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Virginia Comes Alive In Second Half, Defeats UNC, 17-6
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Oct. 28, 2000
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Virginia coach George Welsh used a littlerazzle-dazzle to wake up a slumbering offense in a 17-6 victory over NorthCarolina on Saturday.
With Virginia clinging to a 7-6 lead late in the third quarter, TyreeForeman threw a 22-yard halfback pass to Kevin Coffey. On the next play,receiver Tavon Mason took a reverse 22 yards for a touchdown to give Virginia(5-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 14-6 lead with 1:23 left in the third.
Virginia made it 17-6 after Ljubomir Stamenich sacked Curry on fourth-and-2early in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers took over near midfield, and BillyMcMullen made a beautiful, one-handed 44-yard catch to set up a 32-yard fieldgoal by David Greene with 11:20 remaining.
The Cavalier defense gave up yardage but no touchdowns. Defensive back DevonSimmons single-handedly stopped two Carolina drives in the third quarter,picking off Ronald Curry’s pass in the Virginia end zone and later sackingCurry on a third down. That forced Carolina (3-5, 1-5) to settle for a 39-yardfield goal by Jeff Reed to make it 7-6.
The Tar Heels scored on their opening drive with a little help from Virginiaand the officials. A roughing the kicker call on Demetrius Dotson extended thedrive, and what appeared to be a backward pass recovered by the Cavaliers wasruled incomplete. The 16-play drive ended on a 26-yard field goal by Jeff Reed.
Two other first-half field-goal attempts by Reed, of 47 and 48 yards, wereblocked.
Virginia struggled to muster any offense in the first half. Dan Ellis,returning to the starting lineup after a pulled hamstring three weeks ago, wassacked on the opening play of three different drives, twice by Julius Peppers.He finished with four sacks.
The Cavaliers’ only first-half score came on a 13-yard TD run by AntwoineWomack on a nine-play drive that included a 31-yard run by Womack. Womackaccounted for 59 of Virginia’s 79 first-half yards, and finished with 94 yardson 13 carries.