Kevin Parks almost single-handedly exorcised any demons remaining from the Virginia football team's 2009 loss to the Tribe as the Cavaliers walloped William & Mary, 40-3, during a stirring season opener at Scott Stadium.
Parks, a redshirt freshman tailback and one of 22 debutants for Virginia (1-0, 0-0 ACC), gouged the overmatched Tribe defense for 114 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries as the Cavaliers controlled the clock with a balanced, methodical attack which amassed 496 yards of total offense.
"I thought Kevin [Parks] showed what we'd been seeing in practice for the last couple months," coach Mike London said. "I'm happy for the success of him, and for the success of the entire team. It's a very good win for the program. It's our first win. First wins are always the best wins because you have an opportunity for another one the next game up, particularly against a team that's arguably the best FCS team in the country."
The Virginia coaching staff had intimated that junior tailback Perry Jones would receive the lion's share of the carries in the Cavaliers' crowded backfield this season. That plan seems destined to change, however, after Parks appeared the better of the two backs early on and never looked back. On the sixth play of Virginia's opening drive, Parks brushed off multiple Tribe tacklers and added a spin move for good measure on his way to 20 yards to set up the first of four field goals by senior kicker Robert Randolph and an early 3-0 lead. Parks then scored Virginia's first touchdown of the season on a 19-yard sideline scamper past a screaming student section midway through the second quarter. He later added touchdown runs of one and 26 yards during the Cavaliers' 17-point third quarter as a modest 13-0 halftime lead quickly escalated into a rout.
"I waited my time and I felt like if I showed I could get on the field then I could show what I could do," Parks said. "It means a lot [to have such a stellar debut], but I still got more to go hopefully it won't be the end of y'all seeing this."
Parks became the first freshman in program history to tally three touchdowns during his first game for the Cavaliers but was quick to credit a much-improved offensive line for paving the way to paydirt.
"I felt like William & Mary [(0-1)] wore down a little bit," Parks said. "That was a big upside to our offensive line. They wore them down and they played hard and they played tough."
Jones, who finished with 56 yards on 12 carries, was too excited about the team-wide success and the prospect of a potent one-two punch with Parks to be overly concerned about his playing time or failure to find the end zone.
"You know, it crosses your mind, but it's not important - the most important thing is that we get the win, and all the backs did a good job tonight," Jones said. "I think we can be as good as we want to; we're just going to keep working in practice, and we're not going to slow down from here. If anything we're going to get better."
While Parks stole the show with his scintillating stat line, the once-hazy Virginia quarterback situation continued to crystallize as sophomore quarterback Michael Rocco rewarded London's decision to name him the game one starter. With the coaching staff calling conservative passing packages to supplement the ground game and establish an early aerial rhythm, Rocco finished 21-of-29 for a modest 174 yards and no touchdowns.
"Our gameplan was to pound the ball down their throats, and then there will be plays to make in the air," Rocco said. "Whenever there wasn't something down the field, I checked the ball down, and that's an emphasis that we go through ... It's my job to take care of the ball."
Despite the no-frills offense, however, Rocco demonstrated decent pocket presence, spread the ball around to eight different receivers and even completed a 40-yard sideline bomb to sophomore wide receiver Tim Smith, who led all wideouts with seven catches for 72 yards. Rocco also avoided any sacks or turnovers after the Cavaliers threw three picks and lost four fumbles during the 2009 loss to the Tribe.
"I just wanted to make sure I got him in a rhythm, and I thought we did that in the first half and I felt good about it," said Bill Lazor, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. "I thought [Rocco] did a great job today throwing checkdowns, and that's usually the sign of a quarterback who's poised enough in the pocket, that he doesn't start taking off when his first read is covered, and he knows where everyone is and is able to get them the ball, so I was real happy with that."
After completing his first 11 passes, Rocco's efficiency dipped after Virginia began rotating between Rocco, freshman quarterback David Watford and later junior quarterback Ross Metheny - a tag-team scenario that seemed to disrupt the starter's rhythm. Rocco nevertheless finished the game with more than double the passing yards of Watford and Metheny combined and marched the Cavaliers to scoring drives of 70, 60, 18, 97 and four yards. Most important, he earned the praise and confidence of his teammates.
"Mike Rocco did real good tonight," Parks said. "He was patient, he took what the defense gave him, and I'm really proud of him. I feel like he's going to be - he is - a very big part of our offense and still will continue to be, so we still need him to do good in more games like this."
Freshman tailback Clifton Richardson capped the scoring for Virginia with a five-yard scoring dash to conclude his own successful debut with 57 yards on seven carries. A late William & Mary field goal ended the shutout, but Virginia's suffocating defense harried the Tribe all night and held senior quarterback Michael Paulus to just 5-of-22 passing for 35 yards until he was benched late in the third quarter. The defense also tallied two turnovers as freshman cornerback Demetrious Nicholson snagged Virginia's first interception of the season and junior linebacker Steve Greer recovered a fumble forced by senior cornerback Dom Joseph.
"We prepared really hard for this game," senior cornerback Chase Minnifield said. "Two years ago we were lackadaisical, and we weren't going to take this game lightly"
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