Post by rainman on Sept 23, 2007 6:24:02 GMT -5
Slaton likes WVU ball distribution on offense
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Even an unselfish Steve Slaton liked the fact quarterback Patrick White was able to distribute the football to more players than usual in West Virginia’s 48-7 rout of East Carolina here Saturday afternoon.
“That helps me and everyone else on offense,” the 5-10, 195-pound junior All-America tailback said. “Opponents can’t focus on one guy. Trying to give (as many as eight) opportunities (to run with the ball) is good.”
Slaton was the game’s top rusher with a net 110 yards on 18 carries, tied a record with his 42d career rushing touchdown, and caught three passes for 42 yards.
“It is very important that we left the field with a lead (27-0) at halftime,” he said. “And the defense did a heck of a job today. We want to try to put a team out early.”
White, who was 18-of-20 for 181 passing yards and added 42 yards rushing, accounted for four of his team’s six touchdowns. He eventually accepted a writer’s term describing his performance as “excellent.”
“There was a lot of better decision-making today,” he said. “The coaches did a great job of preparation this week. They told me what to expect and I was able to put the ball in more guys’ hands to make plays.”
But White wouldn’t call it a career game for himself.
“But I thought I had a pretty good game,” he said. “Every week, the game plan is for me to give the ball to people who make plays.
“Today we got the ball into the hands of more people.”
White praised wide receiver Darius Reynaud, who tallied 58 yards on two reverse plays, caught five passes for 54 yards, and scored two touchdowns.
“He’s a great athlete,” he said. “He could start for any school.”
White added that the same could be said for Jarrett Brown, his backup signal-caller.
Linebacker Marc Magro, who had three solo tackles, including one of the team’s four sacks, thought the defense played its best game of the season.
“We executed real well,” he said.
“We try to stop the run and control the pass in every game. The East Carolina offense is very powerful. We just played well and took away the run.”
WVU center Mike Dent said, “We’re where we want to be going into the Big East part of our schedule. East Carolina has a great team, but we accepted the challenge today.
“I think everybody played better. We communicated well up front, and a lot of players got touches (to run with the ball or catch passes). That was really good.”
Linebacker Morrty Ivy, who had six tackles to share the team lead with safety Eric Wicks, gave this explanation for intercepting Patrick Pinkney’s pass at the WVU 31 in the first quarter:
“There was zone coverage, and I noticed the trend and beat him by breaking on the ball.”
That killed ECU’s most serious scoring threat until it finally got a touchdown just before the game ended.
“I don’t think you can look at that and say it set the tone for the game,” Ivy said. “It was just me making a big play, and it did feel good.”
Noel Devine, the flashy freshman tailback, netted just 11 yards on seven rushing plays as the Pirates seemed to zero in on him defensively.
“I kind of figured on that,” he said. “But I was pleased with the win. So now we can look forward to playing at South Florida in Tampa. A lot of friends will be there (from his hometown of Fort Myers).”
Cornerback Vaughn Rivers, who returned six punts for 93 yards, thinks South Florida, 4-0 and ranked No. 23, definitely will be the toughest foe yet.
“This will be a game we’ll have to play very well for all four quarters,” he ventured. “USF plays hard all across the board.
“They came in here and stole one from us last year. Now maybe we can go down there and steal a win.”
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— Even an unselfish Steve Slaton liked the fact quarterback Patrick White was able to distribute the football to more players than usual in West Virginia’s 48-7 rout of East Carolina here Saturday afternoon.
“That helps me and everyone else on offense,” the 5-10, 195-pound junior All-America tailback said. “Opponents can’t focus on one guy. Trying to give (as many as eight) opportunities (to run with the ball) is good.”
Slaton was the game’s top rusher with a net 110 yards on 18 carries, tied a record with his 42d career rushing touchdown, and caught three passes for 42 yards.
“It is very important that we left the field with a lead (27-0) at halftime,” he said. “And the defense did a heck of a job today. We want to try to put a team out early.”
White, who was 18-of-20 for 181 passing yards and added 42 yards rushing, accounted for four of his team’s six touchdowns. He eventually accepted a writer’s term describing his performance as “excellent.”
“There was a lot of better decision-making today,” he said. “The coaches did a great job of preparation this week. They told me what to expect and I was able to put the ball in more guys’ hands to make plays.”
But White wouldn’t call it a career game for himself.
“But I thought I had a pretty good game,” he said. “Every week, the game plan is for me to give the ball to people who make plays.
“Today we got the ball into the hands of more people.”
White praised wide receiver Darius Reynaud, who tallied 58 yards on two reverse plays, caught five passes for 54 yards, and scored two touchdowns.
“He’s a great athlete,” he said. “He could start for any school.”
White added that the same could be said for Jarrett Brown, his backup signal-caller.
Linebacker Marc Magro, who had three solo tackles, including one of the team’s four sacks, thought the defense played its best game of the season.
“We executed real well,” he said.
“We try to stop the run and control the pass in every game. The East Carolina offense is very powerful. We just played well and took away the run.”
WVU center Mike Dent said, “We’re where we want to be going into the Big East part of our schedule. East Carolina has a great team, but we accepted the challenge today.
“I think everybody played better. We communicated well up front, and a lot of players got touches (to run with the ball or catch passes). That was really good.”
Linebacker Morrty Ivy, who had six tackles to share the team lead with safety Eric Wicks, gave this explanation for intercepting Patrick Pinkney’s pass at the WVU 31 in the first quarter:
“There was zone coverage, and I noticed the trend and beat him by breaking on the ball.”
That killed ECU’s most serious scoring threat until it finally got a touchdown just before the game ended.
“I don’t think you can look at that and say it set the tone for the game,” Ivy said. “It was just me making a big play, and it did feel good.”
Noel Devine, the flashy freshman tailback, netted just 11 yards on seven rushing plays as the Pirates seemed to zero in on him defensively.
“I kind of figured on that,” he said. “But I was pleased with the win. So now we can look forward to playing at South Florida in Tampa. A lot of friends will be there (from his hometown of Fort Myers).”
Cornerback Vaughn Rivers, who returned six punts for 93 yards, thinks South Florida, 4-0 and ranked No. 23, definitely will be the toughest foe yet.
“This will be a game we’ll have to play very well for all four quarters,” he ventured. “USF plays hard all across the board.
“They came in here and stole one from us last year. Now maybe we can go down there and steal a win.”
