Gould-en opportunity saves Cavs
Last-second FG helps Virginia survive road scare
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
October 7, 2007

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Chris Gould got the redemption that many kickers can only dream about.

Virginia’s placekicker, a near-scapegoat after missing an extra-point attempt, nailed a 34-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining, to lift Virginia to 23-21 victory over Middle Tennessee State in front of a sparse crowd at Floyd Stadium.

“I made sure we weren’t going to lose on my account,” Gould said. “Everybody out there on our team played so hard, and I didn’t want to go into the locker room and have to face the guys and look them in the eyes knowing that I missed a kick.”

With the wild win, Virginia improved to 5-1 overall and extended its current winning streak to five.

Registering the victory took a special effort in the final minutes from all three facets of the team. The Cavaliers’ defense held Middle Tennessee (1-5), forcing a punt with 86 seconds left. The offense drove 63 yards on six plays as quarterback Jameel Sewell hit five different receivers. And Gould connected from the right hash mark through the very uprights that he missed the previous PAT attempt.

“I said here a few weeks ago, we’re not pretty,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “We are not bob-and-weave. We go into the middle of the ring and slug it out. Everybody has got to play a role.”

Middle Tennessee, which finished with 308 yards of total offense, took the lead with 7:29 remaining after Sewell threw an interception at Virginia’s 22. The Blue Raiders reached the end zone one play after Sewell’s miscue on a 1-yard run by DeMarco McNair, taking a 21-20 lead.

Virginia’s ensuing drive stalled, forcing one of Virginia’s eight punts with 3:58 left.

“We said it was on the defense and that’s how we like it,” said Virginia defensive end Chris Long.

The Cavs allowed a first down before holding quarterback Dwight Dasher 1 yard shy of another on a keeper.

“The first time we didn’t stop it - we let it get away on a draw play,” Long added. “It is a game of inches and we stopped them on the next time.”

Sewell, who finished 22 of 37 with 223 yards passing, said he was thankful for the opportunity to move the team in the hurry-up offense.

“I knew if we could get [Gould] in field-goal range that he was going to make it no matter what,” Sewell proclaimed.

Virginia moved with efficiency as Sewell connected on back-to-back passes to Andrew Pearman and Tom Santi for 19 and 17 yards, respectively.

Sewell was then sacked on first down at the Middle Tennessee 45 and connected with Dontrelle Inman for 5 yards, setting up a pivotal play on third down.

After taking the snap, Sewell tossed the ball to Josh Zidenberg, a player who had never touched the ball on offense. Zidenberg raced to the left for the first down and 11 yards before going out of bounds to stop the clock.

“We had a call that we run a lot and Jameel found me and I just caught it and basically nobody was there,” Zidenberg said. “Really, the credit goes to everybody.”

Zidenberg would not have even been in the game had Virginia running back Cedric Peerman been in uniform. The ACC’s leading rusher left the contest in the first half after twisting his ankle.

“I am just thankful that the coaches believed in me to fill in for Cedric during the 2-minute period,” Zidenberg said. “I got the opportunity and I made a play when we were down.”

Having moved the ball into obvious range for Gould, Sewell raced to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball to stop the clock with 12 seconds left.

“What clicked was just the confidence that the offensive line and the whole team gave me actually,” Sewell said. “I threw a pick and they capitalized off the interception that I threw and scored and the offense never lost their faith in me.

“They were right there with me and it just gave me confidence to be able to go down and drive and get [Gould] into field-goal range.”

Long before Gould’s heroics, Virginia found itself trailing twice.

The Blue Raiders took a 7-0 lead on a 24-yard touchdown from Dasher to Taron Henry with 4:36 left in the opening quarter.

The Cavaliers tied it 3 minutes later when Sewell capped an 80-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Phillips.

“Jameel put it on the top shelf where only I could get it and I just went after it,” Phillips said.

Middle Tennessee scored again two possessions later when Dasher, who finished with 181 yards passing, connected with Bobby Williams on a 7-yard touchdown pass.

Once again the Cavaliers mounted a rally - Andrew Pearman raced 21 yards with 3:57 left in the first half to the right corner of the end zone and dove headfirst over a teammate and two defenders.

“I am 170 pounds, so I’m not going to go through anybody. I just wanted to make a play,” said Pearman, who also added a touchdown in the third quarter.

Middle Tennessee, which plays in the Sun Belt Conference, gained the Cavaliers’ respect with its play despite the end result.

“I can’t tell you how excited I was after that game. I still am. It was as high as I have ever been,” Santi said. “People will look at it and say it was an ugly win and we should have beat Middle Tennessee State better than that … it don’t matter.

“A win is a win and the way that we pulled it out in the end going from low to high like that was awesome.”
 

Sewell gains redemption on final drive
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
October 7, 2007

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.

About six minutes after Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell threw an interception that could have lost the game to underdog Middle Tennessee State on Saturday night, the sophomore got a second chance.

Trailing 21-20 with 86 ticks remaining on the scoreboard clock, and with no timeouts, Sewell gained redemption by driving UVa to a game-winning field goal in the waning seconds, lifting his team to a 23-21 comeback victory.

When Virginia trotted back on the field, Sewell was 80 yards away from the end zone. As he guided the Cavaliers 63 yards on seven plays (including one spike to stop the clock for Chris Gould’s dramatic kick), Sewell played like a man trying to repay a debt.

He went 5 for 5 on the drive, hitting tailback Andrew Pearman over the middle for 19 yards to the 39-yard line, then 17 more to tight end Tom Santi to the Middle Tennessee 44.

