Jurkovec Returns to Beat Virginia Tech, Rescue BC’s Season
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley said this week that the Red Bandana Game Friday night was what the Eagles needed. Now in its eighth year, the event honors the late Welles Crowther, a BC alum who saved more than a dozen lives using a red bandana to cover his face from smoke and dust during the Sept. 11 World Trade Center Attacks.
The paisley-patterned uniforms the Eagles wear every year symbolize Crowther’s bravery and sacrifice. With BC riding a four-game losing streak, the outpouring of emotion, the popping of the fireworks and the gleaming of the Alumni Stadium lights was a resuscitation of sorts.
But so was the return of starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec.
After missing six games with a fracture to his throwing hand, Jurkovec—expected to miss the entire season—came back. It was fitting: On a night in which the Eagles honored Crowther, a hero in the real world, Jurkovec played hero on the gridiron, rescuing a BC season that was spiraling out of control.
Jurkovec ran for 65 yards, eight of which came on the opening touchdown, and threw for 116 in a 17-3 win over Virginia Tech, the Eagles’ first ACC victory of the year.
“This wasn’t something that we were hiding or planned,” second-year Eagles head coach Jeff Hafley said of Jurkovec’s surprise appearance. “He got cleared [last] Friday and had not really practiced and, just being honest with you, called him in, and I would have said, at best, 50-50 chance, with the amount of reps he was going to be able to take, he’d really be able to play.
“He walked into Coach [Frank] Cignetti and I [Wednesday] and said, ‘I’m playing.’ It was ‘I’m playing.’ It was like that. And when Phil looks you in the eye and says that, you listen to him.”
Jurkovec, who Hafley said played more confidently and fearlessly than he ever has since arriving at BC (5-4, 1-4 ACC), tested his right hand right away. Not with a throw but with a run. A few plays after Pat Garwo III plowed forward for 13 yards, Jurkovec called his own number and scrambled for 11 more. He went airborne at the end of the scamper and fell on the hand he injured back in Week 2.
But he was fine. And Eagles fans everywhere let out a collective sigh of relief. There was another when Jurkovec threw an interception to Virginia Tech (4-5, 2-3 ACC) cornerback Dorian Strong but then recovered a fumble on the return, which was tactfully forced by Jaelen Gill.
That weird sequence slingshotted the Eagles to the red zone. Three plays later, Jurkovec faked the handoff on the zone-read and courageously dove into the paint for his first touchdown since the season opener.
“I knew if I was gonna come back, I can’t play tentatively,” Jurkovec said. “Just said a few prayers and went out and did it. I know I can’t run without confidence.”
While a revitalized BC regained its quarterback, the Hokies lost theirs. Dual-threat Braxton Burmeister hit the turf awkwardly on a first-quarter keeper and never returned. True freshman Knox Kadum replaced Burmeister and completed one pass in the first half.
The one-dimensional Hokies offense produced just 113 total yards before the break, 110 of which came on the ground.
Three of Virginia Tech’s five drives in the first half lasted less than 1:20 of game time, and none of the Hokies’ series in the opening two quarters went for more than 33 yards.
The Eagles weren’t terribly successful on offense, either. In fact, Jurkovec was just 3-of-8 for 22 yards in the first half. But BC did squeeze out some more points before intermission.
Once again, some luck factored in. Shortly after an 11-yard reverse to wide receiver Zay Flowers, Jurkovec tried to get the ball to his speedy wideout through the air. He waited too long, though. Following a pump fake, Jurkovec muscled a pass downfield. Virginia Tech free safety Tae Daley read it and came flying in to bat the pass down. Except, instead of falling harmlessly to the ground, the ball ricocheted into the arms of BC tight end Spencer Witter right around the first-down marker.
The Eagles hurried to the line of scrimmage, and Jurkovec pushed forward to keep the chains moving. Five Alec Sinkfield runs of five or more yards propelled BC to the red zone, at which point the Eagles had to settle for a 33-yard Connor Lytton field goal. The Christiansburg, Virginia, native drilled it, giving BC a 10-0 lead and helping the Eagles already match their pitiful ACC scoring average.
The teams traded punts the next four drives.
BC had some chances. But Flowers dropped a perfectly-placed deep ball on one series, and Jurkovec couldn’t sneak for a first down on the next after he had tightroped the sideline for 17 yards a few plays earlier—a big gain that ended with Virginia Tech linebacker Dax Hollifield being flagged for unnecessary roughness following a late hit to Jurkovec and a shove to Hafley, who was calling for the flag.
“That was a blur to me,” Hafley said. “I got pushed, and that’s all I remember. … We all have each other’s back and that’s the coolest part about this team. I appreciate that, and they know I have got their back, too.”
The Hokies got one more swing offensively ahead of the break, however, it proved to be an uninspired two-minute drill from a Virginia Tech team that, all night, mustered just two passing plays of 10-plus yards without Burmeister and leading receiver Tré Turner. After two consecutive Kadum incompletions, the Hokies punted the ball away as the clock hit triple zeros, signaling halftime.
With the way Virginia Tech was moving the ball, or not moving the ball for that matter, BC practically put the game away on its opening drive of the second half. The Eagles went 93 yards on 11 plays in 6:05.
Sandwiched in between 10 Garwo runs was an elusive 46-yard pass from Jurkovec to Flowers, who beat Virginia Tech cornerback Jermaine Waller by a step. Garwo piled up 47 rushing yards on the drive, including a three-yard score, following the blocks of a recharged offensive line that saw Zion Johnson shift over to left tackle in Tyler Vrabel’s absence and former BC High four-star recruit Ozzy Trapilo make his first start at left guard.
The 17-3 Eagles’ lead felt insurmountable. And it was. Especially with the way BC’s defense was playing.
John Parker Romo, wearing Frank Beamer’s No. 25 jersey, saved the Hokies from a potential shutout with a 47-yard field goal. It was a disappointing end to a drive for the Hokies, though: a series that started with a 14-yard pass to Robinson and then was bolstered by a 15-yard Malachi Thomas run.
Still, Virginia Tech didn’t come up empty. Not like it did on its best drive of the game.
Mike Palmer was a big reason why. Filling in for free safety Jason Maitre, now out for the year, the sixth-year defensive back made a touchdown-saving tackle in the open field on Robinson. Then, in the red zone, Palmer immediately recovered a Robinson fumble, which was forced by defensive end Marcus Valdez, gifting the Eagles possession after the ruling on the field—originally that Robinson was down—was reversed.
Virginia Tech got the ball back with 7:25 to go, but Fuente and offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen remained conservative. The run-run-pass play-calling only got the Hokies so far, and Peter Moore was sent out to punt one last time.
From there, Garwo padded his 30-carry, 116-yard stat line, and the Eagles milked the clock. Just like that, BC’s month-long skid was over. The Eagles had held Virginia Tech to 73 passing yards and three points, tying a school record for the fewest points allowed in an ACC game.
On a night where Jurkovec returned, and BC honored the ultimate hero: Welles Crowther.
“It felt like a perfect storm,” strong safety Jaiden Woodbey said.
Last edited:
