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Monday, December 25, 2000
Georgia squashes Virginia The farewell address for Georgia's Jim Donnan worked well in yesterday's third annual Oahu Bowl. The same could not be said for Virginia's George Welsh.
Bulldogs own Oahu Bowl
Terence Edwards honors brother
for their fourth straight
postseason victory
No new coach yet for Virginia
By Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinFour turnovers by the Cavaliers resulted in Christmas coming early for the Bulldogs, who cruised to a 37-14 victory yesterday at Aloha Stadium. It was the fourth consecutive postseason win for Georgia in as many seasons and the fourth straight bowl loss for Virginia, dating back to a Peach Bowl victory over the Bulldogs in 1995.
Because Virginia didn't finish its finals until last Monday, the team didn't arrive in Honolulu until early Wednesday morning. The result was Welsh held light workouts all week, waiting for his team to adjust to island-style life.
In retrospect, that approach didn't work. Georgia, on the other hand, arrived on Monday, held three workouts in full pads and proceeded to pound the Cavaliers.
"In defense of the team, we did not have finals over with until Monday," Welsh said. "We had to get on a plane, it took 20 hours to get here. I think that made it tough for us to prepare for a physical Georgia football team."
The Bulldogs scored all their points in bunches. They managed the first three touchdowns in a span of three minutes, four seconds between the first and second quarters. And they scored two more TDs in 16 seconds in the fourth.
Two of the five touchdowns were off fumble recoveries. Safety Kentrell Curry recovered one in the end zone with 51 seconds left in the opening quarter. The second was a 4-yard return by safety Cap Burnett with 12:57 left -- when the game was already in the bag.
Georgia used the hard practice time to insert plays into the offense. Wideout Terrence Edwards was named the game's most valuable player for Georgia after displaying his running ability as the quarterback in the shotgun.
He carried the ball five times for 97 yards, including a 40-yard reverse for a touchdown after Georgia executed a successful fake punt pass play.
The talented sophomore also had a 57-yard quarterback keeper that set up Verron Haynes' touchdown from the 3 that gave Georgia a commanding 24-7 advantage early in the second quarter.
"We went out and played well for Coach D (Donnan)," said Edwards, who finished with 176 total yards.
"I played quarterback in high school and the coaches decided to work on a few things for this bowl game. Getting the win was a great way for our team to finish. We were very emotional out there."
Virginia was an emotional team as well. Welsh announced earlier this month that he was going to retire after 19 years as the Cavaliers' head coach.
Virginia started out well enough, but after senior quarterback Dan Ellis went down with a high ankle sprain barely five minutes into the game, things went downhill quickly after that.
The Cavaliers scored on a 14-yard lateral from backup quarterback Bryson Spinner to wideout Demetrius Dotson and on a 58-yard fumble recovery by Virginia MVP Byron Thweatt that cut Georgia's lead to 24-14 with 4:46 left in the third.
"I saw one of our big tackles try to fall on it, but it squirted out," Thweatt said. "I just scooped it up and started running.
"By the time I got to the 10, I was pretty tired. I wasn't sure I would make it."
Unfortunately for Virginia, Georgia had an answer for it by scoring twice in 16 seconds. The first of those two was a 21-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Cory Phillips to Damien Gary.
It was the first bowl win for Phillips as a starting quarterback. He stepped in for an injured Quincy Carter after the loss at Florida. The Bulldogs were 3-2 when he was under center.
"It's been a tough situation for everybody, but this win puts some positive light on it," Phillips said. "We had a good week of preparation. We were focused. There were a lot of things we could have got caught up in, but we just had to go out and execute.
"It feels great to get a win for Coach D."
Phillips hit 22 of 35 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown. Spinner countered by completing 14 of 22 passes for 153 yards and two interceptions.
"I look at this game as a great learning experience for me and the other young guys on this team," said Spinner, who was one of 11 underclassmen starting yesterday's game.
"We wanted to give Coach Welsh a great retirement present, but unfortunately, it didn't work out that way."
Georgia 37, Virginia 14 Oahu Bowl
First Quarter
Georgia 17 7 0 13 37 Virginia 0 7 7 0 14 Geo--FG Bennett 35, 4:30.
Geo--Edwards 40 run (Bennett kick), 1:12.