After being sacked for a yard, Sewell tried to get the offense lined up quickly with the clock running, 47 seconds showing when he snapped it and hit wide receiver Dontrelle Inman for 5 more yards to the 40.

Then, the call of all calls. Virginia caught the Blue Raiders completely by surprise, with Sewell hitting unheralded backup fullback Josh Zidenberg, a senior who has never had an offensive touch in his career, for an 11-yard gain to the MTSU 29. Zidenberg had the presence of mind to get out of bounds with 20 seconds to go.

Sewell wasted no time, firing a rocket-like pass to tight end Jon Stupar, again over the middle with no timeouts, for 12 yards to the 17, gaining a clock-stopping first down with 14 seconds showing.

From there, Virginia lined up and spiked the ball with 12 seconds to go, setting up Gould’s game-winning kick. Sewell wasn’t the only one seeking redemption. The Cavalier kicker had missed an extra point earlier in the game that allowed the upset-minded Raiders an opportunity to hold a one-point lead.

As Gould’s 34-yarder zipped through the uprights, the Cavaliers became full of emotion. Cedric Peerman, the ACC’s leading rusher who was injured early in the game and watched the rest from the sideline, tucked his crutches under his arm and hopped around on one foot, shaking his fist in the air.

Virginia came back and won it.

Coach Al Groh was immensely proud of how his team kept its poise, running the Cavaliers’ 2-minute drill almost to perfection.

“We work on it at least two or three times a week to create situations, so when it comes up we know exactly what we’re going to do,” Groh said of the special 2-minute offense. “All the plays we ran coming down the homestretch were exactly the plays we practice in our beat-the-clock situation, so the players knew what the calls were going to be and they very confidently did it. We got some good calls from upstairs and the players executed it.”

Sewell, who was spotty at best through the game, was amazingly cool under pressure in the final minute. He knew that Middle Tennessee would be giving him soft coverage, so he realized he could take advantage of the underneath routes and get the ball into the hands of his playmakers with short passes and let them run after the catch.

That’s exactly what they did.

“I was very anxious to get the ball back in my hands,” said Sewell, who completed 22 of 37 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. “I was kind of nervous because [MTSU] kept converting on the drive before and it would have been tougher if there had been any less time when we got the ball back, but it was perfect.”

Perhaps the greatest play of the drive was the 17-yarder to Santi, the team’s leading receiver.

Sewell threw an admittedly bad pass to the senior tight end on a seam route and Santi just went up in double coverage and snared the ball for the big gain, picking up another first down and stopping the clock.

“To me, that was the biggest play of the whole series,” Sewell said.

Santi said even though the offense appeared poised during the come-from-behind drive, things were pretty tense.

“The 2-minute drill is not relaxing,” Santi said afterward. “I promise you it is not. In a situation like that, if you relax you are dead.”

But Virginia, which appeared dead in the water and a victim of one of those celebrated “trap games” at the home of a non-BCS conference squad, lived to fight another day. The Cavaliers, now 5-1 overall, host unbeaten UConn (5-0) on Saturday at Scott Stadium.

“We’re not pretty. We’re not bob-and-weave,” Groh said in describing his team’s style of play. “We go into the middle of the ring and we slug it out and everybody’s got to play a role. [Zidenberg] stepped up when we needed him and [Gould] was as cool as can be. They got a hard-earned win and deserved to celebrate it.”

 

MTSU major upset shot slips away on field goal
Last-second kick rescues Cavaliers
By ADAM SPARKS
Gannett Tennessee

MURFREESBORO — Virginia kicker Chris Gould's 34-yard game-winning field goal staved off a monumental upset by MTSU and saved the very goal posts through which he kicked Saturday night.

MTSU lost 23-21 at Floyd Stadium, narrowly missing its most significant win in program history. Gould's kick came with eight seconds remaining, burying the Blue Raiders' celebration amid a crowd of 23,227.

"Our guys hurt because they had a chance to do something very special (Saturday night)," MTSU Coach Rick Stockstill said. "It was a phenomenal game and our players displayed unbelievable effort.

"Our want-to was bigger than their want-to, but they just got us in the end."

The Blue Raiders took a 21-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter when Bradley Robinson picked off a Virginia pass, and DeMarco McNair scored on a 1-yard run a play later.

MTSU milked the clock late in the fourth quarter but left the Cavaliers too much time. Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell completed five consecutive passes to lead the Cavaliers on a 63-yard drive in only one minute, 18 seconds, setting up Gould's game-winner.

"I made the play and I thought that could be the play to make it for us," Robinson said. "We felt like we did what we had to do in order to get a big win, but we didn't make the plays when we had to on the last drive."

Robinson's interception was the only turnover by either team in the game, which was a back-and-forth struggle.

True freshman quarterback Dwight Dasher led MTSU in rushing and passing for a second time in his three career starts. He was 17-of-33 passing for 181 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed 17 times for 63 yards.

"I felt like the way we played would be enough to win the game," Dasher said. "The end of the game changed all that."

Virginia broke a 14-14 tie on Andrew Pearman's 5-yard touchdown run on the third play of the fourth quarter, capping a 15-play, 85-yard drive.

However, Virginia was flagged for a false start on the ensuing extra-point kick. On a second try, Gould missed the PAT, and Virginia led 20-14.

MTSU scored on Dasher's 24-yard touchdown pass to Taron Henry near the front pylon at the goal line. Henry's grab, which came with a defender in his face, capped an 11-play, 67-yard drive on MTSU's second possession of the night.

It was also only the second pass of the drive, a steady march that included seven rushes between three and eight yards each.

