10th-Ranked Cavs Score Last to Upset #7 Tigers

September 22, 2007
Game Stats

Wise, Va. – In front of a packed Carl Smith Stadium of well over 5,000 in attendance, the 10 th-ranked UVa-Wise Highland Cavaliers recorded it biggest Homecoming victory in program history over the seventh-ranked Georgetown College Tigers, 63-56.

For the third-straight contest, Ra’Shad Morgan capped the game-winning drive with a touchdown run as the Cavs scored last to post the high-scoring upset.

Brandon Moore had an 88-yd kick-off return for a TD. (photo courtesy of Tim Cox)

The win is the first in eight games over the past eight years in the Mid-South Conference series between the two gridiron clubs and the highest ranked opponent UVa-Wise has ever defeated. The Cavs victory marks the second year in a row the team has started the year 4-0. UVa-Wise is now 1-0 in the Mid-South East while Georgetown (1-2) drops to 0-1.

Wide receiver Jason Lovett (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) produced his best game of his young career. He pulled in four passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns while he threw for another score covering 45 yards. Quarterback Randy Hippeard (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) hit 16 of 35 attempts for 387 yards and three scoring strikes. Morgan (Chesterfield, Va./Meadowbrook) ran for just 68 yards on 28 attempts but did score four times including the game-winner.

Linebacker Ben Robertson (Morehead City, NC) paced the Cavs defense with 10 tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception. James Haley (Gladys, Va./Wm. Campbell) contributed nine stops, forced a fumble and broke up two passes while Chas Johnson (Newport News, Va./Warwick) added nine tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Bryan Tolbert (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird) picked off one pass and battled down two more to go with six tackles while Josh Spurlock (Big Stone Gap, Va/Powell Valley) snatched his second pick in two games from his defensive end spot. Jerry Bentley (Kingsport, Tenn./Gate City) had the other Cavs’ sack. Brandon Moore (Bristow, Va./Stonewall Jackson) returned a kick-off 88 yards for a touchdown and had five tackles on defense.

QB Randy Hippeard passed for 387 yds. & 3 TDs. (photo courtesy of Tim Cox)

DE Jerry Bentley drags Tiger QB Andy Ahrens down for a sack. (photo courtesy of Tim Cox)

For Georgetown, Ted Sberna rushed 13 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns. James Brown added 75 yards on 15 tries with a touchdown. Brian Piper pulled in seven passes for 147 yards and one score. Aric Pietsch accounted for eight tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.

After Hippeard was intercepted, Georgetown drove 23 yards on four plays capped by a four-yard Brown run to tie the game, 56-56, with 2:14 left in the game.

Moore returned the ensuing kick-off to the home 46-yardline. Four plays later, Hippeard threw deep down the middle and hit Matt Barbour (Brookneal, Va./Wm. Campbell), who had four catches for 59 yards, on a high-rising catch to the Tiger one-yard line. On the next play, Morgan ran in over the left side for what would be the game-winning points, 63-56.

Georgetown returned the next kick-off to its own 42-yard line. Andy Ahrens hit Sberna for 30 yards on the third play to the UVa-Wise 17-yardline. After an incompletion that took the clock to a single second, Ahrens final pass to the back of the left side of the endzone was complete to Piper but the wide receiver’s foot was just out of bounds to seal the Cavs’ win.

UVa-Wise seemed to have all the answers on Saturday afternoon to pull off the upset. Georgetown took its opening possession and drove to the home 20-yardline before Robertson picked off Andy Ahrens pass. On the second Cavs’ play, Hippeard hit Lovett over the middle and the wideout streamed 88 yards for the game’s opening points.

Lovett keyed the second Cavs’ score as he took a lateral and threw it 45 yards down the right sideline to Brad Ricker (Bristol, Va/John Battle) for a score. Hippeard hit Aric Evans (Cincinnati, OH/Taft), who had three catches for 69 yards, from 47 yards and Lovett a second time from 16 yards to go with a Morgan one-yard plunge for the 35-21 halftime tally.

Early in the third quarter, John Keene ran in from two yards to cut the margin to 35-28. The margin grew back to two scores as Moore returned the ensuing kick-off 88 yards down the right side for a score, 42-28. The teams traded scores to finish the third frame with the home team leading 49-35.

Keene pulled in a 27-yard pass from Ahrens just 12 seconds into the final period before Morgan answered for UVa-Wise over 16 yards for his then third touchdown. Ahrens connected with Frank Green over 28 yards to set up the final three possessions of the game with the score 56-49.

Georgetown outgained UVa-Wise 559-521 but ran 16 more plays. Both teams threw three interceptions and lost one fumble on the day with just 54 seconds separating in time of possession.

UVa-Wise will get no time to celebrate as it travels to fifth-ranked Bethel (Tenn.) College next Saturday, Sept. 29 th for a 2:30 p.m. kick-off.