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Kai Parham sacked Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford during the second quarter of yesterday's game in Charlottesville. Virginia won at home 26-21.
Florida State's De'Cody Fagg carries the ball against Virginia's Stephen Eaton (23) and Antonio Appleby.
Virginia running back Wali Lundy celebrates his touchdown near the end of the first half last night against Florida State. |
By TAFT COGHILL JR.
CHARLOTTESVILLE--Ten years ago, the University of Virginia became the first Atlantic Coast Conference football team to defeat Florida State in a league game when it beat the Seminoles 33-28 in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers honored that 1995 team at halftime of last night's ACC battle against the No. 4 Seminoles.
But ever since that season, the Cavaliers have been looking for win No. 2 against powerful FSU. Last night, Virginia had yet another chance to get that elusive second victory over the Seminoles. The Cavaliers took advantage.
Thanks to two Marques Hagans touchdown passes and four field goals from senior kicker Connor Hughes, the Cavaliers were able to hold on for a 26-21 victory in front of a crowd of 61,106 at Scott Stadium. Hagans finished the game 27-of-36 for 306 yards and no interceptions.
Cavaliers cornerback Tony Franklin intercepted a Drew Weatherford pass with 50 seconds left to seal the victory for Virginia (4-2, 2-2, ACC).
A Gary Cismesia 32-yard field goal drew Florida State to 26-21 with 7:35 remaining. The Seminoles (5-1, 3-1) got the ball back following a Virginia punt, but the Cavaliers defense held when it stopped running back Lorenzo Booker for no gain on a screen pass on third down.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Florida State pulled to 26-16 on a 22-yard scoring pass from freshman Weatherford to wide receiver Chris Davis. The speedy Davis caught a short pass, slipped the tackle of Cavaliers linebacker Kai Parham and made a spin move on the right sideline before racing into the end zone. Weatherford then completed a pass to wide receiver Greg Carr on a 2-point conversion attempt to make it 26-18, Virginia.
Virginia moved the ball well throughout the first half as it jumped out to a 23-10 halftime lead. The offensive production came mostly because of the scrambling and throwing ability of Hagans. Virginia running backs carried the ball just nine times for 17 yards in the first half, but Hagans threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-20 passing.
Following a Marcus Hamilton interception off FSU freshman quarterback Drew Weatherford, Hagans led the Cavaliers on a 71-yard touchdown drive on their opening possession. Virginia wide receivers Deyon Williams and Maurice Covington drew back-to-back pass interference calls on FSU freshman cornerback Tony Carter, and Hagans hit Emmanuel Byers with a 28-yard pass to set up a 21-yard scoring strike to sophomore tight end Jonahtan Stupar.
Connor Hughes had the extra point and Virginia led 7-0.
The Seminoles answered on their next drive when junior running back Lorenzo Booker escaped around the left side of his offensive line for a 58-yard touchdown run. Virginia All-American linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who made just his second start of the season, burst through the line of scrimmage and gave chase to Booker, but to no avail.
With the score tied 7-7, Virginia kicker Connor Hughes booted a season-long 50-yard field goal to put his team ahead 10-7. The Seminoles answered with a Sismesia 22-yard field goal to tie the game at 10.
Hughes added field goals of 37 and 35 yards to give the Cavaliers a 16-10 lead. The advantage grew to 23-10 when Hagans scrambled to the right and found Lundy alone for a short pass, who bullied his way for a 16-yard touchdown reception with just 19 seconds left in the first half.
Virginia opened the third quarter with an 11-play, 52-yard drive. Hughes capped the march with a 45-yard field goal.
The Seminoles then did Virginia a favor by running 16 plays and precious time off the clock without scoring. They drove from their own 20-yard line to Virginia's 10, before a false-start penalty set them back to the Cavaliers' 15-yard line. The drive ended with a missed field goal.
NoteVirginia preseason All-American left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson made his first start since he suffered a sprained knee against Duke on Sept. 24. Ferguson missed Virginia's losses to Maryland and Boston College. Brooks, who had offseason knee surgery, made just his second start, and his first at inside linebacker.
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