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BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech's plan at the end of the first half of the 100th Commonwealth Cup failed to produce the expected results.
After a series of mistakes made by both teams, the Hokies found themselves with the ball at the edge of the penalty area with 16 seconds left in the half 14-0.
The coach Justin Fuente had a simple plan for the final seconds.
"We have a room for this situation where we know that the stopwatch will be stopped at the end of the room," Fuente said. "We're going to either catch him and get out of the field, or it's incomplete and we line up to score a long goal."
That's not what happened.
Quarterback Ryan Willis threw a pass directly into the hands of Virginia defensive back Tim Harris on the 28-yard line. Harris had no one in front of him after catching the ball.
"They played at Cover 2, the corner sitting on it, that the ball should probably go to the other catcher, but when he catches it and that he is heading in the other direction Ryan is the only way to bring it down, "said Fuente. "The only shot."
Willis crossed the race course as fast as possible, even pushing an official away.
"After being a quarterback in this situation before, many years ago, it's a tough tackle to take," Fuente said.
Fuente feared that Harris would move and leave Willis in the dust, but the Virginia Tech quarterback hurled himself into Harris and pulled him to the ground off the field without allowing time to stop the score.
"I had a moment, oh, shit. I just lighted the jets, said Willis. "Adrenaline has somehow taken and just tried to find it, do everything I can."
As for the referee?
"I did not really think about it then," Willis said with a smile. "I was just trying to chase him away. It's good. I made it happen. "
Willis' mobility and athleticism made the difference throughout the match. He extended two games in the team's last race, including a 45-yard pass to Dalton Keene that led to the overtime victory.
Virginia's elusive quarterback Bryce Perkins was in full view, but Willis continued to surprise opponents with his ability to play with his legs. Willis came into play with 295 yards rushing with 16 attempts of 10 yards or more.
"I'm long so I'm a bit misleading," Willis said. "Coaches joke with me all the time, they call me sneaky athletic. That's what people think, I guess. I'm obviously running first, running second. I'm just doing what I can. I will play 100% at each game. If I am wrong, I will lose 100 miles at the hour. "
This proved useful when Virginia's linebacker, Charles Snowden, thought Willis was well packed for a huge loss in overtime. Snowden would have put Virginia Tech out of goal range if he had brought Willis out on the ground at the third game.
"I thought I was going to get around it, but it did take me on," Willis said. "I did everything to get up and get the ball thrown."
Willis escaped and pushed Brian Johnson to score a 42-yard goal that eventually won.
"He plays fair and as hard as he can with every slam," Fuente said. "He certainly played a few pieces and as everyone has made some mistakes."
Mike Niziolek is the writer of Virginia Tech's football beat for The Roanoke Times. Follow him on Facebook.
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