WINSTON-SALEM – Drake Maye threw for 448 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a touchdown to lead the #15 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels to a 36-34 win over Wake Forest on Saturday evening. Sam Hartman had 320 yards and four touchdowns in the losing effort for the Demon Deacons.
UNC came out strong in the first quarter with Maye
connecting with Josh Downs, their first of three touchdown connections on the
night, six minutes into the game. The Tar Heels scored touchdowns on four of
their first five drives of the night.
When it seemed like the top-fifteen Heels were going to run
away with the game, the Wake Forest offense came alive, tallying touchdowns on three
straight drives in the first half, making it a one-score game at the half.
The Demon Deacons used the third quarter to take the lead
over the Tar Heels, with Hartman netting two of his scoring passes in the quarter.
After AT Perry made a great grab to give the home team the lead, Maye responded
for the Tar Heels, running it in from five yards out. It was the last touchdown
the Tar Heels would score on the evening. Wake Forest’s Donavon Green got
behind the defense, snagged in a ball from Hartman, and raced sixty yards to
the end zone to give the Demon Deacons a one-point lead going into the final
quarter.
North Carolina started the fourth quarter on the Wake Forest
one-yard line, but the Demon Deacons defense stepped up and stuffed the Tar Heels,
keeping them out of the end zone and turning them over on downs. Wake Forest
then marched ninety-one yards down the field on eleven plays before the UNC
defense returned the favor, stopping the Demon Deacons on downs. The decision
to not kick the field goal would come back to haunt Wake Forest as Noah
Burnette was able to kick the go-ahead field goal for the Tar Heels, giving
them a two-point lead, a margin that held through the final whistle.
Key Stats
North Carolina was 10 of 16 on third down while Wake Forest
was 3 of 12. Wake Forest was 4 of 6 on fourth down, though.
North Carolina led the time of possession battle, 33:02 to
26:58.
Both teams were great in the red zone with North Carolina
scoring six times on eight tries with Wake Forest scoring on three of their four
trips.
Notable North Carolinians
Drake Maye (Myers Park) – The redshirt freshman was 31 of 49
for 448 yards and three touchdowns while leading the team with 71 rushing yards
and a touchdown.
Sam Hartman (Davidson Day) – The senior quarterback threw
for 320 yards and four touchdowns. Hartman became just the second quarterback to
throw for over 100 touchdowns in his career.
Donavon Green (Mount Airy) – The sophomore receiver scored two
touchdowns on the evening for Wake Forest.
Cedric Gray (Ardrey Kell) – The junior linebacker led the Tar
Heels with nine tackles, including five solo tackles.
Next Week
Both teams are at home next Saturday as North Carolina (9-1,
6-0) hosts Georgia Tech at 5:30pm while Wake Forest (6-4, 2-4) hosts Syracuse
at 8:00 pm.
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