ent off as the 5-2 second choice behind even-money f

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Sam Rogers wasnt intentionally the focal point of Virginia Techs offense early against Virginia on Saturday, but with a couple of early touchdown runs to get the Hokies going, he became one, and he turned an emotional Senior Day into one hell not likely forget.Rogers ran for a career-best 105 yards and two touchdowns and Virginia Tech tuned up for next Saturday nights Atlantic Coast Conference championship showdown against No. 4 Clemson with a 52-10 victory -- their 13th in a row against their state rivals.Were not done yet, first-year Hokies coach Justin Fuente told the crowd after the game.Rogers, one of 13 seniors honored before the game, scored on runs of 8 and 32 yards for the Hokies (9-3, 6-2), whose ticket for the title game was punched when North Carolina lost to North Carolina State on Friday. It will be Virginia Techs first appearance since 2011.Rogers long run came on a between-the-tackles play that didnt set up the way it was supposed to.Everything just got jumbled up in the middle and I just peaked outside, Rogers said. Everyone was still running right, so I ran left.The victory sent Virginia (2-10, 1-7) to its seventh consecutive loss.Jerod Evans threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for Virginia Tech, allowing the junior college transfer to set school single season records with 26 touchdown passes (Tyrod Taylor had 24 in 2010) and 3,752 total yards (Logan Thomas had 3,500 in 2012).Fuente, whose team was going through a walk-through yesterday while the North Carolina game was going on, congratulated his team on earning the trip to Orlando, Florida, next week, and even in his first year at Virginia Tech, said he knew they would remain motivated.In this scenario, I would have been worried about it, but not in this game, he said. This game means too much.Virginia went with a quarterback rotation, sometimes from play to play, and was outgained 579-247.It is a little bit of a different challenge than were obviously used to, said Kurt Benkert, the starter for most of the season who was benched last week after struggling in several games. We felt like we were able to do everything we need to, but we just didnt.He finished 9 for 26 for 122 yards with one touchdown. Matt Johns was 4 for 10 for 17 yards and threw two interceptions.I struggled a bit with that, Johns said of the rotation. It was hard to find my rhythm and really get a feel for the game.THE TAKEAWAYVirginia: The Cavaliers have a long way to go to get to the talent level and mindset Bronco Mendenhall expects. Returning Benkert to the field after a series of skittish performances behind shaky protection and benching last week was probably meant to give him something to build on, but the Cavaliers will also have to rebuild their offensive line and replace Taquan Mizzell and Keeon Johnson, two key seniors.Virginia Tech: The Hokies three most recent victories were all by three points and all on the road: at Pittsburgh, at Duke and at Notre Dame. In between, they lost a home game to Georgia Tech in there, so dominating should bolster confidence heading into next weekend.It was good to get back and have a dominant defensive performance, Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster said.RECORDS AND MILESTONESEvans broke Taylors TD pass record on a 39-yard throw to Cam Phillips in the second quarter. ... Evans broke Thomas total yardage record on a 14-yard pass to Isaiah Ford in the first quarter. ... Ford caught four passes and became the 17th player in ACC history with 200 career receptions. Virginias Taquan Mizzell became the 19th Virginia player to rush for 2,000 career yards on an 8-yard run late in the first quarter. ... Mizzell needed six receptions to join Ford in the 200-catch club, but caught just one.HE SAID ITI think this game was a statement game, to tell Clemson that were coming. -- Virginia Tech defense end Ken Ekanem.UP NEXTVirginia Tech will face Clemson in the ACC championship game next Saturday in Orlando, Florida.---More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr Authentic NHL Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. NHL Jerseys 2020 . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. https://www.cheapnhljerseysjustwholesale.com/ . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Wholesale NHL Jerseys .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. NHL Jerseys China . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. OCEANPORT, N.J. -- Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist wasnt on his game for the $1 million Haskell Invitational. Preakness winner Exaggerator was.Charging into the lead over a sloppy track, Exaggerator pulled off another victory over Nyquist and staked his claim as the leading 3-year-old colt in the country.Were just so proud of him, trainer Keith Desormeauxs assistant Julie Clark said. There was such anxiety as they came around the turn. To see him accelerate and pull away was awesome.Ten weeks ago in the slop at the Preakness, Exaggerator handed Nyquist his first loss and ended any chance of a Triple Crown repeat. Now, Nyquist has lost two in a row after winning his first eight races, and Exaggerator atoned for an 11th-place finish in the Belmont Stakes.The race was great, perfect, but we were a little off today, Nyquists jockey Mario Gutierrez said.On a rainy, muggy day at Monmouth Park. Exaggerator made his usual late run after starting way behind the rest of the six-horse field. So far back, jockey Kent Desormeaux figured hed better get moving sooner than later.I bet my brother was in shock asking where the hell is he going? the Hall of Fame rider said about Keith, who was not at the Jersey shore track for the race. The fact of the matter Keith, I wasnt going anywhere. He was effortlessly galloping and reeling them in. He proved it down the lane. He just exploded.Exaggerator won by 1 1/2 lengths for his sixth victory in 13 starts. American Freedom finished second, with Sunny Ridge third and Nyquist fourth. Gun Runner was fifth, followed by Awesome Slew.The winning time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:48.70.Exaggerator could be headed next to the Travers at Saratooga on Aug, 27, with the goal of the $6 million Breeders Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov.dddddddddddd 5. The win earned Exaggerator an automatic berth to the Classic. Nyquist is headed back home to California to regroup, trainer Doug ONeill said.Sent off as the 5-2 second choice behind even-money favorite Nyquist, Exaggerator returned $7.20, $4 and $3. American Freedom, trained by eight-time Haskell winner Bob Baffert, returned $5.20 and $3.60. Sunny Ridge paid $5 to show.A year ago, American Pharoah made a triumphant return in the Haskell after becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. A record crowd of more than 60,000 showed up on a gorgeous summer day.The vibe was far from the same on Sunday, but a Derby winner vs. Preakness winner still drew a crowd of 30,587.There was a foul claim by American Freedom jockey Rafael Bejarano against Exaggerator for crowding in the stretch, but the finish stood after a brief review by racing stewards.When he came around the turn, he crossed me a couple of times, a disappointed Bejarano said. I had to change my course in the stretch and then let him run again.The decision to run Exaggerator in the Haskell was a bit surprising. The 3-year-old colt was training in Saratoga for the Jim Dandy, which was run Saturday. But after a subpar workout, Keith Desormeaux had a change of heart. And Exaggerator was Jersey-bound.He certainly likes the sloppy going, Clark said. Hes proven himself. Now we have to prove him on a fast track.Exaggerator earned $600,000 and boosted his earnings to $3,571,120. ' ' '