Asheville Citizen-Times from Asheville, North Carolina • Page 34

ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2004 D2 Ball leads Yellow Jackets to win over Terrapins MA 1 4S 'r. A 1 0: i 'aaaaJa. 1 A 'r I if' 1 au.4aAk.,L. -rfr and scored from the 12 during a 65-yard drive that made it 17-0 with 10:06 left in the third quarter. A 26-yard pass from Ball to Nate Curry set up a field goal by Travis Bell for a 20-0 lead.

Maryland senior Steve Suter set the ACC record for career punt return yards (t2tt). He returned three punts for 24 yards to pass Ledel George of North Carolina State, who had 1,191 yards from 1990-93. Georgia Tech ran up a 201-66 advantage in offensive yardage and took a 10-0 lead at halftime. Allen ran for 28 yards on Maryland's first play from scrimmage, but the promising drive ended with Nick Novak missing a 44-yard field goal try. Neither team threatened again until early in the second quarter, when Bell kicked an apparent 45-yard field goal But Georgia Tech was called for an illegal shift and subsequently punted.

On their next series, however, the Yellow Jackets took a 7-0 lead. Ball used two completions to Devon Thomas totaling 50 yards to set up an 11-yard touchdown pass to Curry. Georgia Tech made it 10-0 late the half when Bell kicked a 19-yard field goal after freshman Calvin Johnson made a sensational catch for a 44-yard gain to the Maryland 6. By David Ginsburg THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COLLEGE PARK, Md. Georgia Tech ended No.

23 Maryland's 13-game home winning streak in stunning fashion, blanking the Terrapins through three quarters and forcing out ineffective quarterback Joel Statham in a 20-7 victory Saturday. Reggie Ball threw for 197 yards and a touchdown to help the Yellow Jackets (3-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap a two -game losing streak. It's been an erratic season for Georgia Tech, which has also defeated then-No. 18 Clemson but lost to lowly North Carolina. The Terrapins (3-2, 1-1) were undefeated at home since September 2002 and 21-1 at Byrd Stadium since coach Ralph Friedgen took over the program in 2001.

Statham, who came in leading the ACC in total offense, received complete support from Friedgen despite his seven interceptions and propensity to fumble. But Friedgen removed the struggling quarterback in the third quarter with Maryland trailing 20-0. True freshman Jordan Steffy directed a scoring drive that made it 20-7 with 11:28 left, but that was the extent of the damage that Maryland could inflict on a defense that was surrendering an average of 23 points v. A Chuck BurionrxE associated press Virginia Tech's Bryan Randall runs past Wake Forest players Jonathan Abbate (40) and Zach Stukes (95) during the first quar-ter in Winston-Salem on Saturday. Imoh leads Hokies to first ACC road win Chris GardnerTHE associated press Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball, center, rushes past Maryland's Wesley Jefferson and Dre Moore during the first half Saturday in College Park, Md.

Georgia Tech won 20-7. ACC Georgia Tech No. 23 Maryland 20 7 ACC Virginia Tech Wake Forest See box score on D6 17 10 over 100 yards in offense, and their defense had no answer for Ball, whose starting job was believed to be in jeopardy after he threw three interceptions last week in a 27-3 loss to Miami Ball completed 11 of 21 passes, ran for 43 yards and coolly directed an offense that did not commit a single turnover. He received ample support from P.J. Daniels, who ran for 91 yards on 26 attempts.

Daniels gained 51 yards on three carries per game. Statham went 6-for-i4 for 36 yards. Steffy was 5-for-9 for 38 yards and snowed enough poise to at least warrant consideration as a starter next week. The Terrapins mustered just SunCom WIRELESS By JENNA FRYER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS W1NST0N-SALM Virginia Tech was concerned about overworking Mike Imoh by giving him too many carries. Turns out 29 touches was the perfect amount Imoh ran for 100 yards and the game-winning touchdown on his 29th and final carry to lead Virginia Tech to a 17-10 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday.

"I have no problem with how many carries I get," he said. "Whatever it takes to win the game two carries, 10 carries, whatever:" Imoh got his first career start last week, and ran for U5 yards on 30 carries in the Hokies' (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) win over then-No. 6 West Virginia. He was slightly dehydrated after that performance, and Virginia Tech didn't want the same thing to happen to him in its first ACC road game. So Imoh drank plenty of water this time, making sure to stay hy-drated.

Save for some slight cramping in the third quarter, the tiniest Hokie (Imoh is 5-foot-7, 197 pounds) had no trouble carrying Virginia Tech to the win. "I think the cramping was more from coming out after half-time and being cooled off," he said. "I can take the ball 50 times if they'd give it to me." Imoh's game-winning 7-yard run was set up by quarterback Bryan Randall, who scrambled for 45 yards on three runs in the final drive. His 21-yard dash moved the See box score on 06 end zone, sealing another heartbreaking defeat for the Demon Deacons. They lost in overtime at both Clemson and North Carolina State.

