Toal makes Army pay two ways
Boston College sophomore Brian Toal really knows how to throw his weight around, and now he's doing it on both sides of the ball.
An outstanding linebacker, the 6-foot-1-inch, 238-pound Toal carried the ball on short-yardage situations for the first time yesterday. He had four carries, and the results were two first downs and two touchdowns, as the Eagles pounded a badly overmatched Army team, 44-7. Toal wound up with 13 total yards, including the 2- and 1-yard TDs.
Coach Tom O'Brien didn't exactly take a gamble using Toal, who was the Big East Rookie of the Year as a linebacker last season, at tailback. At Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey, where Toal was All-Everything, he gained 1,063 yards and scored 32 touchdowns as a senior in 2003.
''It felt great just to get in the end zone and help the team," said Toal. ''It reminded me of high school, playing both ways. I felt good with the ball, and the offensive line opened such big holes, it made it easy.
''I was a little nervous on the first one. I'm pretty certain I could have broken that one for a touchdown. But Coach O'Brien doesn't like guys who fumble, so I just tried to hold onto the ball."
Toal's initial carry, in the first quarter, came on a fourth-and-1 from the Army 10. He took it 7 yards to the 3. Three plays later he scored from the 2 to tie the game, 7-7. Toal reappeared on offense in the third quarter, gaining 3 yards for a first down on third-and-3 from the Army 4, and then scoring from the 1 on the next play to make it 37-7.
''We're always busting him for going over there on the offensive side," said senior Ray Henderson, a fellow linebacker. ''We tell him he's too fat to play offense. But he proved us wrong. It was good to see him run the ball a little bit. Anything he can do to help the team, we're all for."
On defense, Toal had five tackles, three of them solo. But he does even more than play both sides of the ball. He is a force on the kick coverage team, and he got his bell rung covering a punt in the third quarter. He lay motionless, face down, for an instant after colliding head-on with Army punt returner Scott Wesley. Toal arose, and ran off the field. Shortly thereafter, he came back to score his second touchdown.
''I blacked out for two or three seconds," he said with a smile. ''I got up, and I feel all right now. Just a little headache. I felt great running off the field anyway. It actually knocked some sense into me. There was no concussion. They said I was all right."
Toal's father, Greg, coached him in high school, and his brother, Greg Jr., was a four-year letterman (2000-03) as a fullback at BC. Brian wears No. 16 because it was the same number his brother wore at The Heights. So Brian has the pedigree.
He also has the honors. He was a Sporting News freshman All-American last season, and, in high school, was a USA Today and Parade magazine All-American. He is the type of athlete that BC has to attract if it hopes to defeat Atlantic Coast Conference rivals such as Florida State, which visits BC next Saturday night.
''You've got to beat the best to be the best, and I'm happy about the opportunity to play Florida State," said Toal. ''They beat Miami, and, right now, they're the best team in the ACC. It will be a real good game. It will be exciting.
''Everybody was talking about Florida State, but we had to take care of Army. Some of the guys, including myself, were looking ahead a little bit, but we did what we had to do today."
And if there is a short-yardage situation against the Seminoles, look for Toal at tailback again. It's already been dubbed BC's ''First-and-Toal" offense by press box wags.
''We know he's a good back," said O'Brien. ''He's got some push. He's got good lean. He goes in there and knocks the pile back. He had an opportunity to get in there today. If it happens again, he'll have the opportunity to get some first downs and some touchdowns."
