The Daily News Leader from Staunton, Virginia • 12

B2 Sunday News Leader, November 4, 1990 PORT Tech midls me top Scott Stadium turf torched Late FG downs U. Va. years ago. Some of the Astroturf was taken from U.Va.'s baseball field to repair the damage. Virginia athletic director Jim Copeland, in a pre-game press conference noted that the surface was safe, despite the very noticeable difference in color pattern.

"If you closed your eyes and walked across it, you wouldn't know the difference," Copeland said. A state arson secialist and Charlottesville police continue to investigate the incident. The prank caused a section of the center of the field measuring 18 by 32 feet to be replaced. The fire was discovered by a U.Va. police officer on duty at the stadium.

University Police and Charlottesville firefighters extinguished the blaze, which was estimated to have caused $50,000 to $60,000 in damage. The Athletic Department's grounds crew began to repair the field before dawn, cutting away the burned section and replacing it with old Astroturf and padding saved from the resurfacing of the field two By KEN BOSSERMAN Sports Writer CHARLOTTESVILLE The heated battle at Scott Stadium between No. 1 Virginia and No. 16 Georgia Tech began well before the two nationally ranked football teams took to the gridiron Saturday afternoon. About 3 a.m., someone broke into the stadium and torched the center of the field.

Speculation was that kero-cene or some other fuel was used in an attempt to burn No. 1 onto the Astroturf. i By KEN BOSSERMAN Sports Writer CHARLOTTESVILLE Virgin-ia's venture into the never-never land of being the No. 1 football team in the nation ended Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium when Georgia Tech's Scott Sisson booted a 37-yard field goal with just seven seconds left to lift the No. 16 Yellow Jackets to a 41-38 come-from-behind win over the Cavaliers.

The game was a matchup of un-beatens before a national television audience on CBS, and a Scott Stadium record crowd of 49,700. Packed into every corner and spot the place could hold, the throng was nearly 3,000 more than the previous record of of 46,800 which showed up for Virginia's win over Clemson earlier in the season. Tickets outside the stadium were selling anywhere up to $125 apiece, and one asking price was $250. As it turned out, the game was probably well worth it. As is the case when two high-powered squads meet, it usually is the team with the fewer mistakes that wins.

And that was the story in this one. For Virginia, a second half fumble deep in its territory which led to a Yellow Jacket touchdown, an interception that blunted a scoring attempt at the Tech 10 and two costly procedure penalties late in the game, one of which erased a Cavalier touchdown, proved to be the team's undoing. For a while, everything seemed to be clicking for the now 7-1 Cavaliers. Scoring every time they had the ball in the first half, Virginia built up a 28-14 intermission lead. Heisman Trophy candidate Shawn Moore was nearly perfect, completing nine of 11 passes while scoring three touchdowns to lead the way.

Place kicker Jake Mclnemey added to the offense with a pair of field goals from 27 and a personal record 51 yards out. However, it didn't take long for the wall to start crumbling. On the first play from scrimmage after the second half kick-off, Moore fumbled with Tech recovering on the Virginia 28. Four plays later, Jerry Gilchrist scored on a reverse and Tech was within a touchdown. Virginia then mounted a march from its 25 which carried to the Tech 15.

On second down, Moore found Nikki Fisher all alone at the 10, but the ball slipped through his hands and into those of Georgia Tech's Calvin Tiggle who returned it to midfield. After the teams traded possessions, Tech put in motion a 6-play, 46-yard drive to knot the game at 28 with 2:20 left in the third Virginia immediately responded with a 3-play, 80-yard march of its own to assume the lead again. Shawn Moore connected with Herman Moore on a 63-yard bomb to account for the 6-pointer, and with Mclnerney's conversion Virginia was in the lead again 35-28. But that wasn't for long. Tech quickly mounted a 75-yard scoring drive with William Bell going in from the eight to knot the score again at 35 with :02 left in the third period.

After Virginia failed to move the ball, Tech put together a drive from its 28 that finally stalled on the Virginia 15. From there, Sis-son hit a 33-yard field goal to give the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game, 38-35, with 7: 17 left. Then came one of the most bizarre drives of the season. From the Cavalier 27, Terry Kirby picked up 14 yards on a pair of runs to set up a first down at the Cavalier 41. Shawn Moore then found Herman Moore open on a long pass play that carried to the Georgia Tech five, after a dead ball personal foul penalty had been assessed.

Shawn Moore then slanted left to the one. Nikki Fisher tried to carry it in, but was stopped a few inches short. However, he gained enough for a first and goal. Fisher again tried to go over the top, but was stopped. A procedure penalty followed, and it was second and goal just outside the five.