"In the end, today was a good loss," said Wake coach Jim Grobe. "I think our guys are tired of coming up short this year. The effort is there, we've just got to execute a little better." Randolph threw for 180 yards for Wake Forest Chris Barclay ran for 84 yards, including a l-yard scoring run. The game could have been lopsided, but Wake Forest's Josh Gattis ended two potential Virginia Tech scoring drives with fumble recoveries. The first was in the second quarter when he tackled Cedric Humes at the Wake Forest 19 and knocked the ball loose, then pounced on it Humes' second recovery was much bigger, taking the ball away from Justin Hamilton at the Wake Forest 1 as Virginia Tech was going in for a third-quarter touchdown.

The' Hokies' defense was swarming early, rattling Wake Forest into consecutive false starts on its first possession followed by a sack of Randolph. Virginia Tech dominated the first half, but gave up just enough plays to keep the game tight Randall was sacked twice late in the second quarter, forcing Virginia Tech to punt from its own That gave the Deacons the ball on Tech's 45, and Randolph moved them into scoring range with a 30-yard pass to Kevin Marion. Barclay scored five plays later to cut Virginia Tech's lead to three at 10-7 with 25 seconds to play before halftime. The game might have been tied, but kicker Matt Wisnosky injured his knee on the opening kickoff and the Deacons had to use punter Ryan Plackemeier on field goals. His 38-yard attempt in the first quarter bounced off the right upright He later made a 20-yarder that tied it at 10 with 6:15 to play.

Virginia Tech also missed a field goal, with Brandon Pace's 47-yard attempt falling short Unlimited Flat Rate Wireless. (What unlimited calling was supposed to be.) Hokies to the 11, and Imoh scored two plays later to put Tech on top with 2:10 to play. t. Randall, who ended with 119 yards passing, a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jeff King, and 46 yards rushing, often resembled Michael Vick on his late drives. But Tech coach Frank Beamer halted any comparisons.

"Well, he's a good player," Beamer said. "But he and Vick cannot really be compared. But Randall is a good leader. He is a team leader that has a lot of heart as well as talent" I Wake Forest (3-3, 0-3) nearly tied it again, but was stopped on Virginia Tech 5. One of Cory Randolph's passes into the end zone was nearly intercepted, and the next one sailed through receiver Jirruny Williams' hands.

Randolph's fourth-down attempt was dropped short of the 1 I 'liiirlt 1 "11 una III imii ii HiimmmmiJ Only SunCom UnPlanSM lets you call as much as you need to anyone, anytime, anywhere in America: Only $50 a month. SunCom. We get it: it. Only $49f Motorola T725 Save $100 Bill SheffieldspEciAL TO THE CITIZEN-TIMES Furman tailback Cedrick Carter is tackled by a host of Appalachian State defenders on Saturday in Boone. r' Williams says he was in the zone i SunCom Free" Nokia 6010 Save $59 Plus, other plans start at $35.

Continued from Dl EXCLUSIVE AUTHORIZED DEALER SUNCOM STORE LOCATIONS Mays had li carries for 36 yards and a 4-yard scoring run. Martin, a transfer from Florida, ifinished 24-of-34 for 303 yards and a touchdown. I Williams played behind an of-' fensive line that started three freshmen, including guard John Holt, the former Erwin High standout who got his first start ASU also got strong offensive SOUTH ASHEVILLE 1970 Hendersonville Rd 828-215-7140 HENDERSONVILLE Blue Ridge Mall 1800 Four Seasons Blvd 828-692-5615 We're open for your convenience. Cell for store hours. ASHEVIUE Asheville Mall 3 S.

Tunnel Rd 83 S. Tunnel Rd 828-215-7160 805 Patton Ave, Ste 828-215-7130 AMA WIRELESS 800 Brevard Rd Asheville 828-665-1116 Willie Freeman. "Williams is a great player who can beat you with his arm or his legs, and that's what he did today" said Furman coach Bobby Lamb. "You can't have four turnovers and beat good teams." "We had a plan for (Furman), and were very confident going into the game," said ASU coach Jerry Moore. "We wanted to throw the ball underneath and not get sacked, and we got that done.

"That was a great college football game. We've got a bunch of young guys who gave a great effort What a great performance by Richie. I've never seen a better fame from one of my quarter acks." Contact Jarrett at 232-5867 Of 828-298-3536 SIGN UP TODAY 1-877-CALLSUN FREE OVERNIGHT DELIVERY 3 7 IMPORTANT INFORMATION games trom tailback Alan Atwater (15 carries for 62 yards, 11 catches for 121 yards, two TDs) and receiver Da Von Fowlkes (14 receptions for 148 yards). "Williams, Atwater, Fowlkes 'those were three loaded guns that kept shooting at us the whole Ottf txrxrwi Octobw 31 Rpqu twh actrvntion 136 acftVutton 19 rrtnknm 12-montti wrviM flwiwrtefH. cmto sprjfwrt nod crncrtiW Mr $gpp wity cancsHaflon uppUBt SunCom mfrm oaWno ww kKludM NC, SC, norlrwMttm TN.

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