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BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech kicker Brian Johnson made a 42-yard field goal in overtime, and the Hokies' Emmanuel Belmar recovered a fumble on Virginia's ensuing possession, all of which gave the Hokies a 34-31 victory over rival Virginia in a Commonwealth Clash game played Saturday evening at Lane Stadium.
With the win, the Hokies snapped their four-game losing streak and extended their winning streak over Virginia to 15 consecutive games. The Hokies moved to 5-6 overall, 4-4 in ACC play, while the Cavaliers fell to 7-5 overall, 4-4 in league action.
Tech appeared to be on the ropes after Virginia kicker Brian Delaney made a 28-yard field goal with 2:41 remaining in regulation to give the Cavaliers a 31-24 lead. But the Hokies made several big plays in the final 2:30 of regulation and overtime.
The biggest came on third-and-10 from the Tech 25 when quarterback Ryan Willis connected with tight end Dalton Keene for a 45-yard gain to the Virginia 30. Two plays later, the Hokies tied the game at 31 when Hezekiah Grimsley recovered a Steven Peoples fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point tied the game at 31 with 1:51 left.
Neither team scored on their final possessions, thus sending the game into overtime for the first time in the 100 games of the series.
(11/23/2018) 2018 FOOTBALL vs. VIRGINIA
Tech got the ball first and settled for Johnson's 42-yard field goal to take a 34-31 lead – but only after Willis somehow avoided a sack by Virginia's Charles Snowden. On the Cavaliers' possession, Bryce Perkins completed an 11-yard pass to Hasise Dubois on the first play, but on the next play, Perkins botched an exchange with tailback Jordan Ellis, and the Hokies' Belmar recovered to give Tech the win.
Peoples led the Hokies, rushing for 96 yards on 19 carries. Willis completed 14 of 33 for 199 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. Tech finished with 453 yards of offense.
The Hokies also got a huge game from Tre Turner, a freshman from Greensboro, North Carolina who made a one-handed grab of a Willis pass for a 7-yard touchdown that gave the Hokies a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, and moments later, blocked the punt attempt of UVA punter Lester Coleman that the Hokies' Jovonn Quillen recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. That score gave the Hokies a 14-0 lead at halftime.
Turner finished with four catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. He also ran once for 43 yards.
Perkins led the way for the Cavaliers, throwing for 259 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 112 yards. He accounted for 371 of the Cavaliers' 423 total yards.
COMMONWEALTH CLASH
The Tech-UVA football game was presented by Virginia529, the official college savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics and the University of Virginia Athletics. The score for the "Commonwealth Clash" is now 4-2 in favor of Virginia Tech. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at www.thecommonwealthclash.com.
QUOTES TO NOTE
Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente
Postgame media session
(On whether his team showed the fight against UVA that he has been seeing all year)
"Yeah, I would say that. It's indicative of what we see on a daily basis from our guys. We know it's there. We see them come to practice daily and how they work in the weight room. We all understand in this arena that we're subject to criticism and that sort of stuff. You just want the kids, so desperately, that are putting all that work in, to have some success. It was hard for them to get to celebrate tonight. They had to go through a lot, but I was proud of them."
(On his reaction to the Willis play when he avoided the sack in overtime to allow for the field goal)
"Probably the same as everyone else's – just throw the ball away. But he just goes out there and plays as hard as he can. You don't usually say that about a quarterback, but he just plays all out and hard as he can every single snap. He certainly made some plays, and like everybody, made a couple of mistakes, but I was happy that we got an incompletion because it would have been disastrous."
(On Tre Turner's performance)
"He is a competitor. He really is. Obviously, he has talent, and he can run and those sorts of things, but he's a highly intelligent competitor. He was a one-man band there for a little bit, blocking a punt and making the big catch and having the long run. If he continues to work, he's going to have a really nice career here. It's really nice to see guys like that be willing to play big roles on special teams. That sets a great a great example to our other players."
(On Belmar recovering the fumble)
"It's fitting that Belmar recovered it. Belmar has been beat up. He shows up at practice every day. He got carted off once. He's playing about on one leg out there, but he's tough and he's what this team is about. And for him to recover that is pretty poetic."
GAME NOTES
• Turner's blocked punt marked just the second blocked kick of the season for the Hokies. Tech's only other blocked kick came in the season opener against Florida State when Chris Cunningham blocked a punt that Eric Kumah recovered and returned for a touchdown.
• Turner now has caught four passes in each of the Hokies' past three games.
• Peoples' 96 rushing yards marked the second-most in a game in his career. He rushed for 156 in the Hokies' loss at Old Dominion.
• Willis now has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all eight of his starts and in nine straight games. He has 18 touchdown passes and eight interceptions this season.
• Johnson's 31-yard field goal marked his first since the Hokies' loss to Notre Dame. Tech had missed six straight field goals in that span.
• Tech played the game without starting right tackle Yosuah Nijman, who missed the contest with an injury. Silas Dzansi made his second start of the season (ODU).
UP NEXT
Tech closes the regular season next Saturday with a game against Marshall that kicks off at noon. The game takes the place of the Tech-East Carolina game that was cancelled because of Hurricane Florence.