Wake Forest Dominating Stanford After One Half of Play
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Wake Forest leads Stanford 29-3
The Demon Deacons have jumped all over Stanford in the opening frame. They scored a touchdown right before the half to extend their already commanding lead. Gio Lopez has been terrific, with three total touchdowns scored through the air and on the ground. Let's go through the highlights.
1st Quarter
The Wake Forest defense came out of the gates juiced and did their job right away with a swift three-and-out. However, the preceding punt was touched by a Wake player before being recovered by Stanford, which gave them the ball back inside the Wake 40-yard-line. They attempted a 46-yard field goal that missed, and momentum stayed with the Deacs.
It did not take the offense long to get going after that. A three-minute, eight-play drive resulted in a Deuce Lawrence 12-yard rushing score. The offense looked crisp and was able to move the ball with ease.
The defense continued to get after Davis Warren of Stanford with some creative blitzes and interior pressure, forcing him out of the pocket. A Vinny Firenze sack forced another Stanford punt, and the momentum was entirely with the Deacs.
The offense just continued to click from there. Gio Lopez led another touchdown drive down the field, ending with a 5-yard rushing score by him. Through the first two drives, Gio was 7-for-7 for 110 yards through the air.
2nd Quarter
Stanford finally got on the board with a 43-yard field goal. The drive was their longest, at 12 plays in just under six minutes, but the Wake defense still looked very strong overall in limiting the Cardinal.
Ethan Hyams' first punt of the game for Wake Forest was a gem. It backed up Stanford against their own goal line. A quick three-and-out from them led to Wake starting their preceding drive around midfield. The Deacs could not do anything with that field position, and the ball went right back to Stanford around their own 10-yard line.
Nice passing plays with Shanks and Meeks involved led to Wake being back in Stanford territory on the next drive. A Gio Lopez scramble from 12 yards out on a passing play that broke down led to the third touchdown of the day for the Demon Deacons.
In the final two minutes of the half, Stanford was forced to punt it back to Wake, giving them 1:34 to work with and a chance to create some serious separation. The Deacs took full advantage of this opening. They drove it 82 yards in a minute and 26 seconds for a touchdown with a Jack Foley 4-yard TD reception. This capped off an impressive first half both offensively and defensively.
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Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.