QB Phil Jurkovec returned to lead Eagles to first ACC win. Barry Chin/Boston Globe
Friday night game against Virginia Tech. National television game in Alumni Stadium. Red bandana game. Four straight games lost in the ACC. Game BC needed to win.
Cue the return of starting Eagle quarterback Phil Jurkovec, injured in the second game of the season against UMass and not expected to come back this year. In a combination of grit, determination, and good fortune, Jurkovec led BC to a 17-3 win over the Hokies last night to garner its first conference victory.
BC coach Jeff Hafley said Jurkovec had been medically cleared to play the previous Friday. Rumors that the Eagles’ top quarterback would return to play appeared earlier yesterday and were confirmed just before game time. The coach noticed things were different with Jurkovec back.
“It’s probably the most confident, fearless, and the best leadership I’ve seen from him since we’ve been here,” Hafley said in the post-game press conference. “Not his best performance, but he threw some good balls. He had a different way about him today and we all felt it.”
Statistically, it was a mediocre performance by Jurkovec. He was 7 of 13 passing for 112 yards. Two passes accounted for 81 of those passing yards. And he threw an interception.
It was that interception, however, that offered a sense of how Jurkovec’s presence might be a special factor.
On BC’s first possession, the Eagles had reached the VaTech 35. Jurkovec’s throw on second-and-12 was intercepted at the six-yard line. On the return, BC’s Jaelen Gill forced a fumble that was recovered on the 13 by . . . Jurkovec.
On the subsequent third down, Jurkovec ran for an eight-yard touchdown, vaulting into the end zone.
If BC’s offense was “adequate,” Virginia Tech’s was lethargic, as the score would indicate. VaTech’s total offense was 235 yards, 162 of them on the ground.
The Hokies’ starting quarterback, who played at La Jolla Country Day, was injured early in the game and did not return. VaTech overall was 7 of 17 for 73 yards.
The Eagles totaled 346 yards in offense, 234 on the ground. They ran 67 plays in the game, compared to 51 for Virginia Tech.
Patrick Garwo ran for 116 yards.
For the game, Jurkovec ran nine times, for 65 yards. He was not sacked. Leading rusher for BC was Patrick Garwo, who gained 116 yards on 30 carries.
Here are highlights.
(Special thanks to Lori Mahler, who brought red bandanas to the San Diego Eagle game watch for those of us who did not have one. The photo below shows the group at The Corner Drafthouse.
The red bandana, of course, is symbolic of 1999 graduate Welles Crowther, who saved the lives of numerous people during the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, but perished. People noted that the young man who had guided them to safety amid the dust and debris wore a red bandana over his nose and mouth. That covering was the accessory Crowther carried since boyhood. The Eagles wear a special uniform and fans wear the red bandana in his honor at the annual game.)
The Eagles’ record improved to 5-4, 1-4 in the ACC. Three games remain for BC to get a sixth win and bowl game eligibility.
Syracuse 21, BC 6
I was too bummed by the result of the BC-Syracuse game on Saturday, October 30, to post a game story. I apologize for shirking that duty.
The Eagles had led in that game, 3-0, at halftime and they added another field goal to go up 6-0 in the third quarter. In a five-minute span, however, the Orange scored three touchdowns on runs of 51 and 48 yards and a 68-yard punt return.
You can watch if you want. :)
The Eagles meet Georgia Tech in Atlanta next Saturday, November 13. Game time 12:30 pm PT.