By JED LOCKETT

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLACKSBURG, Va. — The Virginia Tech Hokies did not get the memo that you are not supposed to wear white after Labor Day. They also did not get the memo that they were supposed to blow out Championship Subdivision opponent Furman.

Despite a slow start, the all-white-attired Hokies picked up their play in the third quarter. Kenny Lewis Jr. scored a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, and the Hokies beat the Paladins 24-7 Saturday afternoon at Lane Stadium.

“The good thing is we won,” said Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. “The other good thing is we made some plays in the third quarter to win. We as a football team know that we’ve got to get better. There’s no question about that.”

“I am very pleased with our effort today,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “I really thought our kids played extremely hard. We made some mistakes, but my hat’s off to our defense and our defensive staff because in the first half they were on the field a long, long time and they held a offense that way outweighed us by a good bit with a two-quarterback system to three points.”

Lewis was one of six players that ran the ball for the Hokies. He gained 55 yards on 13 carries and added 36 yards on three pass receptions to be Tech’s leading receiver.

“We’ve got to get the experience,” Lewis said. “We shy away from that word, saying experience is not a big issue, but it is. We’ve got to get the guys the reps and we’ve got to come together as one and we’ll be all right.”

Tyrod Taylor was the Hokies’ leading rusher, gaining 132 yards on 14 carries.

“We played really good,” Taylor said. “There are some things we need to work on. We’ll get it in practice for next week, just our execution and going out there and staying focused.”

While much of the focus was centered on the play of quarterbacks Taylor and Sean Glennon before, during and after the game, the men protecting them garnered as much attention. Although the line helped the Hokies gain 261 yards on the ground, they had trouble with pass protection and allowed four sacks.

“I think you’ve got to get better all the way around, run blocking and pass blocking,” Beamer said. “I think we’ve got to get better in all areas and that’s pretty much as a football team.”

Defensively, the Hokies held the Paladins to 127 total yards for the first three quarters before the second team entered in the fourth to finish the game.

“I thought our defense played pretty good,” Beamer said. “I thought it looked like we could get to the ball and the ball carrier’s going back and I thought it was pretty good.”

“We played good today,” said junior cornerback Stephan Virgil. “We held them out of the end zone long enough until the second group got in. But we got better from last week and that was our biggest goal, to get better from last week and we did a great job on tackling.”

The Hokies’ offense was ineffective in the first 30 minutes. Alhtough they gained 103 yards on the ground, they managed just 48 through the air. Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor alternated at quarterback. Glennon went 2-for-6 for 32 yards with an interception. Taylor went 2-for-2 for 16 yards.

Despite an initial roar when Taylor first entered the game, the crowd did not warm up to either quarterback. Instead, the most prolonged cheers during the first half rained on Subway spokesman Jared Fogle when he came out on the field during a timeout.

Beamer was not pleased with the way the fans treated Glennon.

“I don’t like that,” Beamer said. “I don’t like that for college kids to be treated that way. For me, it’s not the right thing to do. I love our fans. They hang in there with us and they’re hanging in there right now. We’re not playing great, but I still don’t think there’s a cause for that.”

Tech also let scoring opportunities slop away. Their first drive got to the Furman 3. But Lewis was throw for a two-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 gamble. They penetrated deep into Paladins territory again just before the half, creating a first-and-goal at the 10. But two runs gained five yards and Glennon’s third-down pass was incomplete. The Hokies had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Dustin Keys.

It could have been worse. With 8:57 left in the second quarter Jortdan Sorrells completed a long pass to a wide-open Stephone LaFrance for a 57-yard gain to the Hokies’ 4. But the play was called back because the Paladins had an ineligible receiver downfield. Virginia Tech dodged a bullet.

“It was a big play,” Lamb said. “At the time we had nothing on offense. That would’ve given us a little momentum, but we didn’t execute the play.”

The Hokies’ offense needed a spark. On their third play of the second half they got one from Taylor. The sophomore finally broke loose, scampering 50 yards to the Furman 14.

“It was actually a pass play,” Taylor recalled. “They brought a blitz called a house blitz which is one more than we can block. And I recognized it and they had man coverage so I knew that the defensive backs weren’t paying attention to me.

“I took off on the right side, cut it back. I tried to cut it back the last time on No. 18 (Masharn Austin) but he had a good angle on me and ran me out of bounds.”

“We needed it from the opening quarter,” Lewis said. “Tyrod supplied the spark and if we have come out with the same intensity we had in the second half in the first half, we’ll be all right.”

Three plays later, Glennon finished what Taylor started. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Lewis and the boulder finally started rolling downhill.

