Hokies slip away from Tar Heels

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Too many key penalties and the loss of tailback Giovani Bernard in the second half added up to a 24-21 North Carolina defeat to Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium.

Bernard suffered what North Carolina termed a "mild" concussion in the second quarter and never returned to the game. He finished with 10 rushes for 47 yards.

"It hurt us tremendously. Gio is a phenomenal back," said one of Bernard's backups, Ryan Houston. "He can break so many big ones, and we needed that tonight."

Virginia Tech, aiming for a trip to Charlotte and the ACC championship game Dec. 3, improved to 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the league. The Tar Heels fell to 6-5, 2-5 in the ACC. A Virginia loss to Florida State on Saturday would clinch a Virginia Tech-Clemson game in Charlotte.

Trailing 24-7 midway through the fourth quarter, UNC quarterback Bryn Renner found receiver Erik Highsmith for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Still down two scores, the Tar Heels attempted an on-sides kick recovered by the Hokies at the UNC 45.

The Tar Heels got possession back deep in their own territory when Renner found Highsmith again for a 64-yard connection. Ryan Houston ran it in from the 1 to close the deficit to 24-21 with 2 1/2 minutes left.

North Carolina attempted an on-side kick, but it was touched by the Tar Heels short of the minimum 10 yards the ball must travel. That gave the Hokies possession on the Tar Heels 39. Virginia Tech drove to the 15, where it turned the ball over on downs with three seconds left. Renner's pass went incomplete to end the game.

The Hokies ran out to a 24-7 lead just before the end of the third quarter on a 4 -yard touchdown connection from Logan Thomas to receiver D.J. Coles. The score was set up by Jarrett Boykin's 39-yard catch-and-run and rushing gains of 13 and 10 yards by tailback Josh Oglesby.

The Tar Heels then saw a promising drive stall out at the 13, when Hokies cornerback Kyle Fuller blitzed and sacked quarterback Renner for an 8-yard loss. A 38-yard field goal attempt by Thomas Moore never reached the goal post.

"Tonight was a tough night to kick the ball, period," said North Carolina coach Everett Withers. "We wanted to avoid having to do that by scoring touchdowns."

Two flubs by the Tar Heels gave the Hokies great field position, on their own 46, with 5 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. First, receiver Dwight Jones was flagged for offensive interference, negating what would have been a long catch. Then punter Thomas Hibbard shanked a punt 13 yards. Again, the defense came to the rescue, holding Virginia Tech to a 3-and-out possession.

Virginia Tech was charged with a 15-yard penalty on its punt coverage, giving the Heels decent field position on their own 35.

The Hokies assembled a nine-play, 70-yard drive, building a 17-7 lead six minutes into the second half on Thomas' 23-yard touchdown run. A former tight end, Thomas is a load to bring down at 6-6 and 254 pounds.

"We fought hard to the very end," said North Carolina's Jones, who finished the game with six catches for 105 yards and crossed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. "We just got too far behind."

North Carolina trailed Virginia Tech 10-7 at halftime.

The Tar Heels started out well, holding the Hokies scoreless in the first quarter - the seventh time that's happened this UNC season.

The Heels immediately forced a turnover when defensive tackle Sylvester Williams knocked the ball loose from Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas, as Thomas drew back his arm to pass. Tydreke Powell recovered the fumble, giving North Carolina possession 20 yards from a touchdown.

Two plays later, Heels running back Bernard ran it in from the four, the freshman's 12th rushing touchdown this season. Bernard was later knocked out of the game in a helmet-to-helmet collision.

The Heels had an excellent chance at going up 14-0 later in the first quarter, driving from their own 26 to Virginia Tech's 5-yard line. But that's when tailback Ryan Houston fumbled to make for a scoreless trip to the red zone.

Virginia Tech responded with a 95-yard, 18-play touchdown drive. Thomas completed passes of 13 and 19 yards before finding tight end Chris Drager with an 11-yard touchdown pass.

Virginia 24, North Carolina 21

FIRST QUARTER

NC--Bernard 4 run (Moore kick), 13:42.

SECOND QUARTER

VT--Drager 11 pass from Thomas (Journell kick), 9:18. VT--FG Journell 22, 4:58.

THIRD QUARTER

VT--Thomas 23 run (Journell kick), 9:02. VT--Coles 4 pass from Thomas (Journell kick), :25.

FOURTH QUARTER

NC--Highsmith 5 pass from Renner (Moore kick), 7:06. NC--Houston 1 run (Moore kick), 2:32.

Att.--66,233 (at Virginia Tech).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--North Carolina, Bernard 10-45, Houston 9-42, Blue 9-32, Highsmith 1-7, D.Jones 1-7, Thorpe 2-6, Renner 2-(minus 5). Virginia Tech, D.Wilson 21-82, Thomas 13-32, Oglesby 5-31, Team 1-0.

PASSING--North Carolina, Renner 14-26-0-224, Blue 0-1-0-0. Virginia Tech, Thomas 19-32-0-195, Team 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING--North Carolina, D.Jones 6-105, Highsmith 5-90, Ebron 1-18, N.Hurst 1-10, Byrd 1-1. Virginia Tech, Boykin 10-106, Coale 4-37, Coles 2-23, Drager 1-11, M.Davis 1-10, D.Wilson 1-8.