelling said. “So, I was pretty determined to get in the second time. I saw the crease when they blitzed and I hit it and we were able to score.”

In total, the drive took only 3:17 and left N.C. State with ample time to rally.

“I don’t ever worry about that,” Groh said of the quick score. “Until you’ve got it, you will take it at any time.”

Evans tried to answer, but after back-to-back incompletions, Franklin sealed the win with his sixth career interception at the N.C. State 43.

A celebration ensued as coaches hugged, players danced and the sea of orange in the stands rejoiced.

“It was a great feeling to make a big play in a big game,” Franklin said.

For the game, Virginia finished with 256 yards of total offense. N.C. State had 290 but only 70 on the ground as the Cavaliers kept the deadly tailback duo of Andre Brown and Toney Baker in check. Brown finished with 41 yards on 12 carries, while Baker rushed 10 times for 31 yards.

“We were stout up front against the run and that was our No. 1 priority against backs like that,” Long said. “Those backs are unbelievable. We had to play our best defensive game to win it, and I think that’s what this was.

“We just want to continue to progress.”

 

Franklin's INT caps his comeback
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
October 29, 2006

The crowning moment of Tony Franklin’s football career, at least thus far, came with 61 seconds remaining in Virginia’s 14-7 win over visiting N.C. State on Saturday.

Franklin bolted in front of State wide receiver John Dunlap, who was having a career day, and put the final dagger in the Wolfpack heart. There would be no last-minute Daniel Evans miracle on this day as there had been when the redshirt sophomore quarterback pulled off 11th-hour comebacks to beat Boston College and Florida State.

When Franklin, a fifth-year senior safety, plucked the ball out of the air, he raced around the Scott Stadium turf in celebration, one that continued on the sidelines as he hopped upon UVa’s bench and took a bow to the crowd.

The long road back

Nobody in the stadium was rooting any harder for Franklin than his head coach, Al Groh, who came over to personally congratulate the defensive hero. It was Groh that stood behind Franklin when most no one else would.

The coach had no choice but to suspend Franklin before last year’s bowl game, then gave him the boot before spring practice for violations of team rules. Groh eventually allowed Franklin to come back for a final season, but under a strict set of conditions.

“I recognized [what Franklin had been through to get to this point] and I went over and told him how happy I was for him,” Groh said. “It was one for him.”

Proving his worth

Yeah, we know that Franklin had a similar pick that locked the upset over Florida State last season, but that’s when things were fine and dandy. Franklin was thriving as a starter at the time.

Saturday’s game-preserving interception, the sixth of his career, came under more trying circumstances. Franklin only rotates in now. Last year he finished as the fourth-highest tackler total on the team. This season’s he’s 12th in that category.

A defensive stand

It was a big defensive play on a day when the defense dominated most of the way before having to count on a sputtering Cavalier offense to bail the team out of trouble with a late touchdown.

Virginia shut down the ACC’s fifth-ranked rushing offense and its two-headed tailback attack of Andre Brown and Tony Baker. Together the tandem (both ranked among the top nine rushers in the league) averaged 139 yards rushing per game, but was held to about half that total by the aggressive Wahoos.

The State backs finished with 72 yards on the ground and didn’t smell the end zone. Brown’s 41 yards on a dozen carries was his second-lowest total of the season. Ditto for Baker, who rushed for 31 yards on 10 attempts.

Groh said that shutting down State’s running game and making the Wolfpack a one-dimensional offense was a major point of emphasis in Virginia’s game plan for the week.

He wanted to put pressure on the young Evans, who passed for 220 yards, but basically was held intact until the final nine minutes of the game.

That’s when he directed an 11-play, 83-yard scoring march for the Wolfpack’s only touchdown. Nine of those plays were passes, the final one to Dunlap, who had four of his career-high eight catches in the fourth quarter.

State didn’t get a first down in the second half until eight minutes remained in the game.

To make his point about stopping the Wolfpack’s rushing attack, Groh held a competitive tackling drill on Monday in an attempt to set the tone for how important it was to contain the two backs. Groh wasn’t pleased with how Tar Heel backs had slipped off hits by his defense a week earlier in UVa’s 23-0 win over Carolina.

“We definitely took them out of their game plan,” said Franklin, who also made some ferocious one-on-one tackles against State’s backs. “All year long those two backs have been able to run the ball on everybody, but today they weren’t able to do that and we put it on a young quarterback to where he had to make plays.”

Linebacker Jon Copper, who shared team tackling honors with fellow linebacker Antonio Appleby (seven apiece), said the mission all week was about stopping the run.

“Fill up the gaps and get those guys on the ground,” said Copper. “As a defense we did that very well.”

It was yet another step forward for Virginia’s defense, which has matured during the past three weeks. In the last 12 quarters, they’ve surrendered only four touchdowns, and two of those were due to special teams snafus that allowed Maryland to score twice (once from one yard out, another from 31 out). The Terps also returned an interception for a score.

Overall, the Cavaliers were ranked 24th nationally in total defense coming into the game (fifth in the ACC) and 38th nationally in scoring defense (seventh in the defense-rich ACC).

“That’s four games (UVa also shut out Duke) that the defense has been very prominent in stepping up and winning,” Groh said. “And came very close to having two straight ACC shutouts, which is a pretty good accomplishment. But we’ll take the seven points.”

The Wolfpack had not been held scoreless through three quarters since Sept. 23, 1995 in a 14-0 loss to Baylor. State’s seven points against Virginia was its lowest total since 1999.

Virginia knew State’s history this season of starting slow in the first quarter and how the Wolfpack had appeared sluggish in three previous early starts. State (3-5, 2-3 ACC) is now 0-4 this season in games that featured noon kickoffs.

Long after the game, Franklin still clutched the ball he intercepted, a game ball presented to him for his efforts. Only now, he was surrounded by media, tape recorders, notepads, TV cameras and microphones.

He reflected on last year’s big pick against FSU, something that immediately flashed into many of his teammates’ minds when they saw Franklin haul this one in. But mostly, down deep, Saturday’s big play meant so much more.

“It means a lot after all I’ve been through,” Franklin said. “To be back on the team and to be able to make plays means a lot. I’m just happy to be on the field because last year I almost lost it all.”

Maybe that was the true victory in Saturday’s game: a coach who wouldn’t give up on a kid, a kid who wouldn’t give up on himself. This team, which knows something about adversity and perseverance, appreciated Franklin more than ever.

“Tony loves football and wanted to do whatever it took to get back out there,” said defensive backfield mate Marcus Hamilton. “Giving up is not how Tony is, it’s not his mentality.”

Nor this team’s mentality. Losers in three of its first four games, the Cavaliers never thought about quitting. Now, at 4-5 overall and 3-2 (tied for second with Virginia Tech in the Coastal Division standings), UVa’s final three games against Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech could be very interesting.

“This is where you make your money as a team, late in the year,” said junior defensive end Chris Long. “Coach Groh understands what it takes to win late in the year and we’re taking that coaching.”

 

Snelling carries UVa to win
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
October 29, 2006

Heading into Saturday’s game at Scott Stadium, North Carolina State thought it knew what to expect from Virginia tailback Jason Snelling.

As it turned out, Snelling and the UVa ground attack had some new wrinkles that proved to be major keys in their 14-7 victory.

“He kind of changed it up a little today,” said N.C. State linebacker Pat Lowery. “He was running inside more. Maybe we over-pursued, I can’t really say. We missed a couple of tackles today, myself included.

“A big back like that - one or two tackles missed and he’s gone.”

Case in point: Virginia’s final drive of the game - a nine-play, 80-yard march that was capped by back-to-back Snelling runs of 18 and 17 yards.

“It was great,” said Snelling, referring to his teammates’ blocking on his 17-yard touchdown run. “As soon as I got the ball, I saw the hole. I was just determined to hit it real quick. I had to break a tackle, but I was determined to get in. Getting in felt great.

“At the end of the game we knew had an opportunity to go down and get a victory. The offense had a sense of focus and we were able to go down and get it.”

Snelling also scored Virginia’s other touchdown - a 1-yard plunge that finished off a 75-yard drive in the first quarter.

For the game, the senior, whose two touchdowns were a career high, ran the ball 20 times and picked up 99 yards. It was the fourth time Snelling has rushed for more than 90 yards in a game this season.

“He’s a hardworking back,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “He makes so much on his own. He has great heart … turning 3-yard gains into 7-yard gains. He’s done that for us the last four or five weeks.”

Snelling also helped out in the passing game, hauling in three catches for 31 yards. His 23-yard catch in first quarter was the longest by a Virginia running back this season.

“He’s just been progressing as the games have gone on this year, getting stronger and stronger, running harder and harder,” said Virginia cornerback Marcus Hamilton. “He’s been practicing hard and it’s showing in the games.”

The N.C. State defense, Lowery in particular, came away very impressed with Snelling.

“He’s a physical runner and he did it for 60 minutes, which is a testament to him,” Lowery said. “You don’t see that very much. He ran it hard all day and got what he could get when there wasn’t much. [He] took advantage of us whenever we didn’t do right.”

Snelling, who rushed for a career-high 131 yards in Virginia’s win over North Carolina on Oct. 19, feels like things are really starting to click.

“We feel real good the last couple of weeks,” he said. “We’re just progressing as an offense. … Our offensive line has been stepping up and our quarterback has been excellent.

“I’m healthy and this is my last season. I’m kind of just determined to go out and win as many ball games and do the best I can to help the team win.”

 

Sewell sticks a feather in his cap
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 29, 2006

Al Groh loves to talk about pelts.

In the world of Virginia’s football coach, they are accolades by which a quarterback is judged.

Redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell earned his first “pelt” at Duke almost a month ago. That was Duke, a team that has lost 16 straight.

He followed it up with a birthday bash in a 23-0 win over North Carolina last week, but the Tar Heels have not beaten a Division I-A team this year.

On Saturday, against North Carolina State, a team that beat Boston College and Florida State, Sewell earned a “pelt” that carries far more weight after the Cavaliers disposed of the Wolfpack, 14-7, at Scott Stadium.

With the game tied at 7-7 and time running out on Virginia’s postseason chances, Sewell took a deep breath, approached the huddle and spoke like a senior.

It worked like magic as the southpaw steered Virginia on a nine-play, 80-yard drive in a little more than three minutes.

“That’s one of those deals that every quarterback’s got to do,” Groh said. “And now he’s done one.”

Give credit, Sewell said, to the wide receivers, tailback Jason Snelling and an offensive line that was the subject of ridicule early in the season.

“You can pump your linemen up sometimes and sometimes you can’t,” Sewell said. “They’ve just got that faith in me that once I tell them ‘We’re going to do this, we’re going to make it happen’ and that’s what usually happens, the line gets the call, gets up to the line, makes it happen, and executes.

“We were just determined to make it happen. We were determined to go down there and score and win the game. We all had that mindset: ‘We have to win here.’ We’re not ready to go home on Thanksgiving or Christmas or whatnot. We want to keep playing.”

Sewell finished 12 of 22 passing for 131 yards and rushed 12 times for 22 yards, including a quarterback sneak for a yard on third-and-1 during the game-winning drive. That play was of grave importance for a team that converted only 2 of 12 third-down chances in the game.

After completing his first five passes, Sewell went cold in the second quarter. All four of his passes were unsuccessful. The third quarter wasn’t much better as the signal-caller went 3 of 7 for just 32 yards.

That was all forgiven with one drive.

“It speaks on how far I’ve come. It’s just a confidence thing,” Sewell said. “They’re going to have the confidence to put the ball in my hands and let me try to make things happen when we need to.”

Groh agreed.

A bigger pelt awaits at Florida State, a program off to its worst start in decades but a place where no Virginia quarterback has ever walked away with a win.

Does Sewell look at it as an opportunity?

“An opportunity to win, yeah,” Sewell answered. “I’m not too worried about the publicity of it. I just want to win. There is a lot of talk about ‘They are this. They are that.’ They are just a team.

“Yeah, they are a great team but there is no fear in our team. We are just going to go down there and play.”

 

Cavaliers find the go-to guy they've lacked
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Oct 29, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE He's a running back. Not a slasher, not a dancer, not a hip-wiggler - just a runner. Once was designated as a fullback, now wears the label of a tailback. Doesn't matter. Call Jason Snelling whatever you want, but this is what it boils down to: He's 5-11 and 232 pounds of tough. Sturdy. Persistent. Tenacious.

Winner.

"He's not afraid to run into people," Virginia center Jordy Lipsey was saying yesterday. "He's a big, strong, talented guy. He carries the flag for this team. You can give him the ball as many times as you want. He's going to make something happen for the team."

The guy lived up to the billing on 23 occasions yesterday. He lived up to it by crunching into N.C. State's 290-pound-average defensive front four 20 times. He lived up to it by snaring three turn-'em-upfield passes. He lived up to it with leg-churning carries that turned what should've been negligible gains into first downs.

He made it happen with a 17-yard zoom that won the game.

U.Va. seems to be getting better as it makes the turn for home (or for Tallahassee, if you want to be literal about it), and there are several reasons the 2006 campaign is now salvageable. One is an improving defense that gummed up State's running game in this 14-7 punt-a-thon. Another is Jameel Sewell, the up-and-coming freshman quarterback out of Hermitage High who completed three chain-moving passes on the decisive drive of the afternoon.

Another is Jason Snelling.

He rumbled for 64 yards during the first 58 minutes yesterday, then rambled for 35 on his final two attempts - an aggregate of 99 and a total of 506 over the past five outings. He's become money, in other words. So with the score tied, time diminishing and a game and season up for grabs, the Cavs didn't mess around. They called Snelling's number. Twice. He didn't disappoint.

Second-and-1 from State's 35, Snelling got the handoff, glided to his left, cut upfield through a crease, veered toward the sideline and was bumped out of bounds after an 18-yard gain. The play worked so well, U.Va. called it again. Same direction, same hole - only bigger, maybe. Snelling broke it upfield and tunnel-visioned to the end zone. With 91 seconds to go, this matchup was at 14-7 and one Tony Franklin interception from over.

"Soon as I got the ball, I saw the hole," Snelling said. "I was determined to hit the hole quick. To have the opportunity to have the ball in your hands and score the winning touchdown, that's a pretty good feeling."

Snelling is from Chester and L.C. Bird High, where he rang up 3,133 yards rushing his last two seasons. But his tenure in C'ville hasn't been about banner headlines. For one thing, he arrived at U.Va. just when Alvin Pearman and Wali Lundy had the depth chart covered at tailback. For another, he was dinged by injuries and sidelined for a year with an undisclosed medical condition.

Now he's robust, productive and a meal ticket.

"This is physically the healthiest he's been throughout his career," said U.Va. coach Al Groh. "It's a wonderful thing that he's gotten the opportunity to show the ability he came in with."

Snelling displayed his talent early yesterday with a 23-yard gain off a short pass en route to a 1-yard TD blast and 7-0. And then, after the Cavs got nothing from second-half possessions that began at State's 47 and 41 and their 44, he broke the deadlock late with his two dynamic runs.

"It feels good," Snelling said. "I've had some ups and downs. That's part of football and part of life. It feels good to have things going my way as well as the team's way. This is my last season. I'm determined to come out and do everything I can to help my team win."

He couldn't have contributed much more yesterday. He ran hard. That's what he does.

 

Cavs' pulse is suddenly stronger
Defense and Snelling carry U.Va. to crucial victory over Wolfpack
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 29, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The transformation of the University of Virginia football team continues.

The Cavaliers stumbled through the first month of the season, losing three of their first four games and drawing comparisons to the 1986 U.Va. team that finished 3-8. But they persevered and refused to splinter in face of intense criticism, and no longer can they be described as inept.

N.C. State will attest to that. The Wolfpack, which has knocked off Boston College and Florida State this season, had no such success yesterday afternoon against Virginia. Before 55,730 fans -- the fewest to witness a game at Scott Stadium this season -- the Cavaliers beat the Pack 14-7 to move into a tie for second in the Coastal Division.

In the first game in three years between these ACC foes, the winning points came on senior Jason Snelling's 17-yard touchdown run with 1:31 left. On the previous play, the former L.C. Bird High star had rumbled down the left sideline for an 18-yard gain. Snelling finished with 99 yards and two TDs on 20 carries and added 31 yards on three receptions.

