Wake Forest Athletics
Football Prepares For Navy in Home Finale
11/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2002
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WFU FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES
Game #11 Saturday, Nov. 23
Wake Forest (5-5, 3-4 ACC) vs. Navy (1-9)
Groves Stadium (31,500)/Winston-Salem, NC
Kickoff: 3:30 pm
Television: None.
Radio: Broadcast by the Wake Forest ISP Sports Network, heard on 20 stations across North Carolina and in Virginia. Full station listing is on page five of this package. Voice of the Deacons Stan Cotten calls the play-by-play with former Deacon great Ed Bradley serving as color analyst.
On the Web: The radio broadcast can be heard live over the internet via WFU??s athletics homepage: www.WakeForestSports.com.
Records: Wake Forest dropped to 5-5 and 3-4 in the ACC with a 34-21 loss to No. 18 Florida State in its last outing two weeks ago. Navy is 1-9 in 2002 and has lost nine straight, including a 38-0 loss to UConn last Saturday.
The Series: Saturday??s game marks the seventh meeting between Navy and WFU, with the Demon Deacons leading the series 4-2.
Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
The Coaches: Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe is in his second season in Winston-Salem, posting a 11-10 record with the Deacs. In his eighth season as a head coach, Grobe??s overall career record stands at 44-43-1.
Navy??s Paul Johnson is 1-9 in his first season in Annapolis, but owns a 63-19 career record in his sixth season as a head coach.
Tickets: Contact the WFU Ticket Office at 363-758-3322.
WFU Looks To Notch Sixth Victory of the Season Versus Navy
After two weeks of no football games, the Wake Forest football team returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 23 against Navy. It will be the final home game of the season for the Demon Deacons (5-5, 3-4 ACC).
Wake needs just one win to reach that sixth victory which qualifies for a bowl bid. The Deacs will try to attain that goal against the Midshipmen, who bring a 1-9 record into Saturday??s contest. Wake is looking to win at least six games for the second straight year and third time in four seasons.
Though it seems like ages ago, Wake Forest is coming off a 34-21 loss to Florida State at Groves Stadium on Nov. 2. The Deacons jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and led 21-17 at the half, but the Seminole defense made the adjustments it needed and shut out Wake in the second half. (See full game summary on page 15 of this package.)
Navy, after winning its season opener over SMU, has dropped nine straight, including losses to ACC teams NC State (65-19) and Duke (43-17). The Midshipmen were shut out by UConn (38-0) in their last outing.
An Extended Vacation?
Well, not really, but Wake Forest has not played a game since Nov. 2. The Demon Deacons will go 20 days between football games, the most consecutive days off within a season (excluding bowl games) since having 26 days off (Nov. 29 at Mercer-Dec.25 at Miami, FL) in 1928.
The most consecutive days off in one season came back in 1908. Wake played Warrenton Prep on Oct. 3, then did not play again until Nov. 14 vs. Davidson -- 44 days.
Wake kept up its regular practice schedule during the two open weeks, with the coaching staff giving the team Friday and Saturday of both weekends off.
Wake Forest is playing the last of a three-game homestand that has spanned five weeks. When the Deacs hit the road again for their Nov. 30 game at Maryland, it will be their first travels since the Clemson game on Oct. 19.
Bouncing Back
Wake Forest will put an interesting streak on the line against Navy. Following their previous seven losses before the FSU game, the Demon Deacons have bounced back to win the very next game. Four of those seven rebound victories have come on the road, including 2002 wins over Purdue and Georgia Tech.
Deacons One Win Shy Of Becoming Bowl-Eligible
Wake Forest is one win shy of six wins, which would be significant for a couple of reasons. Winning six games or more would make the Demon Deacons bowl-eligible and hopeful of earning a bid to one of the six ACC-affiliated bowl games. Another victory would also give the Deacons six wins or more in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1987 and 1988.
The Deacons, 3-4 in ACC play with one league game remaining (Nov. 30 at Maryland), are one conference win away from finishing .500 in the league. The Deacons haven??t won four ACC games since 1992.
