Peerman carries UVa despite pain

There was very little chance that Cedric Peerman wasn’t coming back in against Richmond. Flak jacket, whatever — he was coming back.

“I wasn’t going to sit this one out as close as the ballgame was,” Peerman said. “I wasn’t going to sit this one out.”

Peerman got banged up in the first quarter when he “twisted the wrong way” and was quickly fitted with a flak jacket by the Virginia equipment staff and ran the ball twice in the second quarter.

“I think Chase Minnifield said it looked like I put on 30 pounds mid-game,” Peerman said. “He was kind of joking around with me about that.”

Peerman came back in at the start of the Cavaliers’ touchdown drive in the fourth quarter after carrying the ball just one time in the third quarter for a

3-yard gain. He promptly ripped off a 9-yard gain, then plunged ahead for two yards on the ensuing play for a first down.

Three plays later, he hauled in a catch for seven yards, helping kickstart a drive that put the game away for Virginia.

“Every time Cedric goes on the field, you’re going to get that kind of effort,” said Virginia coach Al Groh. “He’s never going to lay the flag down, that’s for sure.”

Peerman piled up 60 yards on just 10 carries, and if he hadn’t gotten banged up on the early carry, he’d have surely gotten about twice as many touches. The Cavaliers clearly wanted to establish the run early after a dismal performance on the ground against Southern California, when Virginia adopted a more wide open passing attack from the start.

Against Richmond, four of the first five carries went to Peerman — a 17-yard gain, two runs for a total of one yard, and then, after a 19-yard completion by Peter Lalich to Maurice Covington, a 15-yard jaunt.

Peerman had half as many carries in the first five plays against the Spiders as he did in four quarters against Southern California (8 carries, 32 yards).

The senior captain’s toughness certainly impressed Virginia sophomore guard B.J. Cabbell, who played against Peerman in the Dogwood District when Cabbell was at Nelson County and Peerman suited up for William Campbell. According to Cabbell, little has changed in five years.

“It’s unspeakable how tough he is,” Cabbell said. “I played [against] him in high school and he had a lot of toughness then, he’s just showing it on this level.”

Peerman said being a little banged up won’t keep him out for any time, and if he can find a way not to be forced to add equipment midway through a contest, Virginia could find out how much they can get out of him this season in a full game. It’s clear after the Richmond win — they’ll get all he can possibly muster.