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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Arizona Wins Thriller

Associated Press

Armon Williams blocked a punt with three minutes to play Thursday night, setting up Dan White’s 1-yard sneak that gave No. 17 Arizona a 20-19 victory over Georgia Tech in Tucson, Ariz.

Arizona trailed 19-7 midway through the fourth period when it launched a comeback similar to that which gave the Wildcats a 19-14 victory over Georgia Tech last year.

This time, Dan White threw a 60-yard scoring pass to Richard Dice to make it 19-14. Then Arizona limited the Yellow Jackets to three plays and forced a punt.

Williams charged through the middle to block the kick, then ran it down and recovered inside the Georgia Tech 5. White scored three plays later and Arizona (2-0) led with 2:21 left.

Tech’s last chance ended when Rashee Johnson intercepted Donnie Davis’ pass with 1:10 to play.

Arizona’s comeback took some of the luster off the performance of Georgia Tech’s C.J. Williams, who became the first player in three years to run for more than 100 yards against the Wildcats.

Williams, a sophomore who switched to offense midway through last season when injuries decimated the running backs, shredded the Wildcats for 154 yards and a 2-yard touchdown in 30 carries.

The Jackets (1-1) dominated the line of scrimmage while running up a 9-0 first-half lead and holding Arizona to 13 rushing yards - its fewest since 1969. Georgia Tech also got good performances from defensive backs Nathan Perryman, who held Dice in check for 54 minutes, and Ryan Stewart, who returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown, which sent the Jackets to a 16-7 lead late in the third quarter.

Perryman got burned when Dice faked toward the sideline and turned downfield to catch White’s pass on the 35 and outrun him to the end zone.

Georgia Tech’s Dave Frakes kicked 43- and 37-yard field goals to stay perfect in five attempts this season.

White hit Mike Metzler with a 9-yard pass for the first Arizona TD.

Shaumbe Wright-Fair of Washington State was the last back to run for 100 yards against the Wildcats, accomplishing the feat on Sept. 12, 1992.

Arizona recovered to finish No. 2 against the run that season, No. 1 in 1993 and second last year.

Arizona 20, Georgia Tech 19

Georgia Tech 3 6 7 3 - 19

Arizona 0 0 7 13 - 20

GT-FG Frakes 43

GT-C.J. Williams 2 run (kick failed)

Ari-Metzler 9 pass from White (Prasuhn kick)

GT-Stewart 40 interception return (Frakes kick)

GT-FG Frakes 37

Ari-Dice 60 pass from White (Prasuhn kick)

Ari-White 1 run (pass failed)

A-46,786.

GT Ari First downs 13 10 Rushes-yards 48-187 28-13 Passing 65 206 Return Yards 65 25 Comp-Att-Int 10-19-1 15-26-1 Punts 8-33 7-41 Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards 10-97 3-24 Time of Possession 34:34 25:26

Individual statistics RUSHINGGaTech, C.J. Williams 30-154, Wiley 7-21, Davis 11-12. Arizona, G. Taylor 12-38, Schmidtke 7-8, Myles 2-1, Prasuhn 2-(minus 6), Batten 1-(minus 11), White 4-(minus 17).

PASSINGGaTech, Davis, 10-19-1-65. Arizona, White 15-26-1-206.

RECEIVINGGaTech, Middleton 4-37, C. Williams 2-9, Wiley 2-3, Zachery 1-9, Baynham 1-7. Arizona, Dice 4-77, G. Taylor 4-29, Metzler 2-63, R.Williams 2-14, Lucky 1-18, Myles 1-3, Chiasson 1-2.

Boston College 20, (20) Virginia Tech 14

At Blacksburg, Va., Mark Hartsell threw three touchdown passes and Steve Everson caught 10 passes for 142 yards helping the Eagles rebound from a first-game rout with a win over the 20thranked Hokies.

Hartsell completed 24 of 38 passes for 273 yards for the Eagles (1-1, 1-0 Big East).

Jim Druckenmiller, starting his first game in Virginia Tech’s nationally televised opener, completed 21 of 42 passes for 296 yards.

The Hokies drove to the Boston College 19 on the final drive, but stalled after Cornelius White dropped a pass at the 6 with 31 seconds to play.

Boston College, held without a touchdown in the 39-6 loss to Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic, took just three minutes and eight plays to get into the end zone against Virginia Tech.

On the opening drive, Hartsell completed all five passes and found tight end Todd Pollack for an 11-yard touchdown pass.

Virginia Tech struggled early as receivers dropped five easy passes, a running back fumbled and Atle Larson missed a 30-yard field goal.