Roth Report
Television & Radio
CINCINNATI 18, VIRGINIA TECH 6
January 1, 1947 - El Paso, Texas
Kidd Field at Sun Bowl Stadium - Att: 10,000
EL PASO, Texas - The University of
Cincinnati Bearcats swept to three
second-half touchdowns to defeat
Virginia Tech, 18-6, in the Sun Bowl's 12th
annual football game. The game marked
Tech's first-ever bowl appearance and
the first bowl game in which a football
team from the commonwealth of
Virginia had participated.
Tech had a chance to take
an early lead on the heavily-favored Bearcats, but stalled
two yards short of the goal.
Quarterback Harry Walton set
up the early threat with a 25-yard run to the Cincinnati 23.
Walton then caught a pass from
halfback Ralph Beard to move the ball to
the Bearcats' 2 yard line. From there, the
big Cincinnati line held on four straight
running plays.
The game remained scoreless until
the third quarter when quick-opening
plays from the T-formation began clicking
for the Bearcats. Cincinnati halfback Hal
Johnson spun through the center of the
line for a 13-yard touchdown run midway
through the third quarter. Keyed by a 19-yard run by All-American halfback Roger
Stephens, UC scored again on its next
possession. Fullback Al Sabato plunged
the final yard for the touchdown.
Tech mounted another threat late in
the third quarter, marching to the UC 23
before having a pass intercepted in
the end zone. The Hokies held
the Bearcats and bounced
right back. Aided by a pair of
costly Cincinnati penalties,
Tech marched inside the UC
5 and Beard scored on a
fourth-down run from the 1.
An interception return by
Johnson to the Tech 25 helped
Cincinnati put the game away in the
fourth quarter. The Bearcats promptly
moved the ball to the Tech 3 where Don
McMillan carried it in for the final
touchdown. The Hokies blocked all three
UC extra point kicks during the game.
Cincinnati's vaunted running attack
produced a total of 369 yards as the
Bearcats piled up 463 yards of total
offense. Tech managed 13 first downs -
just three less than UC - despite
gaining only 34 yards on the ground and
85 through the air. The Hokies' defense
contributed three interceptions in the
game and lineman John Maskas blocked
his seventh punt of the season.
The bowl week was marked by
"unusual" weather. Three-inches of snow
fell atop frozen rain the day before the
game, and when kickoff time rolled
around, the teams took the field under
cloudy skies and below-freezing
temperatures. According to one
newspaper account, "blankets, fur caps,
galoshes, ski suits, stocking caps and all
types of winter wear were much in
evidence" among the crowd of 10,000.
Scoring
Cincinnati 0 0 12 6 - 18
Virginia Tech 0 0 0 6 - 6
Third Quarter
CIN - Harold Johnson 13-yard run (kick failed)
CIN - Hugo Sabato 1-yard run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
VT - Ralph Beard 3-yard run (kick failed)
CIN - Don McMillan 3-yard run (kick failed)
Team Statistics UC VT First Downs 16 13 Rushing yds. 369 34 Passing yds. 94 85 Total off. 463 119 Passes 5-19-3 4-15-2 Punting avg. 19 41 Fumbles 0 0 Penalty yds. 85 29
