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By CRAIG PHILLIPS
Derrick sports writer
On Sept. 20, a dark day for the West Virginia University football team, the Mountaineers suffered a 34-7 defeat at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins.
The Mountaineers' offense couldn't stay on the field and the WVU defense couldn't keep Maryland out of the end zone.
West Virginia fell to 1-3, with losses also coming at the hands of Wisconsin and Cincinnati.
On deck was the University of Miami, owner of 36 straight regular-season wins, at the Orange Bowl, where it had won its last 24 in a row.
The Hurricanes were ranked second in the nation on Nov. 2. WVU was nowhere on the radar.
Miami was favored by 26 points and an easy win was forecasted, but somebody forgot to tell the Mountaineers.
What transpired that Thursday evening left the college football world on the edge of its seat until the Hurricanes rallied for a 22-20 victory by driving 66 yards with 2:00 remaining. Miami freshman Jon Peattie kicked his school-record fifth field goal, a 23-yarder, with 11 second left in the game to give the 'Canes the win.
Tight end Kellen Winslow's outstanding catch on a fourth-and-13 kept the drive alive.
Oil City High School graduates Ben Lynch and Adam Lehnortt were front and center as the redshirt juniors were part of the Mountaineer defense.
Lynch starts at nose guard while Lehnortt lines up behind him at middle linebacker.
In fact, Lehnortt, who was blitzing on the play, almost deflected quaterback Brock Berlin's pass to preserve a West Virginia victory.
"Give me another half second and I'm batting that ball down and we're 4-3 right now, their national championship hopes are almost gone and Kellen Winslow isn't the hero," Lehnortt said in retrospect. "(Berlin) didn't see Winslow when he threw it, I was completely in his face."
Lynch was devastated by the loss, but realized the season goes on.
"An All-American tight end (Winslow) made an All-American catch," he said.
West Virginia skidded to 1-4 with the loss, but experienced a rebirth and followed with a 34-19 win over Rutgers to set up a Wednesday night meeting with rival Virginia Tech at Mountaineer Field.
The Hokies entered Morgantown with a 6-0 record and the No. 3 ranking in the country.
WVU countered with an inspired effort to claim a 28-7 victory. Lehnortt posted a game-high 14 tackles and Lynch outplayed Virginia Tech center Jake Grove, a preseason All-America candidate who was touted by The Sporting News as the nation's best center.
Lehnortt and Lynch shared West Virginia's "defensive champions" award with senior safety Brian King. It was Lynch's second such distinction, the first coming after the Cincinnati game.
The Oiler duo had performed its best when it counted the most.
West Virginia, which will host the University of Central Florida at 1 p.m. Nov. 1 for its homecoming game, is well within reach of a bowl appearance.
The Mountaineers will then visit Boston College for the "Big East Game of the Week" Nov. 8 before hosting Pitt on Nov. 15 in the annual "Backyard Brawl." A road trip to Syracuse will follow on Nov. 22 before WVU closes it season at home Nov. 29 against Temple.
Lehnortt, at 6-3, 235, is second on the team in tackles with 76. He has 38 solo stops and 38 assists. An active linebacker, he has made six tackles for losses, has a pair of sacks, two pass break-ups, two fumble recoveries, one interceptions and a quarterback hurry.
Lynch, at 6-4, 265, is eighth on the team in tackles with 33. He has 20 solos and 13 assists from his position in the pit and eight tackles for losses. He has a pair of sacks and two quarterback hurries.
He spoke for both when expressing his appreciation for the support from the hometown fans.
"We want to represent Oil City well and we know the whole town is supporting us," Lynch said. "It's great. When I went to the Oil City-Franklin game last Friday, everyone was coming up to me. I almost had to hide."
The former Oilers both agreed West Virginia's performance against Miami was pivotal in its recent success and responded to other inquiries in a recent question and answer session:
Q. Despite the 22-20 loss to Miami, did the game help turn your team's season around?
Lehnortt: "I know we were confident coming out of that game. (Miami) was lucky it got out of that game alive with its win streak."
Lynch: "We knew we could play. We just had to get everything together and do it. It did make us realize we could play with the best. It didn't really hurt us."
Q. What were you and the team's thoughts after such a near miss at the upset?
Lehnortt: "We were just bummed because everyone on our team knows we should have won that game. It was a long trip home, but we got a lot of positives out of it."
Lynch: "I just wanted to jump off the plane. I was miserable. We physically whipped them, we just didn't have the points and didn't finish them."
Q. What were your feelings during and after the 28-7 win over Virginia Tech?
Lehnortt: "I'm not tired after this game. I wasn't until the next day. People say that adrenaline is the best drug going and believe me, it is. Our fans are just crazy. I couldn't hear myself think. It was the loudest home or road game I've ever played in my entire life. It was the best crowd I've ever been associated with."
Lynch: 'Everyone was pumped up ... it was crazy. The town was burning down. I didn't know I played that well, but I graded out really well. (Grove) was known as a dirty player and I think I gave him back everything he gave me. He complimented me a couple times during the game."
Q. Virginia Tech is a Big East team which opted to join the Atlantic Coast Conference after this season. Does it add extra incentive facing a future ACC team?
Lehnortt: "I don't really think so. Everybody, mostly the media, was making a big deal about that, but it was just another chance to play Virginia Tech. I don't like those guys whether they're in the ACC or Big East. But the ACC things adds to it."
Lynch: "To hell with them, that's the attitude we all have. They think they're better than we are. It didn't matter, it's just a game, but yeah, it adds to it."
Q. Boston College, your next opponent after Central Florida, recently agreed to join the ACC. Do you think this will give you added momentum?
Lehnortt: "I wouldn't downplay it. Because everyone says 'let's send these guys off to the ACC with their tails between their legs.' "
Lynch: "It's just another example of people being shady. They say one thing and do another."
Q. What does the team need to do to get a bowl invitation?
Lehnortt: "Six wins we'll probably go; seven wins we'll definitely go."
Lynch: "All we need is six wins, but the goal is to win out and see where the chips fall."
Q. What is the attitude after the Virginia Tech win?
Lehnortt: "I think I feel, and the teams feels, we've got to run the table. We've got five games in five weeks in November and when we look up, we want to be 5-0."
Lynch: "As long as we play the way we played against Miami and Tech, we should win out and that's the big thing."
Q. In the aftermath of the rioting and burning in the streets following the Virginia Tech win, is there any truth a new acronym "WVP" is being tossed about campus?
Lehnortt: "What's WVP?"
Lynch: "What?"
Q. West Virginia Pyrotechnical?
Lehnortt-Lynch: (laughter).
Posted 10.30.03
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