No. 13 Georgia Tech, Haynes King cruise to victory over Virginia Tech
ATLANTA — Haynes King completed 20 of 24 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown, adding 60 rushing yards and two scores on the ground on Saturday, helping No. 13 Georgia Tech post a 35-20 victory over visiting Virginia Tech in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Malachi Hosley rushed 11 times for 129 yards and a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets (6-0, 3-0 ACC), who won their sixth straight game to open a season for the first time since 2011.
Kyron Drones completed 13 of 21 passes for 181 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, while rushing for 83 yards and a score for the Hokies (2-5, 1-2), who were outgained 481-367.
Trailing by 14 points at halftime, Virginia Tech pieced together a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the third quarter, finished with Drones’s 33-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Ricous Hairston on fourth-and-nine.
Georgia Tech answered in just over three minutes, as Hosley ran in a 15-yard score to give the Yellow Jackets a 28-14 lead. Rodney Shelley then picked off Drones for the game’s only turnover with 6:08 left in the third.
Two drives later, Georgia Tech tacked on with King’s 26-yard rushing score at the 11:54 mark of the fourth.
Drones’ 3-yard push-pass touchdown to Hairston cut the Hokies’ deficit to 35-20 with 4:58 left. The margin stood at 15 after Virginia Tech’s unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.
Georgia Tech opened the game with a nine-play, 79-yard scoring drive stamped with King’s 2-yard touchdown rush and tacked on two points with a jet pass to Malik Rutherford to give the Yellow Jackets an 8-0 lead with 10:53 left in the first quarter.
After a Virginia Tech punt, King’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Rutherford pushed the lead to 15-0 at the 4:34 mark.
Aidan Birr’s 25-yard field goal extended the margin to 18 with 9:01 left in the first half.
Following their third consecutive punt, the Hokies finally found the end zone on their fourth possession, with Drones’ 32-yard rushing touchdown trimming Georgia Tech’s lead to 18-7 with 3:13 remaining.
Birr’s 30-yard field goal gave the Yellow Jackets a 14-point halftime-edge.
–Jack Batten, Field Level Media
