Hokies take care of business, and Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia Tech's ACC Coastal Division title hopes were dashed before its game against in-state rival Virginia kicked off Saturday at Scott Stadium.
Duke beat North Carolina earlier in the day to win the division crown outright.
But despite no longer being in hunt in the ACC championship race, the Hokies remained focused and handled their business in a 16-6 victory over the Cavaliers.
With pride and a winning streak against their hated rivals on the line, the Hokies (8-4, 5-3 in the ACC) took a 10-point halftime lead and held on during a scoreless second half for their 10th consecutive victory over Virginia.
It's the longest winning streak for either team in the series.
"I think we came out there with great intensity and with a purpose," said Hokies senior quarterback Logan Thomas, who passed for 229 yards and a touchdown. "We didn't take any plays off."
Hokies freshman walk-on kicker Eric Kristensen made a career-high three field goals, including a career-long 38-yarder in the second quarter.
Virginia Tech tailback Trey Edmunds, who rushed for 93 yards on 11 carries, scored the game's only touchdown on a 26-yard catch and run right before halftime.
The game ended in disappointment for Edmunds, who sustained a season-ending broken right tibia in the fourth quarter.
Edmunds, a redshirt freshman, was scheduled to have surgery Sunday.
"Sorry to see Trey Edmunds go down," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said. "I thought he was having his best game since he came to Virginia Tech. But we'll get that thing healed up and rolling again next year."
Virginia Tech sophomore wide receiver Demitri Knowles caught four passes a career-high 101 receiving yards.
Virginia Tech held an opponent without a touchdown for the second time this season.
The Cavaliers (2-10, 0-8), who failed to score a touchdown, have been limited to two offensive touchdowns in their last four meetings with the Hokies.
"Going into this game, I knew that their defense was something that we probably couldn't overcome," Virginia coach Mike London said. "(Virginia Tech defensive coordinator) Bud Foster has done a great job defensively and has won against a lot of teams."
Virginia, which finished the season with 10 losses for the first time since 1981, had only 285 total yards of total offense, 120 of which came in a scoreless second half.
"They are a good defensive football team, and we knew that going in," Cavaliers offensive lineman Luke Bowanko said. "I thought we moved the ball pretty well on them, but we just weren't converting on big plays and turnovers."
The Hokies were shut out of the end zone for much of the first half before Thomas completed a dump-off pass to Edmunds, who broke a tackle by Virginia linebacker Daquan Romero and ran the rest of the way for a 26-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left until halftime.
It was Edmunds' second touchdown reception of the season.
"He was wound up," Beamer said. "I mean, he was ripping it."
Before that, Kristensen provided all the offense for the Hokies with field goals of 22, 30 and 38 yards.
The Cavaliers couldn't get in the end zone either, settling instead for Alec Vozenilek's field goals of 36 and 29 yards.
NOTES: Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas made his 39th consecutive start, breaking the school record for consecutive starts by a quarterback set by Bryan Randall from 2001-04. ... Virginia RB Kevin Parks rushed for 101 yards to become the school's first 1,000-yard back since Alvin Pearman in 2004. ... Hokies freshman RB Sam Rogers, who was a quarterback in high school, completed his first career pass in the first quarter to Thomas. It was Thomas' second career catch, as he had a touchdown against Wake Forest as a freshman in 2010. ... Virginia Tech has scored in 242 straight games, tied for the 12th-longest scoring streak in NCAA Division I history. ... Virginia TE Jake McGee had a season-long 38-yard reception in the first quarter. ... The teams combined for five first-half field goals. The most combined field goals in a Virginia Tech-Virginia game with Frank Beamer as coach of the Hokies was six in a 42-23 victory by the Cavaliers in 1994.