The Blue Raiders held Virginia to four-plays-and-out on the ensuing possession, but the Cavaliers got new life on a holding penalty during the punt. MTSU's Alex Suber, who was defending Virginia's wideout on the punt, was called for holding before the kick, which gave the Cavaliers a first down.

"You'll have to ask those ACC officials about that," Stockstill said.

Virginia took advantage of its second chance, finishing the final 43 yards of the drive. Tight end John Phillips snagged a 20-yard touchdown pass from Sewell on third-and-4 to tie the score 7-7 early in the first quarter.

MTSU had two chances to make a field goal and retake the lead in the second quarter. Matt King's first field goal attempt, a 38-yarder, missed wide left but was negated by a Virginia penalty. His second try, a 33-yarder, was blocked.

"We might just have to start going for it on fourth down," Stockstill said.

About three minutes later, MTSU finished a scoring opportunity when Dasher hit Bobby Williams on a quick slant for a 7-yard touchdown pass and a 14-7 lead.

Virginia countered with a 10-play, 85-yard drive that took less than three minutes. Pearman scampered around right end and dove from the 3-yard line to paydirt to finish his 21-yard scoring run.

Sewell finished 22-of-37 passing for 223 yards, one touchdown and one pickoff.

Sun Belt teams are 7-129 against BCS teams since the conference was formed in 2001.

 

Phillips comes up big for Cavs
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
October 7, 2007

For the first time this season, Virginia tight end John Phillips found the end zone.

The junior scored on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Jameel Sewell late in the first quarter.

Phillips entered the game with four catches for 42 yards.

It marked the first touchdown for Phillips since 2005, when the Virginia native scored against Duke.

Phillips also joined the list of tight ends that have scored for the Cavaliers this season. Tom Santi and Jon Stupar each had scored in previous contests.

Ending a streak

Virginia’s first drive on Saturday lasted just shy of two minutes and included a meager 7 yards of total offense.

By failing to score, Virginia snapped a four-game streak that had included scores on each of its opening possessions.

A new career mark

The touchdown pass in the first quarter was the sixth of the season for Sewell, which helped the signal-caller surpass his total from the entire 2006 season.

Sewell also eclipsed the 2,000-yard passing plateau for his career during the contest. The southpaw became the 18th player in program history to accomplish the feat.

The sophomore, who passed for five scores last year, also threw his first interception in a month during the fourth quarter. Sewell’s two other interceptions this year had come in the Cavaliers’ season-opening loss at Wyoming.

A block party

Virginia defensive end Chris Long accomplished another first - the senior blocked a field goal in the first half.

It marked the first for Virginia since 2003. Against Maryland that season, D.J. Bell blocked a field goal.

Also, Long recorded his seventh sack of the season during the contest. That moved the former star from St. Anne’s-Belfield into a tie with Tom Kilgannon and Jon Harris for 10th place in program history in sacks.

Injury update

After rushing for 19 yards on five carries, Virginia tailback Cedric Peerman left the contest with an apparent ankle injury.

After having the ankle taped heavily, Peerman was unable to return to the game. In the second half, Peerman returned from the locker room in street clothes and using a pair of crutches.

Virginia cornerback Chris Cook was also injured during the fourth quarter and did not return. The junior appeared to suffer a leg injury, but was able to walk off the field with help from the team’s medical staff.

 

U.Va. finally gets its kicks
Sewell's play leads to Gould's FG at :08; Cavs win 5th straight
Sunday, Oct 07, 2007 - 12:07 AM Updated: 01:50 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Eighty yards from the end zone, sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell had 86 seconds and no timeouts with which to work last night.

What followed was a drive the University of Virginia football program will long remember.

Sewell, a former Hermitage High star, coolly moved the Cavaliers into field-goal range, completing 5 of 5 passes for 63 yards, and then senior kicker Chris Gould did the rest.

Gould, who'd missed an extra-point attempt early in the fourth quarter, connected on a 34-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to lift U.Va. to an improbable 23-21 victory at Middle Tennessee before a stunned crowd of 23,227 at Floyd Stadium.

Not since the Cavaliers' previous trip to Tennessee -- for the 2005 Music City Bowl in nearby Nashville -- had they won on a late field goal. In that one, Connor Hughes' 39-yarder with 1:08 left proved decisive in a 34-31 win over Minnesota.

"We knew coming here that to win on the road, you have to be ready to play 60 minutes and scratch and claw and win it in the end," Virginia coach Al Groh said.

The victory was the fifth straight for U.Va. (5-1), which has matched its 2006 victory total. Middle Tennessee, of the Sun Belt Conference, fell to 1-5.

Last-minute heroics weren't necessarily expected of Sewell. Two series earlier, he'd thrown a costly interception, setting up a touchdown and extra point that put the Blue Raiders ahead 21-20 with 7:29 left. But Sewell redeemed himself in glorious fashion.

"This is one of those things that to attain a certain level, quarterbacks have to do one on occasion," Groh said, "and he stepped up big."

On Virginia's final drive, Sewell's completions included a 19-yarder to tailback Andrew Pearman, an 18-yarder to tight end Tom Santi, an 11-yarder to rarely used fullback Josh Zidenberg -- who'd never caught a pass as a Cavalier -- and, finally, a 12-yarder to tight end Jonathan Stupar that put the ball on the Blue Raiders' 17.

"I was just thinking, 'Get into field-goal range,'" said Sewell, who finished 22-of-37 passing for 223 yards and one touchdown. "I knew [Gould] would make it if we got there."

With the ACC's leading rusher -- junior tailback Cedric Peerman -- watching on crutches from the sideline, the Wahoos still found a way to win. Peerman was injured late in the first quarter, and his right foot was in a walking boot after the game.