Grobe Inducted Into Ferrum Hall of Fame
On Nov. 9, Wake Forest head football coach Jim Grobe was inducted into the Ferrum College Hall of Fame. Grobe traveled to Virginia for the induction ceremony that weekend.
Grobe earned an Associate??s degree from Ferrum in 1972 and was a linebacker on the 1971 squad that went undefeated and won the Coastal Conference Championship.
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Naval Academy, under first-year head coach Paul Johnson, comes into Groves Stadium with a 1-9 record. The Midshipmen won their season opener, a 38-7 victory at SMU, but have since dropped nine straight. In their last outing, the Mids were shut out by Connecticut, 38-0.
Navy played one of its best games of the season two weeks ago, taking nationally-ranked Notre Dame down to the wire, but lost 30-23. The Mids are also playing a mini-ACC schedule this season, having dropped games against NC State (65-19) and Duke (43-17) earlier in the year.
For the first time this season, Wake Forest will face a team that averages more rushing yards. Navy currently ranks fifth nationally in rushing with 251.1 yards per game. Wake owns the advantage in passing offense, 156.0 yards per game to Navy??s 98 and total offense (404.7 to 348.1 ypg). The Deacs also fare better in every defensive statistic, allowing 380.6 yards per game to Navy??s 442.2.
The biggest discrepancy between the two teams appears to be in turnover margin. Wake owns a +1.4 margin, while Navy is -1.3.
A look at the Navy offense starts with quarterback Craig Candeto. Although he sprained an ankle against Notre Dame in the first quarter and missed all of last week??s UConn game, the 5-11, 197-pound junior leads the Midshipmen in total offense (140.4 ypg), passing for 69.9 yards an outing and rushing for a team-best 70.6 yards per game and nine touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Eric Roberts has a team-high 16 catches for 416 yards and two touchdowns, Candeto??s only two scoring tosses of the year.
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore safety Josh Smith has tallied a team-high 111 tackles along with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Junior linebacker Eddie Carthan leads the team in tackles-for-loss (5) and sacks (3) and is second with 61 total stops.
The Series With Navy
* Saturday??s game will be the seventh meeting between the two teams, with WFU owning the advantage, 4-2. This weekend??s game will be just the third meeting at Groves Stadium.
* The two teams have met every even year since 1996.
* Wake Forest has won two straight, including a 49-26 victory in Annapolis in 2000 -- the last meeting between the two schools.
* Navy??s last victory was a 47-18 romp over the Deacs in Winston-Salem in 1996.
* There haven??t been any close games in this rivalry -- the average margin of victory in all six meetings is just over 29 points. The closest game in the series is a 12-point Wake Forest win (26-14) in 1998.
* The first meeting between the Deacons and Midshipmen -- a 61-0 Navy victory in Annapolis -- occured just over 73 years ago on Nov. 16, 1929.
* Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe has never faced Navy as a head coach, but is familiar with the service academy, spending 11 seasons as an assistant at Air Force.
WFU-Navy Connections
* Demon Deacon sophomore lineman Joe Salsich is from Annapolis, where he attended Severn School as a prep.
* In all, seven Deacons hail from Maryland -- John Finklea (Wheaton), Blake Henry (Towson), Eric King (Woodstock), Tilghman Morton (Baltimore), Jerome Nichols (Glenn Dale), Napoleon Sykes (Woodstock) and Salsich (Annapolis).
* Navy has eight players on its roster from North Carolina.
* Navy junior linebacker Chris Wade attended Wilmington Laney High School along with Wake??s Tarence Williams, R.D. Montgomery and Recorian Stukes.
* WFU??s James MacPherson and Navy??s Glenn Schatz both hail from Tucson, Ariz.
* The two teams combine to have 25 players on their rosters from the state of Florida (Wake Forest 11, Navy 14).
* Navy head coach Paul Johnson was the offensive coordinator at Hawaii from 1987-94. In 1991, Wake Forest assistant coach Jeff Mullen worked on the Hawaii staff as a graduate assistant. Current Navy assistant head coach Ken Niumatalolo was also on the Hawaii staff in 1991 as a graduate assistant.
* Navy??s Johnson is a North Carolina native (Newland) and a graduate of Western Carolina.
