“Get up,” Damien Rhodes thought as he saw running back Walter Reyes writhing in pain.

Reyes stayed down, though, for several minutes before being helped to the Syracuse bench. Rhodes, meanwhile, stood on the sideline considering the problem with his own right knee, an old high school injury he aggravated during Saturday’s game.

He heard Reyes say, “I can’t put any pressure on my knee.” Rhodes thought to himself, “I can’t put any pressure on my knee.”

Then, the true freshman decided, “Well, I better put pressure on mine.”

At that point, Rhodes couldn’t have known an eventual 50-42 Syracuse win over Virginia Tech would ease the pain of his aching knee, and he couldn’t have imagined he would score Syracuse’s last eight points in overtime.

He only knew that Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni ordered him into the game, as teammates fired a barrage of advice at him.

On the sideline, Reyes pulled Rhodes aside.

“You came here to play in these big games and make big plays,” Reyes told him.

In the huddle, quarterback Troy Nunes looked at Rhodes: “It’s your 10th game. You’re not a freshman anymore.”

Fullback Chris Davis did the same: “Look, Walter’s down. We need you to run hard. No tippy-toeing or pitty-pattying your feet. You’ve got to get the ball and go. If they sense you’re scared, they’re going to come at you. You’ve got to go at them.”

On the first play of the third overtime, Rhodes did just that. He took the handoff from Nunes near the Virginia Tech 25-yard line, exploded through a gaping hole thanks to a Kevin Sampson block and sprinted downfield.

Rhodes watched tight end Joe Donnelly bury a Virginia Tech defensive back, paving a path to the endzone. There, Rhodes celebrated his second of two touchdowns, 25 of his 67 rushing yards and most important, a 48-42 Syracuse lead.

But Rhodes wasn’t done. NCAA rules mandate teams must attempt two-point conversions after the second overtime.

The celebration ended, and Rhodes rejoined the huddle. The play came in from the sideline.

“It was the same play we ran against (North Carolina) for a two-point conversion,” Rhodes said.

That would be a halfback option pass, and just like against the Tar Heels, Rhodes received the handoff and rolled right, searching for David Tyree, the primary receiver. Except this time he only saw a blanket of maroon and white.

“There was just a big pile of people there,” Rhodes said, “so I just ran the other way.”

He spotted another potential target in Nunes. Against Auburn, the two connected on a 16-yard option pass. But this time, Nunes — who was blocking — had his back to Rhodes.

So Rhodes sprinted past him, challenging the Hokies’ secondary in a foot race to the corner of the end zone.

“Troy was making blocks,” Rhodes said, “so I just tried to hit the pylon before they did. I knew if Troy could hold it for just long enough, I had enough speed to make it.”

“I heard Damien whisper, ‘You’ve just got to block that guy,’ “ Nunes said with a laugh. “I knew he was going to score.”

He did. Rhodes returned to the sideline and sat on the bench exhausted. Then he heard the Carrier Dome explode and saw teammates run from the sideline.

Running backs coach David Walker mumbled inaudibly, but Rhodes knew Syracuse won, anyway. He went to see his parents, who watched from the stands, then returned to the field, where he ended up on the shoulders of Syracuse fans.

“They started grabbing my legs,” Rhodes said, “and I was really too tired to do anything about it. I guess it was students. I know it wasn’t my team.”

When Rhodes returned to the ground he retreated to the locker room. His legs and knee ached badly.

“After the game got over,” Rhodes said, “and I went home, that was rough.”

Consider it another freshman lesson: Victory hurts.

Published on November 11, 2002 at 12:00 pm