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Sept. 18, 1999
By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – There’s nothing like a visit by Wake Forest whenVirginia is hurting and in need of a confidence booster.
Thomas Jones ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night and DanEllis finally played like he was expected to as the Cavaliers bounced back froma humbling loss at Clemson with a 35-7 victory against the Demon Deacons.
It was the 16th consecutive victory against Wake Forest for the Cavaliers(2-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which tied for the second-longest suchstreak in league history. It also was the Cavaliers’ 13th straight victory in aleague home-opener.
Wake Forest (1-1, 0-1) hasn’t beaten Virginia since a 38-34 triumph inWinston-Salem, N.C., in 1983, coach George Welsh’s second year with theCavaliers.
Jones scored on runs of 15, 2 and 12 yards, freshman receiver Tavon Masonscored from 31 yards on a double reverse and Ellis hit Kevin Coffey from 4yards out on a third-and-goal play to make it 28-0 just 1:09 before halftime.
Ellis, who struggled in his first two games, seemed to build confidence witha series of short passes early and finished 19-for-25 for 220 yards. He wasintercepted once, and had several passes dropped by his own receivers.
And the Cavaliers’ defense, down six starters because of suspensions andinjuries and reeling after allowing 447 yards in Death Valley, had littletrouble with the run-oriented Demon Deacons and star tailback Morgan Kane.
Kane, who rushed for 211 yards in Wake Forest’s 34-15 opening victoryagainst Army, managed just 65 on 20 attempts. He had 12 yards in the secondhalf.
Trailing 28-7 at halftime after a six-play, 80-yard drive that took just 38seconds before the half, Wake Forest tried to pass its way back into the gameafter the intermission, but the Cavaliers defense rose to the challenge.
Ben Sankey, who directed the late first-half scoring drive, capping it witha 25-yard pass to Jammie Deese, finished 11-for-21 for 137 yards. He wasintercepted once, after driving the Deacons to Virginia’s 13 late in the thirdquarter.
Heralded freshman C.J. Leak also saw action in the fourth quarter for WakeForest, but botched a pitch to Kane on his first play, resulting in a 14-yardloss, and was sacked for minus 2 yards by Devon Battle on his second play.