N.C. State (2-3, 3-5), which hasn't won in Charlottesville in 12 years, went quietly on its final possession. U.Va. safety Tony Franklin, who like Snelling is a fifth-year senior, intercepted sophomore quarterback Daniel Evans' pass near midfield with 61 seconds to play. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell knelt on the next three snaps, and U.Va. (3-2, 4-5) had its second straight victory and third in its past five games.

"We didn't win any championships today, but we're making progress," sixth-year coach Al Groh said. "We're better than we were last week. Last week we were better than the week before. Next week, if we're going to have a chance to get a similiar result, we're going to have to be better than we were today."

U.Va. needs to win two of its final three regular-season games to become bowl-eligible. The final stretch begins next Saturday at Florida State. Games against Miami (at Scott Stadium) and Virginia Tech (at Lane Stadium) follow.

Virginia came into yesterday's game having posted two shutouts, but the opponents were Duke and North Carolina. The Wolfpack had considerably more firepower, most notably running backs Andre Brown and Toney Baker. It didn't matter. The Cavaliers held the State to a season-low 70 yards rushing on 29 carries and, save one second-half series, dominated.

"I feel like this might have been the best defensive game we've played all year," sophomore cornerback Chris Cook said.

Snelling scored on a 1-yard run late in the first quarter, and the Cavaliers went into the break leading 7-0 -- the fourth straight ACC game in which they've shut out their opponent in the first half. U.Va.'s attack sputtered repeatedly after intermission, however, and failed to capitalize on good field position, and it was still 7-0 when State got the ball back at its 13 with 9:07 remaining.

The Wolfpack responded with a drive that included a dramatic fourth-down conversion, Evans passing to Darrell Blackman for a 24-yard gain. The possession ended with Evans' 8-yard pass to a wide-open John Dunlap in the end zone, and John Deraney' PAT made it 7-7 with 4:48 left.

"We developed a mindset as soon as that extra point went through that it's our ballgame to win," said U.Va. wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, who finished with four catches for 56 yards. "The defense played too hard the whole game and held them down to seven points -- basically a shutout the whole game -- and we felt that we owed it to them to win the game for them."

The Cavaliers' pivotal drive began at their 20-yard line. On first down, Sewell barely avoided a sack and threw the ball out of bounds. On second down he passed 6 yards upfield to senior wideout Fontel Mines, who faked out a Pack defender and ran to the U.Va. 33 for a first down. Another 13-yard gain followed -- this one on a pass from Sewell to Ogletree -- and then Sewell ran for 8 yards.

Two plays later, Sewell, a former Hermitage High standout, gained 1 yard on a sneak for a first down. Sewell passed to junior tight end Tom Santi for a 9-yard gain, and then Snelling took over, piercing the Wolfpack defense for the final 35 yards.

"We were just determined to make it happen," Sewell said of the last TD drive. "We were determined to go down there and score and win the game. We all had that mindset: 'We have to win here.' We're not ready to go home on Thanksgiving or Christmas or what not. We want to keep playing."

Sewell, who completed 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards, grew frustrated after struggling for much of the final three quarters. With the game on the line, however, he delivered.

"Things were a little rough for Jameel," Groh said. "The reads were coming slow, the passes weren't on target. But if you want to be a competitively tough-minded team, your quarterback has to be tough-minded, and that means they have to come back from some circumstances where things weren't going their way and step up when the moment's there. He did a good job of that."

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Oct 29, 2006

PIVOTAL PLAY: In his four seasons at Virginia, wide receiver Fontel Mines has caught 62 passes for 682 yards and five touchdowns. His only reception yesterday against N.C. State might have been his most important as a Cavalier.

With 4:15 to play and the score 7-7, the 6-4, 220-pound senior lined up wide on the left on second and 10 from Virginia's 20-yard line. He ran about 6 yards and caught a pass from redshirt freshman Jameel Sewell, who, like Mines is a Hermitage High graduate.

He's not known for his elusiveness, but on this play Mines juked a Wolfpack defender and broke free before being tackled after a 13-yard gain. That kept alive a drive that ended with tailback Jason Snelling's 17-yard touchdown run, and Virginia came away with a 14-7 victory.

Mines' catch "might turn out to be his most memorable play here in terms of helping his team win," U.Va. coach Al Groh said. "He probably hasn't had many bigger than that one."

Mines has caught at least one pass in 20 straight games, the longest streak of any active player at U.Va.

WREAKING HAVOC: Junior defensive end Chris Long had two tackles for loss, including a sack, and broke up a pass yesterday for U.Va. He also drew a holding penalty from an offensive lineman and contributed to a couple of false starts by the Pack.

"When you're playing over [Long], who's really a good player," N.C State coach Chuck Amato said, "you get a little fidgety, especially if [the play count] goes a little long in anticipation."

FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC: A season ago, safety Tony Franklin sealed Virginia's upset of No. 4 Florida State with a late interception. His interception with 1:01 left yesterday assured U.Va. of victory over N.C. State.

"It's a great feeling to make a big play in a big game," said Franklin, a fith-year senior.

One of the Cavaliers' captains in 2005, Franklin ran afoul of the law last December and wasn't allowed to play in the Music City Bowl. More problems arose during the offseason, and Groh dismissed Franklin before the start of spring practice this year for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Franklin stayed in school, however, and met conditions set by the coaching staff, and Groh reinstated him to the team in August. Groh made a point of congratulating Franklin after the interception yesterday.

"I went over and told him how happy I was for him," Groh said. "This was one for him. And the same thing with Jason" Snelling.

IN THE MIDDLE: With juniors Allen Billyk and Keenan Carter slowed by ankle injuries, nose tackle Nate Collins got his first start in Virginia's 3-4 defense yesterday. Collins, the only true freshman to play for the Cavaliers this season, was credited with three tackles.

Collins also played on U.Va.'s nickel defense, which employs four linemen. Collins and Kevin Crawford (redshirt freshman) play tackle, and pass-rushing specialists Jeffrey Fitzgerald (also a redshirt freshman) and Long are the ends.

"We revamped our nickel before the [Oct. 19] North Carolina game to just try to get a little more firepower," Groh said. "We moved Jeffrey and Chris from the inside, put them out there on the edges, and brought Crawford and Collins inside. If we're satisfied with it, it looks like that might be the mix for quite some time here."

"They're high-motor guys, and they fly around," Long, a junior, said of Crawford and Collins. "We just appreciate what they do coming in here early in their careers and making plays for us."

HARD-EARNED: U.Va. beat North Carolina 23-0 on Oct. 19 at Scott Stadium. The Cavaliers' defensive effort yesterday, though, was probably more impressive.

"We came very close to having two straight ACC shutouts, which is a pretty good accomplishment. But we'll take the seven points and go with that," Groh said.

"We were pretty good last week [against UNC], but after awhile the margin kept widening . . . But today they had to go out there knowing every series the game was on the line, and I was impressed with their competitive resolve under that circumstance."

AVAILABLE FOR DUTY: Andrew Pearman, who hasn't played since suffering a knee injury Sept. 21 at Georgia Tech, was in uniform yesterday and went through warmups. He didn't play against the Wolfpack.

Pearman, a sophomore wideout who also returns punts, had arthroscopic knee surgery Oct. 2.

NEXT SATURDAY: U.Va. (3-2, 4-5), which never has won a football game in the Sunshine State, plays defending ACC champion Florida State in Tallahassee. Lincoln Financial Sports/Raycom will televise the noon game from Doak Campbell Stadium.

FSU was the Atlantic Division's last-place team, at 2-3 in ACC play, heading into its game at Maryland last night. The Seminoles were 4-3 overall.

U.Va. is 2-12 against Florida State. The Cavaliers upset the 'Noles 33-28 in 1994 and 26-21 last season, both times at Scott Stadium. - Jeff White
 

Snelling answers 'Pack
Former fullback leads UVa in clutch
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- If Virginia had been successful in its pursuit of high-school All-America running backs Andre Brown and Toney Baker, maybe Jason Snelling would have been blocking for them Saturday.

No problem. Cavalier fans like him even better with the ball in his hands.

