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Injuries rain on Cavs' opening win parade

With smoke, mirrors, one miraculous kick and a whole lot of Thomas Jones, Virginia coach George Welsh earned win No. 1 of the Dan Ellis era. He may not have enough healthy players to get No. 2.

"I don't know how we held up," Welsh said Saturday in the post-game press conference. "We don't have anybody left on defense. We're going to have to cancel the Clemson game."

Welsh's post-game comments may have been in celebratory jest following a dramatic, improbable victory in Chapel Hill. They may also be true.

"It has all added up now," Welsh said. "We were thin, now we're thinner. Now we're going to have to play true freshmen. That's all that's left. We've lost all of our options."

The injury list goes on and on, especially defensively, where Welsh and defensive coordinator Rick Lantz were forced into a series of stopgap measures to keep the dam from crumbling, not to mention slippery signal caller Ronald Curry from single-handedly dismantling Virginia.

Monsanto Pope was the first to catch the injury bug, tearing his MCL, an injury that will likely sideline the Hopewell, Va., native for six weeks. An MRI performed today should confirm the rupture, but rather than require surgery, the knee will be allowed to heal naturally.

Next in line: Dwayne Stukes, whose freak injury, diagnosed as a thigh contusion / hip flexor, occurred as he laid out in a desperate attempt to bat a Curry pass from the hands of wide receiver Kory Bailey. Welsh lists the fourth-year corner as "questionable."

"I really don't know his status, probably day to day," defensive back Antwan Harris said. "He has a hip flexor, and you just have to wait for the muscle to operate again. It's like a dead muscle. I think he'll be all right."

Even Harris and fellow cornerback Tim Spruill, two of the better athletes on the Cavalier squad, suffered cramping and could be seen gasping for air or cringing in pain during the final quarter.

An ankle sprain and lingering lower back pain continue to hobble defensive end Travis Griffith, and chronic toe pain has defensive centerpiece Maurice Anderson playing at only a fraction of his potential. Both, however, are expected to see action against Clemson Saturday in Death Valley.

With the starting 11 at times resembling a cohesive defensive whole, at others a M*A*S*H unit, younger players had to step up. Several were willing and able, the foremost being a trio of rookies, linebacker Yubrenal Isabelle and freshmen safeties Shernard Newby and Chris Williams.

Isabelle had the daunting task of replacing Wali Rainer, now the starting middle linebacker of the Cleveland Browns. But instead of cowering at the challenge, Isabelle made a loud, bone-crushing statement in his first collegiate start.

"I thought Yubrenal might be kind of timid with it being his first start, but I looked at him and he was yelling and really intense," outside linebacker Byron Thweatt said. "He wants to win, and he plays hard."

While Isabelle holds Rainer in high regard, he also feels it's time for him to put his own stamp on the program.

"I love Wali, but Wali's gone," Isabelle said. "It's time for me to do what Yubrenal Isabelle does. I feel if I play to the best to of abilities, I can do just as well."

Newby and Williams were forced into immediate action with the early departure of Stukes and Spruill. Both produced interceptions, including a circus grab by Newby sure to headline his personal highlight reel.

"I told everyone that Williams and Newby would be good players," Thweatt said. "When they got those interceptions, I was thinking, 'Okay, we're going to be all right.'"

Now all they need to do is get healthy.

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