Saturday, August 31
Chestnut Hill
4:00 PM
Boston College
1-0 , 1-0
35
vs
28
Virginia Tech
0-1 , 0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Virginia Tech
7
7
7
7
28
Boston College
7
21
0
7
35
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Eagles Open 2019 with 35-28 Win Over Virginia Tech
August 31, 2019 | Football
Brown throws for 275 yards and two touchdowns; Dillon rushes for 81 yards and a score
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Anthony Brown threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns and true freshman Zay Flowers registered 116 yards of total offense as Boston College beat Virginia Tech, 35-28, on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. It was the season - and ACC - opener for both teams.
Brown was 15-of-26 on the afternoon, completing passes to eight different receivers. Flowers led the way with 91 receiving yards on two catches, including a 33-yard touchdown to start the game. The TD reception was the first by a BC true freshman since the 2010 season. Kobay White grabbed three passes for 73 yards and a score. Tight end Hunter Long made a team-best four receptions for 53 yards. In all, Brown completed four passes over 25 yards, including two 50+ yard connections.
All-American running back AJ Dillon carried the ball 23 times for 81 yards. David Bailey tallied 38 yards on 12 carries as the Eagles gained 157 yards of offense on the ground, including three scores.
Defensively, Max Richardson led BC with 10 tackles (five solo), while Tate Haynes logged nine tackles (six solo), including a strip sack. Joseph Sparacio made six tackles and recorded an interception., Brandon Sebastian had six stops and an interception, and Tanner Karafa had three tackles, an interception, and two pass breakups.
On the second series of the game, Boston College posted its first touchdown of the season as Brown found Flowers on a 33-yard strike to the right side of the end zone. The TD haul capped a five-play, 67-yard drive, making it 7-0 with 12:01 left in the first.Â
The Hokies tied it at 7-7 on their next series, as Ryan Willis and Hezekiah Grimsley connected on a 55-yard pass with 4:43 left in the quarter. In the 2nd quarter, a 20-yard TD strike from Willis to Tayvion Robinson with 11:29 left gave VT a 14-7 lead.
The Eagles tied it up after a nine-play, 75-yard drive ended with a Dillon rushing touchdown. After spinning off his initial tackler, Dillon scampered 17 yards to the end zone. Aaron Boumerhi converted the extra point, making it 14-14.
On the next VT series, Haynes forced the first turnover of the afternoon on a strip sack of Willis.  Marcus Valdez made the recovery, giving the Eagles a great opportunity deep in Hokies' territory. On the third play of the drive, Brown found White at the pylon, with the junior wideout showing great body control on the 17-yard TD reception. BC led 21-14 with 6:20 to go.
BC's special teams play kept the turnover train going, recovering a muffed punt return attempt by VT. On the second play of the drive, Brown took it 28 yards to the house on a keeper, making it 28-14 -- a lead that would stand up at the half.
Virginia Tech and Boston College both began the second half with drives that ended in punts. The Hokies began their next drive on the Eagles' 42 and were driving toward the end zone before Brandon Sebastian made a highlight-reel play. The redshirt sophomore went over everyone to intercept a Willis pass in the end zone.
The Hokies cut it to 28-21 with 3:09 to go in the third, as Willis found tight end James Mitchell in the end zone from 10 yards out.
After another BC punt, Virginia Tech took possession at their own 22-yard line. Seven plays later, Eagles LB Tanner Karafa ended the Hokies' drive, intercepting a Willis pass at the line of scrimmage at the VT 41.
Boston College continued to drive deep into VT territory, converting a fourth-and-one with a two-yard keeper from Brown. But on the next play from scrimmage, White took the pitch from Brown and was hit on his pass attempt, resulting in an interception in the end zone.
The Eagles extended their lead to 35-21 with 7:53 left to play, due in large part to the play of AJ Dillon, who racked up 37 (nine receiving; 28 rushing) of BC's 56 yards on the drive, with backfield mate David Bailey accounting for the remaining 19 yards - including a one-yard into the end zone for the score.
