Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
New York, NY–
Terps Head Coach Mike Locksley said before the Terps ventured up to New York, this was a chance to get started on the 2022 season. Well, if the final score was reflective of the final result today, this Terps team with the 54-10 victory today at Yankee Stadium are off to a good start.
It was an amazing for the Terps Darrell Jones, who had not scored in four seasons with the Terrapins, caught touchdown passes of 70 and 32 yards in what may have been his biggest game of his career today.
“I’ll definitely remember this because I’ll tell this story for I don’t know how many years,” Jones said of his four-reception, 111-yard performance after he finished the regular season with 208 receiving yards. “But it’s definitely special.”
This was Maryland’s first bowl victory since 2010 and the first bowl game appearance for the senior class after the Terrapins won five games combined in 2019 and 2020.
Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa completed 20 of 24 passes for 265 yards and the two touchdown passes to Jones. The younger brother of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tied a Maryland single-season record with 26 TD passes, set by Scott Milanovich in 1993.
“This is a long time coming,” Tagovailoa said. “When you see Darryl run routes, it just pops out to you.”
The quarterback called Jones a hard worker. “I think that’s the way he leads,” Tagovailoa said. “Not talking, just working.”
As for Virginia Tech, this clearly was not the old Tech style team under Frank Beamer who was definitely a team that came bowl game prepared, this team was anything but ready for what the Terps brought to the table.
The school’s helmets featured the Yankees’ white interlocking “NY” outlined in Hokies orange on the maroon headgear. The gesture was similar to one that the Yankees made in March 2008, when the big league roster wore maroon “NY” caps during a visit to the Blacksburg campus for an exhibition game.
