Kyron Drones accounts for 3 TDs to help Va. Tech beat Georgia Tech 21-6

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- — Kyron Drones threw a touchdown pass, rushed for a score, and caught a touchdown pass to lead Virginia Tech to a 21-6 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Drones accounted for 132 yards from scrimmage for the Hokies (5-3, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who amassed a season-low 233 total yards, but won their third straight game.

“However it needs to happen, I think today was an example of that,” Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry said. “We talk about complementary ball for our team. We found a way to score some points, we punted the ball well and flipped the field, and we made plays defensively when we needed to stop drives.”

Georgia Tech (5-4, 3-3) struggled offensively without injured starting quarterback Haynes King, who missed his second straight game. The Yellow Jackets finished with 356 total yards in losing their second straight game.

Georgia Tech started Zach Pyron at quarterback, but Pyron was ineffective against Virginia Tech’s defense, completing just 10 of 22 for 76 yards and an interception. Coach Brent Key pulled Pyron in the third quarter and went with freshman Aaron Philo the rest of the way. Philo threw for 184 yards and an interception.

“Not everything is on Zach,” Key said. “In the first half, there were some plays out there. We’ve got to step up and make those plays around him.”

Virginia Tech trailed 3-0 early in the game, but Drones got the Hokies on the board with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Benji Gosnell in the second quarter that gave Virginia Tech the lead and it never trailed again. Drones caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jaylin Lane later in the quarter and added a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Drones completed 16 of 27 for 128 yards and added 6 yards rushing.

“I’m willing to do any and everything for this team,” Drones said. “We played a helluva game. The defense played a helluva game. The offense, we’ve got things to work on, but a win is a win.”

The Takeaway

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets clearly miss King, who was completing 71% of his passes, with eight touchdowns and one interception before his injury. King has been listed as day-to-day by Key and will get another week to heal with the Yellow Jackets off next week. They need him for a November stretch that includes games against No. 6 Miami and at No. 2 Georgia.

“We’ve got to get into this bye week and get healthy,” Key said. “There were some situations in there when you start running out of guys. We’ve got to get the offense healthy and get the offense on track and continue to make improvements defensively.”

Virginia Tech: The Hokies’ defense has given up just 34 points in this three-game winning streak and carried the team on a day when the offense played inconsistently. With one more win, the Hokies will be bowl eligible for the second straight season.

“We’ve got some momentum right now,” Pry said. “We’re doing some things each week that give us a chance to win the game.”

Up next

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets host Miami on Nov. 9.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies play at Syracuse on Saturday.

------ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football