As Brown and Baker watched from the North Carolina State sideline, Snelling reeled off back-to-back runs of 18 and 17 yards, the second resulting in UVa's winning touchdown in a 14-7 victory at Scott Stadium.

"From the first time we saw him, we wanted him on the team," said Cavaliers' coach Al Groh after the game. "He's not the flashiest guy around, but he leaves players in his wake when he's finished."

Snelling scored both of UVa's touchdowns and finished with 19 carries for 99 yards, barely missing his third 100-yard game in the last four.

"Maybe, when we've got some time, we can go back and see if we can find another yard somewhere," said Snelling, a fullback for most of his first four years, including a redshirt season in 2003.

After the Wolfpack (3-5, 2-3 ACC) scored a tying touchdown with 4:48 remaining, the Cavaliers (4-5, 3-2) probably would have been happy with a game-winning field goal.

In fact, the way that Virginia had sputtered over the final three quarters, some fans might have been content to see the Cavaliers hold off the Wolfpack and head to overtime.

"Ball security," said Virginia's redshirt freshman quarterback, Jameel Sewell. "That's the main thing I was thinking about."

Instead, Virginia needed only nine plays to march 80 yards in a drive that required UVa to convert only one third down, a successful sneak by Sewell on third-and-inches from the State 45.

The only thing UVa could have done better was take a little more time off the clock. When Snelling bulled into the end zone for the go-ahead score, there was still 1:31 remaining.

Was it possible that the Cavaliers had scored too soon?

"I don't ever worry about that," Groh said. "You take it at any time."

Before driving 87 yards for the tying TD, State had failed to pick up a first down on four second-half drives. Nor did the Wolfpack score on its last drive.

State's hopes ended when safety Tony Franklin picked off Daniel Evans' final attempt with 1:01 left. Like Snelling, Franklin is a fifth-year senior, one of a handful on the team.

"As we talked about in the locker room, they really embody the tenacity of our team," Groh said.

Franklin's pick, the sixth of his career, was the game's only turnover.

"This game had everything we like," Groh said. "It was a clean game. We had one penalty and no turnovers. We ran the ball proficiently if not prolifically."

Actually, Virginia had three penalties, but Groh's argument was not without merit. Although State outgained UVa 290-256, the Wolfpack drew nine penalties for 53 yards, including a holding call and several false starts against players opposite UVa defensive end Chris Long.

"When you're playing over [No.] 91, who's really a good player, you get a little fidgety," State coach Chuck Amato said.

The Wolfpack, making its first trip to Scott Stadium since 2002, dropped to 0-3 on the road this season.

"We've not been really good -- and why, I don't know -- at the end of a game," Amato said. "They had 170 yards with 4 minutes left in the game. We had stopped them two times and kept them out of field-goal range in the fourth period.

"They made plays. And, we weren't able to make one back. Our defense was on the field pretty much the [entire] last quarter."

More than half of Virginia's 256 yards came on two drives, including an eight-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by Snelling with 2:49 left in the first quarter.

A defensive stand and a missed 33-yard field-goal attempt by the Wolfpack's John Deraney enabled Virginia to go into halftime with a 7-0 lead, marking the fourth straight ACC game in which the Cavaliers had held an opponent scoreless in the first half.

A 53-yard kickoff return by Cedric Peerman allowed the Cavaliers to start the second half in Wolfpack territory, but Sewell was sacked for a 7-yard loss on first down in a prelude to the first 25 minutes of the second half.

UVa had the ball in State territory on four of its first five second-half possessions, but never got inside the Wolfpack 29.

"I didn't feel uncomfortable," Groh said, "but I felt, if we had two scores, it would have given us a lot of latitude on defense."

Groh didn't mention overtime in his postgame talk, but Amato did.

"Al Groh said after the game was over, 'This is yours and my type of game,' " said Amato, who shares Groh's defensive background. "I said, 'Yeah, it was yours a little more than mine.'"

Win the turnover battle | B+

The lone turnover of the game came when UVa safety Tony Franklin ended State's last hope with 1:01 remaining. It was the Cavaliers' second straight game without a turnover and third in the last four.


Hold State under 150 yards on the ground | A

One-time UVa recruiting targets Andre Brown and Toney Baker combined for 72 yards on 22 carries. State finished with a season-low 70 yards on the ground.


Get more than 3 sacks | C+

Chris Long and Jon Copper had one apiece for the Cavs, but Daniel Evans' protection held up well enough for him to pass for a career-high 220 yards.
 

Jeers and cheers for Franklin
Fans blame the defensive back for State's tying TD but forgive him after his interception seals a win.
By Jim Reedy

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- At one moment, he was the goat, at least to the fans near the home sideline who blamed him for N.C. State's tying touchdown.

And then, a few minutes later, Tony Franklin was the last of many heroes for the Virginia Cavaliers, climbing an aluminum bench after his interception clinched a 14-7 win and basking in cheers from those same nearby fans.

"Y'all didn't love him then," outside linebacker Clint Sintim said, "but you've got to love him now."

That's pretty much how the past year has gone for Franklin. Dismissed from the team during the off-season after a string of team rules violations, the 5-foot-10 defensive back was eventually allowed back for a fifth year.

His role has been smaller this season -- coming off the bench as a safety and slot cornerback after starting nearly every game the past two seasons -- but Franklin doesn't much care.

"In my situation," he said, "I'm just glad to be back on the field, you know, because I almost lost it all last year."

Franklin was covering John Dunlap in the slot when N.C. State (3-5, 2-3 ACC) took its final snap at its 23-yard line with 1:07 left.

Dunlap cut inside and Franklin was right with him 20 yards down the field, leaping to snag his sixth interception.

Just more than a year ago, he made a nearly identical interception on this field to seal the Cavaliers' second win against Florida State.

"It just feels good to make a big play in a big game," Franklin said, clutching a game ball.

Kudos were due all around for a Virginia defense that held N.C. State to a season-low 70 rushing yards -- barely more than half its 134.7-yard average -- and its lowest point total in Chuck Amato's seven seasons as head coach.

The Cavaliers (4-5, 3-2) beat North Carolina and Duke by a combined score of 60-0, but this, UVa coach Al Groh said, likely was their finest defensive performance.

"They had to go out there knowing every series the game was on the line," Groh said. "I was impressed with their competitive resolve under that circumstance."

No one did more than defensive end Chris Long, whose myriad contributions began with an early, tone-setting sack of N.C. State quarterback Daniel Evans.

Long also drew a critical holding penalty on left guard Leroy Harris and scared left tackle James Newby into a false-start penalty on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter.

"He gives us one of those guys that every defense needs to have," Groh said. "He's difficult to deal with every play."

The rest of the defensive line was no picnic either, with 280-pounders Nate Collins and Kevin Crawford stuffing the middle and Jeffrey Fitzgerald rushing from the other end.

Together, the Cavaliers stoned N.C. State on a red-zone drive at the end of the first half, forcing a 33-yard field-goal attempt that John Deraney missed left.

Nearly flawless until late, the Virginia defense recovered nicely after Jameel Sewell, Jason Snelling and the offense regained the lead with 1:31 left.

Franklin made it stand up, a serendipity Groh noticed right away.

"I recognized it," Groh said. "I went over and told him how happy I was for him. This was one for him."
 

Copper pops question, foe
By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Win or lose, Virginia linebacker Jon Copper wasn't going to feel too badly Saturday.

Since Thursday, Copper has been engaged to fellow UVa student Holly Dixon, a standout volleyball and softball player when she was at Glenvar High School.

Copper played football and wrestled at another Roanoke County high school, Northside, but they didn't know each other until they met at UVa, where Dixon works in the football office.

By the time Copper proposed Thursday night on Charlottesville's downtown mall, his intentions were a poorly kept secret.

"We practiced Thursday afternoon like normal," Copper said. "I told a few guys and it quickly spread around the team.

"On Friday, the secretary brought [Dixon] into Coach [Al] Groh's office and he told her, 'I hope you said yes because we don't need him in a bad mood Saturday.' "

The answer was 'yes,' but no date has been set.

Fortunately for Copper, he had a 14-7 Virginia victory over N.C. State to savor Saturday night and not a loss that would have dampened his spirits.

"Coach Groh congratulated me outside and said, 'It's been a weekend to remember,' " said Copper, who had a team-high seven tackles and his fourth sack of the season.

