Wake Forest University
8-1 , 5-0
North Carolina
5-4 , 3-3
Wake Forest Falls in Non-Conference Contest at North Carolina
11/6/2021 5:25:00 PM | Football
The Demon Deacons scored 55 points on Saturday which marked a series high in the 109-meeting history of this rivalry.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The No. 9 Wake Forest football team dropped a non-conference contest at North Carolina, 58-55, Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.
In the 109th meeting between the teams, Wake Forest (8-1, 5-0 ACC) was led by Sam Hartman as the redshirt sophomore quarterback went 25-of-51 for 398 yards and five passing and two rushing touchdowns, respectively.
The seven total touchdowns Hartman was responsible for on Saturday set a program record and also broke the North Carolina (5-4, 3-3 ACC) opponent record of six touchdowns. The previous opponent record was held by the likes of Doug Flutie (Boston College), Deshaun Watson (Clemson), Tajh Boyd (Clemson) and Lamar Jackson (Louisville).
Hartman has now thrown 60 career touchdowns, which ties Riley Skinner for the most touchdown passes in Wake Forest history.
The wide receiver duo of A.T. Perry and Jaquarii Roberson each tallied over 100 yards and reeled in a pair of touchdown passes, while Taylor Morin grabbed a 37-yard score just before halftime.
Wake Forest will look to bounce back next week in its final home game of the 2021 regular season against N.C. State on Saturday, Nov. 13. Tickets are available at GoDeacs.com/Tickets.
HOW IT HAPPENED
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On the opening play of Saturday's game, linebacker Ryan Smenda forced North Carolina running back Ty Chandler to fumble the football and it was recovered by defensive back Traveon Redd.
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The turnover marked the seventh-time this season that Treveon Redd has a fumble recovery, forced fumble or interception.
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Following a Sam Hartman 23-yard run that pushed the Demon Deacons into the red zone on Wake Forest's opening drive, kicker Nick Sciba connected on a 27-yard field goal to give Wake Forest an early 3-0 advantage with 12:37 remaining in the opening quarter.
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North Carolina answered with an eight-play, 79-yard drive to take a 7-3 lead with 9:47 left in the first frame.
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Undaunted, Wake Forest regained the lead (10-7) as Hartman scrambled and found the end zone on a six-yard touchdown rush with 6:46 left in the first.
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On 3rd and 15, Hartman connected with Jaquarii Roberson to extend the drive and a facemask penalty moved the Deacs into Tar Heel territory.
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A pair of completions to Blake Whiteheart accounted for 20 yards on the drive, highlighted by a 16-yard pitch and catch on 2nd and 8 at North Carolina's 30-yard line.
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Wake Forest's defense forced their first three and out of the contest as DJ Taylor and Luke Masterson combined for a defensive stop on 3rd and 1.
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North Carolina tallied their second rushing touchdown of the game to take a 14-10 lead with 3:29 left in the first quarter.
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The Tar Heels regained possession of the ball after tallying an interception on 3rd and 16.
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Jaquarii Roberson reeled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Hartman to give Wake Forest a 17-14 just seven seconds into the second quarter.
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A targeting penalty gave Wake Forest first down on the final play of the first period.
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After a pair of 12-yard completions to Christian Turner and Donald Stewart, Wake Forest converted a 4th and 1 as Justice Ellison powered his way for a two-yard gain to extend the drive.
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North Carolina went on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped off by a one-yard touchdown rush to take hold of a 21-17 lead with a little over nine minutes left in the first half.
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Unfazed, Wake Forest answered with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in 1:16 as A.T. Perry made his presence known with a pair of catches including a 32-yard one-handed scoring catch to give the Deacons the lead back, 24-21.
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Wake Forest's defense responded with a three-and-out behind a pair of second and third down sacks by DJ Taylor, Luiji Vilain and Jasheen Davis, respectively.
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Following another three and out forced by the defense, Hartman found Taylor Morin for a 37-yard touchdown to increase Wake Forest's lead to double digits, 31-21, with just over a minute left in the first half.
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North Carolina added a 31-yard field goal just before the conclusion of the first half as Wake Forest took a 31-24 lead into the intermission.
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After a Wake Forest three and out, North Carolina connected on a 23-yard field goal to cut into Wake Forest's lead (31-27) with 12:24 left in the third frame.
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The Demon Deacons pushed their lead back to double digits (38-27) as Hartman found the end zone from 21 yards out on the ground.
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An offside penalty on 4th and 1 gave Wake Forest an automatic first down to extend the drive. The next play, Hartman and Morin connected on a 29-yard completion to move the Deacs to North Carolina's 21-yard line.
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Hartman found a streaking Perry down the left hash for a 66-yard touchdown reception, pushing Wake Forest's advantage to 45-27 with eight minutes left in the third quarter.
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Perry's second receiving touchdown of the game was just the second play of the drive.
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North Carolina responded with their first touchdown of the second half to cut into Wake Forest's lead (45-34) at the halfway point of the third.
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Nick Sciba connected on his second field goal of the game from 42 yards out, pushing Wake Forest's lead to 14 points (48-34).
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The drive marked the second 11-play drive of the game, which stood as a game high.
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The Tar Heels strung together a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 13-yard rushing score, to make it a one-possession game (48-41).
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After a Hartman interception, North Carolina tied the game at 48 with 10:29 remaining in regulation after a 21-yard touchdown rush.
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North Carolina chewed 5:46 minutes off the clock with a 11-play drive resulting in a successful 25-yard field goal to regain the lead (51-48) with 2:16 left in the game.
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After the Demon Deacons turned the ball over on downs, North Carolina extended their lead to 58-48 with a 50-yard rush.
