Hokies Dominate Demon Deacon 30-13, Grab Win #3 (10-14-23)
By: Joey Raymond
All Photo Credit: Nate Gue-LMS Network
Blacksburg, VA –It’s homecoming weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia as the Hokies welcome the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Demon Deacons come into this game with a 3-2 record, and the Hokies have a 2-4 record. Both of these teams are looking to turn it around in this homecoming matchup, on a beautiful day in Lane Stadium. The Hokies are looking to improve on the offensive side of the ball. I think Bayshul Tuten will be a huge part of making that happen. Wake Forest has a challenging offense to prepare for, we’ll see how the Hokies respond to it. The Hokies got several players back from injury this week so that should help.
First Quarter Recap:
The Hokies started the game with the ball after Wake Forest deferred the ball to the second half after winning the toss. Neither the Hokies nor the Deacons can muster anything on the first drive of the game, going three and out and punting. The Hokies would go three and out again, give it back to Wake Forest, who gain two first downs, then are forced to punt it away. It’s a great punt though, as the Hokies are forced to start from the 3-yard line. The Hokies and the Deacons start chirping at each other a couple of plays into the drive, which results in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Deacons. Unfortunately for the Hokies, they can’t take advantage of the penalty, having to punt it away a couple plays later. Wake Forest has some of the same luck, as they get a very questionable unnecessary roughness penalty, gaining a first down. Then getting another first down on a facemask penalty. The Hokies get an insane interception from the hands of Derrick Canteen, a couple of plays later. The Hokies immediately start driving, gaining a ton of yards, and getting all the way down to the 30-yard line before the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter Recap:
The Hokies continue the drive, ultimately being forced to kick a field goal after the drive stalls out. Love misses the field goal, leaving the score tied at 0. Wake Forest switches to the backup quarterback Kern, who gets a rude awakening, getting sacked on his first play in the game. The rest of the drive for Kern gets better, then immediately gets worse when the Hokies force him to fumble and get the ball back. The Hokies quickly gathered a long first down, gaining 19 yards on a pass play. Moving quickly, the Hokies get into the red zone and then into the endzone off of a neat catch from Gosnell, and then a run from Tuten, as Virginia Tech strikes first. The Hokies lead 7-0 after the extra point is made from Love. Lane Stadium comes alive when Wake Forest starts their drive. The Deacons do get a first down but then get stuffed at the 35-yard line and are forced to punt it away. The Hokies are slow moving at first, but thanks to huge plays from Gosnell and Wright the Hokies find their way into the red zone, with just over 5 minutes left in the quarter. Unfortunately for the Hokies that’s as far as they get, being forced to kick another field goal on fourth down. Love drills this one though, extending the lead to 10-0. Wake Forest responds so fast that Hokie fans can’t even blink before seeing them in the end zone. Claiborne takes the kickoff back, 96 yards, into the endzone bringing the score to 10-7, with the Hokies still in the lead. The Hokies get the ball after a touchback, and throw the ball once, to Lane, who runs the ball down into the endzone for a total of 75 yards. Virginia Tech takes a 17-7 lead. Wake Forest on their next drive would go 10 plays for 55 yards and get 3 points on a field goal, bringing the score to 17 to 10. The Hokies would run the ball and run the clock out, finishing the first half with a score of 17-10.
Third Quarter Recap:
Wake Forest will receive the ball to start the half, after deferring in the first half. Wake Forest does pick up a first down on the drive but then stalls out shortly after, punting it back to the Hokies. The Hokies do get a long play from Tuten, but he fumbles on the play, Wake Forest recovers it and starts their next drive on the 41-yard line. Wake Forest can’t take advantage though, stalling out after gaining a first down, and punting it back to the Hokies. The Hokies struggle on offense and go three and out, and are forced to punt it once again. Wake Forest makes it to the midfield before going for it on fourth down, they can’t convert and give it back to the Hokies. The Hokies once again go three and out. That didn’t stop the Hokies though as they faked a punt, which fooled everyone in the stadium, where they directly snapped it to Cole Nelson, who ran for 18 yards. The Hokies gained 18 yards on the play, knocking on the door of the red zone. Virginia Tech gets all the way down to the 6-yard line before getting stopped. They kick a field goal, which love drills through the uprights, giving the Hokies a 20-10 lead. Wake Forest would get the ball on a touchback, get two huge passes, and go from the 25 to the opposite 35 in just a couple of seconds. The time runs out in the third quarter, with the same score of 20-10.
Fourth Quarter Recap:
Wake Forest picks up right where they left off, working their way into the red zone just a couple of plays later. Virginia Tech would get a huge sack and knock them out of the red zone, the play after Wake makes it into it. Lane Stadium starts rocking, which causes a false start on Wake Forest and Lane Stadium gets even louder. The Demon Deacons can’t convert and are forced to attempt a field goal. Dennis drills it for Wake Forest, bringing the score to 20-13. Virginia Tech drives the length of the field, but gets stalled in the red zone, and is forced to kick another field goal. Love drills another one, bringing the score to 23-13. Wake Forest struggles to get anything going and right as they start moving the football, Jenkins forces a fumble, giving the Hokies the ball back. Virginia Tech would take full advantage of the turnover, going 7 plays for 53 yards, and getting into the endzone off the back of Lane. The Hokies take a 30-13 lead. Wake Forest would get the ball back with 2:43 left on the clock, they’ll try to respond to the Hokies touchdown drive. The momentum is definitely with the Hokies right now, as Virginia Tech gets a sack on the first play of the Deacon drive. Wake Forest starts moving after they get the ball back. They can’t muster anything past the 24-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. The Hokies go into victory formation and knee it, running the clock out as the Hokies secure their third win of the season.
Post Game thoughts and What’s Next:
The Hokies truly dominated in all aspects of the game in this one. Wake Forest was shut down in most phases. Kyron Drones showed Tech fans why he is QB1. He threw for 321 yards, going 20 for 29 on his passes, and carried the ball 15 times for 59 yards. Pure dominance from the quarterback of the Hokies. Wake Forest saw almost the exact opposite in production from their quarterbacks. They did manage to snag 227 yards, but between the two quarterbacks, they went 22 for 39 in the air. Wake Forest struggled even more on the ground, only getting 35 total yards of offense in the ground game. Virginia Tech’s defense turned a page in this game.
Wake Forest goes back home to Winston-Salem, licking their wounds and preparing to host Pittsburgh. The Panthers have also struggled this season, even taking a loss to this Hokies team as well, earlier this season. Virginia Tech celebrates a big win, and heads into a bye week before preparing for a Thursday night matchup against Syracuse. The traditional Thursday night game in Blacksburg is always a big one for the Hokies, as they look to have a big crowd on hand.
