Wali Lundy |
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The 2004 season opener did nothing to diminish the enthusiasm or dull the excitement that had been building among Virginia fans for the past eight months.
The 16th-ranked Cavaliers completely dominated the first half and rolled to a 44-14 victory over Temple in front of a small crowd of 20,154 – many conspicuously clad in orange – at Lincoln Financial Field.
New Jersey native Wali Lundy ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns near his hometown, while Marques Hagans demonstrated accuracy and poise in throwing for one touchdown and running for another. The defense recorded five sacks and forced a pair of early turnovers that blew the game open.
The Cavaliers converted two Temple fumbles into 10 quick points and raced to a 30-0 halftime lead. Alvin Pearman provided the highlight with a spectacular 70-yard punt return.
Virginia outgained the Owls, 504 to 260, and did not commit a turnover. Hagans completed 17 of 22 passes for 213 yards.
It would have been a bigger blowout but normally reliable Connor Hughes missed two field goals and an extra point.
First Quarter
Ahmad Brooks |
The 2004 season got off to an exciting start as 6-4, 260-pound Ahmad Brooks – surely one of the biggest kick returners in football history – fielded the opening kickoff at the 3 and raced 40 yards, breaking an arm tackle before getting pushed out of bounds. It was quite a sight, to be sure, and it energized the Cavalier sideline as players jumped on Brooks and slapped his helmet.
It didn’t pay off with points as Virginia recorded one first down on a short pass to Michael McGrew before punting. The drive stalled when Wali Lundy was thrown for a four-yard loss.
Still, UVa’s defensive emphasis on ball disruption paid quick dividends. On Temple’s fifth play, linebacker Kai Parham drilled quarterback Walter Washington, forcing a fumble that Darryl Blackstock recovered at the Owl 35. Marques Hagans immediately hit Deyon Williams on a slant pattern for an 11-yard gain, but Hagans later threw wide to Alvin Pearman on third down and Connor Hughes drilled a 39-yard field goal.
It didn’t take long for Virginia’s defense to produce another turnover. On the next play from scrimmage, cornerback Tony Franklin knocked the ball from Tim Brown. Jermaine Hardy, who initially missed the tackle, fell on the ball while trailing the play at the Temple 32. This time the Cavaliers converted the gift into a touchdown. Hagans threw to Heath Miller for 14 yards, Jason Snelling rumbled 13 yards up the middle and Lundy finished it off with a 3-yard run around left end for a 10-0 lead.
The offense didn’t have to go far for its first 10 points, but that unit showed some real firepower on its next drive. After a Temple punt went into the end zone, the Cavaliers traveled 80 yards in six plays. Hagans bought time in the pocket and found Pearman for a 21-yard gain. Lundy then ran 13 yards before Hagans went deep down the middle to McGrew for 44 yards down to the Temple 2. Lundy carried it in from there two plays later with Parham acting as the lead blocker at fullback.
Score: Virginia 17, Temple 0.
Second Quarter
Marques Hagans |
The domination didn’t stop there. If anything, the Cavaliers picked up their game in the second quarter, starting with a punt return that surely will go down as one of the plays of the year for Virginia.
It came courtesy of Pearman, who fielded a punt at his own 30, sidestepped the initial tackler and raced 70 yards. Along the way, six different Owls got at least a hand on him, but the senior ripped through each potential tackle and kept chugging until he reached the end zone.
For a moment, the Owls outsmarted the Cavs, gaining 26 yards on a fake punt. But sacks by Marquis Weeks and Blackstock forced a real punt and Virginia’s offense turned to its power game. Lundy carried five straight times, gaining 31 yards, and Hagans then hit Fontel Mines for a pair of completions that covered 30 yards. Pearman and Snelling alternated carries for four plays, picking up 25 yards, and Lundy broke two tackles en route to a 6-yard touchdown run, his third of the game.
The only downside of the half, surprisingly, was Connor Hughes. The All-American candidate missed an extra point – just his second miss in 61 career attempts – and also was wide left on a 49-yard field goal attempt late in the half. He only failed on three kicks last season. But on this day his misses didn’t matter.
Halftime score: Virginia 30, Temple 0.
Third Quarter
Wali Lundy |
After the first-half demolition, the outcome wasn’t in doubt. The question was whether the Cavaliers would keep focused. Initially, at least, they did.
Brooks smothered Washington for an 11-yard loss, UVa’s fifth sack of the day, and forced a punt. A 27-yard catch by Heath Miller put the Cavaliers inside the Temple 30, but Hughes again missed badly on a 43-yard field goal. It was his third missed kick of the day, matching his total from last season.
Virginia’s defense, which gave up just 118 yards in the first half, then suffered its first real letdown. The Owls marched 74 yards in 12 plays, helped by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Blackstock, and scored on Washington’s 3-yard run on fourth-and-goal, making it 30-7.
The Cavaliers quickly re-asserted themselves. Starting at their own 29, they methodically drove the length of the field in 15 plays. Lundy did much of the work, carrying eight times for 43 yards, but Hagans turned in the biggest plays. He scrambled for 12 yards down the sideline and later connected with McGrew for a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-1 at the Temple 20. After one of his passes was nearly intercepted in the end zone, he threw a 7-yard pass to Snelling and then followed Elton Brown around right end for a 1-yard TD run.
Score: Virginia 37, Temple 7.
Fourth Quarter
The Cavaliers tacked on one more TD in the final quarter, just for good measure. Hagans directed a 10-play, 58-yard drive highlighted by a 15-yard catch by Emmanuel Byers . Hagans capped it off with a 4-yard pass to Miller, the tight end’s 16th career touchdown.
At that point, UVa coach Al Groh put in many of his second-team defenders, and the Owls exploited them in scoring their second touchdown. Tony Franklin and Lance Evans were burned on a long pass down the sideline, setting up Washington’s short scoring run.
Kevin McCabe played the next series at quarterback for Virginia, completing a pass to freshman tight end Tom Santi . Michael Johnson had a long run but fumbled on the play. Even though teammate Imhotep Durham recovered, the drive stalled and the Cavaliers punted.
Christian Olsen took over at QB on the final series, handing off four straight times in running out the clock.
Final: Virginia 44, Temple 14.
Click on this link for a boxscore.
Notes and Quotes
— Wali Lundy on playing near his hometown of Willingboro, N.J.
Sophomore guard Ron Darden did not make the trip because of an undisclosed injury that Groh called “day-to-day.”
— UVa coach Al Groh
— Ahmad Brooks on his 40-yard kickoff return
— Temple coach Bobby Wallace
— Senior guard Elton Brown on quarterback Marques Hagans
(Tonight there will also be a column by John Galinsky, postgame audio and many more photos available to Edge subscribers. Sign up for Sabre Edge and get the full story.)