SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Peter Moore was a junior in high school when the Hokies played Cincinnati in the 2018 Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md.

A native of Davidsonville, Md., located 15 minutes southwest of the Naval Academy and separated by the South River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay, he has vivid memories of a rainy New Year’s Eve in downtown Annapolis that year. A local, he was overrun by Virginia Tech fans.

“I remember being downtown and seeing VT people everywhere and I’m like, ‘What’s going on here?!’ Moore said Friday at The St. James, a multi-purpose sports complex where the Hokies are practicing while they stay in Washington, D.C. “I didn’t know much about VT at the time, and I was like, ‘Wow, there’s a ton of Virginia Tech fans here.’” 

Five years later, Moore returns home, this time as a player. He’s been to several games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium over the years — “I really liked sitting on the hill [in the north end zone] as a fan, I think that area’s really cool,” he said — but will finally have the chance to play in the historic place Wednesday when the Hokies face Tulane in the Military Bowl (2 p.m. ET, ESPN).

...