* Wake equipment manager Demetrius Gibson previously worked in a similar capacity at Navy for five years.
* Wake Forest senior basketball player Steve Lepore is the brother of former Navy all-star defensive back, Chris Lepore.
* Two former Wake coaches are now at Navy -- former assistant baseball coach Steve Whitmeyer is the head coach for the Mids, while former women??s basketball coach Joe Sanchez is now in the same capacity at Navy.
Tarence Williams Tallies Two Straight 100-Yard Games
Senior running back Tarence Williams reached the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time this season and for the 10th time in his career with 101 yards against North Carolina, then followed that up with a 149-yard performance against FSU. It was his highest single-game yardage since tallying a career-best 158 against East Carolina in 2001.
Only two players in Wake Forest history -- James McDougald (15) and Michael Ramseur (13) -- have produced more 100-yard rushing games. Williams is third with 11 such games.
Oddly enough, Williams is the only Deacon to reach the century mark in a game this season, even though Wake Forest has led the ACC in rushing virtually the entire year. After easing back into the rotation, Williams now ranks fifth in the ACC in rushing (66.2 yards per game).
On Oct. 19 at Clemson, Williams reached another milestone by recording his 2,000th career rushing yard. He now has 2,325 career rushing yards, which ranks fifth in WFU history.
Williams also reached another milestone in the third quarter against the Tigers, scoring his 19th career touchdown. The score moved him into a tie for fourth place on Wake??s career TD chart, tied with Anthony Williams and Brian Piccolo. Williams is also climbing WFU??s all-time scoring list, currently tied for 15th place with 116 career points.
Williams has recorded the Deacons?? top four rushing performances this season -- 149 vs. FSU, 101 yards vs. UNC, 99 yards at Georgia Tech and 97 at Clemson.
Davis Nears Century Mark
Senior wide receiver Fabian Davis owns 95 career receptions, needing just five more catches to reach the century mark in that category. He would become just the 17th player in Wake Forest history to reach that milestone, and first since Jammie Deese tallied 184 catches from 1996-99.
Davis?? 95 receptions have resulted in 1,494 yards. He needs 158 more yards to crack Wake??s top 10 list in career receiving yards. His career reception average of 15.7 yards per catch ranks tied for fourth all-time at Wake Forest with Ricky Proehl.
Barclay Breaks Out
True freshman Chris Barclay enjoyed a breakout game versus Purdue on Sept. 21, scoring three touchdowns in a 19-carry, 70-yard performance. He scored on rushes of 18, 11 and five yards. His final TD late in the third quarter was the go-ahead score that proved to be the game winner for WFU against the Boilermakers.
Barclay??s 18-yard touchdown in the first quarter was his first career TD, and with it he became the first true freshman to find the endzone for the Deacs since Anthony Young scored three touchdowns (all passing) in the 2000 season.
Barclay??s three rushing touchdowns were the first by a Wake Forest true freshman since the 1988 season, when Anthony Williams scored three against Appalachian State. Since then, there have been 11 other games when a Deacon back has rushed for three touchdowns, including two this season. In addition to Barclay??s performance at Purdue, Ovie Mughelli tied a school record with four TDs at Northern Illinois in the season opener.
Since the Purdue game, Barclay has added five more touchdown runs -- against Virginia (9 yards), Georgia Tech (16), Duke (15), UNC (9) and Florida State (13). He is two shy of tying the freshman record for rushing touchdowns -- James McDougald set that mark in 1976 with 10.
Barclay is the ACC??s second-leading freshman in both rushing and rushing touchdowns, behind NC State??s T.A. McLendon.
Quick Tidbits
* The last three schools where Jim Grobe has served as a coach are all currently ranked among the nation??s top 10 team in rushing offense. Air Force ranks first (305.6 ypg), Ohio is seventh (248.7) and Wake Forest is eighth (248.1).
* Among current ACC players, Tarence Williams ranks first in the league in career 100-yard rushing games (11) and career rushing yards (2,325). FSU??s Greg Jones is second in both categories.
Coming Up Next
Wake Forest will hit the road for the first time in over a month, traveling to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, Nov. 30. Game time is set for 12 noon with an ESPN broadcast.