The team's other tailbacks, Keith Payne and Pearman, were sensational. Payne, a redshirt freshman, gained 70 yards on 18 carries. Pearman, a junior, ran five times for 45 yards and two touchdowns, the first of his college career. He also caught five passes for 56 yards.

After the Cavaliers punted with 4:07 to play, trailing 21-20, their winning streak seemed destined to end. But Virginia stopped Middle Tennessee's dazzling quarterback, Dwight Dasher, on a third-down run that, if it had gone for another yard, would have effectively ended the game. The Blue Raiders had to punt, and U.Va. took over at its 20.

"Game of inches," Virginia defensive end Chris Long said.

Pearman's second TD run gave U.Va. a 20-14 lead with 13:58 left, and Gould booted the extra point through the uprights. But backup offensive guard B.J. Cabbell, a redshirt freshman, was called for a false start on the PAT, and Gould had to kick again. What would have been a 26-yard extra point was wide right, and the Blue Raiders' fans roared.

The Cavaliers appeared determined to self-destruct for much of the game. An illegal-block-in-the-back penalty on true freshman Ras-I Dowling nullified an apparent 62-yard punt return for a TD by Virginia sophomore Vic Hall in the third quarter.

Virginia went into halftime tied 14-14 and was fortunate not to be behind. Groh had compared Dasher to such mobile quarterbacks as Woody Dantzler and Marques Hagans, and that wasn't hyperbole. By halftime, Dasher had rushed for 36 yards and passed for 158 yards and two TDs.


 

U.VA. NOTES
Sunday, Oct 07, 2007 - 12:07 AM

Blue Raiders have some ACC connections
Only one of the two football teams that clashed last night in Murfreesboro, Tenn., competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But the coaching staff of Virginia's opponent, Middle Tennessee, has numerous ties to the ACC.

Blue Raiders coach Rick Stockstill, a Florida State graduate, was an assistant at Clemson from 1989 to '92. Tight ends coach Brent Brock played for Bobby Bowden at FSU, though that was before the Seminoles joined the ACC. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz previously was an assistant at N.C. State and FSU, and cornerbacks coach Antonio Goss is a North Carolina graduate.

Middle Tennessee's defensive line coach, Les Herrin, is a former assistant at Clemson and UNC. Running backs coach Willie Simmons is a former Clemson quarterback and graduate assistant. Wide receivers coach Justin Watts was a graduate assistant at Clemson in 2001 and '02.

During Stockstill's tenure as a Clemson assistant, the Tigers went 6-7-1 against Virginia. His final two seasons at Clemson were Al Groh's first two seasons as Virginia's coach.

"To me, they look bigger and more physical than what they were maybe when he first got there," Stockstill said last week about Groh's Cavaliers. "To me they look bigger and faster than any [U.Va.] team I remember when I was still at Clemson coaching against them."

Long comes up big with key block of field goal
Virginia hadn't blocked a punt or a field goal all season before Chris Long finally broke through last night. The first block of the senior defensive end's college career came on a 33-yard field-goal attempt by Middle Tennessee junior Matt King with 13:00 left in the second quarter. Late in the half, Long recorded his seventh sack of the season.

Sammis returns to Cavs' starting lineup
Gordie Sammis, a career reserve until Virginia's game against Pittsburgh last weekend, made his second straight start at left offensive guard last night. Next to Sammis at left tackle, in Eugene Monroe's customary place, was Branden Albert, usually the No. 1 left guard.

Monroe, who injured his right knee Sept. 22 against Georgia Tech, suited up for the Pitt game but didn't play. He was in uniform again last night and warmed up with the Cavaliers, but the first half ended without an appearance by the 6-6, 310-pound junior.

Middle Tenn. happy to host U.Va. at Floyd
Middle Tennessee was 0-5 against ACC teams heading into last night's game. In each of those games, however, the Blue Raiders had had to play on the road, losing at N.C. State in 1989 and 2005, at Clemson in 2003 and at Maryland in 2000 and 2006.

To face Virginia at Floyd Stadium is "a great opportunity for football team and for our university," Stockstill said Tuesday. "This is the first one from one of the major conferences, and it won't be the last."

MT will host Maryland next season.

Inman could take lesson from Dowling
Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman, one of five true freshmen to play for U.Va. this season, entered last night's game with eight catches for 100 yards. Inman hasn't played poorly, but Groh would like to see more from him.

"You don't have to be a sophomore to play like a sophomore," Groh said Tuesday. "Hopefully that'll happen a little bit earlier than having to wait till next year. It certainly would help us a lot if he's able to make that move."

Another true freshman, Ras-I Dowling, appears to be making that move, Groh said. Dowling, a cornerback, hasn't played much from scrimmage, but he's been a terror on special teams. Look for him to get more snaps at corner during the second half of the season.

"Those guys who kind of show a little knack for being able to step up when the opportunity is presented to them, we're always anxious to see if they can expand with that and take it to another stop on the field or on the team," Groh said.

"We like very much what he's doing . . . He is one of those players who does seem to be outgrowing his freshman year at a good pace."

- Jeff White

 

Late field goal lifts Cavaliers
Chris Gould's 35-yarder sends Virginia to its fifth consecutive victory.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Virginia's trip to Middle Tennessee on Saturday night was worth four home games against Mid-American Conference teams on as-yet unannounced future dates.

A win feels a lot better.

Chris Gould, whose missed extra point could have been the difference, booted a 35-yard field goal with eight seconds left as Virginia slipped past Middle Tennessee 23-21.

