Virginia Tech (19)....... 7 0 17 3 - 27 Wake Forest (14)......... 0 3 3 0 - 6 Scoring Summary: 1st Quarter 11:36 VT - Royal 49 pass from Glennon (Pace kick) 2nd Quarter 04:16 WF - Swank 47 FG 3rd Quarter 11:58 VT - Morgan 53 pass from Glennon (Pace kick) 07:02 WF - Swank 22 FG 04:44 VT - Pace 42 FG 03:01 VT - Adibi 35 fumble return (Pace kick) 4th Quarter 03:28 VT - Pace 35 FG
Winston-Salem, NC — Sean Glennon threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns, and
the #19 Hokies got a 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown from Xavier Adibi,
downing #14 Wake Forest 27-6. The Hokies gave up 257 yards to the Demon Deacons
but kept their opponent out of the end zone for the second straight game. Tech
tailback Branden Ore went down with an ankle injury early in the game, and
backups Kenny Lewis and George Bell combined for over 100 yards in Ore’s
absence.
Glennon threw a long scoring strike to Eddie Royal on Tech’s first
possession, hitting the speedy wide receiver on a deep crossing pattern similar
to Royal’s game-winning TD against Miami in 2004. Royal caught the pass on his
fingertips, broke a tackle attempt by Wake’s Kevin Patterson, and took it in
from 49 yards out.
On the Hokies’ first possession of the second half, with Tech clinging to a
7-3 lead, Glennon threw a short pass to Josh Morgan, who broke through tackle
attempts by Riley Swanson and safety Josh Gattis and raced to the end zone for a
53-yard score.
Late in the third quarter, with the Hokies holding a 17-6 lead, Wake tailback
Kevin Harris caught a swing pass and was hit hard by Tech’s Aaron Rouse. The
ball came free, and while many players appeared to think Harris was down before
fumbling, an alert Xavier Adibi picked the ball up and ran it in from 35 yards
out. The officials reviewed the play and decided that Harris, who suffered a
concussion on the hit, had fumbled before hitting the ground.
Adibi’s score made it 24-6 Hokies with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter,
and for the rest of the game, the Hokies ran the clock out, adding a 35-yard
field goal by Brandon Pace for the final margin. Pace connected on kicks of 35
yards and 42 yards, extending his Tech record streak of consecutive field goals
to 21.
For the home Deacons, redshirt freshman quarterback Riley Skinner had a solid
game, completing 17 of 30 passes for 195 yards and no interceptions. He didn’t
get much help from his running game, though, as the Hokies held Wake to 62 net
yards on 32 carries. VT had six tackles behind the line for 36 yards in losses,
including a 10-yard sack by Kory Robertson.
This game was won in the third quarter, when the Hokies outscored the Deacs
17-3. Tech got the big 53-yard reception by Morgan and the fumble return by
Adibi, while during the quarter Wake Forest put together a pair of 11-play, 75
yard drives that netted just three points. On the first drive, Wake’s Sam
Swank kicked a 22-yard field goal, and on the second drive, which ended early in
the fourth quarter, the Hokies stuffed Wake Forest fullback Rich Belton on
fourth and short from the Hokie five yard line.
The big difference in the game was Virginia Tech’s ability to make big
plays on both offense and defense, scoring three touchdowns in the process.
Meanwhile, Wake Forest, who spent the first ten games playing patient football
and then stinging their opponents with big plays, could muster nothing. The
Hokies needed to take care of the ball and they did, with their only turnover
coming when Eddie Royal threw an interception in the Wake Forest end zone on a
first-half trick play.
Offensively for the Hokies, Glennon was 14-of-21 for 252 yards, 2 TDs, and no
interceptions. Kenny Lewis ran for 74 yards on 17 carries in relief of Ore.
George Bell, whose Tech career was thought to be over a couple of months ago,
got his first playing time since the September 9th game against North Carolina
and ran for 28 yards on 10 carries. David Clowney had 4 catches for 66 yards,
Justin Harper added 4 for 29 yards, and Royal and Morgan had one catch each, for
touchdowns. Defensively, Vince Hall led the Hokies with 8 tackles, including 1.5
tackles for loss, and Brenden Hill had six tackles, including 2 tackles for 16
yards in losses. Adibi also had 6 tackles, and Brandon Flowers broke up two
passes.
Branden Ore’s injury will be evaluated Sunday and his status for the
Virginia game will be announced later.
With the win, the Hokies move to 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the ACC. This is the
ninth time in the last 12 seasons that Hokies have won at least nine games. Wake
Forest drops to 9-2 overall, 5-2 in the ACC, and can still win the Atlantic
Division with a victory over Maryland next weekend. The Hokies will finish the
regular season against Virginia next Saturday at noon (Lincoln Financial Sports/Raycom).
