On Senior Night at Scott Stadium, several Virginia seniors rose to the occasion as the football team snapped a four-game losing streak and kept its bowl hopes alive in a 30-13 victory against Miami. Seniors Khalek Shepherd, Darius Jennings, Anthony Harris, and Daquan Romero all came through with big performances to help UVa get back on the winning track.
It marked the first win in November for the Cavaliers since a 41-40 win against the Hurricanes on Nov. 10, 2012.
“It’s great, especially for these dudes I came in with and even the ones that redshirted. We’re all just a big family,” Romero said. “Seeing everybody go out there and excel, it was emotional and just gratifying. Especially Khalek Shepherd, to go out there and get the opportunity to play his last game at Scott Stadium. It’s a great feeling man. Definitely a great feeling.”
Shepherd delivered one of the best performances of his career with 22 carries for 95 yards and one touchdown. He got that extended workload in the backfield when fellow senior running back Kevin Parks was injured in the first quarter and did not return (Parks will be re-evaluated on Sunday for concussion symptoms). Jennings added six carries for 40 yards and one touchdown on sweeps from his receiver position.
Both of those seniors played key roles on both of the team’s touchdown drives in the second half that helped put Miami away. In fact, one of the two touched the ball on 14 of the 15 plays scattered between the two touchdown drives.
With UVa leading 13-7, it took over at 7:19 in the third quarter at its own 39-yard line after stopping the Hurricanes on fourth-and-one. Shepherd got the call seven times on the drive and cranked out 43 yards, including a big 28-yard gain to push the Hoos to the Cane 25-yard line. Jennings got two carries and picked up 13 yards on his first chance before finishing off the drive, which was extended with a fourth down roughing the kicker call on a field goal try, with a one-yard touchdown run.
On the fourth quarter touchdown drive, which Quin Blanding set up with an interception, Jennings tallied one carry for 17 yards. Shepherd carried the ball on the other four plays for 17 yards, including a four-yard touchdown.
“I guess you could say that it was my best personal performance but I am not even looking at that. I’m looking at us as a whole team, and we came together today because we had a common goal that we were trying to reach. Our backs were against the wall and we just had to keep fighting,” Shepherd said.
Defensively, Harris led the way with 10 tackles as the Wahoos slowed down a Miami offense averaging 32.3 points per game entering the contest. The Hurricanes scored just one offensive touchdown, a 47-yard play-action pass to Phillip Dorsett in the first quarter, and returned a blocked punt late in the game to reach the final margin. Dorsett only caught two other passes and finished with 61 receiving yards.
The Cavaliers also neutralized star running back Duke Johnson. He didn’t crack the 100-yard barrier, something only one running back has done against this defense all season. The Hoos held him to 88 yards on 15 carries. After gaining 26 yards on his first carry, he added only 62 yards the rest of the way.
Romero’s big moment came on special teams late in the first half. With Miami looking to tie the score at 10-10 in the final minute, Romero slipped free through a seam and stuffed Michael Badgley’s 34-yard attempt. Maurice Canady scooped up the ball and returned it 65 yards to set up a field goal.
“It was a great individual play. Actually, it really changed the game, must changed the way things turned out,” London said. “He’s another senior that’s going out [with a home win]. That was a very emotional locker room before the game and afterward. It was good to see our seniors step up.”
Of course, the most eye catching- play didn’t come from a senior at all. That distinction belonged to junior wideout Canaan Severin. On third down, Severin sprinted up the seam and hauled in a 23-yard touchdown. For a split second, it looked like a critical error from quarterback Greyson Lambert as the ball sailed in direction of the Hurricanes’ safety.
Just before an interception, however, Severin dove fully extended and snared the ball out of the air with one hand. The catch blew up social media instantly and eventually landed in ESPN’s SportsCenter’s top 10 plays of the day. London called the catch “phenomenal” and Lambert said it left him “speechless” at first.
“That’s exactly what happened. I was surprised I even caught it to be honest. Greyson put me in a good spot to make a catch and I made it,” Severin said. “Lucky for me, I don’t think even the safety thought I was going to get it so he went behind me for the pick. Everything fell in place.”