Before Saturday night, Middle Tennessee (1-5) had been 3-24 against teams from Bowl Championship Series conferences and was a 10-point underdog against Virginia, but the Blue Raiders surely had the Cavaliers on the ropes..

It was the first time since 1989 that Virginia had come from behind to win with a field goal in the final minute. That year, Jake McInerney booted the game-winner in a 19-17 victory over Louisville.

That was at home. This was on the road, a setting in which Virginia had lost 10 of 11 games before prevailing at North Carolina three weeks ago, 22-20.

The Cavaliers needed to stop a 2-point play to prevent that game from going into overtime. This time, it took an eight-play, 63-yard drive to get in position for Gould's game-winning kick.

The Cavaliers (5-1) took possession for the last time with 1:26 remaining and no timeouts. Sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell proceeded to complete five straight passes, four for first downs.

It was sweet redemption for Sewell, who had yielded an interception that Brantley Robinson returned to the 1-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by DeMarco McNair that put Middle Tennessee on top 21-20 with 7:33 left.

First, Matt King had to convert the extra point, making Virginia pay for the extra point it had missed following an earlier touchdown.

UVa came to Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium on a four-game winning streak fueled by fast starts, but the pattern didn't hold. Cedric Peerman fumbled the opening kickoff and the Cavaliers were in a hole for the rest of the first half.

Peerman, the ACC rushing leader, later injured an ankle and wasn't a factor in the game.

He spent the second half on crutches.

The Cavaliers trailed 7-0 and 14-7 before Andrew Pearman went airborne at the end of a 21-yard touchdown run that made it 14-14 at the half.

Virginia finally had a chance to gain some momentum to start the second half when it pinned MT inside its 5-yard line.

However, when a gaping hole opened for punt returner Vic Hall, a block in the back by Ras-I Dowling nullified what would have been a 62-yard touchdown return.

The battle for field position had been lost, but only momentarily.

A combination of Pearman (5-foot-10, 168 pounds) and 6-3, 234-pound true freshman Keith Payne enabled the Cavaliers to drive 85 yards on 15 plays and take their first lead of the game with 13:58 remaining, 20-14, with Pearman going 5 yards for a touchdown on an option pitch.

But the Cavaliers couldn't do anything smoothly. Flags flew as Gould kicked the extra-point attempt through the uprights and freshman B.J. Cabbell was cited for a false start. When Gould was pushed back, his 25-yard attempt was wide right.

With 12:48 left, quarterback Dwight Dasher completed a 10-yard pass to Stephen Chicola on second-and-8, but the Cavaliers felt Chicola had fumbled before he touched down and challenged the call.

After an interminable delay that brought boos from the crowd of 23,788, the original call by the ACC officiating crew was upheld.

Virginia was able to stop the Blue Raiders for a loss on third-and-1, but Middle Tennessee's decision to punt from midfield paid dividends when the ball was downed at the UVa 3.

Hall called for a fair catch at the 10-yard line on a subsequent punt and the Cavaliers got off only one play before Sewell was picked off. It was the first interception he had yielded in 114 attempts.

"I didn't want to be the causing factor of our team losing," Sewell said.

"Our team played great and one player making a mistake, that can't happen. I just wanted one more chance to prove myself."

Sewell finished 22-of-37 for 223 yards and the Cavaliers had a season-high 374 yards in total offense, compared to 308 for the Blue Raiders.

Middle Tennessee had three first downs and 67 yards in the second half.

Maybe the biggest play came when Dasher was stopped 1 yard short of a first down, forcing the Blue Raiders to punt on fourth-and-1 from their 39 after a UVa timeout with 1:34 left.

"It hurts," Blue Raiders coach Rick Stockstill said. "Our guys hurt because we had a chance to do something special."
 

Blue Raiders honor Tech
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Middle Tennessee is the first team Virginia has faced this season that has a VT insignia on its helmets.

Sports information director Mark Owens is a Virginia Tech graduate but said he was not involved directly in an effort to honor the victims of a mass shooting April 16 in Blacksburg.

"The idea was actually our head coach's," said Owens, giving credit to Rick Stockstill. "We ordered the stickers through a local team apparel representative in Nashville.

"It was a great touch. He came to me and showed it to me after he decided to do it because he knows I am a graduate and I told him how much it meant."

Owens is a 1984 graduate of Patrick County High School, where he was a classmate of the school's most illustrious athlete, former University of North Carolina and New England Patriots nose guard Tim Goad.

Owens graduated from Tech in 1989 and worked in the Hokies' sports information office before and after graduation. He later handled football and men's basketball from 1991-1998, when Middle Tennessee moved up to Division I-A and he was hired by ex-athletic director Lee Fowler, now at North Carolina State.

n A former Virginia football player has followed in the footsteps of Goad, who works on the crew of NASCAR driver Bobby Labonte. Like Goad, ex-Cavalier linebacker Bryan White is a jack man and works for Ryan Newman's Penske South Nextel Cup team.

What's in a name?

Despite Middle Tennessee State's efforts to refer to its athletic teams as Middle Tennessee or MT, there has been no school-wide effort to change the name of the school and school administrators are in no hurry to make the move.

There has been a trend among schools the mid-South and Deep South to phase out the "state" from school titles, as evidenced by the University of Memphis, previously Memphis State, and several of the Louisiana "directional" schools.

Along those lines, Owens says that Middle Tennessee is the only four-year college in the country with Middle in its name. Middle Georgia is a junior college.

Personnel

Fifth-year senior Gordie Sammis started for the second straight game at left offensive guard, with Branden Albert beside him at left tackle. Eugene Monroe, normally the starter at left tackle, was in uniform but not in the starting lineup for the second week in a row after injuring a knee Sept. 22 against Georgia Tech.