“I paid for (the catch) when they hit me in my ribs,” Lewis said. “When I looked over and saw that I was in the end zone, I was O.K.”

On Furman’s next offensive play, senior fullback Brantley Kendall fumbled and the Hokies recovered on the Paladins’ 31. Two plays later, Lewis burst through the line and ran 23 yards to the end zone.

“We came back out in the second half making the statement that we’re going to get a good push with the line and we’re going to run the ball,” Lewis said. “The line got a great push and coach always preaches to hit the hole, make one cut and get up field ‘cause at this level, you dance in the backfield, they’re going to get you.”

Next Furman possession, next turnover, next Tech touchdown. Virgil stepped in front of a pass by Jordan Sorrells, intercepting it and returning the ball to Furman’s 9.

“It was one of my keys,” Virgil said. “I saw the quarterback looking at me the whole time. He threw the ball. I just had to go up there and grab it, try to make a play.”

Two runs by Darren Evans got to pay dirt and the fans in white could do the Hokie Pokey with some peace of mind.

That peace will be tested next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Tech opens their ACC schedule at home against Georgia Tech.

“They’re a different kind of team,” Virgil said. “We’ll have to do a better job being on our keys just tackling the guy ’cause you never know who might have the ball the way they run the ball. So we just have to prepare even better than we did this week for a great game next week.”

*****

Tyrod gets a leg up on QB job

By LARRY EDENS

for the Daily Telegraph

BLACKSBURG, Va. — In the manner of ZZ Top, he’s got legs and he knows how to use them.

On Saturday against Furman, a day when the two-quarterback system was revived at Virginia Tech, sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor perhaps ran his way to the top of the depth chart and a greatly increased role as the Hokies’ quarterback.

With Virginia Tech clinging to a 3-0 lead over their Division 1-AA opponent just minutes into the third quarter, Taylor eluded a blitzing linebacker and scrambled 50 yards to the Furman 14-yard line.

The play was a spark in an otherwise listless offense to that point and set up the Hokies’ first touchdown. He was glad to be back on the field and making plays.

“We had a four-route (pass) play called and they brought in a house blitz which is one more player than we can block,” said Taylor, who rushed for 112 yards on only 14 carries.

“I saw the free guy coming and took off to the right. I cut across the field and was eventually run out of bounds.”

Three plays later, red shirt senior Sean Glennon completed a ten-yard touchdown pass to tailback Kenny Lewis.

It was the first of three touchdowns in a span of under three minutes and put the game away for the Hokies.

Although Glennon and Taylor split time evenly in the first half, Taylor saw most of the action after the break. Head coach Frank Beamer viewed the move simply as doing what it took to win the game.

“We came in with the idea of using both, but it got in to some of the things that Tyrod can do to help us out, and it did help us out,” Beamer said, who refused to address the platoon system behind center going forward until after next week’s game versus conference rival Georgia Tech.

“He had a couple of runs that put us in scoring situations and helped us win the football game.”

Glennon was visibly disappointed in the turn of events at his position and said so after the game.

“The first half we were splitting the reps pretty evenly, but the second half, for whatever reason, I didn’t get as many,” Glennon said, whose production was limited to 42 yards passing on three completions. He was sacked once and threw one interception.

“I wasn’t really told why (I didn’t play). Today was the first time a red flag went off in my head. I was told that this game would work like it did last year. I had no reason to believe that something like that would happen. I’m a little concerned now that it did.” To Glennon’s credit, he refused to harbor any ill feelings towards Taylor. At one point in the game, he was even booed by some of the fans in attendance. He took it in stride.

“They’re going to do what they’re going to do. (The booing) doesn’t bother me — I threw a touchdown pass three plays after they booed me,” said Glennon. “Hopefully that shut them up a little bit, but I know it’s not the whole crowd.”

Taylor was initially supposed to be red-shirted this season. Last week’s 27-22 loss to East Carolina changed Beamer’s mind about that and Taylor was put on active duty.

For Glennon, it was news he didn’t want to hear. When asked if he was being made a scapegoat, his answer was somewhat philosophical.

“It’s hard to make a lineman or linebacker a scapegoat. Fair or unfair, it falls on the leadership position and that’s the quarterback.”

Virginia Tech rushed for 261 yards in Saturday’s game, but Beamer admitted his team must improve in the passing game to be a force in the weeks ahead. Glennon hopes to improve in that department and in turn make his team better as a result.

“I’ve done well in the past against Georgia Tech and hopefully I can get out there next week and spark the passing game.”