Collegiate Times

Despite a poor first half, the Hokies battled back in the final minutes and overtime to defeat Boston College 30-23.

The win, which keeps the Hokies bowl game chances alive, makes them 5-6 on the season heading into a critical regular season finale against Virginia.

“We come out and get behind and things are not looking great,” said head coach Frank Beamer. “Boston College was playing great, and we were trying to play well. I asked the guys at halftime to just keep on, and things will get turned around if you just keep playing with great effort. Sure enough, it did.”

Quarterback Logan Thomas, who finished 16-of-33 passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns, threw the game-winning touchdown in overtime to Randall Dunn on the first possession in overtime.

“Randall actually talked to me about it on Thursday when we practiced it,” Thomas said. “It was our two-point play, but we pulled it out when we needed it.”

Thomas rolled out and found Dunn in the back of the endzone for the score. The play was reviewed, but officials ruled he was in fact in bounds.

“’(Dunn) said ‘Go ahead and throw it up there, I can go get it,’” Thomas said. “I laughed at him, but I guess it came in handy today.”

The Hokies trailed 13-3 at the half, but scored twice in the third quarter courtesy a Thomas one-yard rush and a 39-yard catch by Marcus Davis to make it 17-16.

In the second half, the Eagles fought back, ultimately taking the lead on a David Dudeck 12-yard touchdown with 4:11 left.

With the score 23-20, Thomas and the offense drove into Boston College territory to set up a Cody Journell game-tying field goal with 1:05 remaining.

“I watched,” said Antone Exum. “He’s a great kicker for us, so I had confidence that he would make that.”

The Eagles won the toss in overtime and elected to play defense. Facing a third-and-one, tailback Martin Scales picked up the necessary yards to move the chains, even after the play looked like it would be stopped.

“I was just running the play, and I kept moving my feet,” Scales said. “I can’t go down, and we’re taught you don’t let one person bring you down.”

After finally breaking through for the fifth win of the season, Thomas and the Hokies got back the winning feeling.

“It’s been way too long,” Thomas said. “It feels great. We’re not used to having losing streaks, and getting a win back under your belt, especially after having lost three in a row, feels great. There’s no feeling like it.”

The Hokies return home next Saturday for their rivalry game against Virginia. The kickoff time and network are still to be determined.

A version of this article appeared in the Nov 18 issue of the Collegiate Times.