Cavs hold off pesky Maryland 31-19
Posted: Saturday September 12, 1998 05:50 PM
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (AP) -- With Virginia's lead down to five
points and its momentum fading, Aaron Brooks went from laid back to
fired up.
The lanky senior quarterback pumped his fists, slapped linemen
on the back, clapped his hands and moved his team quickly in and
out of the huddle.
"It didn't have to be a rah-rah speech," Brooks said. "It was
more body language. I let them feed off my energy."
With Brooks' 225 yards passing and two touchdowns and Thomas
Jones' 21-yard touchdown run, Virginia came away with a
surprisingly difficult 31-19 victory over Maryland on Saturday.
A key play came on third-and-8 with nine minutes left when
Maryland's defense shut off Brooks' primary receiver. The line
held, Brooks scrambled and Kevin Coffey ran back to him to catch a
16-yard pass.
Five plays later, Jones took the ball off tackle, raced down the
sidelines and dove into the end zone, his arms outstretched to get
the ball over the goal line.
"We knew we had to score," Jones said. "If we didn't they
could have went up on us."
"This team shouldn't need a wake-up call," Virginia coach
George Welsh said. "We should know better." The fans also lacked
spirit on the hot, sunny afternoon, he said. "I don't think they
were into the game."
Virginia (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened with a
shutout at Auburn, earned its highest ranking ever going into the
second game, and was supposed to stroll to its seventh straight
victory over Maryland.
But the outcome was in doubt until Brooks directed the 80-yard
touchdown drive capped by Jones' run with 7:37 remaining and the
Cavaliers stopped the Terrapins on their final two possessions.
Maryland (1-1, 0-1) scored first and stayed close despite
setting up a Virginia touchdown and a field goal with fumbles and
throwing an interception near the Virginia goal line.
"We don't win if we don't get those turnovers," Welsh said.
Maryland coach Ron Vanderlinden agreed: "I saw this coming
together. I just wish we didn't turn the ball over so much. I think
we'd have come home with a win."
After Maryland opened the scoring with a 46-yard field goal,
Brooks directed a 73-yard touchdown drive with 12:07 left in the
second quarter. Duane Fisher then stripped the ball from Cliff
Crosby on the kickoff return and Brooks hit Coffey between two
defenders for a 29-yard TD that quickly put Virginia ahead 14-3.
The Cavaliers added a field goal to lead 17-3 at halftime.
The Terrapins opened the second half with a 65-yard scoring
drive capped by their first rushing touchdown against Virginia
since 1995. Harold Westley scored on a 30-yard run up the middle,
slanting outside and going virtually untouched into the end zone.
Terrence Wilkins returned the kickoff close to midfield, and a
few plays later Brooks found fullback Tyree Foreman wide open for a
28-yard touchdown and Virginia was back ahead by two touchdowns.
The Terrapins gained 42 yards rushing on 42 carries in their
opener against James Madison, a Division I-AA school, while
Virginia held then-No. 25 Auburn to 18 yards rushing.
But late in the third quarter, Matt Kapalinski burst through the
Virginia defense for a 53-yard run, and Kenny Rogers plowed into
the end zone from four yards. On Maryland's next possession, a
37-yard pass reception by Jermaine Arrington set up Brian Kopka's
25-yard field goal to get Maryland to 24-19.
Maryland, led by Jordan's 88 yards, finished with 188 yards
rushing, 37 more than Virginia, and had 20 first downs, one more
than the Cavaliers.
Safety Anthony Poindexter, who had 18 tackles, including two
sacks, shook his head in wonderment after the game.
"Maybe Maryland is a good team after all, maybe we're not as
good as we thought we are," he said. "You never know. But we shut
them down when we had to. They got points on us; we got the `W.'
That's the bottom line."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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