Geo--Curry recovered fumble in end zone (Bennett kick), :51.Second Quarter
Vir--Dotson 14 run (Greene kick), 14:15.
Geo--Hynes 3 run (Bennett kick), 13:08.Third Quarter
Vir--Thweatt 58 fumble return (Greene kick), 4:46.
Fourth Quarter
Geo--Gary 21 pass from Cory (Bennett kick), 13:13.
Geo--Burnett 4 fumble return (kick failed), 12:57.A--24,187.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Georgia, Edwards 5-97, Smith 9-37, Millicam 8-29, Hynes 4-14, R.Brown 1-1, Mitchell 1-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus 2), Gary 1-(minus 3), Phillips 2-(minus 6), J.Brown 2-(minus 9). Virginia, Womack 15-48, Spinner 9-27, Foreman 9-27, Schaub 1-16, Dotson 1-14, Mason 1-5, Ellis 1-3, Team 0-3, Abrams 1-1.
PASSING--Georgia, Phillips 22-35-1-213, Edwards 1-2-0-(minus 4), Millicam 1-1-0-23, Gary 1-1-0-9. Virginia, Spinner 14-22-2-153, Schaub 6-10-0-47, Ellis 2-3-0-26, Foreman 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING--Georgia, Edwards 8-79, Gary 4-51, McMichael 4-39, Mitchell 3-35, Robinson 3-6, Phillips 1-23, Smith 1-12, R.Brown 1-(minus 4). Virginia, McGrew 4-40, Baber 4-38, Dotson 4-32, Womack 3-3, Luzar 2-9, Mason 1-78, McMullen 1-18, Washington 1-3, Ward 1-3, Foreman 1-2.
Alohabowl.net
Terence Edwards had his Christmas angel. ‘Other’ Edwards
wins one for his
‘brother’ EdwardsGeorgia's Terence Edwards excels
in Oahu Bowl, while playing his heart
out in honor of older sibling RobertBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinOn his taped left wrist, written in black felt pen ink faded by sweat, were the words: "Rob -- #47 -- I love U man."
Rob is Robert Edwards, the former Georgia and New England Patriots running back who suffered severe ligament and nerve damage to his knee while going up for a pass in the 1999 NFL Rookie Beach Bowl at Fort DeRussy.
The injury was so severe that it not only curtailed Edwards' career after a brilliant rookie season, it nearly cost him his leg. Doctors at Straub Hospital saved it from amputation.
The loss of Edwards, whose contract was worth $5.7 million at the time of the injury, created major problems for the Patriots' offense and the club has yet to recover. He is still listed as No. 47 on the roster and has been engaged in intense rehabilitation to make a comeback in 2001.
For the Edwards' family and the little brother who looked up to Robert, the traumatic mishap in a meaningless televised flag football game was devastating.
Terence can't and won't forget Robert's pain.
"I keep this right here on my wrist at all times," said Edwards, a multi-talented Georgia sophomore named offensive MVP of yesterday's Oahu Bowl. "I play for him because he's not able to play."
Edwards, who said he will reunite with Robert today in Washington County, Ga., will present his big brother with a giant trophy to show him just how hard he played in his honor in yesterday's 37-14 victory over Virginia.
The 6-foot, 165-pound split end/quarterback earned it for his 97 yards rushing, 79 yards receiving and one touchdown (a 40-yard run) in front of some 10,000 fans at Aloha Stadium.
All of his rushing yards and 51 of his receiving yards came in the first half as Georgia built a commanding 24-7 lead.
The rushing game was extraordinary for Edwards who has led Georgia in receiving the past two seasons. He entered the game with just 22 yards rushing on the year.
"It was just the right time for it," said Edwards, who gained 57 of his ground yards in a quarterback sweep out of the shotgun to the Virginia 3 in the second quarter.
"I think he broke three tackles on that play," said Virginia linebacker Byron Thweatt, the game's defensive MVP.
"He's a very athletic guy who can run the open field but he's truly something on turf," said outgoing Georgia head coach Jim Donnan.
Edwards, an all-around athlete, was a superb high school quarterback at Washington County High School who also played defense.
A three-year letterman in prep basketball, he played a half season for the Bulldogs on the hardwood in 1999 and might pick up the basketball again.
