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2007 College Football: Slaton, Devine Lead Mountaineers Blackout of Terps 31-14 |
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Written by Wendall Stevens
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Friday, 14 September 2007 |
It was blackout Thursday for Terrapin nation as the #4 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers entered Byrd Stadium to take on an undefeated Maryland team bent on revenge for last year’s beat down in Morgantown.
This date has been circled on the Maryland football schedule since last year as Byrd Stadium rose to a fever pitch in preparation for a nationally televised showdown of two ACC undefeated teams.
The questions entering last night’s game was whether the Terps’ defense could stop the West Virginia offensive juggernaut led by Mountaineer All Americans Pat White and Steve Slaton. How would starting Maryland quarterback Jordan Steffy respond under the white hot lights of the moment and a national TV audience. Last year it was the overall team speed and athletic ability of the Mountaineers that overwhelmed the Maryland football team.
The answers to these questions were evident fairly quickly. After a fumble by Steffy on the first play from scrimmage, the Mountaineers struck immediately when White faked a handoff and jetted for a touchdown around the right side of the Maryland line. With West Virginia, you have to pick your poison. How do you want to die? White? Slaton? Devine?
The only chance the Terrapins had early was to slowly and methodically grind the game down by pounding the football using Keon Latimore and Lance Ball. True to form, after the West Virginia score, the Terps methodically drove the ball down the field 75 yards on 11 plays highlighted by a 45 yard catch and run pass to Darius Hayward-Bey. Maryland running back Keon Latimore scored on a cut back run to the end zone to tie the scoreat 7-7.
During last week's game against Marshall, West Virginia found themselves down at halftime and suddenly the Mountaineers exploded as Slaton, White and true freshmenNoel Devine took over and demolished the Thundering Herd, racking up over 40 pointsin the second half in a 47-23 victory.
The West Virginia athletes, led by Steve Slaton just turned on the afterburners and suddenly Maryland was down 17-7 in a blink of an eye. The Mountaineers showed the nation just how talented and deserving they are of their high ranking. Steve Slaton, who rushed for 137 and scored 3 touchdowns thrust himself squarely into the thick of the Heisman Trophy race.
As if the Hiroshima bomb Steve Slaton didn't do enough damage, the Maryland defense had to deal with the Nagasaki nuclear bomb in Devine from Ft Meyers, FL. Devine, who drew fame as a junior in high school from his highlights clips on YouTube, exploded around the Maryland defense for 136 yards on five carries.
Ultimately, the questions were answered for the Maryland Terrapins football team as to how they match-up on sheer talent level against one of the best teams in the country. While the Terps have individual stars Darius Hayward-Bey on offense and Erin Henderson on defense, as a team they were no match for the overall speed and athletic abilty of the Mountaineers. This talent gap was evident during the Tech-LSU game last week as well. The Tigers made it look easy because they were on another level in regards to team speed and athleticism.
Maryland running back Keon Latimore rushed 21 times for 80 yards. Quarterback JordanSteffy passed for 180 yards one touchdown and 2 interceptions. Hayward-Bey caught 3 passes for 56.
Next stop for the Terps is Wake Forest next weekend in Winston Salem, NC. The Mountaineers take on East Carolina in Morgantown, WV.
Keep logging onto www.dcmetrosports.com for weekly sports updates and analysis of college football.
Log on later this week to www.dcmetrosports.com/collegefootballgallery for football images of this game.
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U of Maryland 