The Hokies kept driving, making it 35-28 with 2:13 to go in regulation, as Willis capped an 18-play, 83-yard drive with an 11-yard strike to Caleb Smith.
After recovering Virginia Tech's onside kick attempt, BC pounded the ball up the middle. After the Hokies called their final timeout of the game, Dillon broke through the middle for an 11-yard rush, setting up the victory formation.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Brown was 15-of-26 on the afternoon, completing passes to eight different receivers. Flowers led the way with 91 receiving yards on two catches, including a 33-yard touchdown to start the game. The TD reception was the first by a BC true freshman since the 2010 season. Kobay White grabbed three passes for 73 yards and a score. Tight end Hunter Long made a team-best four receptions for 53 yards. In all, Brown completed four passes over 25 yards, including two 50+ yard connections.
All-American running back AJ Dillon carried the ball 23 times for 81 yards. David Bailey tallied 38 yards on 12 carries as the Eagles gained 157 yards of offense on the ground, including three scores.
Defensively, Max Richardson led BC with 10 tackles (five solo), while Tate Haynes logged nine tackles (six solo), including a strip sack. Joseph Sparacio made six tackles and recorded an interception., Brandon Sebastian had six stops and an interception, and Tanner Karafa had three tackles, an interception, and two pass breakups.
On the second series of the game, Boston College posted its first touchdown of the season as Brown found Flowers on a 33-yard strike to the right side of the end zone. The TD haul capped a five-play, 67-yard drive, making it 7-0 with 12:01 left in the first.Â
The Hokies tied it at 7-7 on their next series, as Ryan Willis and Hezekiah Grimsley connected on a 55-yard pass with 4:43 left in the quarter. In the 2nd quarter, a 20-yard TD strike from Willis to Tayvion Robinson with 11:29 left gave VT a 14-7 lead.
The Eagles tied it up after a nine-play, 75-yard drive ended with a Dillon rushing touchdown. After spinning off his initial tackler, Dillon scampered 17 yards to the end zone. Aaron Boumerhi converted the extra point, making it 14-14.
On the next VT series, Haynes forced the first turnover of the afternoon on a strip sack of Willis.  Marcus Valdez made the recovery, giving the Eagles a great opportunity deep in Hokies' territory. On the third play of the drive, Brown found White at the pylon, with the junior wideout showing great body control on the 17-yard TD reception. BC led 21-14 with 6:20 to go.
BC's special teams play kept the turnover train going, recovering a muffed punt return attempt by VT. On the second play of the drive, Brown took it 28 yards to the house on a keeper, making it 28-14 -- a lead that would stand up at the half.
Virginia Tech and Boston College both began the second half with drives that ended in punts. The Hokies began their next drive on the Eagles' 42 and were driving toward the end zone before Brandon Sebastian made a highlight-reel play. The redshirt sophomore went over everyone to intercept a Willis pass in the end zone.
The Hokies cut it to 28-21 with 3:09 to go in the third, as Willis found tight end James Mitchell in the end zone from 10 yards out.
After another BC punt, Virginia Tech took possession at their own 22-yard line. Seven plays later, Eagles LB Tanner Karafa ended the Hokies' drive, intercepting a Willis pass at the line of scrimmage at the VT 41.
Boston College continued to drive deep into VT territory, converting a fourth-and-one with a two-yard keeper from Brown. But on the next play from scrimmage, White took the pitch from Brown and was hit on his pass attempt, resulting in an interception in the end zone.
The Eagles extended their lead to 35-21 with 7:53 left to play, due in large part to the play of AJ Dillon, who racked up 37 (nine receiving; 28 rushing) of BC's 56 yards on the drive, with backfield mate David Bailey accounting for the remaining 19 yards - including a one-yard into the end zone for the score.
The Hokies kept driving, making it 35-28 with 2:13 to go in regulation, as Willis capped an 18-play, 83-yard drive with an 11-yard strike to Caleb Smith.
