Northeastern ......... 0 0 0 0 - 0 Virginia Tech (16)..... 21 7 7 3 - 38 Scoring Summary: 1st Quarter 09:15 VT - Ore 6 yard run (Pace kick) 07:14 VT - Morgan 54 yard pass from Glennon (Pace kick) 03:29 VT - Bell 1 yard run (Pace kick) 2nd Quarter 01:07 VT - Ore 55 yard pass from Glennon (Pace kick) 3rd Quarter 05:28 VT - Weatherford 4 yard pass from Glennon (Pace kick) 4th Quarter 12:30 VT - Pace 30 yard FG
As expected, Virginia Tech dispatched Northeastern with relative ease on Saturday afternoon, winning their season opener in Lane Stadium 38-0. The Hokies were sloppy at times, but managed to get out to a big lead and coast to the easy win.
All eyes were on starting quarterback Sean Glennon, who made his first collegiate start against the Huskies. He did not disappoint. Glennon completed 15 of 18 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, including a 54 yard bomb to Josh Morgan and a 55 yard screen to Branden Ore for a touchdown. He threw one interception, but overall it was a solid outing for the r-sophomore.
Branden Ore also had a good game in his first career start. The r-sophomore had 11 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He also had two receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. He led the Hokies in receiving yards.
Ore had a good game on the ground, but overall Tech was not terribly impressive running the football. As a team they rushed for 111 yards on 21 carries, a 4.1 yards per carry average. Backup tailback George Bell had eight carries for 30 yards and a touchdown, while Elan Lewis carried twice for 11 yards.
Sean Glennon spread the ball out among his talented receivers in the passing game. David Clowney had five receptions for 44 yards, while Justin Harper caught three passes for 35 yards. Josh Morgan had two catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, and backup fullback Carlton Weatherford had three receptions for 19 yards and a touchdown.
The Tech defense played a lot of different players, and they managed to shut out the Huskies and hold them to 207 yards of total offense. Backup mike linebacker Brett Warren led the Hokies with eight tackles, while Xavier Adibi had seven tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry.
The Hokies recorded two sacks during the game, one by defensive end Chris Ellis, and the other by r-freshman defensive tackle Cordarrow Thompson. Tech also picked off Northeastern quarterback Anthony Orio twice. Cornerback Brandon Flowers was the first Tech player with an interception, and free safety D.J. Parker picked off a pass of his own later in the game.
Virginia Tech also celebrated the return of Beamerball. Cary Wade blocked a Northeastern punt in the first half that led to a touchdown, and Kory Robertson blocked a field goal in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout.
Recap
The Hokies got off to a quick start, forcing Northeastern to punt on their opening possession. After a 20 yard Eddie Royal punt return, Tech began their drive on the Northeastern 34 yard line. After a short completion to Eddie Royal, Brandon Ore ran for six yards to the 27 yard line. An illegal shift knocked the Hokies back to the 32 yard line, but then Glennon found Ore on a screen pass for a 26 yard completion to the six yard line.
On the next play, Ore took the handoff from Glennon and scored from six yards out. Brandon Pace added the extra point to make the score 7-0 Hokies.
On Northeastern’s next possession, Brandon Flowers intercepted Anthony Orio on Tech’s 46 yard line. The offense returned to the field, and on the first play of the drive, Sean Glennon hooked up with Josh Morgan on a 54 yard bomb for a touchdown. Pace’s extra point was good, and Tech led 14-0 with 7:14 remaining in the first quarter.
The Huskies went three and out on their next drive and lined up to punt, but Cary Wade broke through the middle and blocked the punt, and true freshman Kam Chancellor recovered it at the Northeastern 12 yard line. Four plays later the Hokies found the end zone again, when George Bell plowed in from one yard out. Pace added the extra point to make the score 21-0, and that is how the first quarter ended.
For most of the second quarter, it was a battle of the defenses. The Hokies were forced to punt once, and later Glennon was intercepted when he attempted to throw a pass away to avoid a sack.
Virginia Tech finally scored again on their last possession of the second quarter. Offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring called a screen pass to Branden Ore, who did a great job of following his blocks and accelerating into the open field. He outran the Northeastern defense and managed to avoid stepping out of bounds, taking it all the way for a 55 yard touchdown. Pace’s extra point made the score 28-0.
Glennon threw his third and final touchdown pass in Tech’s second drive of the third quarter. The Hokies began the drive on their own 37 yard line, and Glennon completed all four of his passes during the drive for 39 yards. The final completion was a four yard touchdown strike to fullback Carlton Weatherford to make the score 35-0.
Ike Whitaker relieved Glennon on Tech’s next possession and led the Hokies to a field goal. Brandon Pace connected on a 30 yard field goal attempt with 12:30 remaining in the game to make the score 38-0. Whitaker finished the game 6 of 9 for 49 yards.
Northeastern threatened to score on their last possession, but their 42 yard field goal attempt was blocked by Kory Robertson. From there, the Hokies just kneeled on the ball to end the game.
Virginia Tech (1-0) will return to action next Saturday, when they take on North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Kickoff is scheduled for noon, and it will be televised on ESPN.
STATISTICS
VT NU
---- ----
First downs 19 15
Rushed-yards 27-111 37-101
Passing yards 271 106
Sacked-yards lost 1-9 2-20
Return yards 52 23
Passes 21-27-1 15-26-2
Punts 1-48.0 6-27.2
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 7-56 10-78
Time of possession 24:49 35:11
Att: 66,233
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Virginia Tech, Ore 11-54, Bell 8-30,
Lewis 2-11, Royal 1-9, Whitaker 1-7, Weatherford 1-2
Glennon 1-(-2). NU, Murray 18-69, Broomfield 11-31
Hopkins 4-20, Douglas 2-24, Orio 4-(-19)
PASSING-Virginia Tech, Glennon 15-18-222-1
Whitaker 6-9-49. NU, Orio 13-24-103-2
Sperrazza 2-2-3
RECEIVING-Virginia Tech, Clowney 5-44
Harper 3-35, Weatherford 3-19, Ore 2-81, Morgan 2-65
Royal 2-8, Born 1-7, Boone 1-5, Hyman 1-4, Allen 1-3.
NU, Broomfield 4-14, Mandeville 3-51
Ballantyne 3-51, Hopkins 2-5, Plum 1-8, Conway 1-4,
Parks 1-3, Murray 1-3.
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