By the numbers

Walk-on Virginia running back Hall Simmons from Rossville, Tenn., and fifth-year defensive back Jamaal Jackson were wearing Nos. 2 and 3 after the jerseys they usually wear somehow disappeared in transit. Both wear No. 27.

UVa has a number of players who have the same number, including starters Byron Glaspy at safety and Staton Jobe, both of whom wear No. 22. The NCAA allows duplicate numbers if players aren't on the field at the same time.

Odds 'n' ends

Chris Long's block of a 33-yard field-goal attempt by Middle Tennessee's Matt King represented the first blocked kick of Long's four-year career. ... A 21-yard touchdown run by junior Andrew Pearman in the second quarter was the first touchdown of his college career. Pearman was redshirted as a freshman at Hawaii in 2004, then sat out the 2005 season as a transfer. He played in four games before a knee injury ended his 2006 season.

Virginia next week

The Cavaliers will host Connecticut at 3:30 p.m. in the first meeting between those two teams in football. Connecticut, which has been drawing Top 25 votes after a 5-0 start, was idle this week.
 

Upset kicked away
Chris Goulds 34-yard field goal lifts Virginia to a last-second win.
BY MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
 

MURFREESBORO, TENN. - Thirteen minutes and 50 seconds before he stood over the game-winning kick, Chris Gould missed an extra point.

Six minutes and seven seconds before he led his team on a drive to win the game, Jameel Sewell threw an interception that nearly ended it.

But each made the most of his shot at redemption. Sewell drove Virginia 63 yards in 1:18, and Gould made the last-minute march pay off with a 34-yard field goal with 8 seconds left as the Cavaliers pulled out a 23-21 victory at Middle Tennessee State on Saturday night.

"The offense never lost their faith in me," said Sewell, who was 22-for-37 passing for 223 yards and a touchdown. "They were right there with me. It just gave me confidence to be able to go down and keep driving and get Beep into field goal range."

Gould, christened "Beep" as a child by his grandfather, missed an extra point after a false start penalty followed the second of Andrew Pearman's two touchdowns 1:02 into the fourth quarter. But as he prepared to kick again minutes later, that mistake was far from his thoughts.

"I missed it and you can't have that, because that could have caused us the game, (but) you've got to put that way back in your mind and go out there," Gould said. "Every kick's a new kick."

And this one was a vital one, extending Virginia's winning streak to five games, helping the Cavaliers (5-1, 3-0 ACC) overcome the loss of tailback Cedric Peerman to an ankle injury and keeping them from losing to a non-conference opponent on the road for the second time this season.

"I can't tell you how excited I was after that game, still am," said tight end Tom Santi, who led U.Va. with five catches for 82 yards. "Just as high as I've ever been. People will look at it and say it's an ugly win, we should have beat Middle Tennessee State better than that. It don't matter. A win's a win, and the way that we pulled it out at the end, going from low to high like that, was awesome."

The low came when Sewell, on second-and-8 from his own 12, uncorked a low throw that MTSU cornerback Bradley Robinson scooped up for his 11th career interception and returned 22 yards. Sewell forced him out of bounds at the 1, but a play later, DeMarco McNair scored, and Matt King's extra point put the Blue Raiders up 21-20 with 7:29 left in the game.

Virginia then had to punt after Sewell was sacked for a loss of 13 yards and threw two incompletions. But facing fourth-and-1 from their own 39, the Blue Raiders punted, giving U.Va. the ball back with 1:26 to play and no timeouts. Sewell went to work, completing a 19-yard pass to Pearman and an 18-yarder to Santi. He was sacked again for a 2-yard loss, but responded with a 5-yard completion to Dontrelle Inman and an 11-yarder to Josh Zidenberg. The catch was the first for Zidenberg, a product of Poquoson High, in his four-year U.Va. career.

Sewell then hit tight end Jonathan Stupar on a 12-yard pass, and after Stupar scampered out of bounds at the MTSU 17, Gould came onto the field. His kick set off a celebration the Virginia sideline that included Peerman, crutches and all. Peerman later left the locker room with a boot on his right ankle.

"It hurts," Blue Raiders coach Rick Stockstill said. "Our guys hurt, because we had a chance to do something special."

MTSU (1-5, 1-1 Sun Belt) led 7-0 and 14-7, but U.Va, rallied, first with Sewell's 20-yard TD pass to John Phillips and then with Pearman's 21-yard option run.

"We're not pretty," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "We're not bob and weave. We got into the middle of the ring, and we slug it out. ... To win on the road, you've got to be ready to go 60 minutes and fight and scratch and win it at the end, and that's exactly what we did."

 

Peerman's injury puts Cavs in a spot
By MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
October 7, 2007
 

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - — Cedric Peerman, who fumbled the opening kickoff and had trouble getting untracked in the first period, missed the entire second quarter with an apparent ankle injury. At one point, Peerman's right ankle was taped as he sat on the U.Va. bench with his shoe off.

With Peerman out of commission, junior tailback/wide receiver Andrew Pearman tried to pick up the slack. His 21-yard touchdown off an option pitch with 3:57 to play in the second quarter tied the game at 14.

The run was the longest of Pearman's U.Va. career and was his first touchdown for the Cavaliers.

Peerman was limited to 19 yards on five carries in the first half, not appearing after Virginia's third offensive series. He came into the game leading the Cavs and the ACC with 113 yards per game.

OFFENSIVE FUTILITY
Virginia had scored on its first drive in its last four games — a streak that came to a halt on Saturday. After Peerman fumbled — and recovered — the opening kickoff at the Cavalier 14, U.Va. could get nothing going, picking up 7 yards in three plays before punting.

