Halftime: Wake Forest Football trails UNC 27-21
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In a back-and-forth first half, both quarterbacks put on a show. Drake Maye led the Tar Heels with 263 yards and three touchdowns, all of which went to Josh Downs. Sam Hartman tossed two touchdowns and 151 yards. Most notably, neither QB committed a turnover.
Read below for a summary of the half.
First Quarter:
Starting with the ball, the highlight of Wake Forest’s opening drive was a 20-yard run by Justice Ellison on the first play from scrimmage. That carry alone totaled more than the Deacs’ entire net yardage on the ground against NC State. But, a holding penalty and a false start moved Wake behind the sticks, and the team was forced to punt.
After converting on 3rd-and-four for the team’s initial first downs, quarterback Drake Maye took to the air to advance the Tar Heels down the field — passes of 25 and 14 yards pushed UNC into Wake Forest territory. Then, a 17-yard sideline pass to a wide-open TE Bryson Nesbit and a 12-yard connection with Josh Downs got the Heels on the board first.
The Deacs maintained the ground game on their second drive, but a controversial no-call on a face mask stalled any momentum Wake Forest had. For the second time in as many possessions, Wake punted.
Following a 24-yard rush by Elijah Green, Maye uncorked a 45-yard bomb to Antoine Green to take UNC deep into Wake Forest territory. From there, the former Green finished the job with a five-yard run, going untouched into the end zone to give North Carolina an early two-touchdown lead.
On their third possession, Sam Hartman and the Wake Forest offense finally found their footing. On a drive that included several productive rushes from Ellison, Hartman worked the intermediate routes to his receivers — completing passes of 16, 14, 6 and 13 yards. Inside the Heels red zone for the first time in the game, Hartman then found Taylor Morin in the flat, and he waltzed in for the score.
After starting on the 36 on a nice kick return, Maye and the Heels offense beat a 3rd-and-10 with a 12-yard completion to Downs. Two more passes combining for 27 yards put the Deacs on their heels within their own 10-yard line leading into the second quarter.
Second Quarter:
After being sent back 15 yards on a block below the waist, North Carolina still found a way to earn the first down on an 11-yard completion to Elijah Green and a 7-yard rush up the gut. In a coverage breakdown, Downs easily found the end zone on a pass from Maye for his second score of the game.
After a 15-yard completion to Banks, Hartman just missed Banks again on a deep pass. On fourth-and-short, Hartman found Ke’Shawn Williams in the slot for what initially appeared to be a small gain for the first down. But, Williams escaped across the middle of the field and rumbled 40 yards down to the goal line. After being unable to find pay dirt on their first three attempts, Wake Forest elected to go for the score on fourth down on the goal line. Behind a big push in the back from Hartman, Christian Turner bounced in and brought the Deacs back within a touchdown.
After making the initial first down on the drive, the Deacons’ defense buckled down to stop Maye and the offense. Jasheen Davis stunned the Heels with two sacks to stop North Carolina for the first time all game. Then, a short punt was whittled down even more on a face mask that allowed Wake Forest to start at the UNC 36.
Facing a tough decision on fourth-and-three, head coach Dave Clawson kept his offense on the field and was rewarded with a 22-yard completion over the middle to Morin. On the very next play, Hartman patiently waited for an open teammate, and found Donavon Greene alone for the score. With that, the score was even again for the first time since kickoff.
Aided by a targeting call against Wake Forest safety A.J. Williams, North Carolina again marched down the field behind Maye. After completions of 14 and 12 yards, Maye took the ball himself for 19 yards on the ground. Then, with the best ball of the first half, the redshirt freshman hit Downs on a deep-left post for their third touchdown connection of the night.
After a quick three-and-out that ended with a 14-yard Hartman sack, the Heels started at their own 40 with a chance to get a final score before half, but several big stops gave the Deacs the ball back with a minute remaining on the clock and a full complement of timeouts.
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