After meeting with the media Saturday, Copper joined his family and his fiance's family for their regular postgame dinner at Anna's Pizza close to the stadium.

He didn't know if he would return to the football office to watch film Saturday, as he had on earlier occasions.

"I've got a paper due tomorrow," he said.

He didn't seem too stressed about it.

Making it count

UVa senior Fontel Mines had to wait until the last 5 minutes of the game to get his first reception, giving him 20 consecutive games with at least one reception, but no one was minimizing his contribution.

On a second-and-10 from the UVa 20, Mines hauled in a Jameel Sewell pass at the 27 and bulled ahead to the 33 for the first of five Cavalier first downs on their final drive.

"It might turn out to be his most memorable play here in terms of helping his team win," Groh said.

By the numbers

Until he missed a 33-yard field-goal attempt to end the first half, N.C. State senior John Deraney had not missed inside 40 yards all season. Virginia opponents have missed their last four field-goal attempts after starting the season 6-for-6.

n Chris Gould's only field-goal attempt, a third-quarter 52-yarder with a tailwind, fell short of the end zone. Gould also punted three times, all in Wolfpack territory, on a day when there were 17 punts, including nine by Deraney and five by UVa's Ryan Weigand.

n Weigand's first punt went 58 yards, a season long for the Cavaliers, although it rolled close to 20 yards on a wind-swept afternoon with gusts in the 25-mph range. His previous longest was a 52-yarder against North Carolina.

Odds and ends

N.C. State had not scored as few as seven points since a 23-6 loss to East Carolina in 1999, the year before Chuck Amato's arrival as head coach. State has scored 16 points in its last two trips to Scott Stadium, including a 14-9 loss in 2002.

n Nate Collins became the fourth different player to start at nose tackle for Virginia in the past four games. Collins is the only member of Virginia's 16-member 2006 recruiting class to have played in a game.

Post mortem

Virginia might not have needed a comeback Saturday if it had not given up a 24-yard reception by Darrell Blackman on fourth-and-5 from the UVa 32 with 5:53 left. The Wolfpack scored three plays later.

"I was sick about it," UVa cornerback Marcus Hamilton said. "I'm still sick about it. I got my hand on it and deflected it right into his hands. Next time, I'll go for the interception."

Virginia next week

The Cavaliers (4-5, 3-2 ACC) travel to Tallahassee, Fla., for a noon game Saturday with Florida State, which is 4-4 and 2-4 after falling 27-24 at Maryland. UVa defeated then-No. 4 Florida State last year in Charlottesville 26-21, but is 0-7 at FSU.
 

Cavaliers finally get firm grip on football season
Aaron McFarling

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- They wrapped up and didn't let go.

When you get right down to it, that's what the Virginia Cavaliers did Saturday. N.C. State's big running backs crashed into the line, and there were two, three, four Cavaliers reporting for duty, latching on to whatever body part was there.

Wolfpack receivers found sanctuary in the secondary and sat down to make the catch, but then here came a Tony Franklin or a Chris Cook or a Nate Lyles to execute the open-field tackle, mitigating the effects of imperfect coverage.

They wrapped up and didn't let go. The Wolfpack wriggled and danced but couldn't get away.

And neither, it seems, can this UVa season.

Say whatever you want about the Cavaliers. Their talent level isn't Grade A. Their chances at a bowl game remain miniscule. A six- or seven-win season is still possible, but one glance at their remaining schedule tells you a four-win season is more realistic.

You know what, though? They don't care. Because what they've never lost is pride. What they've refused to abandon is each other. And their latest win -- a gritty, 14-7 victory over an N.C. State team with plenty to play for -- told you all you needed to know about this bunch.

Wait 'til next year? Ha! These guys are having way too much fun this year to do that.

"I just get excited playing with these guys, whatever age they are," said junior end Chris Long, part of a defense that starts five sophomores and a freshman. "I haven't been around such a group of hard-working, hard-nosed guys that just care about winning.

"We're a very selfless bunch," he added. "That's how we think defense should be played."

And that's how they're playing it. Can't get off your block? Don't worry. The linebacker will get there instead. Blow a coverage? Relax. The safety will save the touchdown.

Virginia gave up 290 yards to N.C. State. That's about six yards more than normal for the Cavaliers.

But every time the Wolfpack needed 17 yards, it would get just 12. When it needed 9, it would get 6.

And on one key third down in the fourth quarter, when State needed just 1 yard, it couldn't get it. Antonio Appleby led a pack of blue shirts to the ball, everybody wrapped up, and that was that. State had a penalty on fourth down, the punt team came out, and 55,730 at Scott Stadium roared their appreciation.

Give coach Al Groh some credit here, too. At Monday's practice, one of the first things he did was refocus his defense on the fundamentals, dusting off a series of competitive tackling drills. The running backs met with the linebackers. The receivers met with the defensive backs.

"It's kind of like the Little League drill," linebacker Jon Copper said, "where you're on your back and get up you run and you try to tackle the guy and there's a large area to work with.

"It's not like a run and slam and hit drill. It's more about being under control."

Under control. That's what UVa has been. Two weeks ago, when everything around them was spinning crazily, the Cavaliers hung in there.

They have two straight wins to show for it.

So far.

"We finally are jelling," Long said. "That's not to say that this is excusable, to take this long to get it together. But for whatever reason, it's just a feeling. You walk into the locker room and one day it's there.

"Fortunately, we're getting better rather than worse. Hopefully, we're peaking at the right time."

Florida State's up next. Then Miami. Then Virginia Tech. Not a softie in the group.

No matter. The Cavs are eager to see where the rest of this season takes them, and the game plan from here on out is pretty simple:

Wrap up and don't let go.
 

Virginia seniors show no quit over N.C. State
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© October 29, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Tempting as it might be to look toward next year, when the overwhelming majority of a young and improving Virginia football team returns, tailback Jason Snelling, receiver Fontel Mines and safety Tony Franklin just don't have that luxury.

Snelling, Mines and Franklin are seniors, a rare breed on a Cavaliers team that as coach Al Groh put it Saturday "has to a large degree played the '06 season with the '07 team."

If 2007 looks bright, Virginia demonstrated Saturday that 2006 is not quite over, shutting down N.C. State 14-7 to improve to 4-5, 3-2 in the ACC with three games left.

The Cavaliers, who appeared headed nowhere fast after starting the season 1-3, and losing to Western Michigan at home, kept their bowl hopes alive with another gem of a defensive performance and just enough offense, including a game-winning fourth-quarter drive fueled by Mines and Snelling.

Mines got things started with what Groh termed a "send a message" play, catching a pass and juking a defender to turn what looked like a 6-yard gain into a 13-yard first down.

Snelling finished the drive with a pair of bruising runs, bursting 18 yards to the N.C. State 17, then rambling up the middle for a touchdown on the next play.

"It's my last season," Snelling said. "I'm determined to go out and just win as many ballgames and do the best I can to help the team out."

Franklin closed the deal by intercepting a Daniel Evans pass with 1:01 left. Virginia's defenders, who have allowed just one touchdown in the p ast two games, erupted in celebration.

They had reason to.

After grabbing an early 7-0 lead, the Cavaliers turned N.C. State away time and time again. The Wolfpack (3-5, 2-3) finally broke through with an 87-yard drive in the fourth quarter.

The offense responded.

Though quarterback Jameel Sewell had an uneven day, going just 12 for 22 for 131 yards, the redshirt freshman pulled it together on the final series. He found Mines and Kevin Ogletree for first-down passes that set up the pounding running of Snelling, who finished with 99 yards, giving him 506 over his p ast five games.

"Hey, look, we got a long ways to go," Groh said. "We didn't win any championships today, but we're making progress. We were better than we were last week. Last week we were better than the week before. Next week, if we're going to have a chance to get a similar result, we're going to have to be better than we were today."

Virginia plays at Florida State next week. After an open week, the Cavaliers finish with Miami and Virginia Tech. It's a difficult way to close the season, certainly, but doesn't loom as the hopeless scenario it appeared to be several weeks ago.

"People were writing us off but we weren't writing us off," cornerback Marcus Hamilton said. "We felt we still had an opportunity to go out there and make plays and try to turn this season around."

