Good on second chance Trickett’s arm, Lambert’s foot lift Mountaineers to redemption
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett watched from the sidelines last September as Maryland whipped the Mountaineers, 37-0. As shutout became shootout Saturday, he was there again. Trickett, West Virginia’s No. 3 option at quarterback last year, performed heroically Saturday, throwing for 511 yards and marching the Mountaineers downfield in a workmanlike two-minute drill, but he could only kneel and watch as kicker Josh Lambert trotted onto the Byrd Stadium turf to attempt a 47-yard field goal with four seconds left. Four minutes earlier, Lambert sent a 43-yard attempt directly into the Maryland blockers, but his road to redemption was short. He stuttered, gathered and stepped into the kick, watching it sail through the uprights as time expired. Lambert put a finger to his lips and ran for cover as the Mountaineers poured onto the field, the scoreboard blinking: West Virginia 40, Maryland 37. “I just fell back and started crying,” Trickett said. “It was an emotional game, a roller coaster. As everybody ran onto the field, I just passed out.” He smiled. “It was a little like the Vince Lombardi quote.” Indeed, as the legendary Packers coach once said, “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious.” This was Trickett’s finest hour. He continued his meteoric ascent by completing 37 of 49 passes for a career-high 511 yards — second most in team history — four touchdowns and an interception. Receiver Kevin White had another stellar game with 13 catches for 216 yards and
a touchdown, and Mario Alford added 131 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Running back Rushel Shell rushed 27 times for 98 yards and a score. “I just couldn’t be happier for our team, the coaching staff and the fan base,” said coach Dana Holgorsen. “Everybody needed this one.” The victory, however satisfying, wasn’t pretty. The Mountaineers saw a 28-6 second-quarter lead trimmed to one point when Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown, a Seneca Valley graduate, opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown run, the longest by any Division I quarterback this season. Later, somewhere between a punt nearly returned for a touchdown, a punt actually returned for a touchdown and a blocked field goal, Maryland found the score tied, 37-37. West Virginia turned the ball over four times, but three came in the red zone, as did a failed fourthdown conversion. Throw in the blocked field goal and it made for a sloppy game. Lambert said nobody talked to him after the blocked kick late in the fourth, and they didn’t need to. “I mean, I knew I missed it,” he said, cracking a grin. Special teams coach Joe DeForest called Lambert “a flat-liner” who doesn’t let one kick affect his next. And it doesn’t hurt that DeForest and Holgorsen struck a deal that the head coach wouldn’t talk to specialists. “I haven’t talked to Josh since he got on campus,” Holgorsen said, joking. “We’re going to keep it that way. … I know his name, who he is, but other than that it’s hands off.” Maryland’s Ben Craddock booted a field goal with 11:14 left to draw within a touchdown. The Mountaineers’ ensuing drive ended in a punt, and William Likely returned it 49 yards for the tying touchdown. Then Lambert got his chance, then another, and on second thought he made it count.
For more on West Virginia football, read All ’Eers. Stephen J. Nesbitt: snesbitt@post-gazette.com and Twitter @stephenjnesbitt.