Cavaliers show promise, try to cap rough season with elusive victory over their rival
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Virginia rolled off a number of firsts in its 30-27 win over visiting Duke last Saturday at Scott Stadium:
■ First home win over a Power Five team in coach Tony Elliott’s two seasons.
■ First home ACC victory of the Elliott era.
■ First triumph with freshman Anthony Colandrea at quarterback.
The Cavaliers (3-8, 2-5 ACC) hope the groundbreaking victory — as significant as a win over a 6-5 Blue Devils team could be — might foreshadow another big first for the team under Elliott. A win over in-state rival Virginia Tech would be a mighty fine capper to a difficult season for the Cavaliers.
“Honestly, I think if we win this next one — or when we win this next one — I think it’s just going to say so much more about the heart of this team,” Cavaliers junior safety Jonas Sanker said.
“I think people are really going to see that this team has no quit. Not even making the game personal. It’s just another faceless opponent, and we want to go out there, and we’re still chasing our best game. We’re going to play our best game this weekend and everyone is going to see the true Virginia and where we’re headed.”
A win over Tech (5-6, 4-3), which is seeking to become bowl-eligible, would be something only one UVA team was able to accomplish in the previous 18 meetings. The Cavaliers won 39-30 in 2019 to break a 15-game losing streak to the Hokies, but have lost the past two in the series. Last year’s game was canceled after the Nov. 13 on-campus shooting that claimed the lives of UVA players D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr and Devin Chandler.
Spending more time in the backfield was Henderson’s intent coming into the season. Thanks, he said, to defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Blake Seiler and a defensive line that consumes double-teams on the interior, he’s been able to do it.
“Obviously, it was one of my goals,” Henderson said. “I’m glad that I’ve been able to be a little bit more successful this year in that category. But all of the credit’s due to who really deserves it.”
Monarchs quarterback Grant Wilson, who transferred from Fordham before the season, recognized right away that Henderson was just different.
“The kid’s a phenomenal player,” Wilson said. “I get to see it in practice every day. Fall camp was a shock. I was like, ‘This kid’s unbelievable, flying around all throughout the field.’
“But that’s how the defense is. Those guys fly around to the ball.”
No one embodies that philosophy better than Henderson, who is second in the nation in tackles for a loss and leads the team with 4 sacks.
His plan is to keep after it, whether the record for tackles comes or not.
“It’s one of those things where it’d be great to have,” Henderson said. “It’d be great to say that I held that record for whatever amount of time. But I’m just grateful to be able to play the game that everyone wishes to play at the collegiate level, and with the people that I’m with.
“So that’s something I’m really kind of focused on is just enjoying the moment more.”
Branching out: When Wilson caught a go-ahead, 30-yard touchdown pass from receiver and former Maury High star Ahmarian Granger last week, it wasn’t the quarterback’s first encounter with hauling in passes.
A junior from Arlington who played at Yorktown High, Wilson was a receiver and slotback until he reached high school.
But that doesn’t account for the Barry Sanders-like juke he put on a defender to get into the end zone.
“I put that in the back pocket a little bit,” Wilson said. “So I kept that until that moment.”
Wilson became the third player in ODU history to rush, throw a pass and catch a pass in a single game, joining former quarterbacks Steven Williams and David Washington.
Close shaves: Of ODU’s 11 games this season, nine have been decided by one score. No other team in the nation can make that claim. Rahne, 43, has seen his team go 5-4 in such games. He also notices the season’s toll when he shaves.
“So I’m actually taking it as a positive that now I have an excuse as to why I have these gray hairs,” Rahne said. “It has nothing to do with the fact that I inch closer towards the finish line.”
A sales pitch: Rahne made a shameless plea this week to get fans out to S.B. Ballard Stadium for today’s must-win game.
Crowds this season, despite season-ticket sales and announced attendance numbers, have been surprisingly small at times. There was no shortage of good seats, for example, when Wake Forest visited “The Steve” on a perfect September afternoon — a rare road game for an Atlantic Coast Conference team against a Group of Five program.
“Let’s just pack that place up and try to get as many people at this game as humanly possible,” Rahne said. “I think it would be a great sign of what Hampton Roads football and 757 football is all about. It also would be a great appreciation for our seniors, who have given a lot to this program.”