Kyron Drones leads Virginia Tech over California 42-34 in double OT

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Kyron Drones threw a touchdown pass in the second overtime before running for the two-point conversion and Virginia Tech rallied last in a 42-34 victory over California on Friday night.

Drones hit Takye Heath for a 7-yard touchdown to begin the second OT for Virginia Tech (3-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), and then ran it in on the mandatory two-point try for an eight-point advantage.

True freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw four straight incompletions for California (5-3, 2-2) to end it.

“We knew it was going to take all three phases to get it done,” Virginia Tech interim coach Philip Montgomery said. “In the second half, our guys continued to battle, continued to fight, and they were resilient all game long. I just couldn’t be more proud of our football team and our coaching staff, with the way they’ve welded together and stayed together.

“Boy, what a big win. The joy in that locker room was unbelievable. The good Lord has blessed us in that way, and I’m just really proud of this team and how hard they fought tonight and how hard they’ve been fighting.”

Virginia Tech’s John Love and Cal’s Chase Meyer both missed go-ahead field goals in the final 62 seconds to force overtime.

Sagapolutele connected with Mason Mini for a 25-yard score on the first play of OT to give Cal the lead. Drones scored on a 17-yard run to tie it.

Drones completed 9 of 18 passes for 119 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Marcellous Hawkins rushed 21 times for 167 yards and Drones carried 21 times for 137 and two scores.

Drones connected with Ayden Greene for a 27-yard touchdown and Love added a 46-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead after one quarter.

Another Meyer field goal and two short touchdown runs by Kendrick Raphael gave the Golden Bears a 20-point run and a 10-point lead at halftime.

Love kicked a 52-yard field goal and Drones fired a 44-yard scoring strike to Heath to tie it 20-all heading to the fourth.

Drones scored on a 14-yard run with seven minutes left to put the Hokies ahead, but Raphael scored on a 2-yard run to tie it at 27-all.

Sagapolutele completed 24 of 39 passes for 285 yards. Raphael carried 20 times for 71 yards and three scores.

“Football is a game for tough people, and you have to be tough for the entire game,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “That’s physically, mentally, emotionally. … Having the ability to stay focused throughout the game is what we need to do. The No. 1 thing.

“The mood is not good, and it shouldn’t be. We shouldn’t be in a good mood after a performance like that. Virginia Tech has good coaches and good players. I don’t want to take anything away from them, but man, we have to expect more from ourselves than what we put out there tonight.”

In the only other previous matchup, Cal beat Virginia Tech 52-49 at the Insight Bowl on Dec. 26, 2003.

California: Losing to a team that has already fired its coach is never a good thing, and the Golden Bears could really lament this loss at season’s end. Cal missed a great chance to become bowl eligible for the third straight year.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies continue to play spirited ball since Brent Pry’s ouster on Sept. 14. Behind Drones’ big night, they moved to 3-2 under Montgomery.

The Hokies got big nights from several players, including Kemari Copeland, who registered three sacks, and Heath, who finished with four catches for 64 yards and two scores.

But the night belonged to Drones, who has been maligned at times during his Virginia Tech career.

“Kyron played unbelievable tonight,” Montgomery said. “He takes a lot of criticism at times, but I’ll tell you that guy is sound,, he’s resilient and he’s competitive. He’s in this building all the time trying to get better. Tonight, he showed how tough he is and how much of a leader he is. We couldn’t have done that without him.”

Wilcox was quite unhappy with his defense after this one. The Golden Bears allowed season-highs in both total yards (476 yards) and rushing yards (357). They came into the game ranked a respectable 34th nationally in total defense and 42nd in rush defense.

“We’re obviously doing a poor job of coaching it, and we’re not doing a great job on the field,” Wilcox said. “I don’t even know what to say. Just really bad run defense. You’re not going to win when you play with poor leverage, when you play with poor eyes, and when the tackling was what that was.”

California hosts No. 16 Virginia on Saturday.

Virginia Tech hosts No. 19 Louisville on Saturday.

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