A as soon as bleak one-win Hokies squad flipped a script that seemed inevitably out of their favor as they capped off the season with a dominant 41-20 win over the Tulane Inexperienced Wave within the Hokies’ first bowl win since 2016.
The Hokies tan for 362 yards, together with 176 from quarterback Kyron Drones, greater than making up for a mere 91-yard output via the air.
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Half primary was a battle dictated by whoever might maintain onto the ball. It took simply 10 performs for the primary turnover to be dedicated. Hokies QB Kyron Drones misplaced management of the pigskin together with his eyes down the sphere and his mistake landed straight into the outstretched palms of Tulane linebacker, Tyler Grubbs who notched the primary TD of the night time.
Drones, wouldn’t be shaken up by this as an authoritative Hokies drive was quickly in coming. A virtually 6:30 drive ensued earlier than one of many nation’s greatest defenses within the Inexperienced Wave awoke from their groggy state and held the Hokies to a area purpose, which shortened the Hokie deficit to 3.
Two stalemate drives adopted Love’s area purpose till the second turnover of the night time flipped the momentum squarely within the Hokies favor as a muffed punt led Kyron Drones to waltz into the endzone and identical to that the Blacksburg squad discovered the lead.
Quarter quantity two adopted a lot of the identical go well with the primary quarter offered. The Inexperienced Wave have been shifting the ball effortlessly to the Hokies purple zone, but a thundering Pheldarius Payne hit on Inexperienced Wave QB Kai Horton pressured the ball out of his fingers
The Hokies couldn’t capitalize on their newfound wave of life, and it could find yourself being Tulane who would rating subsequent with a 49-yard kick to even the tally at 10.
As either side seemed to determine a agency grip on Wednesday’s rainout, it could be coach Pry’s sides who would strike subsequent as Drones and Co. would transfer the ball with relative ease sharing the ball with Tuten and redshirt freshman Harrison St Germain who can be on the receiving finish of the video games third landing of the night time.
A botched squib kick bizarrely flipped the possession arrow proper again in favor of the Hokies, but Drones discovered nothing as his lengthy shot go was fumbled out of bounds to ship the Hokies into half up, 17-10.
Jaylin Lane can be answerable for the second half’s first turnover, on a fumble that sat up the Inexperienced Wave within the purple zone earlier than QB Kai Horton evaded Jaylen Jones on his solution to the paydirt to sq. the night time at 17 all.
One factor that have to be plauded is the Hokies unwavering dedication to maintain going. There have been a number of occasions within the night time {that a} earlier Hokies squad would have misplaced religion and let their heads fall. Wednesday was the finale to a season that appeared to shudder away these ghosts earlier as Drones and Tuten bossed their solution to the endzone to as soon as once more sway the numbers in Tech’s favor because the Maroon and Orange snagged a 24-17 lead that they might lastly apply a agency clasp too.
The remaining quarter and a half would discover the Hokies layering the Inexperienced Wave with a monsoon of grit and grind performs. Though their huge performs quantity from halfway via the third won’t leap out at you, as Tech accrued simply two 15+ plus yard performs. There have been two extra touchdowns scored by the Hokies which is a testomony to how far this workforce has come.
With that, the Hokies 2023 season is full. A workforce that after sat at 1-3 and getting ready to repeating a dreadful yr one, flipped the ultimate 9 video games whereas profitable six of them, all with relative ease. And an offense that appears reborn with a core of among the ACC’s greatest scattered round all 22, who want to chisel the Hokies to the as soon as distinguished world-beating sculpture that seemed so distant a matter of months in the past.