The Cavaliers made more plays than N.C. State on Saturday, containing running backs Andre Brown and Toney Baker and keeping the pressure on Evans, a sophomore starting his fifth game.

The outcome left some players wondering how different things would be had Virginia not blown a 20-point halftime lead to Maryland on Oct. 14 and lost 28-26. Had the Cavaliers held on, they'd need just one win to become bowl-eligible.

"You always have regrets, but it's how you deal with them," defensive end Chris Long said. "I personally and the team are dealing with these regrets, just learning from them and understanding we're a different team at this point."

A team that's not ready to look to 2007 just yet.

 

Getting defensive
Virginia's defense keeps N.C. State in check, and a late-game touchdown from Jason Snelling is the difference in the Cavaliers' victory.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
October 29, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia players arrived at practice Monday, eight games into their season, and discovered they would begin the week with tackling drills. No installing trick plays. No lectures on coverage schemes. Just football's most basic skill. Helmet in the chest. Arms around the waist.

"Wrap up!" defensive coordinator Mike London ordered the Cavaliers. "Get a lot of guys around the ball, because we're gonna need 'em."

Virginia's coaches cringed at the number of tackles North Carolina's rushers broke in the previous game Oct. 19. Such sloppiness would bury the Cavaliers against North Carolina State's backfield tandem of Toney Baker and Andre Brown.

London's message apparently stuck. Virginia smothered the Wolfpack's running backs Saturday and got a game-winning touchdown drive in the final five minutes from redshirt freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell, giving the Cavaliers a 14-7 victory at Scott Stadium.

Virginia (4-5, 3-2 ACC) now must win two of its final three games to be eligible for a bowl game. If the Cavaliers are practicing for a bowl in December, they'll look back on Saturday as a touchstone game.

They held Brown to 41 yards on 12 carries, Baker to 31 yards on 10 carries. They forced N.C. State (3-5, 2-3) go to three plays and out on six of its 11 drives. The Wolfpack advanced into Virginia territory on just four drives. One of those ended at the 45-yard line, the other at the 44.

For most of the game, Virginia and N.C. State fruitlessly traded territory like the French and Germans along the Maginot Line during World War I.

Take away an 87-yard N.C. State touchdown drive that tied the game at 7 with 4:48 left in the game, and the average Wolfpack drive covered just 16.5 yards. Besides Virginia's two touchdown drives - which went 75 and 80 yards - the Cavaliers gained just 9.6 yards per drive.

But the stalemate broke in the fourth quarter, when the Wolfpack went 87 yards in 11 plays and knotted the score on quarterback Daniel Evans' 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver John Dunlap.

How would Sewell and his cohorts respond? He was sputtering through the game, having completed nine of 18 passes for 96 yards before Virginia began the drive at its own 20.

"The reads were coming slow," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "The passes weren't on target."

The Wolfpack pressured Sewell on the drive's first play, and he wiggled away from a sack to throw the ball away. Then: back-to-back 13-yard passes and an 8-yard Sewell keeper. Four plays later: an 18-yard run by tailback Jason Snelling that gave the Cavaliers first down at N.C. State's 17.

Offensive coordinator Mike Groh radioed the next play to the sidelines: 38 Colt. It's a "stretch" play that requires Snelling to drift outside the tackles.

But when Snelling took the handoff, center Jordy Lipsey and left guard Branden Albert plowed their defenders, opening a hole up the middle that this Virginia team - and certainly this unproven line - hasn't seen all season.

"Nah, never seen nothing that big," Sewell said. "You know you hear the expression 'You could drive a Mack truck through the hole'? You could've did it."

Said Snelling: "As soon as I got the ball, I saw the hole. So I was just determined to hit it real quick."

He shed middle linebacker Pat Lowery and burst ahead into the end zone, capping a nine-play, 80-yard drive. "That was just us being heroes," Virginia receiver Kevin Ogletree said.

Snelling, a fifth-year senior, almost didn't play against North Carolina because of a shoulder injury that flared up two days before the game. An undisclosed medical condition has sidelined him in the past. But now, he is as healthy as ever, and his stats show it: a career-high 131 yards on 19 carries against North Carolina, 99 on 20 against N.C. State.

He is a rare experienced player among these Cavaliers, and it seems fitting that Virginia's defense followed up his go-ahead touchdown with an interception by fifth-year senior safety Tony Franklin on the third play of N.C. State's final drive.

"Three weeks ago, people left us for dead," cornerback Mike Brown said. "We're too young, we're too inexperienced. ... Some of us thought that way. But a lot of the guys, especially the younger guys, they said, 'Our legacy will be based off of this. We need to start now.'

"I think people see us as a dangerous team. Not too many people wanna come into Charlottesville and play us. A few weeks ago, people said we could spoil seasons. But now, we're making our own season."
 

Cavs keep control of the ball
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
October 29, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- For the third time this season, Virginia didn't turn the ball over on Saturday. Not surprisingly, the Cavaliers won two of those three games.

They beat North Carolina State 14-7 Saturday and beat North Carolina 23-0 on Oct. 19. The other game without a turnover was a 31-21 loss at East Carolina.

"This game had everything we like," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "It was a clean game."

The Cavaliers have 11 turnovers in their other six games.

Groh also was pleased the Cavaliers had just three penalties for 15 yards. Before Saturday, they averaged five penalties for 40.6 yards.

N.C. State's only turnover came on its final drive, with about a minute left in the game, when fifth-year senior safety Tony Franklin picked off quarterback Daniel Evans' pass.

DEPTH CHART CHANGE

True freshman nose tackle Nate Collins started the first game of his career. He made three tackles. Virginia's other nose tackles, juniors Allen Billyk and Keenan Carter, are battling ankle injuries. Collins is the only member of Virginia's 16-man freshman class to play this season.

JOHNSON APPEARS

Fifth-year senior tailback Michael Johnson (Heritage High) appeared in a handful of plays Saturday. But he didn't touch the ball. He hadn't played in the previous three games.

He has carried the ball once in the past seven games - a lost fumble against Georgia Tech - and is no longer among the top three on the depth chart, as redshirt freshman Mikell Simpson passed him.

Groh said before the season that he wanted Johnson to play a "significant" role. He said Tuesday that Johnson is healthy but "there are only so many roles and so many balls that can go around."

THIS AND THAT

N.C. State has one of the nation's best returners in Darrell Blackman. But Virginia limited him to 23 yards on five punt returns and 23 yards on one kickoff return ... N.C. State switched quarterbacks for one drive in the second quarter, as junior Marcus Stone spelled sophomore starter Evans. The drive lasted three plays and covered 2 yards. Stone lost his starting job to Evans in the season's third game. ... Virginia wore its new all-blue uniforms for the third consecutive game. In other sartorial sightings, Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato was finely attired in a N.C. State letterman's jacket as he strutted along the sideline. ... Saturday's announced attendance was 55,730, Scott Stadium's smallest crowd of the season. The home opener against Wyoming drew 60,429 - 1,071 short of a sellout - and the attendance figure dropped in each of the next four games. ... Sophomore Cedric Peerman returned a kickoff 53 yards - the longest of the season for Virginia and the longest of Peerman's career.
 

Intimidating Long roughs up Pack
David Teel
October 29 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- By early in the fourth quarter Saturday, Chuck Amato was desperate. His North Carolina State football team rendered impotent by Virginia's defense, Amato ordered the Wolfpack to forgo a punt on fourth-and-inches from its own 19.

But State never got the chance to make the first down. As quarterback Daniel Evans barked signals, left tackle James Newby lunged forward. The false-start penalty forced the Pack to punt.

Credit Chris Long.

Also credit Long, Virginia's best defensive lineman in nearly a decade, for the holding call that nullified a State first down in the third quarter. And for harassing Evans all afternoon, sacking him once and batting down one of his passes.

In short, credit Long for commanding the defensive effort that allowed Virginia to post a 14-7 ACC victory.

"He gives us the player every defense needs to have," coach Al Groh said.

Not that Long flew solo. Linebackers Antonio Appleby and Jon Copper each recorded a game-high seven tackles, cornerback Marcus Hamilton intercepted a last-minute pass, and coordinator Mike London continued to mine improvement from a bunch that began the month with a desultory effort against East Carolina.