After recovering Virginia Tech's onside kick attempt, BC pounded the ball up the middle. After the Hokies called their final timeout of the game, Dillon broke through the middle for an 11-yard rush, setting up the victory formation.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Boston College made six passing plays of 15 or more yards and had five rushes of 10 or more yards in the win.
- Anthony Brown logged his fifth career game with at least 275 passing yards. BC is 4-1 in those games.
- AJ Dillon's rushing touchdown gave him 26 for his career, moving him into a tie with Derrick Knight and Mike Cloud for eighth place on Boston College's career list. Dillon has now rushed for a TD in 15 of his 23 career games at BC.
- Redshirt freshman Hunter Long entered today's game with four career receptions. He logged four catches today, for a career-best 53 yards.
- BC was 9-of-19 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. The Eagles logged 18 first downs vs. the Hokies.
- Max Richardson led BC in tackles for the third time in his career, and reached double figures in tackles for the second time. Last season, he made 13 stops vs. Syracuse.
- The Eagles made eight total tackles for a loss, led by redshirt freshman Joey Luchetti's 1.5 TFL. BC also logged three interceptions and four pass breakups. Tanner Karafa made two PBU's, including a third quarter interception.
- Graduate student kicker Aaron Boumerhi missed his lone field goal try (38 yards), but converted all five of his point-after attempts.
- Grant Carlson made six punts for a total of 231 yards. He had a long boot of 48 yards and put one kick inside the 20.
- Boston College improves to 10-18 all-time versus Virginia Tech, including 5-8 all-time at Alumni Stadium. The Eagles are now 7-10 in ACC play versus the Hokies.
- The Eagles have won three consecutive season openers, dating back to 2017.
- BC is 1-0 in ACC play for the second straight year. Since joining the ACC in 2005, the Eagles have won their conference lidlifter on five occasions.
- The Eagles were 3-for-5 in red zone attempts, accounting for 21 points.
- BC averaged 5.8 yards per play (75 total plays) on the afternoon.
- Boston College hosts Richmond on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff time is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen live on ACC Network Extra. The BC Learfield IMG Sports Network will air the game on 93.7 WEEI FM, beginning with the pregame show 30 minutes prior to kickoff.
Team Stats
VT
BC
Total Yards
442
432
Pass Yards
344
275
Rushing Yards
98
157
Penalty Yards
20
32
1st Downs
29
18
3rd Downs
8
9
4th Downs
3
1
TOP
33:58
26:02
1st Quarter
VT 0, BC 7
BC - Flowers,Z 33 yd pass from Brown,A (Boumerhi,A kick) 5 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:18
VT 7, BC 7
VT - Grimsley, H 55 yd pass from Willis, R (Johnson, B kick) 6 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:51
2nd Quarter
VT 14, BC 7
VT - Robinson, T 20 yd pass from Willis, R (Johnson, B kick) 9 plays, 88 yards, TOP 3:31
VT 14, BC 14
BC - Dillon,A 17 yd run (Boumerhi,A kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:27
VT 14, BC 21
BC - White,K 17 yd pass from Brown,A (Boumerhi,A kick) 3 plays, 17 yards, TOP 0:42
VT 14, BC 28
BC - Brown,A 28 yd run (Boumerhi,A kick), 2 plays, 28 yards, TOP 0:14
3rd Quarter
VT 21, BC 28
VT - Mitchell, J 11 yd pass from Willis, R (Johnson, B kick) 11 plays, 59 yards, TOP 5:27
4th Quarter
VT 21, BC 35
BC - Bailey,D 1 yd run (Boumerhi,A kick), 10 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:31
VT 28, BC 35
VT - Smith, K 11 yd pass from Willis, R (Johnson, B kick) 18 plays, 83 yards, TOP 5:40
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
15
TD
2
YDS
275
INT
0
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
1
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
K
/ FootballQB
/ Football
P
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
TE
/ Football
DE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DE
/ FootballWR
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