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Quarterback Jameel Sewell directs blockers on his way to UVa’s first touchdown. |
It felt just like old times.
Those blue words emblazoned the front of Fontel Mines ‘ gray t-shirt after the game on Saturday. What a fitting phrase for the Cavaliers’ final home contest of 2006. The 17-7 victory resembled those from recent Hoo history at Scott Stadium. UVa ran the ball effectively enough to keep the offense balanced, defensively held Miami in check, and made the key plays in order to come out on top.
Old times? The senior class finished 19-5 at Scott Stadium for their career and the Cavs are 7-0 at home following a bye week under Virginia coach Al Groh. The win pushed the Hoos to 5-6, which includes a 4-2 mark at home. It also kept bowl hopes alive with a road game at Virginia Tech remaining.
“I’m just so proud of the way our guys fought and executed. It was really awesome to stand out there and watch the total team effort,” Groh said. “We fought about as hard as a team can fight and we executed like a big-time team. The players did a great deal to be proud of. … This was a good win for our team. We all came here, players and coaches alike, for wins like this and I’ve got a feeling there will be more of these in the future if we continue to work like we have. ”
The Cavaliers jumped on the scoreboard quickly with an impressive 92-yard drive on their first possession of the game. The hosts marched downfield mostly behind the arm of Jameel Sewell , who completed 6 of 7 passes, including a 44-yard connection with John Phillips on the Hoos’ second play from scrimmage. That reception was the longest of Phillips’ career. Sewell also found Mines for a key third down conversion at the Miami 34.
“It was just a routine play that we practiced throughout the week to adjust to Miami’s coverage, a lot of man coverage,” Mines said. “Jameel just made a great play and I tried to use some of my instincts to get the first down. I was pretty sure I got it. I got back to the huddle and got ready for the next play.”
With the passing game clicking, the Cavaliers attempted just three runs on the drive (not counting a sack), the last of which resulted in a 12-yard touchdown by Sewell with 7:16 showing on the clock. That gave UVa a 7-0 lead.
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Clint Sintim holds up Miami’s football after recovering a fumble. The turnover set up a Virginia touchdown. |
“It was a confidence builder,” Branden Albert said of the first drive. “They’re one of the top-rated defenses in the country. To take that first drive 90-some yards was a good confidence builder for us.”
Sewell duplicated his run with another bootleg score early in the second quarter. The second touchdown run came courtesy of great field position that the defense created. Antonio Appleby forced a fumble after a reception by the Canes’ Sam Shields and Clint Sintim came up with the football to give Virginia possession on the Miami 28.
Sewell opened the drive with a 25-yard completion to Kevin Ogletree , moving the ball into a 1st-and-goal situation. On third down, Sewell capped it off with a touchdown to make it 14-0 Virginia. That lead held into the fourth quarter.
“Each [touchdown run] was a little bit different, but they were the same kind of concept,” Groh said. “[Jameel] ran the ball well, threw the ball with accuracy, ran his team very well, and did a real good job of managing the clock and managing some field position circumstances throughout. He was a real field general for us today.”
The Cavs put the game away for good with a strong running drive, which ended on a 22-yard field goal by Noah Greenbaum with 4:18 remaining in the game. Within that scoring march, the Cavaliers surpassed a key statistic for the game – 100 yards rushing. They eclipsed that mark late in the game when Ogletree took the ball on a reverse for a 28-yard gain. It was the first time this season that an opponent registered more than 100 yards rushing against the Miami D.
But Groh told his team during the week that such a benchmark was not impossible. The players committed to that belief and churned out 132 yards on the ground by the end of the day.
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Jason Snelling had 57 yards rushing and 61 yards receiving on the day. |
“We said early in the week we were going to commit to running the ball and if we couldn’t run the ball, then we wouldn’t win the game. So we made a commitment to doing that and that’s all with the players – they deserve all the credit for doing that,” Groh said. “We had some real good schemes in there that the coaches put together, but again it came down to the players. … Like I said [earlier this week], the earth isn’t flat. Somebody had to believe that it wasn’t. Starting right there, we had to believe we could run the ball and we were going to commit ourselves to that. That gives ownership of the game to the players; in particular, that gives ownership of the game to the offensive line.”
The rest was up to the Virginia defense, which held up its end of the bargain. The Cavaliers shut out Miami in the first half, the fifth ACC opponent that failed to score before intermission. The D had a minor hiccup late in the fourth quarter when Lance Leggett broke free for a 77-yard touchdown reception.
That made the score 17-7, but it was far too little, far too late.
Despite the late score, the defense’s performance was solid. The Cavs held Miami to 111 yards rushing and 152 yards passing, giving up just two pass plays of any significant yardage (Leggett’s TD and a 32-yard catch by Greg Olsen).
Statistically, Nate Lyles and Antonio Appleby led the way for the defense with 7 tackles each. Jeffrey Fitzgerald added 6 stops and Byron Glaspy chipped in with 5.
Fittingly, however, senior Marcus Hamilton put the finishing touches on the defense’s day when he picked off a pass in the final two minutes of his final home game. It was the 15th interception of his career, leaving him tied for third among active NCAA players and tied for third on Virginia’s career charts.
“It was kind of funny because on the sideline right before they went out for that series, Marcus came up to me and whispered in my ear ‘I’m going to get this pick to the end the game,’” Mines said. “It was kind of like a storybook ending. … It was a great win for us.”
Just like old times.
Note: Virginia held a moment of silence prior to the National Anthem the game in remembrance of Miami’s Bryan Pata who was shot and killed outside of his apartment on Nov. 7.
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