North Carolina State University Athletics
Jones, Cavaliers Whip Mistake-Prone Pack
10/16/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
The ACC has two Heisman Trophy candidates---and one of them isn't Florida State's Peter Warrick. The irrepressible Thomas Jones ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns, leading Virginia (4-3, 3-2 ACC) to a 47-26 victory over NC State (4-3, 1-3 ACC) in front of a rabid crowd of 49, 507 at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night.
While Jones' running made a huge difference, it was three Wolfpack turnovers in the 3rd quarter that ultimately turned this game Uva's way. Leading 19-10 and moving the football, the Pack was on the verge of possibly taking control of the game when running back Rahshon Spikes coughed the ball up at his own 48.
Six plays later, Jones bulled his way into the end zone to bring Virginia within two. The Cavaliers then took the lead for good following a Jamie Barnette interception on a ball that went in and out of the hands of Wolfpack fullback Derrick Roberts. Virginia linebacker Yubrenal Isabelle grabbed the deflection and returned it to the NC State 16.
A seven yard run by Jones made it 25-19. Following a Wolfpack punt, Cavaliers quarterback Dan Ellis connected with Billy McMullen on a 41 yard scoring pass. The second two-point conversion of the period put Virginia up 33-19. Moments later, the Wolfpack finished its flurry of turnovers when a Barnette fumble was recovered by Isabelle at the 32.
The Wahoos then finished off a 30 point quarter when Ellis fired 12-yard TD pass to Ahmad Hawkins on a slant pattern. That made it 40-19, Virginia.
"We gave them those three turnovers and couldn't overcome it," said NC State head coach Mike O'Cain. "Those things just kill you. Not only do they give the other team good field position, they also break your back. They just sap the energy out of you."
Overcoming a 21 point deficit was probably too much to ask for an NC State offense that lost receiver Ryan Hamrick to a broken right fibula in the first quarter. The other starter, Chris Coleman, was already out of the line-up after suffering a dislocated elbow last weekend.
"Losing Ryan Hamrick left us with two true freshman receivers and a redshirt freshman receiver," O'Cain said. "As long as Koren Robinson and Bryan Peterson were in there we were alright. Julius Patterson's only been over there for two weeks. We were very limited what we could offensively, but you've got to find a way. We've got to play the hand that's dealt us."
Jones certainly found a way. The senior's rushing total on the day pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive year.
"There's no doubt that he's the best back in the ACC," said Wolfpack linebacker Clayton White. "He also showed today that sometimes you can have a wall set-up against him and he can still turn it into a seven or eight-yard gain."
Jones averaged 5.8 yards per carry on the day. He was complimented by up and down quarterback Dan Ellis, who was up on Saturday. The junior hit 13-25 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
The Cavaliers opened the scoring on a 34-yard scoring pass from Ellis to Billy McMullen with 6:47 remaining in the opening period.
NC State responded with a six play, 77--yard drive that ended on Spikes' eight -yard run. Following a Virginia field goal, the Pack grabbed its first lead on a 16-yard pass from Barnette to tight end Tramayne Simmons. The conversion failed when NC State tried a fake off of its 'swinging gate' formation.
The Wolfpack moved it out to 19-10 on Barnette's 49 yard pass to Bryan Peterson, who juked a Virginia cornerback on the play and scampered most of the distance on his own. The extra point attempt was blocked. The Peterson touchdown concluded the first half scoring.
In the second half, the combination of Jones' running and the three NC State turnovers pretty much told the story.
"The turnovers were the difference, obviously," said Virginia head coach George Welsh. "We were due for a couple of bounces our way. We haven't had hardly any this year. We thought we could run, but I didn't think we would run for that much. If we can do that and Ellis can stay in the groove, we can be an excellent offensive football team."
Virginia rolled up 514 total yards in picking up its third ACC win of the season. NC State had 363 yards of total offense.
Despite the loss of Hamrick, Barnette was 11 of 28 for 263 yards and two touchdowns.
