| |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |
BLACKSBURG, Virginia (Ticker) -- Shayne Graham kicked a 47-yard field goal and Ike Charlton and Corey Moore scored defensive touchdowns -- all in the final five minutes -- as eighth-ranked Virginia Tech posted a 31-11 victory over Clemson. Graham's field goal, Charlton's 34-yard interception return and Moore's 32-yard fumble return came after Clemson (1-2) drew within 14-11. Charlton and Moore both victimized Tigers quarterback Brandon Streeter. Virginia Tech improved to 3-0 and cleared the first hurdle in a brutal four-week stretch that has the Hokies play at archrival Virginia and Rutgers before hosting Big East Conference rival Syracuse. "We are going to take it week by week right now," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "People look at the polls but we're not going to worry about that. We are going to get ready to play Virginia." Virginia Tech, which leads the nation in total defense at just over 136 yards per game, lived up to its reputation in this nationally televised contest. Clemson was able to rack up more than 200 yards of offense but when the Tigers got close, Moore, Charlton and their defensive teammates took over. After Graham extended the lead to 17-11 with five minutes to play, Moore put pressure on Streeter, who fired an errant pass right into Charlton's arms. Tech's lone returning starter in the defensive backfield took advantage by breaking down the left sideline for a 24-11 bulge. The Tigers got back the ball, but Moore sacked Streeter and jarred the ball loose. The 1998 All-American and Outland Trophy candidate scooped up the fumble and returned it for a 20-point lead. "Our defense was swarming everywhere tonight," Charlton said. "We knew our defense wasn't going to bend. We just needed to come up with the big play tonight." "We felt we had to take it over defensively tonight and that's what we did," Moore said. The Hokies snapped a scoreless contest with an 11-play, 80-yard drive midway through the first quarter. Redshirt freshman Michael Vick found Andre Davis with a 25-yard strike before turning to Shyrone Stith. Smith hauled in a screen pass for a 13-yard gain to the Clemson 5. After two yards on his next carry, he plowed in from the 3 for a 7-0 lead. Virginia Tech forced a three-and-out and took over on its 45. Vick broke around left end for 31 yards, then handed off to Andre Kendrick, who burst up the middle for a 24-yard score. Virginia Tech appeared poised to put away the game midway through the second quarter after driving to the Clemson 38. But Stith fumbled and the Tigers recovered. Clemens put together a 14-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Chris Campbell's 27-yard field goal. Streeter found Travis Zachery with a 13-yard toss and Brian Wofford ran eight yards on a reverse on 4th-and-1 to keep the drive alive. The Hokies took the ensuing kickoff and moved into field goal range but Graham's 48-yard attempt was wide left and Virginia Tech settled for a 14-3 halftime lead. Streeter completed 27-of-43 pass attempts for 195 yards for Clemson, which still leads the all-time series, 17-9-1. "You're never pleased with the score but if you look at this one in context, there's a lot of good to draw from it. I'm not going to negate the good things that happened because of two plays at the end." Vick finished 7-of-17 for 88 yards and was intercepted three times. Stith had 162 yards on 28 carries. "I just tried to make too many things happen tonight," Vick said. "I have to realize that I can't do it all by myself.
|
