University of Virginia Library

Same Old Thing, 17-14

Maryland Got Very Lucky

By Winston Wood
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Byron Stadium is a lousy
place in which to lose.

Little more than a hole in
the ground, it is lost in what
appears to be a low rent
housing project, but in reality
is a maze of eight story high
dormitories of classical
neo-penal architecture, as
cheery and inviting as the
Western State Mental Hospital
over in Staunton. With an east
to west alignment, the wind
blows through it with the
wrath of God on a cold day.

It was in this same Byrd
Stadium and under these same
conditions that Virginia's
football team ended the '69
season in a game with the
University of Maryland marked
by the same erratic play,
blunders, and bad luck that
have plagued them all year. As
in the past, the other team was
able to cash in on the mistakes
and win it in the final minute.

Finishing the season with a
3-7 record, the Cavaliers rode
the crest of a five game losing
streak into the game with the
equally feckless Terrapins.
Because of the loss, Virginia
remains the sole occupant of
the dank and dreary ACC
cellar.

Before a crowd of some
22,000, which appeared to be
little more than Montgomery
County Public School safety
patrols and inner-city kids all
with free tickets, the Maryland
defense completely shut off
the Virginia ground attack. For
both halves the Cavaliers
totaled 68 yards rushing.
Quarterback Danny Fassio was
forced to go to the air, as he
had against Tulane, hitting for
13 of 24 attempts.

If it is true what they say
about God always being for
Notre Dame, it must be Bozo
the Clown that watches over
Virginia. The Cavaliers were
sometimes that comical. There
were periods in the game when
Fassio looked so good he could
have brought the Pee Wee
All-Stars back to beat Ohio
State. On third and forty, he
was able to get the crucial first
down, hitting tight end Bobby
Bischoff time after time for
long yardage. In the last
minutes of the third quarter he
brought the Cavaliers back into
the game, handing off to Dave
Wyncoop for the touchdown
and scoring the two-point
conversion himself - the first
time he'd tried it all year. Then
at other times Fassio would
lose control, moving the ball
nowhere.

As frequent and as obvious
as they seemed to be, the

mistakes were not
monopolized by the Virginia
team alone. One Maryland
player, tailback Marshall, could
have broken the game wide
open if he had not kept
running into his teammates. He
was able to break for runs of
15, 5, 16, and 36 yards, but
insisted upon tripping up on
one of his own players.

Roland Merritt, their top
Pro prospect, coming into the
game with an average of 25
yards in pass receptions,
dropped all but one pass, two
of them certain touchdowns.
The one he caught, however,
made up for all the rest. A long
bomb off of a triple reverse, it
bounced off the hands of his
teammate Hank Barnes, then
off the hands of safety Andy
Minton, before he was finally
able to grab it.

Bad luck such as this, and
bad mistakes led to each
Maryland score. Merritt's
fantastically lucky catch set up
the second Terp touchdown, a
Fassio interception led to the
first, and a Fassio fumble on
the Virginia eleven set up the
game winning field goal. "It
was a long season,"
quarterback Fassio admitted
after the game.

Unable to get the ground
game going until the second
half, Virginia had to settle for
two. Jim Carrington field goals
to stay in the game.
Statistically, oddly enough,
Virginia walked all over them.
The Wahoos led in first downs,
passing yardage, passes
completed, and was penalized
only 60 yards compared with
Maryland's 103.

Probably the only consoling
thought about such a loss to
such a team is that Princeton
lost to Yale last weekend the
same way, by the same score,
and now they're Ivy League
champs. Byrd Stadium is a
lousy place in which to lose,
but who knows - maybe next
year ...

Photos By Bob Gill

Jim Lacey Wheels Around Right End As Wahoos Fall, 14-17, To Uninspiring Terps

Virginia Finishes Fall Campaign With 3-7 Record, Ends In Atlantic Coast Conference Cellar