Prior to the kickoff of easily the most important Commonwealth Cup matchup to date, there was a rumor floating around that some Hokie fans coming to Scott Stadium planned to (in unison apparently) cue up their entrance music on their phones as Virginia Tech took the field.
On its face the idea is patently ridiculous and silly, of course. Executing such a stunt would require the loudest smartphone speakers known to man. But still, it underscored a truth that has been hard for Wahoo fans to stomach: Their stadium has for many years be taken over by their bitter rivals.
Following UVa’s 39-30 comeback win over then-No. 23 Virginia Tech, though, that ghost has been chased away.
It took some impressive plays by Bryce Perkins and the offense, some well-timed sacks by Zane Zandier/Aaron Faumui, Matt Gahm, and then Mandy Alonso (which caused a fumble Eli Hanback recovered for a TD). But eventually, the clock struck zeroes and fans on every side of David A. Harrison III Field rushed in with impressive speed.
It was almost like that celebration had been some 15 years in the making…
The game itself was nip and tuck, as rivalry contests usually are. That hasn’t been the case in this series of late, of course. On the heels of last year’s heartbreaking loss in overtime, Perkins and Co. gave fans plenty to be excited about early and even more to be excited about late.
The Hokies trailed by a score at the break and then came out in the third with their foot on the gas. Five quick plays and 75 yards later, it was tied. Three possessions later, Tech had the lead following an eight-play, 71-yard jaunt.
With 4:42 left in the quarter, the feeling in the stadium was unmistakeable. Having gone to VT/UVa games my whole life and having covered them every year for a decade, I knew it all too well myself. They may not have been using their cell phones but the Hokies cheers echoed.
It was happening again. Right on time.
But then Perkins hit Joe Reed on a 42-yard bomb. Five plays later, the thing was tied again after No. 3 found Richmond native Billy Kemp for a 25-yard touchdown.
Against that vaunted “Lunch Pail Defense,” UVa put together back-to-back drives of 79 and 75 yards to keep pace and, after Tech went up a field goal with 10:58 left, the Cavaliers followed suit once again.
And that’s when everything changed. As the Hokies drove, the game in the balance, Noah Taylor snagged an interception just as VT seemed poised to cross midfield.
It took a 48-yard FG by Brian Delaney to give the home team the lead for good but the energy was different. Even as UVa took the field needing one more stop to secure the win, there was palpable energy. The sea change was happening.
And then the first sack. And the second. And the third and the TD and absolute pandemonium.
Watch the replay. Notice the way the camera shakes. Has the place ever been that loud?
That it was in that same end zone where some 24 years ago Warrick Dunn was stopped short of the goal line seemed poetic. Mere feet away from where that play went down, so too did the recovery by Hanback (a life-long Wahoo fan, for the record, who gave his team and his school a play that will be the stuff of legend).
If there was any doubt about what was happening, that play and that defensive stand expelled it. I remember looking around, noticing the jubilation in the stands. Folks hugging and high fiving. Kids who had never seen this happen in their lifetime finally getting to watch it all unfold and thinking through how to get down on the field once the party started.
I remember being one of those kids in 1989, which I’m pretty sure was my first time seeing the Hoos win this game in person. I didn’t see it in person again until 2003 nor since.
But then there was Friday which, had I not just watched UVa win a national championship in Minneapolis, would’ve been the biggest game I’ve ever covered.
The meaning, though, is everywhere. It’s in the way you, right now dear reader, don’t have to worry about Hokies texting or calling. You don’t have to worry about grocery store run-ins or Tech “friends” on social media ribbing you. For days, you have enjoyed the silence. And that silence won’t go anywhere anytime soon.
Make no mistake, this win wasn’t just for the guys on the roster or the coaches who carried the pressure of 15 losses in a row. It was for all of the former players and all of the fans too.
Setting aside what’s ahead this week in Charlotte, that win defined not just this season but a program that continues what Bronco Mendenhall likes to refer to as “unbroken growth.” The Hoos had goals this year and in one afternoon, they check two of them off of the list.
No matter what happens in the ACC Championship Game or thereafter in Miami or wherever UVa goes for its bowl, Friday was the end of one thing.
“Yeah,” a clearly emotional Mendenhall said on the field amid the celebration. “That’s over.”
Whatever comes next will be different in large part because of what just happened. But regardless, the proverbial monkey is off their back. The relief has come. The silence has arrived.
Sandman may have entered on Friday but he left with an emphatic L.
And Scott Stadium will never forget it.
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