Georgia Tech Is Dominated by Virginia, 35-14

Larry Holmes scored on a 30-yard pass play and set up a touchdown with a 65-yard kickoff return as 25th-ranked Virginia defeated Georgia Tech, 35-14, Thursday night.

Holmes beat defender Lethon Flowers for his scoring reception from quarterback Symmion Willis, giving the unbeaten Cavaliers a 9-0 lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference game.

Georgia Tech’s Mike Williams prevented a touchdown when he bumped Holmes out of bounds on the Georgia Tech 35, but four plays later Kevin Brooks scored from the seven-yard line, giving Virginia a 15-7 second-quarter lead.

The Cavaliers led at halftime, 18-7.

Virginia Coach George Welsh said he told a nervous Willis, a redshirt sophomore playing in his hometown, to “forget about all this other stuff” and play the game.

“I don’t know if he was good, bad or indifferent, frankly,” Welsh said. “The team won the game.”

Willis completed 16 of 21 passes with one touchdown and no interceptions.

The Cavaliers, 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, beat Georgia Tech (1-1, 0-1) for the fifth time in their last seven games.

The Yellow Jackets were plagued by turnovers, losing one fumble and throwing three interceptions.

Virginia scored twice in the fourth quarter after interceptions, the first on Charles Way’s 33-yard run that made it 28-7 and the other a six-yard run by Brooks with 34 seconds to play.

Georgia Tech had cut the lead to 28-14 when quarterback Donnie Davis scored on a nine-yard run with 8:39 remaining.

Kyle Kirkeide had field goals of 28, 39 and 20 yards for the Cavaliers.