Hokie ClubTech quarterback Sean Glennon played his usual steady game and receiver Brandon Dillard came up with two big plays to lead the White team to a 24-3 victory over the Maroon team in Tech's annual Maroon-White spring game played Saturday afternoon at Lane Stadium.
Tech's staff split the squad up into two teams. And the game consisted of eight-minute quarters.
Glennon, a 6-foot-4, 223-pound rising redshirt senior from Centreville, Va., accounted for 120 of the White team's 188 total yards. He completed 9-of-15 for 119 yards, with touchdown passes of 25 and 12 yards. He got the better of rising sophomore Tyrod Taylor in this one, as the two continued their battle for the starting nod at quarterback. Taylor completed 11-of-19 for just 67 yards, with one interception, and he was sacked three times.
"Sean got the better of it today," Tech head coach Frank Beamer said. "I'm surprised the Maroon team didn't protect [Taylor] a little better. It seemed the White team was getting more heat on the quarterback.
"We'll evaluate it [the quarterback position] and that will continue. The good thing is we've got two really good quarterbacks."
"I know they're [the coaches] not making a decision on one game," Glennon said. "They're going to take into account the other 14 practices, too.
"Obviously, I think any quarterback would be lying if he said he didn't want the job. That's part of being a competitor. At the same time, I would not be disappointed if we rotated. If that's the case, I'll do what I can to help this team win."
Another guy trying to earn a starting nod is Dillard, the 5-11, 180-pound rising redshirt junior from Martinsville, Va. He helped get the Hokies on the board in the second quarter when he went 49 yards on a reverse before being shoved out at the 3 by Maroon safety Ron Cooper. Two plays later, Darren Evans barreled in from the 1 to give the White team a 7-0 lead with 7:21 left in the first half.
The Maroon team sliced into that lead a couple of possessions later. Prince Parker blocked the punt attempt of backup punter Brian Saunders, and Nekos Brown recovered the ball inside the White 20. The Maroon team had a touchdown pass called back because of a holding penalty and ultimately settled for a 42-yard field goal by Chris Hazley that cut the lead to 7-3 with 1:39 left in the half.
The White team, though, responded with an impressive march led by Glennon. He guided the offense on a 67-yard drive that lasted 42 seconds, completing all three of his pass attempts. The final one was a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dillard, who beat redshirt freshman Cris Hill on the play, and Dustin Keys' extra point gave the White team a 14-3 lead with 57 seconds left in the half.
Dillard caught just the one pass, but he provided the two biggest plays of the game for the White team.
"I'm just trying to keep working and keep getting better," Dillard said. "I'm staying here both sessions this summer because I want to be ready to play."
The White team got a huge gift from the Maroon team shortly after Dillard's score when Taylor made a poor decision to throw the ball over the middle and across his body. The pass was intercepted by White safety Kam Chancellor, who returned it 55 yards all the way to the Maroon 1. An 18-yard field goal by Keys as time expired gave the White team a 17-3 lead at halftime.
"I baited him [Taylor] a little," said Chancellor, who made the move from rover to safety before spring practice. "When I saw him rolling out, I was going to the sideline, but when he squared up, I squared up with him. I just read it. I wanted to go for the hit because I like to hit, but when I got the angle on the ball, I went for the interception.
"As a safety, I feel like that was my play to make. If anyone throws passes like that, I plan on making that play. I don't want people completing passes like that on me."
The only score in the second half came midway through the fourth quarter when Glennon scrambled to his right and threw to receiver Ike Whitaker in the back of the end zone. Whitaker made a sensational diving grab for the touchdown that enabled the White team to take a 24-3, and that turned out to be the final margin.
Greg Boone, Zach Luckett, and Darren Evans each caught two passes for the White team, with Evans also rushing for 24 yards on nine carries. André Smith paced the Maroon team with three catches for 24 yards, while Danny Coale and Josh Oglesby caught two each. Oglesby rushed for 40 yards on seven carries to lead the Maroon team.
The game concluded Tech's spring practice for 2008.
"I think it's been one of the best spring practices we've ever had," Beamer said. "Part of that is that we've got so many open positions and the competition has been so good. Each day at practice, there has been great competition. I've really been proud of the effort of this group, and I think we've made improvements.
"But I think it's obvious we've got work to do. We're not a good enough football team right now. I think we've got the potential to be good and a lot of that depends on what happens between now and next fall. I think we've got some good players. We just have to execute better and I think that will come. Again, I've been pleased. I never question the effort of this team this spring. That part of it has been good."
Tech opens the season Aug. 30th against East Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.