But the linchpin is Long, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Howie Long. Seen and unseen, he affects the opposing offense most every play.

Seen: Midway through the first quarter, Long split the double-team of Newby and Kalani Heppe - that's 595 pounds of muscle and flab - for a 13-yard sack.

Unseen: On a second-quarter third-and-9, nose guard Nate Collins tackled Evans after a 1-yard gain. The reason was Long flushing Evans from the pocket.

Seen: On the game's second play, Long stuffed running back Toney Brown for no gain, part of an effort that limited the Wolfpack to a season-low 70 yards rushing.

Unseen: Midway through the third quarter, Evans converted a third-and-6 with a pass to Jamelle Eugene. But officials flagged Leroy Harris, State's best offensive lineman, for holding Long.

"I love holding penalties," Long said gleefully.

He merely likes false-start penalties, but Newby's fourth-down flinch was the game's most critical flag. Was it just coincidence that the lineman who jumped - Newby is a three-year starter, by the way - was the one staring directly at Long?

"I'm not going to say it was me," Long said. "It was just a mental error."

But, Chris, you'd been terrorizing the poor sap all afternoon. You know part of the reason he jumped was you.

"It wasn't a pass-rushing situation," Long insisted. "It was purely a miscommunication. I'm not going to take any credit for that."

Amato blamed that penalty on a misunderstood snap count but attributed other false starts to Long, a 284-pound junior and the program's best defensive lineman since Patrick Kerney's days during the late 1990s.

"When you're playing over 91 (Long's number) ... you get a little fidgety," Amato said.

Especially now that Groh and London have moved Long outside from tackle to end in passing situations. Long has 41/2 sacks in his last four games after registering just three in his first 23.

"If you see what the guy does from play to play, and understand all he's responsible for, it's incredible," linebacker Clint Sintim said.

After blanking North Carolina in their last outing, the Cavaliers came within a fourth-quarter touchdown of shutting out consecutive opponents for the first time since 1951.

But in Groh's mind, this defensive effort was superior to the 23-0 victory over Carolina, or September's 37-0 rout of Duke, simply because the game was in doubt longer.

"Today they had to go out there every time knowing the game was on the line," Groh said.

As were Virginia's faint bowl hopes. At 4-5 overall and 3-2 in the ACC, the Cavaliers aren't quite dead, and no one was more lively leaving the field than London, a Bethel High graduate and first-year coordinator. He formed U, V and A with his arms and virtually floated to the locker room.

But also understand that Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State are three of football's worst offenses, all ranked 90th or worse nationally in scoring. Not so for Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers' closing opponents. London, Long and friends need to continue their uptick if Virginia is to earn a fifth consecutive bowl bid.

Naturally, Long believes they can.

"Everybody had to be perfect (today)," he said, "and we were for awhile."

A Long while.
 

Wolfpack drops third straight game
Virginia wins defensive battle with late drive, dims State bowl hopes
Chip Alexander, Staff Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - N.C. State tight end Anthony Hill stood on the field Saturday afternoon, almost defiantly, as if refusing to leave.
Moments before, Wolfpack quarterback Daniel Evans had gunned a pass down the middle that was picked off by Virginia safety Tony Frankin at the NCSU 43. Barely a minute was left in the game, and the Cavaliers could run out the clock for a 14-7 victory at Scott Stadium.

Hill turned and looked up at the large video board for a replay, for confirmation. Finally, reluctantly, angrily, he fired out a fist in frustration and slowly began to move to the State sideline.

For the third straight game, the Pack walked off the field the loser. Once 2-0 in the ACC, State now is 2-3, sagging deeper in the Atlantic Division. At 3-5 overall, the Wolfpack must win three of the last four games if it's to qualify for a bowl game.

Senior center Leroy Harris called it another frustrating "heart-breaker." NCSU coach Chuck Amato, his voice hoarse after a postgame locker-room "talk" that was loud enough to be heard through thick walls, again praised his team for not quitting.

"And they ain't gonna," Amato said.

Amato noted that after the game, while shaking hands with Virginia coach Al Groh ta midfield, Groh said, "This is yours and my type of game."

Amato said his reply was, "Yeah, but it was yours a little more than mine."

Both spent many years as defensive assistants. Both appreciate hard-hitting games in which yards are well-earned, first downs precious and field position critical.

But Groh was the one smiling when it was over. The Cavaliers are 4-5, moving to 3-2 in the ACC, moving in the right direction.

The Pack tied the score 7-7 with 4:48 left, Evans following up a 24-yard fourth-down pass to Darrell Blackman with an 8-yard TD throw to John Dunlap on third-and-goal. But the Cavs didn't flinch, going 80 yards on nine plays for the winning score.

On the first play, quarterback Jameel Sewell eluded defenders and avoided a sack with a pass out of bounds. Senior tailback Jason Snelling, a 5-foot-11, 232-pound wrecking ball of a runner, finished off the drive with rumbles of 18 yards and then 17 for the winning score with 1:31 to play.

"He's a physical runner. He makes you do your job all day, running hard," State linebacker Pat Lowery said of Snelling, who had 99 yards on 20 carries.

Snelling ran it hard on the TD play -- right up the middle, right through the arms of Lowery, the Pack's surest tackler.

"I missed the tackle, yes sir," Lowery said. "I missed a bunch of tackles. I didn't play worth a [darn]."

The burst of offense in the last nine minutes came after 51 minutes of offensive mediocrity on a cool, blustery day. Virginia did have a 75-yard drive late in the first quarter, Snelling muscling in from a yard for the touchdown.

"There were two pretty good defenses out there whacking each other around," Amato said.

The Pack, 0-3 on the road, again had a sluggish offensive start, finding a way to botch every possession in the first half.

"Mistakes and penalties killed us," tailback Andre Brown said. "We need to get back to playing disciplined football."

On its first four possessions, State was called for an illegal-procedure penalty, holding penalties and two false-start penalties, plus had a first-down sack.

"We'd start to get something and then something like that would happen," said Evans, who was 21-of-35 passing for a career-high 220 yards.

Amato inserted Marcus Stone at quarterback on the fifth possession. Stone's first play: a bad pitch on an option play.

On its last possession of the half, Evans finally found a passing groove, completing eight of 10 throws out of the hurry-up offense. But after a 14-yard pass to Hill for a first down at the Virginia 16, with the Cavs' defense reeling, the Pack called for a timeout.

"They wanted to make sure we got the right play called," Harris said of the Pack coaches. "They wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing."

Brown then lost 2 yards on a run and a swing pass to Jamelle Eugene lost another two. After a short completion, John Deraney was called on for a 33-yard field goal and missed it wide left.

"I don't think that was anything that caused a loss in momentum or anything else," Amato said of the timeout. "We were on the 16 and we wanted to make sure we do the right thing."

State had 170 first-half yards, converted five of 11 third-down plays and had the ball for 19 1/2 minutes. And didn't score a point.

Trailing 7-0 early in the fourth quarter, the Pack faced fourth-and-inches at its 19. Amato elected to go for it but left tackle James Newby jumped early -- another false-start penalty. Then came another. Then the last of Deraney's season-high nine punts.

What's next for the Pack? A home game against Georgia Tech.

"We've got to shake it off," Brown said. "We've got Georgia Tech back at home, 7 o'clock. We play good in 7 o'clock games.

"We need to just get up, go out and play hard-nosed football."

But will that be enough?

 

Wolfpack's inability to score early in games puzzles players
Chip Alexander, Staff Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - Try as they might, none of State's players could come up with an answer.
The question: Why so many slow starts offensively game after game after game?

In the past seven games, State has been outscored 26-3 in the first quarter. In the loss at Maryland and then Saturday at Virginia, the Wolfpack was shut out in the opening half.

Why?

"To be honest with you, I don't know," sophomore tailback Andre Brown said. "We go out ready to go. It's just being patient, waiting for it to develop, and it hasn't developed."

Brown said Virginia's "great defense" was a big reason Saturday in State's 14-7 loss at Scott Stadium. But whether it's play-calling, execution or whatever, the Pack isn't getting much accomplished early with the ball.

