Wake Forest University
Navy
Wake Forest Blows Out Navy, 49-26
11/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2000
Wake Forest 49, Navy 26
By MARTY NILAND
Associated Press Writer
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- James MacPherson passed for 259 yards and a pair of scores and Tarence Williams rushed for three first-half touchdowns as Wake Forest beat winless Navy 49-26 on Saturday.
The Demon Deacons (2-8) rolled up 577 yards of offense for their highest point total since closing the 1991 season with a 52-24 win over Navy.
That game also marked the last time Navy (0-10) went into the Army-Navy game without a victory. MacPherson was 15-for-21, and led the Deacons to scores on all seven drives he started. Fabian Davis caught eight passes for 194 yards for the Deacons.
Williams, a sophomore, gained 75 yards on 17 carries, scoring on 2, 6 and 1-yard runs. He was replaced following a late first-half fumble by Chris McCoy, who gained 106 yards and scored on a 2-yard run.
Navy lost starting quarterback Brian Brodwater in the second quarter, when he was poked in the eye. Josh Bock rushed for 91 yards to lead the Navy offense.
MacPherson put the Deacons in control in the final two minutes of the first half, returning from a brief benching to direct a 10-play, 89-yard scoring drive. His 29-yard touchdown pass to Fabian Davis gave the Deacons a 28-18 lead with six seconds left in the half. The drive was kept alive by Navy's record-setting 72nd penalty of the season, an offsides call on fourth-and-4.
Navy had briefly taken the momentum after the Deacons, apparently happy with a 21-10 lead with 9:13 left in the second quarter, pulled MacPherson and switched to an option attack led by Anthony Young. The Deacons struggled on the drive, and Daryl Hill recovered Williams' fumble at the Navy 39 with 6:43 left in the half.
The Mids quickly cut the lead to 4, with Ed Malinowski's 15-yard pass to Dominic Bailey with 2:01 left in the half capping the four-play drive. Josh Bock's 2-point conversion on an option play around right end made it 21-18.
Young returned in the second half and, after McCoy's touchdown, put the game out of reach with a zigzagging 56-yard touchdown run. Davis delivered the key block on the play, taking out the last defender at the Navy 15.
