Stanford’s first ACC home game didn’t go as expected. On a very hot Saturday afternoon at The Farm, the Cardinals (2-3, 1-2 ACC) played their first home game in three weeks against the Virginia Tech Hokies (3-3, 1-1 ACC). However, they lost 31-7 and fell just short.
With quarterback Ashton Daniels out with an injury, the Cardinal relied on Justin Lamson to keep him in check, completing 13 of 24 for 103 yards and an interception.
“I think Justin is a gritty, tough kid,” head coach Troy Taylor said after the game. “He’s going to give you everything he can. I know he probably didn’t play his best, but I thought he gave it his all and left everything on the field.” You can certainly feel that he needed to play better in all three areas when he came up short. He would have liked to have played better, but I think he’s tough. I thought he was a strong player.”
The scoring began with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Virginia Tech’s Kyron Drones to Stephen Gosnell with 6:33 left in the first quarter. After that, the Hokies completely controlled the game, never falling behind, and won the game, ending their losing streak at two.
After both teams tightened up and played good defense, the Hokies extended their lead with 1:54 left in the first half when running back Beishul Tuten connected with a good Hokies drive and successfully carried the ball 7 yards to the end zone. The PAT from kicker John Love put the Cardinal up 14-0.
The Hokies, who opted for a postponement, got the ball to start the second half and got off to a quick start, extending their lead to 21-0 with receiver Daquan Felton catching Draughns’ 55-yard touchdown. However, the Cardinal will be out late in the third quarter. Eric Ayomanor caught a touchdown pass with a minute left, but instead of the quarterback throwing it, running back Micah Ford threw the TD from the Wildcat line.
“Well, I felt like we just tried to use him as one of our weapons in this game,” Taylor said. “He’s a versatile player, obviously he can throw, he can run, he’s a smart kid, so we thought we’d expand (the offense) and give us a chance.”
In the fourth quarter, Drones added one touchdown to the Hokies’ scoreboard, driving the Hokies down the field and driving the ball in himself for a 2-yard score with 7:28 left in the game. Josh Love then hit a 46-yard field goal to make it 31-7 and send the Hokies back to Blacksburg with the victory.
Defensively, the Cardinal had several standout players, especially linebacker Tristan Sinclair, who made big plays, recording a team-leading 12 tackles and six and a half solo tackles for loss. Sinclair’s linebacker partner, Gethan Bernadel, tied for second with safety Scottie Edwards with 10 tackles.
