There is nothing quite like a nighttime football game. Anticipation has more time to build. More fans file into stadiums to be a part of the madness. And the players? Well, the stars shine brightest at night.
All of these things were true Saturday when Virginia took on Pittsburgh in its first — and potentially only — night game of the year. Students began to jump on board the white out train, Yik Yak had more football related posts than “OMG I love this school” posts for the first time maybe ever, and attendance broke 40,000 for the first time since opening day, while student attendance surpassed 7,000.
And boy did the stars shine.
Virginia came out swinging against the Panthers, immediately asserting its dominance. The offense was fluid and the defense flew to the ball, forcing punt after punt after punt. Everyone on the nearly-filled hill loved it.
Though we can argue about who the night’s Polaris was — cases could surely be made for sophomore quarterback Matt Johns, who played his first ACC football game as a starter, or even sophomore outside linebacker Max Valles, who led the vicious defensive attack by scoring a touchdown — it is clear that the title of Sirius belongs to senior tailback Kevin Parks.
(Note for those of you who didn’t take Prof. Ed Murphy’s ASTR 1210 class: Polaris is the North Star, but Sirius is far and away the brightest star in the Earth’s sky. Sorry for making you learn something in the sports section, but I felt clarification was likely needed for the metaphor to have the impact I wanted. Back to athletic stuff now.)
Virginia entered the game with sophomore quarterback Greyson Lambert and Johns leading the team in rushing, despite having a senior 1,000-yard back in the backfield. It was clear from the opening whistle Parks had had enough of being doubted. His first carry was a tough run for a first down right up the middle — and that trend continued all night long.
The five-foot-eight, 200-pound senior every bit outperformed his Pittsburgh counterpart sophomore James Conner, who stands six-foot-two and weighs a slight 250 pounds. Conner boasted an impressive stat line coming into Scott Stadium, averaging nearly 160 yards per game through his first five, but left Charlottesville with his Panther tail tucked between his legs, having added just 83 yards to his season total.
Parks, on the other hand, absolutely smashed not just his season average, but his career high. The Salisbury, North Carolina, native finished his evening with a modest 169 yards on the ground on just 29 carries. It was an absolutely stellar performance.
A stellar performance, by the way, which should have surprised no one. Parks has been playing at an extremely high level since he arrived in Charlottesville in 2010. After redshirting his first year, he has missed just one game for the Cavaliers. In four years, all Parks has done is make the offense better than it could possibly be without him.
In 2011, Parks broke the program’s record for most touchdowns by a freshman in a single season — he scored nine, a mark that still stands today. He also led Virginia on the ground against Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the program’s last bowl appearance.
The following season, Parks lead Virginia in rushing with 734 yards and five touchdowns. His 74-yard performance at Duke also pushed him past the 1,000 yard mark for his career, making him just the 41st player in Virginia history to accomplish the feat.
It only got better for No. 25, as 2013 saw just how special of a player Parks can be. Though the team as a whole performed at a very low level, going 2-10, Parks had a record-setting season. He rushed for 1,031 yards in the Cavaliers’ 12 games — the first Virginia player to do so since 2004. His year was good enough to finish second in the ACC in rushing yards per game with 85.9 and eighth all-time for Virginia with 2,474 career rushing yards.
Through six games this season, Parks has 443 yards and three touchdowns. Some simple math (I know, I’m sorry) will show he is a bit off the pace to break 1,000 yards again — but I wouldn’t bet against him. The senior tends to get better as games and the season wears on, so it is more than possible he will break off a few more hundred-yard games to reach that benchmark.
Regardless of what happens the rest of the year, everyone at the University needs to appreciate what Kevin Parks has done during his time here. Saturday was far more the norm than it was an anomaly.
Sometimes all it takes are lights to illuminate the things which shine brightest.
Read More
No. 2 Virginia falls to No. 3 Duke on the road
By Cole Huff | 13 hours agoVirginia suffered its first major setback of the season.
Virginia softball battles for series win against NC State
By Eleanor Lynch | 13 hours agoThe Cavaliers proved their national ranking by winning the weekend series at Palmer Park versus NC State.
Virginia baseball takes care of business in road series victory at Louisville
By Ryan Weiner | 13 hours agoVirginia picks up another series victory in ACC play, inching closer towards another exciting postseason.