Shawn Moore then connected with Herman Moore in the right flat on a pass that carried the ball back inside the one. Faced with third and goal, Moore zinged a pass to Aaron Mundy who was all alone in the end zone. But a procedure penalty nullified the touchdown. "I saw the problem before the play, but I couldn't get a timeout," Virginia coach George Welsh later explained. "We only had one tight end on the field.

It's alright to have just 10 men on the field, but only six were on the line of scrimmage, and you need seven." Again back just outside the five, Moore's next pass was knocked down. With fourth and goal from there, Virginia went for the tie with Mclnerney connecting on a 23-yarder with 2:34 left to knot the game at 38. "It's hard enough to get a 2- point play. What are your chances with a fourth and six? That was the thing to do; I wouldn't do it any differently. Ninety-nine percent of the coaches in the nation would have done it the same way," Welsh said in explaining his decision to go for a 3- pointer rather than the touchdown.

"With 2:34 left and three time-outs, we felt we could stop them. We were hoping they would make a mistake or we could hold them. Everything was in our favor." The Virginia coach nearly got the break he was looking for. Tech immediately began a drive from its 24, and nearly lost the ball when Bell fumbled at the Virginia 40, only to see him recover his own miscue. With time running down, quarterback Shawn Jones completed a 15-yarder on third down to Greg Lester which carried to the Cavalier 20.

That set up the game winning field goal. Virginia had one last chance following the kickoff. Downing the ball at the 26, the Cavs had six seconds left. Shawn Moore then put up a 50-yard bomb, only to see the Yellow Jackets intercept at their 25 as time ran out. "We made too many mistates on offense," Welsh added.

"The fumble and interception were big plays. Then we fouled up on the goal line. It all added up to a loss." Statistically, Shawn Moore ended with 18 of 28 completions for 344 yards, one touchdown throwing, and three running. Herman Moore posted his best day ever; hauling in nine passes for 234 yards and a touchdown. But Virginia couldn't stop Tech's high powered offense which amassed 463 yards to Virginia's 512.

Bell carried 22 times for 102 yards while Jones was 17 for 29 for 257 yards and two scores. "I didn't know if we could stop them, but I felt we could move the ball," said Tech coach Bobby Ross. "That was the key to it. We did a super job there. "We just kept thinking we could win, and our kids just never stopped believing that we could.

Now we have to get ready for a very tough Virginia Tech football team." For Virginia, its 13-game winning streak, the longest in the nation, came to an end. But the Cavs have some consolation. No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Auburn, and No.

5 Illinois also lost. Who knows. Maybe the nearly 400 media personnel from all over the nation who attended the game, plus scouts from everything from the Orange Bowl to the Blockbuster Bowl may still be around at the end of this season to see the Cavs. With three games left in the regular season, even Welsh invi-sions a 10-game winning season as a possibility. And for Georgia Tech, now one of the few unbeaten teams left at 7-0-1, could a national championship game now be on the horizon for the Yellow Jackets in this topsy-turvy said Georgia Tech senior Danny Narey.

"I'm glad for them." Standing a little apart from the celebration was senior Chris Allen, a walk-on free safety for the football team who did not make the trip to Virginia. "This is the biggest day of my collegiate career. It's a great thing to play for a team that goes from 2-9 (Georgia Tech's record in 1987, coach Bobby Ross' first year) to ACC champions." Junior David Bergeron said, "I've never seen anything like this in the three years I've been here. "When I first came up here, we won two games. We've just beaten the No.

1 team in the nation." fi Yellow Jacket fans savor win 'Vf A) k-Vf 1 A Once the patrol car left, the fire flared up again. Tech's 41-38 victory over Virginia in Charlottesville, earner Saturday was a high-water mark for a football team that has been mired in mediocrity and worse for more than a decade. The victory left the Yellow Jackets, currently ranked 16th, 7-0-1 for the season and put them in good position to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Students outside Bobby Dodd Stadium chanted "ACC, ACC" and carried banners reading "We're No. 1 We're Going to a Bowl." "I knew we were good, but I didn't know we could do that," ATLANTA (AP) Hundreds of jubilant Georgia Tech fans celebrated the Yellow Jackets' victory over No.

1 Virginia by hitting the streets outside Georgia Tech's Atlanta campus Saturday night, setting off firecrackers and blocking traffic. But motorists in the area didn't seem to mind, sticking their arms out of car windows and giving the Georgia Tech students high-fives. Police for the most part ignored the celebration until a bonfire was set at an intersection. A police car then stopped, and the officer got out and yelled at the students: "This is stupid." Furrer sparks Holcies past Wolfpack FORCED FUMBLE University of Virgin! defensive end Chris Slade forces the ball out of the hands of Georgia Tech quarterback Shawn Jones during first half action of their Atlantic Coast Conference football game Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium. Tech defeated the top-ranked Cavaliers 41-38.

