The third iteration of the UVA Strong Day brought the Cavaliers’ third victory on the now-annual remembrance of the tragic November 13, 2022 shooting which took the lives of Lavel Davis Jr, Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry. Nearly four years have passed since that day, but memory of the fallen and their importance to the program and the broader Charlottesville community remains as strong as ever.
“Today is a very special day, also a challenging day for many folks,” Coach Tony Elliott said. “I know it’s four years, coming up on four years, but it’s not for [the families] … Hopefully today, this weekend was soothing for them and helped them experience their sons’ presences again.”
Virginia (3-1, 1-0 ACC) defeated Delaware, 42-3 — 437, the highest mark of Elliott’s tenure, to 71 was the passing yards comparison — in an emphatic rebound against the Blue Hens (2-2, 0-0 CUSA) from the first loss of the young season. The Cavaliers wasted no time re-establishing the rhythm in their passing game which was absent last weekend — fifth-year quarterback Beau Pribula completed eight of his eight attempts for 65 yards and a touchdown on the first drive of the game.
“Structurally, we knew that the way they want to attack you, they junk it up in the box,” Elliott said. “We knew that we probably needed to throw to loosen things up to be able to run later in the game, and then Beau got hot and got in rhythm.”
The recipient of Pribula’s scoring strike was third-year receiver De’Shawn Martin. While the catch was only the fifth for Martin on the season, it was the third time he reached the endzone, a team-best mark. Pribula would finish with a nearly flawless statline — 24 competitions on 28 attempts, for 279 yards and four touchdowns, as well as one rushing touchdown — before he was pulled in the third quarter, a much improved performance following his struggles in Charlotte. Nine of the competitions went to fourth-year receiver Rico Flores Jr., who broke out with 113 yards and his first score of the season.
Flores Jr.’ statline was made all the more impressive considering the relatively quiet year this has been for the pass-catchers thus far — no Virginia receiver eclipsed 100 receiving yards across the previous three games combined. After his touchdown, Flores Jr. pointed to the “1” on his jersey — a number he shares with the late Lavel Davis Jr.
“The game was bigger than me,” Flores Jr. said. “It’s for the three numbers up top, watching down on us. I wasn’t there for [the shooting], but I feel that because I’m a Virginia Cavalier.”
Virginia struggled to find any big plays against the Mountaineers — their dry spell did not last long against the Blue Hens, as Pribula connected with third-year receiver Kam Courtney on a short bubble screen which turned into a 52-yard sideline scamper for a score. It was the longest play of both players’ careers, and put the Cavaliers up 21-3 before halftime. Martin blocked for his fellow receiver on the play, pancaking a Delaware defensive back to clear a path to the endzone.
“When you see a guy that’s blocking for his teammate, [it] tells you that you got healthy competition in the room,” Elliott said. “You throw the ball out there on the bubble to get four yards … When guys give that extra effort, then you can turn that into a big play, [and] we’re going to need those kind of plays down the stretch.”
While the passing game provided the majority of the highlights, the offense as whole got back to business Saturday evening. A notable improvement was on high-leverage plays. The Cavaliers managed a paltry eight conversions on 19 combined third and fourth down opportunities last weekend — against the Blue Hens, they converted on 11 of 20 such attempts.
The other side of the ball saw similar night-and-day results. After allowing 123 rushing yards each for Mountaineers sophomore quarterback Michael Hawkins and senior running back Cam Cook, the Cavalier defensive front held the Blue Hens to under 90 rushing yards. Their improved effort was led by a new-look interior defensive line, with seventh-year defensive tackles Darrion Henry-Young and Kervins Choutte, as well as second-year nose tackle Sichan John each embracing larger roles following a left elbow injury to fourth-year defensive tackle Jason Hammond.
John recorded Virginia’s first sack of the game, as well as the first of his career, on the first drive of the third quarter. The secondary got it on the action as well, with third-year safety Keke Adams snatching two interceptions.
“I felt like we were able to … not let them have easy opportunities,” Elliott said. “I felt like up until later, we were finding a way to keep them behind the chains.”
After a victory in their final non-conference affair, the Cavaliers will take a trip to Tallahassee, FL. for a rematch against Florida State and their second ACC matchup. The Seminoles (1-2, 0-1 ACC) were a defining win — 46-38, in double overtime — for Virginia’s historic 2025 season exactly one year ago.
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