The Cavs also went three-and-out on their next possession and didn't pick up a first down until 4:36 remained in the first quarter.

Virginia couldn't manage another on its own, but got a holding call on a punt to keep alive its first scoring drive.

Tight-end TARGETS
U.Va.'s initial first down came on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Jameel Sewell to his most trusted target, senior tight end Tom Santi. Santi came into the game leading the Cavs with 17 catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns.

The tight-end trend continued on that drive and throughout the first half. Virginia's first points came on a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Phillips, while a 13-yard screen to tight end Jonathan Stupar kick-started the Cavs' second scoring drive.

Phillips' TD was his first since Sept. 24, 2005, against Duke.

MORE MILESTONES
Chris Long's block of Matt King's 33-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter was the first for the Cavs since D.J. Bell blocked a kick against Maryland in 2003.

Long, a senior defensive end, also notched his seventh sack of the season, pulling down MTSU quarterback Dwight Dasher in the first half for a loss of 9 yards.

The sack gave Long 15 for his career, tying him for 10th on the school's all-time list with Tim Kilgannon and Jon Harris. It also tied him with Patrick Kerney and Wali Rainer for 10th in career tackles for loss.

Long added another tackle for loss early in the third quarter, wrapping up DeMarco McNair two yards behind the line of scrimmage. ...

With 87 passing yards in the first half, Sewell, a sophomore, became the 18th player in U.Va. history to top 2,000 yards.
 

Cavs defense comes through in second half
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 7, 2007

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Dwight Dasher was everything the scouting report said he would be. The Middle Tennessee quarterback torched Virginia in the first half of the Cavaliers' eventual 23-21 win on Saturday, throwing for 158 yards and two touchdowns and running for 36 yards.
But for the final 2? quarters, Virginia's defense clamped down.

The Cavaliers held the Blue Raiders to three first downs and 67 yards of offense in the second half. Their only touchdown came after Bradley Robinson's interception gave them possession at UVa's 1-yard line.

While effective early on, Middle Tennessee's double option offense became less and less effective.

"We had that magic marker working pretty fast on the sidelines," Virginia head coach Al Groh said.

"We just figured out what they were trying to do," UVa defensive end Chris Long said. "They had a good scheme. They were slicing and dicing with (Dasher). He's a great player. He reminds me of Marques Hagans. That's the ultimate compliment."

UVa's biggest stop came in the final minutes. The Blue Raiders had already converted on a third-and-eight and needed one more first down to put the game away. On third-and-three, Dasher tried another quarterback keeper but was stuffed after a two-yard gain by nose tackle Allen Billyk.

Middle Tennessee had to punt and Virginia's ensuing drive resulted in Chris Gould's game-winning field goal.

Big play negated

Vic Hall (Gretna) returned a punt for what appeared to be a 62-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, but Ras-I Dowling was called for an illegal block. It appeared as though the defender Dowling blocked would not have had a play on Hall anyway.

The penalty negated the touchdown, which would have broken a 14-all tie, and backed Virginia up to its own 27-yard line to start the drive. Virginia went three-and-out and had to punt.

Lalich still an observer

For the second straight game, freshman Virginia quarterback Peter Lalich did not play. Lalich, who is part of what Groh has termed a "quarterback rotation," did not get any snaps against Pittsburgh last week and never re-moved his head set Saturday.

Lalich has not played since throwing an interception into double coverage in the Georgia Tech game two weeks ago.

Monroe out again

For the second straight game, left tackle Eugene Monroe (knee) dressed but did not play. The junior had made progress all week and Groh was hopeful he could start.

Virginia went with the same offensive line it did last week, with fifth-year senior Gordie Sammis at left guard and Branden Albert moving from his usual spot at left guard to left tackle.

Quite a homecoming

Tight end Tom Santi, a native of nearby Nashville, caught five passes for 82 yards and came up with a huge catch on Virginia's game-winning drive, going for 17 yards to get the ball into Middle Tennessee territory.

"What a great thing for him and his family, to come back here and, not only for us to win, but for Tom to be as productive as he was," Groh said. "We're very happy for him."

Including the 2005 Music City Bowl, the Cavaliers have played two games in Tennessee in Santi's career. The senior has 10 receptions for 210 yards in those games.


 

Late drive, Gould's field goal lift UVa over Middle Tennessee
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 7, 2007

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Chris Gould wanted another chance. So did Jameel Sewell.
The former had missed an extra point. The latter had thrown a crucial pick.

Both got their redemption.

Sewell engineered an eight-play, 63-yard drive in 1:18 to set up a 34-yard field goal by Gould with eight seconds left to lift Virginia to a 23-21 win over Middle Tennessee on Saturday night.

"We are not pretty," UVa coach Al Groh said. "We don't bob and weave. We just go out to the middle of the ring and slug it out."

Virginia (5-1) has won five straight for the third time in the Al Groh era and for the first time since 2004. The Cavaliers have already matched their win total of last year, when they finished a disappointing 5-7.

It was UVa's first win over a non-BCS conference team in its last four tries.

Things looked bleak for the Cavaliers. Middle Tennessee (1-5) led 21-20 when it pinned Virginia at its own 20-yard line on a punt with1:26 to go. With no timeouts, Sewell quickly went to work.

The sophomore had been 17 of 32 to that point for 159 yards with a costly pick to Bradley Robinson that had set up the Blue Raiders' go-ahead touchdown. He looked calm and poised on this drive, though, completing a screen pass to Andrew Pearman for 20 yards before hitting Tom Santi for another 17.

