Drones, Stewart lead Virginia Tech past N.C. State 23-21 in ACC opener

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Kyron Drones threw two touchdown passes, Terion Stewart ran for 174 yards and Virginia Tech won its second game in a row since a coaching change, defeating North Carolina State 23-21 on Saturday night.

The third of John Love’s three field goals – a 49-yarder with 6:31 remaining – provided the winning points.

The Hokies (2-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) are 2-0 since Brent Pry was fired. Philip Montgomery is in charge as interim coach.

“We were preaching and talking at practice every single day, like come on, we’ve got to rewrite this story,” Stewart said. “We had a bad start, our coach got fired, but we couldn’t let that break us as a team.”

CJ Bailey threw two touchdown passes for N.C. State (3-2, 1-2), which has lost two in a row. The Wolfpack went ahead with 10:56 remaining on Jayden Scott’s 1-yard touchdown run.

Later, N.C. State regained possession at its own 18 with 1:36 left following a Virginia Tech punt. The Hokies made a fourth-down stop at the Wolfpack 44 to seal the result.

“Amidst of everything going on, these guys have just continued to work,” Montgomery said. “Just a full team win and couldn’t be more proud.”

Stewart’s ground production came on 15 carries, including an 85-yard run in the third quarter that set up a touchdown. Drones was 20-for-34 passing for 177 yards with scoring throws to Marcellous Hawkins and Cameron Seldon.

Virginia Tech: This was a much more significant outcome than a romp past FCS-member Wofford a week earlier. The Hokies, playing in their first true road game of the season, limited N.C. State’s rushing attack to 59 yards.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack has trailed at halftime in its last four games. The team won tight home games against East Carolina and Virginia before back-to-back in-state road games, including a loss a week earlier at Duke.

“They won at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football in that game, and that’s not indicative of our football team,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “It hasn’t been this year, but that was the tale of the game.”

The Hokies went 3-9 in ACC road games in three seasons under Pry, so this seemed like a breakthrough.

“I feel good about this win,” Drones said. “A lot of momentum wasn’t with us. We knew what we were supposed to do last week against Wofford. We got that done. Having this signature win on the road against N.C. State in a hostile environment getting that job done in a close game, it’s a good feeling.”

On the sequence that was part of what became the winning kick, Love put the ball through the uprights only to have that boot nullified by a delay of game penalty. So pushed back five yards, he delivered again.

“Then stepped right back up and knocked another one down because that’s what John does,” Montgomery said. “Nothing fazes him.”

Montgomery said Love took responsibility for the penalty, but declined to elaborate.

N.C. State was without defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot, whose teenage daughter, Drue, died after battling pediatric cancer.

“Really wanted to bring Coach Eliot’s family some joy tonight, and we didn’t deliver on that,” Doeren said.

There was a reaction from the Virginia Tech side as well.

“I just want to put our prayers and condolences out to D.J. Eliot and his family,” Montgomery said.

Virginia Tech: Saturday at home vs. Wake Forest

N.C. State: Saturday at home vs. Campbell

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