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Virginia vs. East Carolina
Oct. 11, 2008
Head Coach Al Groh Quotes
On the team:
“The players have a lot of unity and a lot of commitment to each other and that continues to develop right now. I think we took another step forward to forge our personality today.”
On the fake field goal for a touchdown
“All the credit goes to (Special Teams Coach) Bob Diaco, it was his idea, and to Scott Deke and John Phillips for the execution. It clearly got us a touchdown there which was much more valuable than having kicked a field goal.”
On the ups and downs of the game
“We had some sticky points in the game today. We got behind early but Marc Verica and his teammates showed good grit in those types of circumstances. They didn’t give in and in each case we straightened it out.”
On playing aggressively on offense:
“Points win games so in several circumstances we wanted to keep going and try to go for some points. We had some good momentum on offense and we trust the defense so we thought we’d trust the players. They really stepped up for us.”
On the team’s progression:
“It’s about growth. Now Marc (Verica) has been in four games, we have young players who are gaining experience, Cedric (Peerman) is back and going for us and everyone is sticking together seeing that there is going to be light at the end. We’re into the tunnel and we’re seeing some real progress.”
On the big plays:
“Cedric Peerman clearly stood out on those big plays. Great effort plays that showed what kind of great speed he has but when a guy gets to run that far, there are a lot of awards to pass out. There were an awful lot of good blocks to get him around the end there.”
On the Cavalier defense:
“On third downs and overall, they kept us in the game and fought it out hard in some tough circumstances. They clearly kept us in the game in the fourth quarter when the game could have fallen apart but that’s how a team works, you pass the baton to each other and in today’s case, the defense stepped up when they needed to do so which put us in a commanding position.”
More on the Cavalier Defense:
“The pass rush was good and the coverage was good and our sub-defenses were effective and they enabled us to get our offense back on the field.”
On the offensive line:
“We talk about the growth of the offensive line. With two freshmen there is a lot of growth available at that position. Clearly those kids are different than they were six weeks ago.”