Virginia Tech beats Wake Forest 17-10 in a ACC match.

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Posted 6:03PM on Saturday, October 9, 2004

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Virginia Tech was concerned about overworking Mike Imoh by giving him too many carries. Turns out 29 touches was the perfect amount. Imoh ran for 100 yards and the game-winning touchdown on his 29th and final carry to lead Virginia Tech to a 17-10 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday. ``I have no problem with how many carries I get,'' he said. ``Whatever it takes to win the game two carries, 10 carries, whatever.'' Imoh got his first career start last week, and ran for 115 yards on 30 carries in the Hokies' (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) win over then-No. 6 West Virginia. He was slightly dehydrated after that performance, and Virginia Tech didn't want the same thing to happen to him in its first ACC road game. So Imoh drank plenty of water this time, making sure to stay hydrated. Save for some slight cramping in the third quarter, the tiniest Hokie (Imoh is 5-foot-7, 197 pounds) had no trouble carrying Virginia Tech to the win. ``I think the cramping was more from coming out after halftime and being cooled off,'' he said. ``I can take the ball 50 times if they'd give it to me.'' Imoh's game-winning 7-yard run was set up by quarterback Bryan Randall, who scrambled for 45 yards on three runs in the final drive. His 21-yard dash moved the Hokies to the 11, and Imoh scored two plays later to put Tech on top with 2:10 to play. Randall, who ended with 119 yards passing, a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jeff King, and 46 yards rushing, often resembled Michael Vick on his late drives. But Tech coach Frank Beamer halted any comparisons. ``Well, he's a good player,'' Beamer said. ``But he and Vick cannot really be compared. But Randall is a good leader. He is a team leader that has a lot of heart as well as talent.'' Wake Forest (3-3, 0-3) nearly tied it again, but was stopped on the Virginia Tech 5. One of Cory Randolph's passes into the end zone was nearly intercepted, and the next one sailed through receiver Jimmy Williams' hands. Randolph's fourth-down attempt was dropped short of the end zone, sealing another heartbreaking defeat for the Demon Deacons. They lost in overtime at both Clemson and North Carolina State. ``In the end, today was a good loss,'' said Wake coach Jim Grobe. ``I think our guys are tired of coming up short this year. The effort is there, we've just got to execute a little better.'' Randolph threw for 180 yards for Wake Forest. Chris Barclay ran for 84 yards, including a 1-yard scoring run. The game could have been lopsided, but Wake Forest's Josh Gattis ended two potential Virginia Tech scoring drives with fumble recoveries. The first was in the second quarter when he tackled Cedric Humes at the Wake Forest 19 and knocked the ball loose, then pounced on it. Humes' second recovery was much bigger, taking the ball away from Justin Hamilton at the Wake Forest 1 as Virginia Tech was going in for a third-quarter touchdown. The Hokies' defense was swarming early, rattling Wake Forest into consecutive false starts on its first possession followed by a sack of Randolph. Virginia Tech dominated the first half, but gave up just enough plays to keep the game tight. Randall was sacked twice late in the second quarter, forcing Virginia Tech to punt from its own 1. That gave the Deacons the ball on Tech's 45, and Randolph moved them into scoring range with a 30-yard pass to Kevin Marion. Barclay scored five plays later to cut Virginia Tech's lead to three at 10-7 with 25 seconds to play before halftime. The game might have been tied, but kicker Matt Wisnosky injured his knee on the opening kickoff and the Deacons had to use punter Ryan Plackemeier on field goals. His 38-yard attempt in the first quarter bounced off the right upright. He later made a 20-yarder that tied it at 10 with 6:15 to play. Virginia Tech also missed a field goal, with Brandon Pace's 47-yard attempt falling short.