The Roanoke Times from Roanoke, Virginia • 31

The Roanoke Times No net for Sports 2 nel Mio OPENERS MSB ST kLll QB Steve Beuerlein has kept the Carolina Panthers together after an offseason full of problems C7 K'Tirl 'i'w A an oversight in expansion CHARLOTTESVILLE The rumor true Carl Smith really want his money back However the fans in Blacksburg the only ones who want some kind of refund from the opening game ot the season In dedication game for the impressively ex panded home of Vir ginia football the Cavaliers took their suite time but final ly sullied up to the Curl Smith Cnntor JACK home of David A BOGACZYK Harrison III ield at Scott Stadium The place has gotten more make overs and has more names than Liz Tay lor Appropriately the Cavaliers tackled like her That however was nothing new In Brigham 38 35 overtime victory defense allowed at least 30 points for the 1 1th time in the last 17 games Virginia has lost seven of those The Cavaliers also have allowed more than 500 yards in each of their last three games The Cougars came from Utah to ACC country for the second straight week and struggled to slow run ning game falling behind 21 0 It was obvious BYU was going to pass in the second half but the Cavaliers had no answer for sophomore quarterback Bret Engemann the brother in law of talk show star Larry King It was obvious to a record common wealth college football crowd of 60435 that Engemann was headed for a UVa record for passing yards What made comeback more im pressive was that the climb came in sauna like conditions they often experience Once the Cougars rallied the cele bration being muted with every comple tion it turned into a whine and jeez crowd When UVa quarterback Dan El lis was intercepted on the starting overtime possession the exits already had been flooded with humanity Virginia primarily a zone coverage team had next to no pass rush The secondary was playing with the cushion of an airbag Coach George Welsh said he thought the real problem was underneath Defensive coordinator Rick Lantz told UVa media relations folks before the game that he be available for postgame analysis Maybe he knew something The second guessing only come from the seats and surely the carping about program needing to do more than reach its most years seven win plateau will grow louder Welsh second guessed himself There was the return of running back Arlen Harris for crucial third and one and fourth and one plays at the Vir ginia 49 No gain No gain Hanis who had a big first half had just relieved Antwoine Womack who gets tougher yards and was strong in the final 30 minutes Welsh said the Harris Womack ex change might have been simple regular rotation Running backs coach Andre Powell said Womack a little wind When Harris get a yard the Cavaliers were out of gas Welsh was a Navy quarterback Has he forgotten the quarterback sneak? Then considering defensive per formance forcing BYU to go only half of the field was play probably a strong argu ment for punting there not what I Welsh said told the team I put the defense in a bad position there I proba bly have done it I think it was a right To expect a kicking game with next to no experience to win a game with a 48 yard field goal is a bit much offense was plenty good enough although the pass protec tion was inconsistent The overtime in terception was its only turnover The Cavaliers were good with the ball until the end defense conversely should be better than it was last season It has more experience and more depth loving gift of $25 million aside what most Wahoos want is a bigger contribution on defense Jack Bogaczyk can be reached at 981 3124 or Jackbroanokecom Sports newsonline or the latest sports news and scores go online at roanoketlmescom SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 3 200'0 SECT! 0 GAME 1 Virginia Tech 52 Akron 23 quick start covers for defense Michael Vick leads the offense to 549 total yards but defense allows 410 By RANDY KING THE ROANOKE TIMES BLACKSBURG OK so only one precinct has reported ace it no matter how you look at it sophomore quarterback Micha el Vick did nothing Saturday to hurt LOW TIDE ON WEST COAST 3MmT UCLA upsets No 3 Alabama C3 his Heisman Trophy campaign In a performance that old stiff armed John Heisman undoubtedly would have loved Vick was respon season openers at rainy Lane Stadium Exhibiting the same kind of elu sible for 288 total yards and four touchdowns as No 1 1 Virginia Tech siveness that drove lorida State batty in the Sugar Bowl Vick com ripped Akron 52 23 in both pleted seven of 11 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns or good measure he earned the ball eight times for 102 yards and two TDs After his' three quarter workout Vick said he thought once about the Heisman all day long When asked if he thought it was a good beginning however he grinned and said I think a pretty good It was so good that if the polls closed today this thing would be over a landslide according to Zips coach Lee Owens think we did anything to It 1 1 AT 1 rs Zll i I ry A GENE dalton the roanoke iimes said If he not the greatest football Yvillie Pile gives the Tech defense a shining please SEE with an interception return for a jJ a GAME 1 BYU 38 Virginia 35 0T tk II 4 Collapse i i ft mimma MMME i A 'V A Ijjy UlBl1 IT ilMliCTr Rs 1 ''S 1 '4f fc WJ ntv5 ft 91 'Iv Ak BgSf'l 1 1 1 TaBSf ar 1 rtzW 4STR 'x LSr I'C' wKaHM 'J' if Jl 1 fi mmM WriEl! i 1 mi MATT GENTRY THE ROANOKE TIMES Owen Pochman (27) gets carried off the field after his 26 yard field goal defeated Virginia 38 35 in overtime A UVa lead evaporates in 2nd half By DOUG DOUGHTY THE ROANOKE TIMES i CHARLOTTESVILLE Same old corporation what they were say ing at Scott Stadium late Satur day afternoon after Brigham Young edged Virginia 38 35 dn a 26 yard Owen Pochman field goal in overtime On a day reserved for the dedication of the Carl Smith Center a facility constructed with great attention to the history Virginia pre served another tradition: The Cavalier Collapse The Cavaliers famous for blowing big leads led 21 0 at the half and seemingly had withstood a i BYU comeback when Antwoine Womack raced 67 yards to make it 35 21 with 12: 13 left game like this is never said Womack who car ried 15 times for 160 yards in his first football game since December 1998 foot ball is crazy like Womack have to be reminded about pen chant for choking In bis last appearance before Saturday he saw Georgia overcome a 21 0 deficit to defeat Virginia 35 33 in the 1998 Peach Bowl jj happened quite a few limes since been sMd Womack a fourth year junior time gotten a big lead at the half relaxed Everybody was aware of it tried to talk ourselves through it but BYU grabbed the momentum" Virginia coach George Welsh had vowed to the last winter after a 63 21 loss to Illinois in the Micronpccom Bowl but it was more of the same in the second half as BYU had scoring drives of 80 80 78 69 and $9 yards BYU quarterback Bret Engemann the brother in law of syndicated talk show host PLEASE SEE UVAC2 SECTIONED a.