Faced with a third-and-seven at the Middle Tennessee 40 and the clock ticking down, Sewell hit seldom-used fullback Josh Zidenberg out of the backfield for an 11-yard gain and a first down. Zidenberg got out of bounds with 20 seconds left.

"All the plays we ran coming down the homestretch were exactly the same plays we practice when we do our beat the clock situation (in practice)," Groh said. "The players knew what the calls were going to be and very confidently did it."

Sewell completed an 11-yard pass to Jonathan Stupar across the middle to the 18 before spiking the ball with 12 seconds left. Sewell was 5-for-6 on the drive for 64 yards.

"The offense never lost its faith in me," he said. "It just gave me confidence to be able to go down and keep driving and get in field goal range.

"I just wanted another chance to prove to the rest of the team that I was still with them no matter what."

That set the stage for Gould, whose missed extra point early in the fourth quarter was the difference to that point.

"I made sure that when we went out there, we weren't going to lose on my account," Gould said. "Everybody on the team played so hard, I didn't want to go to the locker room and face the guys and look them in the eyes knowing that I missed the kick."

Everybody on the UVa sideline kept their distance.

"He didn't need any coaching," Groh said. "He knew what to do."

Gould came through. His kick split the uprights, sending the Virginia sidelines into a frenzy.

After a squib kick, Middle Tennessee's Hail Mary fell incomplete to end things.

"Just to win ? that's all that matters," defensive end Chris Long said.

Already without left tackle Eugene Monroe, who dressed but did not play for the second straight week because of a knee injury, UVa was dealt another blow when tailback Cedric Peerman, who was averaging an ACC-best 113.2 yards per game, injured his right foot with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter.

After going to the locker room, he re-appeared on the sideline again, struggling to put pressure on it. He came out for the second half in street clothes and on crutches, with his right foot in a protective boot. Groh said they'll re-evaluate him next week.

Keith Payne and Pearman filled in. Payne ran 18 times for 70 yards, doing the grunt work in the first significant action of his career.

Pearman had five carries for 45 yards and scored two touchdowns on nearly identical option plays. The junior added five catches on a variety of screens for 56 yards.

"Their cumulative performance was probably the equal to what we would have gotten out of Cedric," Groh said.


 

Big plays propel UVa past Carolina
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
October 7, 2007

There are goals, and then there are goals - you know, the ones that only big-time players can score.

Saturday night at Klockner Stadium, Virginia forward Yannick Reyering had a goal that fell into the second category.

With about 8 minutes left in the first half of a scoreless game, the senior from Germany made three North Carolina players look flat-out silly.

Reyering trapped a nice ball from Colin Givens in the box, then cut back sharply to his right, spinning Tar Heels defender Ryan Adeleye in a circle.

At that instant, UNC’s Andre Sherard came flying over to give Adeleye help, but Reyering, from about 10 yards out, perfectly placed a shot beneath Sherard and diving goalie Tyler Deric.

The goal paved the way for Virginia’s first ACC win of the season - a workmanlike 2-1 conquest in front of a crowd of 4,505 at Klockner Stadium.

Virginia coach George Gelnovatch smiled when asked about Reyering’s goal.

“Yannick is a technical finisher,” said Gelnovatch, whose team is now riding a seven-game unbeaten streak. “[Adeleye] thought he was going to head it, and he brought it down with his chest and finished it. That’s what he does for us.”

It seemed like just another day at the office for Reyering, who now has an ACC-leading eight goals.

“I just tried to stay on-sides and Colin gave me a perfect ball in,” Reyering said. “I was able to chest it down and put it by the goalie.”

Reyering has scored in seven of 10 games this season, but the 6-foot-6, 205-pound blondie said he’s not into stats.

“Statistics is an American thing,” said Revering, with a laugh. “As long as I can contribute to the team’s success, I don’t think it matters who scores the goals. I’m just happy to get the win today.”

Reyering’s highlight-reel goal not withstanding, fourth-ranked Virginia probably wouldn’t have emerged victorious if not for two other spectacular individual efforts.

Just after UVa had taken the lead, Cavaliers goalie Michael Giallombardo came flying out of the net to rob UNC’s Scott Campbell of a likely goal.

The Virginia thievery continued in the second half. UNC midfielder Zach Loyd beat Giallombardo with a shot that was headed for the back of the net - until defender Neil Barlow came out of nowhere and kicked the ball off the goal line.

A minute later, Virginia midfielder Chris Tierney iced the game when he belted in a rebound shot past Deric.

“To get the win tonight, we talked about needing to do something a little extra,” Gelnovatch said. “One was Neil’s play, and the other was by Chris Tierney to get that second goal.”

Unranked North Carolina (3-3-4, 1-2-0) was able to claw back into the game in the 75th minute when Cameron Brown one-timed a crossing pass past Giallombardo - but overall Gelnovatch was pleased.

Virginia (7-1-2, 1-0-2), which outshot UNC, 15-14, has some nice momentum heading into Friday night’s game at Clemson.

“This was big - not so much for our overall record - but conference-wise we needed to pick up a win and get three points,” Gelnovatch said. “It was a very big win.”

Throw-ins

Senior defender Matt Williams missed the game with a knee sprain. Gelnovatch called him “day-to-day.” ... Ross LaBauex and Givens both received stitches after taking blows to the head. … The all-time series between Virginia and UNC is now tied at 33-33-7. UVa has a 17-11-4 edge in Charlottesville, including 15 straight wins. … The crowd of 4,505 was more than three thousand shy of the attendance record (7,906) Virginia was hoping to set.