"Before the games, to get us going, we're looking at live contact to make sure everybody's woke up," senior center Leroy Harris said. "Three or four snaps ... so that when the first snap [of the game] happens, it won't be like your first live snap.

"The last couple of games, the fact we started slow, I don't know what it is. But we've got to find a way to get going ... and not wait until the end."

MISSING: The Pack played without starting defensive end Ray Brooks and reserve wide receiver Geron James. Neither made the trip for what was called a "coach's decision."

Tackle DeMario Pressley started at end and freshman Ted Larsen at tackle. When Willie Young was used at end, Pressley shifted back to tackle.

CAREER HIGHS: State wide receiver John Dunlap caught four passes for a career-high 80 yards and scored the Pack's only TD, but the junior was dejected.

"We made a lot of mistakes," Dunlap said, shaking his head. "I thought we worked really hard. We just have to execute earlier and work a little harder."

Sophomore quarterback Daniel Evans had a couple of career bests: 21 completions and 220 yards. The former Broughton High standout, whom Virginia coach Al Groh sought out for a handshake after the game, was most effective in the Pack's hurry-up offense.

"That's what I've been used to. That's all we did in high school: no-huddle offense," Evans said.

DID YOU KNOW?: State hasn't won at Scott Stadium since 1994. Because of conference expansion and new scheduling, the Pack had not played at UVa since 2002 or played the Cavs since 2003.

QUOTABLE: "It was a defensive game. It went back and forth. It was one of those fighting, slapping and getting after each other [games]." -- N.C. State coach Chuck Amato.

 

Slim bowl shot least of State's problems
Ned Barnett, Staff Writer

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Bowl games usually pit two winning teams, but there was an Eligibility Bowl held here Saturday between two teams with losing records.
N.C. State came into Virginia's Scott Stadium at 3-4 and hoping to get back on track for six wins and bowl eligibility. Virginia, a team coming back from the dead, entered the game 3-5 but coming off a shutout of North Carolina and trying to string two wins together for the first time this season.

Virginia won 14-7, showing off a tough defense that might keep the Cavaliers in their remaining games against Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech.

State lost another close game -- the Wolfpack has dropped its past three by an average of five points -- but also lost the Eligibility Bowl. State's season has four games left, but its postseason now looks all but over.

This kind of loss brings up all sorts of questions. Why, once more, so many penalties? State had another rash (nine for 53 yards), most of them sloppy false starts, some negating first downs, one killing a crucial fourth-quarter drive when the Pack had fourth-and-inches.

Why can't the offense score? Quarterback Daniel Evans still is learning, but he throws well and takes care of the ball. Usually, the offensive line gives him time. State has a potent set of running backs in Andre Brown and Toney Baker.

But scoring is way down, especially early in the game. In eight first quarters, the Pack has scored 12 points. Against Virginia, State came close to being shut out for the first time in 11 years. State avoided a zero, but still was held to its lowest point total since a 23-6 loss to East Carolina on Nov. 20, 1999.

Where has the Pack's swagger gone? Maybe it's in San Diego. The last time State and Virginia met in 2003, State won a slugfest between future NFL quarterbacks Philip Rivers and Matt Schaub, 51-37.

On Saturday, State got nervous near the end zone. Late in the first half with the Pack trailing 7-0, Evans marched the Pack to the Virginia 16-yard line by completing six of eight passes, the last a 14-yard strike to tight end Anthony Hill.

With Virginia's defense staggering backward, State called a timeout with 2:01 remaining in the half. State coach Chuck Amato said the timeout was called "because we wanted to make sure we did the right thing."

The "right thing" was running Brown. It produced a 2-yard loss. That was followed by a pass that lost 2 more yards and a pass that gained 4. Kicker John Deraney then completed the deflation by missing a 33-yard field-goal attempt.

Why is it that when the Pack does score late -- as it did with 4:48 left to tie the score Saturday -- State's usually capable defense allows the other team to roll back downfield to win, as it did against Virginia and Akron?

Who knows? Why does the Pack beat Florida State and Boston College?

Such riddles are part of the State's larger puzzle. The athletes are there. The talent is there. At last, a quarterback is there. But the confidence and consistency are not.

"Talent-wise, from my opinion, we have one of the best teams in the nation, but we have to work on the small things," said junior wide receiver John Dunlap, who had four catches for 80 yards and State's lone touchdown.

At 3-5 (2-3 ACC), State needs to focus on a respectable finish and developing for next season. Groom Evans. Develop an offense. Keep a losing season from becoming a disaster by winning the two in-state rival games remaining, against North Carolina and East Carolina.

There's no point clamoring about the coaches. No matter what happens, Amato is in the job through next season. With postseason play now remote, the Pack should take some chances and give younger players chances.

Evans, a redshirt sophomore, likes the feel of a no-huddle offense like he ran at Broughton and has had success when late-game situations force the Pack into it.

"That's what I've been used to. We did it high school. All we did was no-huddle," he said, "I feel like I'm a good dropback, regular tempo quarterback, too, but it just seems like it has been working out better."

The Pack ought to use what works. Stop planning and start playing. Take chances. Blitz often. Throw it downfield. Don't call timeouts to mull the next move. Don't worry about losing this season. It's all but gone. Play to win -- next year.

 

Same time, same place, same safety
Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 29, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Something about Tony Franklin's game-clinching interception felt familiar. A good kind of familiar.
"It just felt good just to make a big play in a big game," the fifth-year Virginia safety said. "Just like the Florida State game last year."

Franklin's interception of N.C. State's Daniel Evans was a near carbon copy to his game-ending pick in Virginia's upset of Florida State last season on the same Scott Stadium field, meaning two of his six career interceptions have put the finishing touches on Cavaliers victories.

It was especially pleasing for Franklin, who was kicked off the team last spring for unspecified violations of team rules, only to work his way back into head coach Al Groh's good graces and rejoin the team prior to training camp. Despite coming back, he lost his starting safety job to sophomore Byron Glaspy early in the season and has gotten most of his action on Virginia's nickel defense.

He's still produced. In Saturday's game, he had four tackles (three solo), one tackle for a loss and the interception.

"I went over and told him how happy I was with him," said Groh, who gave Franklin a game ball for his efforts. "This was one for him."

Flagged down

N.C. State did nothing to dispel the notion that Chuck Amato-led teams have a habit of getting untimely penalties. The Wolfpack were flagged nine times for 53 yards and moved backward at the worst times.

The Wolfpack's second drive was submarined by three penalties, including a holding call against wide receiver John Dunlap, who grabbed UVa defensive end Chris Long, negated a first-down run on the first play of the drive.

Evans completed a first down pass on third down in the third quarter that was brought back when Long beat a double team and was dragged down by center Leroy Harris. N.C. State eventually had to punt.

Early in the fourth quarter, N.C. State planned on going for it on fourth-and-inches from its own 19-yard line, but the left side of the line jumped (Long was lined up across from the offending player), backing up the Wolfpack five yards and forcing them to punt.

"When you're playing over (number) 91, who's really a good player, you get a little fidgety," Amato said.

Finally!

Virginia's kick return game has lacked the explosiveness it has in past years. That is until Cedric Peerman (William Campbell) reeled off a 53-yard return to open the second half.

The sophomore fielded the ball around the goal line, found a big hole and sprinted up the right sideline. He got boxed in by two players and tried to run over the kicker, eventually being dragged down at the N.C. State 47-yard line.

"They haven't really been kicking the ball to me," said Peerman, whose 23-yard kick return average is fifth in the ACC. "I just said to myself, 'This is my chance.'"

Peerman's previous career long was 43 yards, set last year. This season, he hadn't had a kick return longer than 38 yards.

Extra points

Virginia alternated punters again, using Ryan Weigand on the regular punt team and Chris Gould from inside the 50. Weigand averaged 42.2 yards on five punts, getting off a 58-yarder. Gould killed two of his three punts inside the 20. ? True freshman nose tackle Nate Collins made his first career start for Allen Billyk, who is still slowed by an ankle injury he suffered a few weeks ago. Collins was in on three tackles. Billyk and Keenan Carter also rotated in at nose tackle. ? Wide receiver Andrew Pearman (knee) dressed for the first time since the Georgia Tech game but did not play. ? Sophomore inside linebacker Antonio Appleby had a season-high seven tackles.