He said it was during a basketball road trip in February of that year that he learned of Robert's terrible injury.
"It's in my mind that my brother got hurt in this state at a beach right down the road,'' he said, adding that he derives incentive from the dark memory.
"But we try not to talk about his injury because it's one of those things that happen to people. We just leave it in God's hands. We talk about future more than we talk about past."
Edwards said that he was driven near the spot where his brother went down.
"But I didn't get a chance to get out and go to it," he said.
How would he feel if he had?
"I would get kinda teary-eyed because that's where my brother coulda lost his leg, coulda lost his football career."
Edwards said what happened to Robert gave him a new appreciation for his ability to play the game.
"You can't take this game for granted," he said.
"You can go down at any time. You have to just love every minute you can play."
University of Virginia athletic director Terry Holland denied yesterday that Florida State offensive coordinator Mark Richt had been offered the head coaching job for the Cavaliers football team. No replacement yet
for Virginia coachBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinRicht was considered the leading candidate, and according to a report out of Florida yesterday, he hadn't decided whether to take the position that opened after George Welsh retired.
"I can't comment on that specific story," Holland said prior to the third annual Oahu Bowl between No. 24 Georgia and Virginia. "I can tell you that right now our search is still in progress. The job has not been offered to anyone.
"We're going to come back after the Christmas holidays after we get back from Hawaii and we're going to start focusing on our candidates with the main focus being on the staffs they can assemble. And everyone we've talked to is still a candidate, as far as we're concerned."
Holland wouldn't comment on whether Boston College head coach Tom O'Brien is a candidate for the position. He served as Virginia's quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator and line coach for Welsh from 1991-96, before taking his current position with the Eagles.
"We have not asked permission from Boston College to interview Coach O'Brien," Holland said. "We have only talked to coordinators. We're not commenting on Coach O'Brien being a possibility."
O'Brien, who is coaching in today's Aloha Bowl between Boston College and Arizona State, said last Tuesday that he hadn't been contacted by Holland.
"I understand why people are talking about me as a possible candidate at Virginia because of my ties to Coach Welsh, who has been a tremendous influence on my life, and the fact I coached at Virginia. I wish he had waited to retire, so I wouldn't have to deal with this right now," O'Brien said.
"My main concern is winning a bowl game against a good Arizona State football team that has something to prove. We have something to prove ourselves after that disappointing loss at Miami. You're only as good as your last game. And I know our guys want to come out here on Monday and wash away that bad taste."
Richt also has been linked as a possible candidate at Georgia. The Bulldogs fired head coach Jim Donnan on Dec. 4. Richt served as an assistant for Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden for 15 seasons. Richt has been the offensive coordinator since 1994 and has helped develop Heisman Trophy quarterbacks Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke.
Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley said he would have a new coach named by Jan. 1. The other top candidate is former Dallas Cowboys coach and current Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.
Injury update
There were some minor bumps and bruises in yesterday's game, but the one serious injury was a killer for Virginia.Senior quarterback Dan Ellis went down with an ankle sprain with a little more than nine minutes left in the first quarter and was unable to return.
"This isn't how I pictured my last game at Virginia," said Ellis, who will need at least six weeks of rest. "I kind of slipped on the turf and then a whole bunch of guys piled on top of me. I knew it was bad right away."
Freshman Bryson Spinner came in for Ellis, who completed two of three passes for 26 yards. He also had the one carry for 3 yards that resulted in his early departure.
"Sure, that hurt us," coach Welsh said. "Some of our young guys mishandled the football. I don't think I've ever been in a game where the two teams returned three fumbles for touchdowns. Unfortunately, we only got one of those."
Attendance woes
As small as yesterday's crowd was for the third annual Oahu Bowl -- there may have been 12,000 in Aloha Stadium for kickoff -- it could be even worse today as all the Georgia fans head home.The announced crowd of 24,187 includes tickets sold for the Aloha Bowl, which kicked off this morning at 10:30. Much like last year's small gathering for Arizona State and Wake Forest, it's likely there will be more of the same today.
"We're going to look at doing some things differently next year," Aloha Bowl executive director Fritz Rohlfing said. "We're going to discuss it with everyone at our meetings early next year and see where it takes us."
Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin