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The Deacs regained possession and marched down the field, finding the end zone through the air for the fifth time of the game as Hartman connected with Roberson for a 14-yard score to cut North Carolina's advantage to 58-55. It marked the 17th of his career.
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After an onside kick try, North Carolina was able to knock the ball out of bounds to receive possession. The Tar Heels ran the clock out to clinch a 58-55 win.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
In two career games against North Carolina, Hartman has combined for 827 passing yards (413.5 yards per game), nine passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. This includes a five-total touchdown performance a season ago and a seven-total touchdown performance Saturday against the Tar Heels.
The seven total touchdowns Hartman was responsible for on Saturday set a program record and also broke the North Carolina opponent record of six touchdowns. The previous opponent record was held by the likes of Doug Flutie (Boston College), Deshaun Watson (Clemson), Tajh Boyd (Clemson) and Lamar Jackson (Louisville).
With his final passing touchdown of the game, Hartman tied the program career record with his 60th touchdown pass of his career:
Career Passing Touchdown List
T1. Sam Hartman (2018-Pres.), 60
T1. Riley Skinner (2006-09), 60
2. John Wolford (2014-17), 59
3. Tanner Price (2010-13), 52
T5. Gary Schofield (1981-83), 44
T5. Brian Kulklick (1994-98), 44
7. Mike Elkins (1985-88), 43
8. Jay Venuto (1979-80), 37
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Over the last five games A.T. Perry and Jaquarii Roberson, who are Wake Forest's two wide receivers up for the Biletnikoff Award, have combined for 1,156 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns. Today against the Tar Heels, Perry (129) and Roberson (111) each registered over 100 receiving yards for the third time this season. Additionally, one or both of them have gone for 100-plus yards in each of the last five games.
With a pair of touchdown catches on Saturday, Perry now has 10 touchdown receptions this season, which is the fourth-most in program history in a single season as Perry is just the fourth Demon Deacon to post double-digit receiving touchdowns in a single season. Additionally, for the fourth consecutive game, Perry went over 100-yards receiving and has now tied the program record for consecutive 100-plus yard receiving games.
Jaquarii Roberson moved into eighth all-time in program history in touchdown receptions with two touchdowns on Saturday, his seventh and eighth TD catches of the 2021 season. Fifteen of Roberson's 17 career touchdowns have come in the last 13 games.
FROM COACH CLAWSON
"Congratulations to North Carolina as they deserved to win the game. In a lot of ways it was like last year's game. We jumped out to a lead, we had some injuries in the secondary and we got really thin there and then we were just holding on. I am proud of how hard our guys played and our overall effort. We are going to face adversity for the first time. We are not undefeated and we have a huge game next week against NC State that we are going to have to bounce back and get ready for."
UP NEXT
Wake Forest returns to Truist Field for their final home game of the 2021 regular season against N.C. State on Saturday, Nov. 13. The time of the game will be announced later tonight or Sunday.
Team Stats
WFU 3, UNC 0
WFU - Sciba,Nick 27 yd field goal 7 plays, 29 yards, TOP 02:10
WFU 3, UNC 7
UNC - Howell,Sam 18 yd run (Atkins,Grayson kick), 8 plays, 79 yards, TOP 02:50
WFU 10, UNC 7
WFU - Hartman,Sam 6 yd run (Sciba,Nick kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:01
WFU 10, UNC 14
UNC - Howell,Sam 12 yd run (Atkins,Grayson kick), 3 plays, 42 yards, TOP 00:41
WFU 17, UNC 14
WFU - Roberson,Jaquarii 15 yd pass from Hartman,Sam (Sciba,Nick kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:36
WFU 17, UNC 21
UNC - Chandler,Ty 1 yd run (Atkins,Grayson kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:12
WFU 24, UNC 21
WFU - Perry,A.T. 32 yd pass from Hartman,Sam (Sciba,Nick kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:16
WFU 31, UNC 21
WFU - Morin,Taylor 37 yd pass from Hartman,Sam (Sciba,Nick kick) 6 plays, 62 yards, TOP 01:42
WFU 31, UNC 24
UNC - Atkins,Grayson 31 yd field goal 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 01:01
WFU 31, UNC 27
UNC - Atkins,Grayson 23 yd field goal 6 plays, 48 yards, TOP 01:52
WFU 38, UNC 27
WFU - Hartman,Sam 21 yd run (Sciba,Nick kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:55
WFU 45, UNC 27
WFU - Perry,A.T. 66 yd pass from Hartman,Sam (Sciba,Nick kick) 2 plays, 77 yards, TOP 00:27
WFU 45, UNC 34
UNC - Green,Antoine 29 yd pass from Howell,Sam (Atkins,Grayson kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:44
WFU 48, UNC 34
WFU - Sciba,Nick 42 yd field goal 11 plays, 51 yards, TOP 03:53
WFU 48, UNC 41
UNC - Chandler,Ty 13 yd run (Atkins,Grayson kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:39
WFU 48, UNC 48
UNC - Chandler,Ty 21 yd run (Atkins,Grayson kick), 2 plays, 21 yards, TOP 00:11
WFU 48, UNC 51
UNC - Atkins,Grayson 25 yd field goal 11 plays, 65 yards, TOP 05:46
WFU 48, UNC 58
UNC - Chandler,Ty 50 yd run (Atkins,Grayson kick), 1 plays, 35 yards, TOP 00:10
WFU 55, UNC 58
WFU - Roberson,Jaquarii 14 yd pass from Hartman,Sam (Sciba,Nick kick) 4 plays, 47 yards, TOP 00:30
