Mountaineers Blank Cavaliers, 13-0
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.--Freshman Amos Zereoue ran for 145 yards and the game's only
touchdown and Jay Taylor added two field goals as unbeaten and
23rd-ranked West Virginia blanked Maryland, 13-0, on Sept. 28 in a
non-conference game.
The Mountaineers who became the second Division I-A team to win
five games, pitched their second shutout of the season. They
have allowed just 24 points in five games.
"Our defense was absolutely dynamite, but our offense was not
very good," said Mountaineers coach Don Nehlen. "We should have
been able to put this game out of reach earlier than we did."
Zereoue's one-yard TD plunge capped a nine-play, 34-yard drive
and gave West Virginia a 10-0 lead with 9:18 to play in the
first half. Taylor booted a 33-yard field goal in the first
quarter before nailing a 38-yarder with 7:50 to play in the
third period.
Maryland (2-2) dropped its second consecutive game to a ranked
opponent. Two weeks ago, the Terrapins lost to Virginia, 21-3.
"I'm very disappointed by this loss," said Maryland coach Mark
Duffner. "I felt like our defense put together a winning
effort. We really struggled offensively. We have a lot of work
to do."
West Virginia, which held the Terrapins to five first downs and
62 yards on 55 plays, evened the all-time series at 16-16-2.
Zereoue, who entered the game as the Big East Conference's
leading rusher, carried 31 times and boosted his season total to
619 yards. West Virginia quarterback Chad Johnston completed
12-of-23 passes for 96 yards and one interception.
The Maryland quarterback duo of Brian Cummings and Ken Masterole
was just 8-of-31 for 53 yards with four interceptions. Cummings
was only 3-of-14 for 21 yards with four interceptions while
Masterole was 5-of-17 for 32 yards.
Terrapin tailback Bucky Rodgers, who needed 23 yards to reach
2,000, was held to just 10 on four carries.
Game Statistics
At: Mountaineer Field, Morgantown, W.Va.
Date: Sept. 28, 1996
Att: 54,542
Maryland 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0
West Virginia (23) 3 - 7 - 3 - 0 -- 13
First Quarter
West Virginia-FG, Taylor 33
Second Quarter
West Virginia-Zereoue, 1 run (Taylor kick)
Third Quarter
West Virginia-FG, Taylor 38
Fourth Quarter
No scoring
Maryland West Virginia
First downs 5 12
Rushed-yards 23-9 47-154
Passing yards 53 96
Sacked-yards lost 2-17 2-24
Return yards 16 11
Passes 8-32-4 12-23-1
Punts 8-42.0 9-36.8
Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 2-20 8-94
Time of possession 22:31 37:29
RUSHING:
Maryland-B Rodgers 4-10, Westley 9-9, K Rodgers 4-7,
Crosby 2-1, Mastrole 2-minus 1, Cummings 2-minus 17.
West Virginia-Zereoue 31-145, Plants 5-17, Greene 2-11, White 1-7,
Mott 2-0, Vanterpool 1-minus 2, Johnston 5-minus 24.
PASSING:
Maryland-Mastrole 5-17-0-32, Cummings 3-14-4-21,
Underwood 0-1-0-0.
West Virginia-Johnston 12-23-1-96.
RECEIVING:
Maryland-James 3-29, Simon 3-24, B Rodgers 1-3,
Williams 1-minus 3.
West Virginia-Saunders 6-45, Foreman 2-8,
Zereoue 2-6, Wable 1-27, Vanterpool 1-10.
