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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
BOSTON (AP) -- Michael Vick had a tough time connecting with
receivers, so he took off running on a record-setting day that put
him firmly out front in the Heisman Trophy race.
|  | | Michael Vick took a pounding, but he also delivered with 210 yards rushing and three TDs to carry Virginia Tech to victory. |
Despite a slightly bruised left knee and a passing game that
just wouldn't click, Vick ran for a career-best 210 yards and three
touchdowns as No. 4 Virginia Tech held off Boston College 48-34 on
Saturday.
It wasn't Vick's most artistic game, but he still set a school
rushing record for quarterbacks thanks to a darting and dashing
82-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter.
"We have two plays when he's in the game," Hokies coach Frank
Beamer said, "the one we call and the one he winds up turning it
into."
Vick did plenty of improvising against the Eagles (2-2, 0-2 Big
East) and might have delivered his Heisman highlight with just over
11 minutes left.
With the Hokies (4-0, 2-0) ahead 42-27, Vick faced a
third-and-12. He dropped back, eluded a defender at the line,
jumped over another player and then took off for the end zone.
By the time he reached the 10, cornerback Lenny Walls was
waiting. But Vick faked right, then left as Walls spun around and
managed to grab only a facemask as the quarterback ran into the end
zone with 11:04 left. Game over.
"I just pulled it down and ran," Vick said. "I saw the middle
open. After that, it was just me being me."
Walls was amazed.
"It's nothing like I've seen before," Walls said. "He's one
of a kind."
Beamer ranked the run "up there in the top 10," but added Vick
had a few eye-openers two weeks ago against Rutgers.
"Those are plays where you say, `Gee whiz, how'd he do that?' "
Beamer said.
Vick's 210 yards on 16 carries was the third highest in Hokies
history behind running backs Kenny Lewis, who had 223 yards against
VMI in 1978, and Roscoe Coles, who had 214 against Tulsa in 1976.
The previous quarterback record was set in 1963 by Bob Schweickert,
who ran for 204 yards against Richmond.
Early on, Vick was visibly upset over dropped balls, poor passes
and the pounding he was taking from the Eagles' defense.
"It kind of upset me, but it made me elevate my game," Vick
said. "I'll bounce back next week."
Nonetheless, the 6-foot-1, 212-pound left-hander overcame his
frustrations and led the Hokies on three second-quarter scoring
drives that turned a tie game into a 35-20 halftime lead.
While his running was on, his passing wasn't. He completed just
5-of-17 passes for 61 yards and was intercepted once. He also lost
one of two fumbles.
Lee Suggs also had a big day for the Hokies, with 22 carries for
145 yards and two TDs. Virginia Tech picked up 420 of its 481 yards
on the ground
The Eagles, despite missing three starters on defense, never
quit. Tim Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes to Jamal Burke,
Cedric Washington scored on a 15-yard run and William Green had TD
runs of 1- and 12 yards.
But every time the Eagles made a move, Vick had an answer.
"You can't prepare for Michael Vick because you don't know what
he's going to do," BC coach Tom O'Brien said. "That's the beauty
of his game. I've never seen anyone run like him. Maybe more
athletic or faster teams can get to him. I don't know but we
couldn't."
The Hokies took to a 42-20 lead on Suggs' second TD -- a 10-yard
run in the third quarter, and the Eagles scored two TDs in the
fourth quarter.
With the score 14-all early in the second quarter, Vick threw a
pass toward the sideline and tight end Browning Wynn cut inside.
Vick bent over in disgust at the foulup. That's when he took
matters into his own hands -- and feet.
On the next play, Vick faked out three defenders for 33 yards,
but got up favoring his left knee. He sat on the field at the
40-yard line flexing the knee as team trainers attended to him.
After a few words with offensive coordinator Rickey Bustle, Vick
was back under center.
He fumbled, but running back Jarrett Ferguson recovered. On the
next play, Suggs took a pitch from Vick and ran 24 yards for the
go-ahead touchdown.
The Hokies forced the Eagles to punt and it wasn't long before
Vick extended the lead to 28-14. First, Vick spotted a wide-open
Bob Slowikowski at the BC 30 but the tight end dropped the ball. On
the next play, Vick jumped over a teammate on his way for a 26-yard
run. Four plays later, Vick sprinted past the BC defense on a
26-yard TD run with 6:09 left in the half.
Boston College cut it to 28-20 on Vick's second fumble. Safety
Ralph Parent recovered at the Hokies' 33, Hasselbeck ran 28 yards
to the 2 and then Green scored on a 1-yard dive.
Vick got that one back in a hurry. After a long pass -- 60 yards
in the air -- went just off the fingertips of Andre Davis in the end
zone, Vick squeezed through the BC line for 9 yards to the 40. Four
plays and a pass interference call later, Vick ran 11 yards for his
second TD.
The Hokies jumped to 14-0 lead in the first seven minutes.
Ferguson scored on a 1-yard run on the game's opening drive. Davis
then fielded a punt by Kevin McMyler, went to his right, then
reversed his field and raced 71 yards for a TD.
Davis became the first Virginia Tech player to return two punts
for TDs in a season since Frank Loria returned three for scores in
1966.
Washington, who left the game with about five minutes left in
the second quarter with a knee injury, scored in the first quarter
on a 15-yard run and Hasselbeck threw a 6-yard TD pass to Burke.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Virginia Tech Clubhouse
Boston College Clubhouse
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