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Throwback Thursday: The Undefeated 1993 Team Gets On Track With A Rivalry Win

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The date is October 2, 1993. The location is Morgantown, WV, “New” Mountaineer Field to be exact, the home of the West Virginia Mountaineers football team since its opening in 1980. On this day, the Mountaineers’ despised rivals from Blacksburg, VA, the Virginia Tech Hokies, trek into this hostile environment in hopes of adding their fourth win of the season and continue their climb toward the top 25. Across the gridiron, WVU sits in that precarious 25th spot, looking to prove themselves after blowout wins over Eastern Michigan and Missouri,  as well as a close call against a subpar Maryland team and move to 4-0 on the year.

WVU is coming off of a 5-4-2 season in 1992 and returns two very talented quarterbacks in Jake Kelchner and Darren Studstill. Both have served as co-starters thus far but only one of these two will play on this day. The offense is paced by sophomore tailback Robert Walker, a talented youngster doing his best to replace an NFL Draft pick in 1992 leading rusher Adrian Murrell. On defense, linebacker Wes Richardson and defensive back Mike Collins back for their senior years and are climbing up the school record book in terms of tackles. They will be assisted in the back end by Aaron Beasley, a sophomore corner who is well on his way to becoming one of the best cover defenders in the country.

The game began rather inconspicuously with WVU’s All-American punter Todd Sauerbrun launching the opening kickoff into the end zone for a touchback. Junior quarterback Maurice DeShazo is at the helm for the Hokies, looking to improve upon an up-and-down first season in the starting role in which he threw for 12 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. DeShazo was able. to complete his first two passes, but the fact that the were sandwiched around a sack and then an incompletion on his third attempt forced the Hokies to punt the ball away after gaining just one first down on the opening drive.

Jake Kelchner led the Mountaineers out for their first crack on offense and after a first play hand off to sophomore, and future “Orange is the New Black” cast member Jimmy Gary, went for 18 yards, the Notre Dame transfer dropped back to pass. Flushed out of the pocket he was able to escape and gain positive yardage but lost the ball as he went down following a seven yard game. The Hokies recovered and the WVU defense came back out, looking to get another stop starting at the VT 24. The Tech offense came out firing and worked their way down the field very quickly. A big first down run from Dwayne Thomas got things moving while DeShazo completed two passes for first downs, including a key third and five conversion on the WVU 40. Two plays later, the junior found Cornelius White deep downfield for a 33 yard scoring strike and a 7-0 lead just under the ten minute mark of the first half.

At this point is when the offenses for both teams stalled out entirely. Kelchner took a sack on the second play of WVU’s ensuing possession and went three and out and Sauerbrun came on to punt from his own 16. DeShazo and the offense came back out and the quarterback picked up four yards on the ground on the first snap. The next play saw Ranall White break through for a 28-yard scamper but the Hokies went backwards or had an incomplete pass on their next five plays and booted the ball away again from their own 43. The Mountaineers got a solid drive going with some strong running from Walker and number two rusher Rodney Woodard along with a pair of key completions from Kelchner to Mike Baker and Ed Hill. Reaching as far as the VT 27, things turned sideways once again. An illegal shift on third and one moved the offense back to the 32 and then Kelchner tossed the ball up toward the end zone. but it fell into the waiting arms of future Minnesota Vikings draft pick Antonio Banks at the one yard line.

Frank Beamer’s team began relying on their running game to move the ball and it was initially successful behind Thomas and Joe Swarm. However, the lack of a passing game came back to bite them and the Mountaineers began stuffing the Hokies backs for short gains. After gaining 21 yards on three plays, only 10 more were picked up in the following five plays and Robbie Colley let loose his third punt of the day from his own 32 yard line. WVU was unable to capitalize in any way on their third stop of the game however. After a short run by Walker, Kelchner turned the ball over for the third time in the first half, this time getting picked off by Tyronne Drakeford. Tech took the ball at the 21 in their own territory and essentially went nowhere outside of a 19-yard run from DeShazo, punting for the fourth time on the day.

WVU came back with the ball and after back to back turnovers, proceeded to respond with a three and out. A 49-yard bomb off the foot of Sauerbrun pinned the Hokies at their own 14 yard line as the defensive struggle continued. VT picked up a first down in two plays on this drive but a pair of incompletions followed by a sack on DeShazo by Scott Gaskins forced yet another punt from Colley. WVU went three and out once again but the WVU defense stepped up again, this time getting two sacks from Barry Collins to force a punt. A third straight three and out from the flailing Mountaineer offense gave the Hokies the ball back with a minute and 22 seconds but the clock ran out on them with the score at 7-0 after a dreary first half showing from both teams

The second half kicked off with the Mountaineers getting the ball and they continued to try to establish the run. Two runs for Gray netted negative five yards but Kelchner finally was able to connect on a deep route, hitting Zach Abraham for 55 yards. Three short runs kept WVU from picking up a first down but Sauerbrun was able to nail a field goal from 38 yards. The defense held up once again and the offense started a long drive down the field. Jim Freeman broke loose for 27 yards but put the ball on the ground at the Virginia Tech one, causing the fourth Mountaineer turnover of the game. Despite this, the defense made the presence felt once again, stonewalling Brian Edmonds on first down for a safety.

On the safety kick, the Mountaineers took over at the Virginia Tech 43. Gray was unable to get going in the run game but a 21 yard scramble from Kelchner set Sauerbrun up for a 44 yard boot which he put throught the uprights for an 8-7 lead. A long kick return from Tyronne Drakeford set up VT in Mountaineer territory and two plays later, the Hokies struck back as DeShazo went to Steve Sanders for 46 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. The WVU offense got moving into positive territory with steady dose of the run but the turnover bug struck for the fifth time. Freeman put the ball on the turf and the Hokies fell on it, taking over with a 13-8 lead.

Another defensive stop came in clutch as they held the Hokies to a three and out one again. Trailing by five, coach Don Nehlen went to a classic ground and pound approach, chewing up over six minutes on the next drive. Short runs by a wide range of backs and a pair of completions from Kelchner to Baker gave WVU first and goal on the one and three plays later they had retaken the lead 14-13. An attempted two point conversion failed and with 4:08 to play, the defense headed back onto the field.

White took a pair of carries to start the drive and then DeShazo found Sanders deep once again. Down to the WVU 31, the Hokies could not get the offense back up to speed again. This brought Ryan Williams out for a 44-yard field goal attempt that m9ssed wide right. The Mountaineers took over with just over a minute left and three snaps later had escaped with an enormous 14-13 rivalry win.

This game truly set the tone for the remainder of the 1993 season that ended undefeated prior to the Sugar Bowl. This team was able to get wins regardless of the circumstances. Kelchner had his struggles on this day but came up big when it was necessary. While the running back situation was still being figured out, Jim Freeman, Jimmy Gray, and Robert Walker were able to make very efficient gains throughout the day. As the season went along, the dynamic ability of this roster came out more and more, resulting in one of the greatest seasons in Mountaineer football history.

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