First Half Burst Gives Bruins Another Win; Start Season 3-0

By Brian Bartley

September 14, 2008

In a game that many expected to be watching in the confines of a brand new facility, Bruins fans certainly did not seem disappointed walking out of the old Bill Brown Stadium on Friday night.  In a contest that was expected to be close, Blacksburg made it anything but, as it rolled over the Liberty Minutemen by a score of 28-13.

The assault started on the Bruins' first offensive play from scrimmage when quarterback Trey Gresh hooked up with Caspe Violette for a 25-yard touchdown.  Later in the quarter, Gresh again found the end zone on an eight-yard pass to Ricky Sowers. That touchdown capped off an 11-play, 62-yard drive, and gave Blacksburg a 14-0 lead to end the first quarter.

In the second quarter, both defenses settled in and played well early.   

But just when it seemed neither would score again, both teams found paydirt.  First,  Gresh threw for his third touchdown, hitting Bryan Miller from eight yards out, with 2:30 left. On the very next possession, Liberty put together a long drive that ended in a 30-yard touchdown pass with only :06 left in the half. 

Despite the lapse at the end of the second quarter, the Bruins still held a 21-7 lead going into the second half.

Though a Liberty touchdown midway through the third quarter that made it a one-score game proved to be a minor scare, the Bruins responded with a 95-yard drive of their

own, when David Bales broke loose for a 35-yard dash to the end zone, making it 28-13. 

That's how the game would end as both defenses pitched shutouts in the 4^th.

Blacksburg head coach, Dave Crist was one of many to be pleasantly surprised by such a convincing win from the Bruins.  "I didn't really envision we would be up 21-0 at any point in the game," said Crist, "How the second half went was how I though it would go the whole game." 

 "Our kids keep finding a way to hang together and do the things that they need to do to be successful," Crist said of his teams unexpected 3-0 start.  "The chemistry of this team is just so tight and so good." 

If morale and chemistry are the reasons for Blacksburg's success, then Gresh has certainly led by example.  After battling injury to play last week against Graham, Gresh's injury problems got even worse when he suffered a bad cut on his lip during that game.  According to Crist, it was only about five minutes before the game this week that they determined he could definitely play.  It was a decision that worked out wonderfully for the Bruins, as Gresh went 8-18 for 112 yards and 3 touchdowns. 

"The fact that he hadn't been able to eat very much during the week and hadn't had a lot of work, it began to show there in the second half," Crist said. "But I thought he did a great job of directing that 95-yard drive that we had there.  Even though all he was doing was handing off, his leadership was present in the huddle and he was able to keep everyone even keeled and calm." 

For the second straight week, Jonathan Jennings broke the century mark, going for 105 yards against the Minutemen.  Also posting a 100-yard game from the backfield was David Bales.  Bales rushed for 102 yards and scored a late third quarter touchdown. 

Defensively, the Bruins had yet another fantastic game and came up big in clutch situations.  Blacksburg's tenacity on defense caused Liberty to go an abysmal 2 of 9 on third down conversions and 0 of 1 on fourth down conversions.  DeRon Phillips led the team with 5 tackles and a sack.  Phillips had company in the backfield, as Evan Sunshine added another sack and also recorded 4 tackles.

After starting out 3-0, Blacksburg will finally get some time to rest.  The Bruins have a bye week coming up before playing Lord Botetourt on the road.  For Crist, that's an idea that he and his players will be very welcome to embrace.  "Well, we're gonna take Monday off," said Crist, "The kids just need to get away from it for a little bit."

Blacksburg will likely be playing in front of a full house when it travels to Botetourt in two weeks as they are listed as the Cavaliers' homecoming opponent.

Kickoff at Botetourt is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 26.