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BLACKSBURG – Miami tailback Duke Johnson ran for 249 yards and scored two touchdowns, and the Hurricanes used three second-quarter touchdowns to take control of the game in downing the Hokies 30-6 in an ACC contest played Thursday night at Lane Stadium.
The loss marked the second straight for the Hokies, who were coming off a 21-16 loss to Pittsburgh a week ago. Tech fell to 4-4 overall, 1-3 in the ACC.
“We didn’t play very well in the first half, and I’m disappointed in that,” Tech head coach Frank Beamer said. “I thought we played better in the second half. We laid the ball down [three fumbles], and that hurt. But I’m proud of the way we played [in the second half]. I’m proud of Mark Leal. I thought he did a nice job. I think we look at this, both first half and second half, and we build off of that and keep moving forward.
“I very much appreciate our fans. They showed up and they tried. I’m sorry we disappointed them. We’re not going to give up as a football team. We’re going to learn from this and keep on getting better. I thought we took strides in doing that. That’s where we are.”
Tech struggled on both sides of the ball against the ’Canes. On defense, the Hokies allowed Johnson to record the best rushing performance ever by an opponent at Lane Stadium, surpassing Wake Forest’s Josh Harris, who rushed for 241 in the Demon Deacons’ 2010 loss to the Hokies. Johnson’s 249 yards came on 29 carries (8.6 ypc).
“He’s got a good offensive line in front of him,” Beamer said. “And I don’t know if I’ve seen a guy run as reckless and quick as he does. He’s in that hole quick and out of that hole quick. I was impressed with him. We knew he was good. We saw it first hand tonight [Thursday].”
Miami used a field goal to take a first-quarter lead and then grabbed a 10-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Gus Edwards in the second quarter. Johnson’s 24-yard touchdown run with 6:21 left in the first half pushed the lead to 17-0 and his 22-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Brad Kaaya with three seconds left in the first half gave Miami a 24-0 lead at halftime.
Miami rushed for 364 yards in the game – the most ever against a Frank Beamer coached team. In addition to Johnson’s performance, Edwards rushed for 115 yards. Miami finished with 456 yards of total offense.
“Their backs were making great cuts – cuts we hadn’t seen before,” Tech defensive end Ken Ekanem said. “They have great backs, and they were making great cuts off their backs. On the backside, we weren’t flying to the ball like we should have done. They’re great backs, so credit goes to them.”
The Hokies’ lone score came with 1:30 left in the game. On fourth-and-10 from the Miami 14, backup quarterback Leal – inserted for the final series – threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to receiver Isaiah Ford. Tech went for two points and didn’t get it, but the touchdown extended Tech’s scoring streak to 251 straight games.
The Hokies had chances to score in the third quarter, but three fumbles – two in the red zone – killed those chances. Marshawn Williams’ fumble came inside the Miami 5, Joel Caleb’s fumble came at the Miami 32 and Jerome Wright’s fumble came at the Miami 17.
“That dug a deep hole for us,” Williams said of the fumbles. “It was something we clearly couldn’t get out of. It’s something we have to fix. We can’t have that happen. That’s something we’ll have to work on, just ball security.”
Tech’s offense struggled in the first half, amassing just 36 yards and two first downs. The Hokies finished with 262 yards – 77 coming on the final drive. Williams rushed for 100 yards on 21 carries.
The Hokies will look to end their streak on Nov. 1 when they take on Boston College at Lane Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m.
For updates on Virginia Tech football, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Football
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