Cook’s TD return highlights strong defensive effort

When Virginia senior Chris Cook picked off Boston College quarterback Dave Shinskie’s pass in the third quarter and took it all the way back 58 yards for a touchdown, Scott Stadium was rocking.

Cook’s pick, his third of the season, tied the game at 7 and seemed to give Virginia and its victory-starved fans new life.

“That was a huge momentum swing,” said UVa linebacker Bill Schautz. “We were all very, very excited when that happened.

“As soon as he scored, I was out on the field jumping up and down. It was definitely a change in momentum. From that point on, we felt like we had the game — even at the very end.”

But it was not to be.

Virginia fought hard but still wound up on the short end, losing 14-10.

You could hardly blame the Virginia’s defense, though. The unit did a good job against both the run and the pass.

Eagles running back Montel Harris rushed for 158 yards, but had to do it on a whopping 38 carries.

“That’s a pretty good day for the defense,” commented Virginia coach Al Groh.

Meanwhile, Shinskie was just 12 of 26 through the air for 147 yards and two interceptions.

Shinskie’s first pick came on the team’s opening drive of the game. BC had moved all the way down to the UVa 5-yard-line when Ras-I Dowling picked off a Shinskie pass in the end zone.

“I just tried to read the quarterback’s eyes and make a play,” Dowling said.

Cook’s interception later in the game was the result of a lot of hard work in practice, according to Groh.

“It was a terrific play — something we had worked on during the week,” Groh said. “He made an aggressive play on the ball and showed a lot of skill in getting into the end zone.”

Schautz added that the team’s preparation made all the difference.

“Scheme-wise, we knew where [Shinskie] was going to go with the ball,” he said. “Chris made a great play on the ball.

“Every day we practice pursuit and when you get the interception, set up blocks — and the blocking was perfect and he took it to the house.”

Sounding off

Groh, not known to talk about things such as crowd noise and homefield advantage, went out of his way to praise Saturday’s crowd, the students in particular.

“You couldn’t help but miss the student body,” Groh said. “They caught my eye jumping around the way they did…we appreciate that.”

Randolph redemption

When Virginia kicker Robert Randolph missed a 47-yard field goal wide right at the end of the first quarter, he didn’t get down on himself.

“The guys were trying to get me up and saying, ‘You’ll get another chance.’ I figured I would,” Randolph said. “I just told myself to be ready for the next kick.”

Randolph’s 38-yarder at the end of the third quarter gave Virginia its only lead of the game at 10-7.

Helping Herzlich

BC senior linebacker Mark Herzlich, who has missed the entire 2009 season while undergoing treatment for cancer, was presented with a check for $8,194.94 from the Virginia football team prior to Saturday’s kickoff. The funds went to Uplifting Athletes, a national nonprofit organization.

Extra points

A week after passing for just 75 yards against Miami, Virginia quarterback Marc Verica (concussion) didn’t dress for the game. Groh said the symptons were noticed Wednesday night. ... Saturday’s attendance of 44,324 was the fourth-best figure of the season and the highest since Oct. 10.