Game Recap
The Hokies held Wake Forest to a three-and-out on the Deacs’ first
possession and took over on the Hokie 38 yard line. After picking up a first
down on the Wake Forest 49 yard line, Glennon dropped back on first and ten and
hit Eddie Royal on a deep left-to-right crossing route. The pass was on Royal’s
fingertips, and he snagged it, shook off a tackle, and ran the last 25 yards or
so up the sideline for the TD.
The two teams traded punts for the rest of the quarter, with the only drama
coming on the Hokies’ second possession, when Branden Ore ran for a seven yard
gain and injured his ankle when he was twisted over backwards on his leg. Ore
was helped over to the sideline and was eventually taken to the locker room. The
injury was diagnosed as a sprained ankle, and the severity will be determined
Sunday.
The only other play of note for most of the first and second quarters was a
trick play the Hokies ran from the Wake 32 yard line early in the second
quarter. After a 28-yard pass from Glennon to tight end Sam Wheeler gave the
Hokies a first down at the Wake 32, Glennon pitched the ball to Eddie Royal on
an end around, and Royal threw a pass into the end zone for Justin Harper.
Harper was open, but Royal underthrew the pass, and Wake’s Josh Gattis
intercepted it.
With 4:16 left in the second quarter, Sam Swank booted a 47-yard field goal,
and the two teams went into half time with VT holding the 7-3 edge.
Tech took possession first in the second half and wasted no time extending
their lead. After picking up a first down on the Tech 45 and getting a two-yard
run from Kenny Lewis that put the ball on the Hokie 47, Glennon threw the ball
down the left side to Josh Morgan, who outbattled Riley Swanson for the ball,
then fought off tackles by Swanson and Gattis, breaking free for a 53-yard TD
that made it 14-7, Hokies.
Wake responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that included a pair of 30-yard
passes to Nate Morton. The drive stalled at the Tech five-yard line, however,
and Swank booted a 22-yard field goal to make it 14-6 with 7:02 left in the
third quarter.
Royal stole the momentum back from the Demon Deacons with a 55-yard kickoff
return, and the Hokies parlayed that return into a 42-yard field goal by Pace to
go up 17-6.
It was on Wake’s next possession that the Hokies salted the game away. With
the Deacs on their 30, Kevin Harris took a swing pass from Riley and was clocked
by Rouse on a helmet-to-helmet hit. Harris crumpled to the ground and fumbled
the football, which rolled away slowly from Harris. With most of the players on
the field standing around, Tech’s Xavier Adibi picked the ball up and started
towards the end zone. Adibi paused, but when spurred on by Brandon Flowers, he
ran the ball all the way in. The referees ruled the play a Tech touchdown, and
after reviewing it on replay, did not change the ruling. The Hokies led 24-6,
with 3:01 left in the third quarter.
Wake came back with another 11-play, 75-yard drive, but it ended on downs on
the Hokie five yard line. On fourth and one early in the fourth quarter, Wake
went for it, but Barry Booker led a gang of Hokies in stopping fullback Rich
Belton on a run up the middle. With 13:30 left in the game, the Hokies took over
on their five, and the rest of the fourth quarter was spent with Tech running
the football on offense and blitzing the Demon Deacons on defense. The Hokies
threw one pass in the fourth quarter, a 35-yarder from Glennon to David Clowney
that set up a 35-yard field goal by Pace, the Hokies’ final points.
The win is Virginia Tech’s fifth in a row. The attendance figure of 36,723
is the third-highest figure in Groves Stadium history.
STATISTICS
VT WF
---- ----
First downs 14 13
Rushed-yards 33-92 32-62
Passing yards 252 195
Sacked-yards lost 1-5 1-10
Passes 14-22-1 17-30-0
Punts 5-44.4 8-39.8
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 6-65 3-27
Time of possession 30:16 29:44
Att: 36,723
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Virginia Tech, K. Lewis 17-74, G. Bell 10-28,
Ore 1-5, Glennon 2-(4), Clowney 1-(-5), TEAM 2-(-6).
WF, Woods 14-35, Idlette 5-20, Belton 5-9, Harris 1-7,
Skinner 4-(-1), Marion 3-(-8).
PASSING-Virginia Tech, Glennon 14-21-252-0, Royal 0-1-0-1.
WF, Skinner 17-30-195-0.
RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Clowney 4-66, Harper 4-29,
Wheeler 2-38, Morgan 1-53, Royal 1-49, Weatherford 1-6.
WF, Morton 5-94, Idlette 4-59, Woods 3-8, Bryant 1-10, Belton 1-8,
Selmon 1-6, Harris 1-5, Marion 1-5.
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