Virginia rolls along

By Shane Mettlen
Sports Editor
CHARLOTTESVILLE - Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt made it clear from the start Saturday he was going to pull out all the stops at Virginia. Jameel Sewell and Cedric Peerman made sure that wouldn't matter.

Sewell and Peerman each got off to hot starts to lead the Cavaliers to a 44-14 victory. Sewell finished with 169 yards passing, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 64 yards and avoided being sacked. Peerman carried 24 times for 87 yards and two scores and made four catches for 44 yards in the Cavs fourth consecutive victory.

The Panthers (2-3) surprised just about everyone at Scott Stadium with an on-side kick to open the game, but the bouncing ball struck a Pitt player before it had gone 10 yards and U.Va. (4-1) began its first drive at the Panthers' 39-yard line. The U.Va. players were ready for whatever Pitt had planned and the opening kickoff set the tone.

"We're always expecting tricky plays," Virginia tight end Jonathan Stupar said. "I think it surprised the fans, but we were ready."

By the end of the first quarter Sewell had thrown for three touchdowns and Peerman had rushed for another. In all the Wahoos produced 122 yards of offense in the game's first 15 minutes.

The only thing preventing Virginia from putting up ridiculous statistics was fantastic field position. A grand total of one play from scrimmage was run in U.Va. territory in the first quarter. That was when Vic Hall returned a punt 22 yards to the 49-yard line, where the Cavs started its second scoring drive.

"It was a great start for us," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "The first quarter was story of what field position does during a game. Once it's there you have to execute."

In the first quarter Groh's team certainly did, but Virginia was less dominant in the second quarter. The Cavaliers put together a sustained 70-yard drive that ended in a 23-yard field goal from Chris Gould, but a muffed punt return by Vic Hall set up a Pittsburgh touchdown to make it 30-7 at the half.

The Cavs' offense became more and more conservative as time ticked away in the third quarter, but defense held steady. The Panthers managed a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, but Virginia opened the offense back up in the final period and answered with a 13-yard TD run from Peerman to make it 37-14 with 12 minutes remaining.

By the time Hall, the holder, ran a fake field goal attempt in for a touchdown at the 5:25 mark the Hoos could have been accused on running up the score. But Groh said the fake was planned before the game even began.

"We had gone into the game feeling that the first field goal in a certain field position, we were going to go for it," Groh said after the game.

The 44-point outburst brought about memories of the high flying Virginia offenses led by current Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the early part of the decade. At any rate, it was a far cry from the three-point performance in the season opener at Wyoming.

Now with four straight wins, the Cavs head to Middle Tennessee State next week for another non-conference tilt, and the U.Va. players believe this road trip will go better than the visit to Wyoming.

"You can't help but have a better attitude when you are winning," tight end Tom Santi said. "It's a lot of fun when you are winning."

Shane Mettlen can be reached 825-0771, ext. 127 or at .