Ending With a Bang

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Nov. 18, 2006

by Peter Goergen

Charlottesville, VA — In their last game at Scott Stadium, the Virginia senior class played in a way that was emblematic of their time as Wahoos, earning a 17-7 victory over the Miami Hurricanes.

“It means a lot to us,” senior tailback Jason Snelling said of the win. “Five years here, it seems like we’ve been here a long time. It went by fast for us, but being able to go out like this feels really good.”

The 25 fourth- and fifth-year players on UVa’s roster were honored in a ceremony that took place before the start of today’s game.

“To me that hits close to home, because these are guys that when I came here, I looked up to and I still look up to them,” said junior defensive end Chris Long. “Even being a captain, I look up to every guy who’s going to leave.”

As he has for the past four years, All-ACC performer Marcus Hamilton led the way for a Cavalier defense that held Miami to just 262 yards of total offense. Excluding one 77-yard completion, the `Hoos secondary, which features seniors Hamilton, Ryan Best, Benjamin Parziale and Tony Franklin, limited `Canes sophomore quarterback Kirby Freeman to 10 completions on 17 attempts for just 75 yards.

Both Hamilton and Franklin totaled four tackles for the game, and fittingly, Hamilton intercepted a Freeman pass late in the fourth quarter to seal the deal for the Cavaliers.

“It was representative of not only of himself and his career, but representative of his fifth-year class that’s meant so much to this team,” Groh said. “That’s the class that got it started here and led us through this time here. There are a lot of young players on this team who had them to use as an example, the Marcus Hamiltons, the Jason Snellings, the Tony Franklins, the Chris Olsens. It certainly was nice that a member of his class could do it.”

Snelling carried the flag once more for the Virginia offense, as he gained 57 hard-fought yards on 28 carries and caught six passes for 61 yards. Fellow senior Fontel Mines caught three passes for 23 yards. Freshman quarterback Jameel Sewell once again showed his versatility, rushing for 41 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, while sophomore wide receiver Kevin Ogletree gained 38 yards on two reverses. The three Cavaliers combined for 136 yards, marking the first time this season that a team has rushed for over 100 yards against the stout Miami defense.

“Jason is a workhorse,” said Sewell. “When you’ve got a back that you can just hand the ball off to and let him go and break tackles, even when stuff isn’t clean and open, it makes us confident to get him the ball more and let him keep working. I believed we could do it, and we did it.”

The victory kept UVa bowl-eligible heading into next week’s showdown in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech.

This senior class contributed so much not only to their coaches, teammates and fans, but also to the community as a whole. One particular relationship that the seniors have fostered off the field came to the forefront today when Groh invited eight-year-old Lucas Bolen to be with him at the end of his post-game press conference.

“We gave game balls to all the fifth year seniors, but Lucas was the first guy to get a game ball today,” said Coach Groh. “Lucas is a young man who has had to come over here a number of times and spend some time at the UVa hospital. A couple of years ago, Lucas, the members of that [graduating] class, Wali [Lundy], Marcus and the players that are left over, they all became family. Lucas and his family make many trips over here, and the players make trips over there going to his school and his birthday party. We talk about how hard the players have fought, but Lucas has to fight that hard every day. We’re very proud of him and we love him.”

Stories like this define what the Cavalier senior class has contributed to UVa and its football program.

“They’re awesome,” freshman defensive lineman Jeffrey Fitzgerald said of the seniors. “There are a lot of role models up there, a lot of people I look up to. We’re not losing many players, but we’re still going to lose a lot with their impact on the team. I’m going to miss those guys out there.”