BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Two years ago, Michael Vick was doing incredible things on southeastern Virginia high school football fields.

	Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech can finally make plans for the Sugar Bowl and Florida State.

The elusive left-hander threw for almost 5,000 yards and 43 touchdowns over four seasons at Warwick High School, ran for more than 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns and was rated as one of the state's hottest prospects.

So how come few people had heard his name before this fall, when his electrifying performances led Virginia Tech to a 5-0 mark and a No. 4 ranking in the coaches poll? That's because Ronald Curry, then the nation's most publicized schoolboy quarterback, was busy rewriting the state's record book a few miles away at Hampton High School.

"Yes, I was overshadowed by Ron Curry, but I never let that get to me," said Vick, who leads the Hokies into their toughest test of the season Saturday in a Big East Conference game against No. 16 Syracuse. "I just kept going. I knew I was a great player also."

No brag, just fact. Last week, he set a Big East record for passing accuracy in a game by going 11-for-12 for 248 yards and four touchdowns in the first half of a 58-20 rout of Rutgers. He also ran for a TD.

"I think I've shown what I can do," Vick said. "It kind of makes me feel good showing all the people back home that were overlooking me that I was a great player also."

Curry, by contrast, had a dismal day Saturday, suffering a season-ending injury as North Carolina lost to Georgia Tech and slid to 1-4 for the season.

"It hurt me to my heart when I heard about it. Ron and I were good friends," Vick said.

Vick injured his ankle in the season opener on a spectacular spinning leap into the end zone during an easy victory over James Madison. He sprained his ankle on the play, sat out the rest of the game and the next one and returned Sept. 23 to throw three interceptions in a nationally televised victory over Clemson.

"I didn't get down in the Clemson game. ... I never lost confidence," Vick said. "If I throw five interceptions, I'm still going to think that my next throw is going to be on the money."

The test, Vick says, comes this weekend against the Orangemen (5-1 overall, 2-0 Big East). "I know those guys are going to be coming at us aggressively," he said.

Syracuse heavily recruited Vick, so its players knows what he can do.

"Michael Vick is probably one of the most athletic quarterbacks we're going to see all year," Syracuse linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "He's going to be running around trying to make a lot of plays, so our objective is to get at him."

That type of pressure means Vick will have to be on his toes, Hokies coach Frank Beamer said.

"We had a hard time moving the ball last year and it's going to be tough this year," Beamer said. "Michael Vick is coming along quickly, he's making better decisions and consistently doing it, but I think he's going to have to make them faster this week."

The home team has won the last eight games in the series. Last year at Syracuse, quarterback Donovan McNabb hit tight end Stephen Brominski with a 13-yard touchdown pass on the game's final play to give the Orangemen a 28-26 victory.

Vick said that as a high schooler, he modeled his style of play after the fleet, whip-armed McNabb, who now plays for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. On a recruiting visit to Syracuse, Vick even shadowed his idol.

"He told me, 'It's your decision where you want to go. You've got to be comfortable and you've got to be happy.' He never told me anything that would sell me on Syracuse," Vick said. "It was very nice down there, just too cold."