(AP Laserphoto) Dukes drop exhibition to AIA BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) On fourth down from the 1-yard line with his team two points behind, Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said he planned to play it safe and go for a field goal with 6:50 remaining against North Carolina State. But Beamer said he changed his mind when he saw the players jumping up and down on the field, pointing their arms toward the goal line. "Our players were excited and they wanted to go for the touchdown," Beamer said after the Hokies' 20-16 victory. "So I figured that even if we missed the touchdown, we would have State backed up at their 1 with a lot of time left." Tailback Tony Kennedy took the ball and leaped over center and into the end zone for what proved to final score.

"Virginia Tech just played better than we did," N.C. State coach Dick Sheridan said. "They made the plays to win." Virginia Tech converted four third-down plays in the eight-minute drive and 12 of 18 third-down plays overall. The Wolfpack (5-5) converted four of 13. Virginia Tech quarterback Will Furrer threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Hokies (5-4).

Furrer completed 22 of 38 passes, including eight of nine in the final scoring drive. The red-shirt junior tied the school record for touchdown passes in a season 16 set by Don Strock in 1972. "We were blitzing a lot today to get pressure on Furrer," Sheridan said. "When you go after a quarterback, it's either feast or famine." State's defense, ranked No. 12 nationally, pressured Furrer all afternoon and sacked him three times in the first half.

The Wolfpack held Tech to 61 net yards rushing. But it was sacks by Hokie defenders P.J. Preston and Stephan Holloway that ruined the Wolf-pack's final scoring opportunity. And Virginia Tech held N.C. State's offense to 114 yards and no points in the second half.

Virginia Tech went ahead 7-0 late in the first quarter on a 74-yard drive that took seven minutes. Furrer completed a 19-yard pass to tight end Greg Daniels, who was brought down on the N.C. State 7-yard line. Two plays later from the 2, Furrer threaded a TD pass to Daniels between three defenders. The Wolfpack had a lengthy drive of their own when they got the ball, but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal after tackle Jerome Preston blocked a pass heading for a wide-open receiver in the end zone from four yards out.

Furrer was under pressure on Virginia Tech's next possession when he threw a wobbly pass to the right sideline. Wolfpack senior cornerback Joe Johnson moved in front of split end Marcus Mickel, intercepted the pass and ran it 50 yards for a touchdown. Bernard Basham, a 6-foot-6 defensive end, blocked the PAT to keep the Wolfpack within two, 9-7. The Wolfpack went ahead 16-7 shortly before the first half ended. Quarterback Terry Jordan ran the ball for 12 yards, completed a 7-yard first-down pass on third down and a 29-yard pass to split end Charles Davenport before running the ball eight yards for a touchdown.

Virginia Tech opened the third quarter with another 74-yard touchdown drive culminated by Furrer's 3-yard touchdown pass to flanker John Rivers. was putting up points, the defense left a lot of questions to be answered. AIA constantly was getting the ball inside for scores against the JMU big people. AIA featured two former NBA players in Lorenzo Romar (Golden State and Milwaukee) and Ronnie Grandison (Boston). ACC basketball fans will also remember former Duke University standout John Smith.

"Hey, AIA is no Mickey Mouse team," JMU coach Lefty Driesell said. "They have two guys that played in the NBA and John Smith was a three-year starter at Duke. That team could hold its own against a lot of major college squads. "I thought it was a great game. The fans seemed to get into the game.

There was a lot of excitement out on the court," Driesell said. By HUBERT F. GRIM Sports Writer HARRISONBURG Basket-ball fans who have a craving for offensive fireworks might want to check out the 1990-91 James Madison University Dukes. If Saturday night's exhibition loss to Athletes In Action, 127-116, at the Convocation Center is any indication of things to come, it could be an interesting year for fellow members of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes are heavy favorites to win the CAA championship and they showed why Saturday with an explosive offense.

It should be noted, however, the point total in the game is because the contest was 48 minutes like the pros instead of the college 40. Although the JMU offense "We did a lot of things well, but we didn't play well when the game got close at the end. AIA's experience showed in the closing minutes. "Offensively, I saw a lot of positives. Defensively, we gave up too many transition baskets and we committed too many fouls which put them in the bonus early.

Also, the offensive rebounding wasn't what it should have been and we missed too many free throws," Driesell said. JMU fans got to witness the impressive college debut of junior Chancellor Nichols. Nichols, who transferred by Mississippi State and sat out last season, gives the Dukes the wide body (6-8, 240) they need in the middle. Nichols scored 20 points and ripped down 12 rebounds before fouling out with six minutes left..