Cavs’ defense shines in win

Clint Sintim had his eyes glued to the stat sheet.
As reporters fired questions in his direction, Virginia’s top linebacker continually stared at the numbers.
Minutes prior to his arrival, the Cavaliers’ defense had just completed their six-sack outing in a 16-0 victory over Richmond.
The numbers caused Sintim, the face of the
new-look defense, to smile. The allocation, well, it left something to be desired.
“I could have sworn that I had another half sack,” Sintim yelled. “I thought I actually had two.”
Sintim finished with one — on paper — but the number may be adjusted after the coaches’ study game film.
“It doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I’m just happy that we won the game.”
For obvious reasons, Virginia (1-1) needed the win. Becoming eligible for the postseason would have been tremendously troublesome after a loss to the Spiders, a foe from the FCS, what was formerly called NCAA Division I-AA.
While studying the individual numbers and praising fellow teammates, Sintim had flipped past the team stats. In fact, the senior had no clue that Virginia had allowed only one first down to Richmond on their 12 third-down opportunities.
“That does say something,” Sintim said. “I didn’t even have a chance to look at that. That’s key.
“That’s just good effort. That’s execution as far as guys knowing where they need to be, pressuring the quarterback and forcing him to make bad decisions.”
It may have saved the day for the Cavaliers, who struggled for the second straight week to score points.
“That unit stepped up and did what had to be done,” Virginia coach Al Groh said.
It marked the second straight win for Virginia in whitewashing fashion. The Cavaliers blanked Miami last year, 48-0, in the Orange Bowl’s farewell game.
There were few — if any — signs of life on defense, however, in a season-opening debacle that evolved into a 52-7 loss to No. 1 Southern California.
“Obviously our pride was hurt,” Sintim said. “It was a demoralizing loss. We didn’t come to play like we did [against Richmond].
“Our defense really came to play. I’m proud of the other 10 guys on the field out there.”
Sintim could have pushed the total past 10 — the Cavaliers effectively rotated in players with its nickel package on third down and appeared quite lively in the game’s final 15 minutes.
Regardless of the situations thrown their direction by Richmond and their own offense, the defenders held serve again and again.
“They were challenged significantly by field position and by schemes, but they were able to adjust to a lot of things and feel the game as it went along,” Groh said, “and clearly we realized the value of having some veteran players who we could make adjustments with, but we had some young players who played a substantial amount of time here and had their first real positive performance.”
Virginia’s offense, still being molded with three new interior linemen and a new quarterback, showcased eye-catching plays from both ends of the spectrum.
At times, junior tailback Mikell Simpson struggled to find running room, senior Cedric Peerman needed breathers to remain a viable option and signal-caller Pete Lalich soured as the day went.
“I am just happy that we won,” said Lalich, who threw two interceptions. “There was no point where I was down. My teammates have faith in me and I have the utmost faith in them. That’s the most important thing.
“This was a team win, but I know I have things to work on. I expect to do that.”
Virginia travels to Connecticut (2-0) for its first road game Saturday at 7:30 p.m.