University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
North Carolina Falls In Charlottesville, 17-6.
October 28, 2000 | Football
Oct. 28, 2000
By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia coach George Welsh used a little razzle-dazzle to wake up a slumbering offense in a 17-6 victory over North Carolina on Saturday.
With Virginia clinging to a 7-6 lead late in the third quarter, Tyree Foreman threw a 22-yard halfback pass to Kevin Coffey. On the next play, receiver Tavon Mason took a reverse 22 yards for a touchdown to give Virginia (5-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 14-6 lead with 1:23 left in the third.
Virginia made it 17-6 after Ljubomir Stamenich sacked Curry on fourth-and-2 early in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers took over near midfield, and Billy McMullen made a beautiful, one-handed 44-yard catch to set up a 32-yard field goal by David Greene with 11:20 remaining.
The Cavalier defense gave up yardage but no touchdowns. Defensive back Devon Simmons single-handedly stopped two Carolina drives in the third quarter, picking off Ronald Curry's pass in the Virginia end zone and later sacking Curry on a third down. That forced Carolina (3-5, 1-5) to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Jeff Reed to make it 7-6.
The Tar Heels scored on their opening drive with a little help from Virginia and the officials. A roughing the kicker call on Demetrius Dotson extended the drive, and what appeared to be a backward pass recovered by the Cavaliers was ruled incomplete. The 16-play drive ended on a 26-yard field goal by Jeff Reed.
Two other first-half field-goal attempts by Reed, of 47 and 48 yards, were blocked.
Virginia struggled to muster any offense in the first half. Dan Ellis, returning to the starting lineup after a pulled hamstring three weeks ago, was sacked on the opening play of three different drives, twice by Julius Peppers. He finished with four sacks.
The Cavaliers' only first-half score came on a 13-yard TD run by Antwoine Womack on a nine-play drive that included a 31-yard run by Womack. Womack accounted for 59 of Virginia's 79 first-half yards, and finished with 94 yards on 13 carries.
