UVA coach Al Groh has little to say about Lalich

Media General News Service

Published: September 23, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Al Groh said little publicly last week after troubled quarterback Peter Lalich was dismissed from the University of Virginia football team. The Cavaliers’ eighth-year coach didn’t say much more about Lalich Monday night.

At the beginning of the Cavalier Call-in radio show, host Dave Koehn asked Groh about Lalich, a sophomore who started UVa’s first two games this season.

“Despite quite a bit of misinformation, rumor, innuendo, there’s lots of facts and realities and information that many people who think they have the answers, really don’t have,” Groh said. “Obviously, though, we had them, and members of our organization had them throughout. So, using those we made a decision, and we’ve moved on from that. We have the team that we have right now, and those are the guys that we’re concentrating on.”

Craig Littlepage announced last Thursday that he made the decision to dismiss Lalich from the team, but Virginia’s athletic director added that he had Groh’s support.

In an e-mail exchange Friday with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Lalich wrote: “Littlepaige (sic) should get praise for his commendable efforts supporting the University’s scholar athletes.”

In the ACC opener for both teams, Virginia (1-2) plays Duke (2-1) at noon Saturday in Durham, N.C. Marc Verica, a redshirt sophomore from the Philadelphia area, will make his second start at quarterback for the Cavaliers.

On an otherwise dismal night for UVa, Verica completed 22 of 30 passes for 158 yards, with one interception, in a 45-10 loss at Connecticut on Sept. 13.

“I think anybody who was on the sideline during the pregame warmups could see that Marc was very comfortable with the situation and that the game wasn’t too big for him, that he felt perfectly into the game and the environment,” Groh said last night. “Hopefully he’ll just be able to build on that.”

Saturday’s game is one Duke has been pointing toward. Since upsetting Clemson 16-13 on Nov. 13, 2004, the Blue Devils have lost 25 straight ACC games.

Duke’s first-year coach, David Cutcliffe, talked to his players about The Streak last week.

“They’re very aware that these seniors are 0-24 in their tenure here playing, and we got a couple (redshirt seniors), and those redshirts are 1-31 (in ACC games),” Cutcliffe said Sunday night. “I don’t have to tell them. They know it.”

UVa has won eight straight over Duke and 12 of their past 13 meetings.

Also Monday:

-In its early-week injury report, UVa said that reserve safety Matt Leemhuis has thumb surgery scheduled and will miss at least the Duke game.

-Former Henrico High Corey Mosley was listed as a first-team safety on the depth chart released for the Duke game. Mosley, a redshirt freshman, has played primarily on special teams to this point.

-The ACC announced that the Oct. 4 game between UVa and Maryland at Scott Stadium will start at 7 p.m. It will be carried on ESPNU or ESPN360, an on-line option for watching games that aren’t televised.