Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: A Moment Eight Years in the Making; A Memory Savored with Family
12/8/2021 11:44:00 AM | Football
“If you don’t enjoy those moments, then why are we doing this?” - Coach Clawson
As Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman took a knee and the final seconds ticked off the clock of an emotional 45-42 win over NC State, mayhem ensued.
But it was beautiful mayhem — the likes of which hasn't been seen at Truist Field in well over a decade.
It wasn't quite a stream, but fans trickled at first from the student sections, leaping over the wall closest to them, but they quickly learned to cut to the left for a shorter plunge to begin the celebration. Dozens of fans turned into hundreds, which quickly turned into thousands.
The Demon Deacons had prevailed in the first matchup between ranked teams in Winston-Salem in 15 years, putting themselves in a position to control their own destiny in their quest to reach the ACC Championship.
As thousands of joyous fans hugged, screamed and danced with their favorite Deacs, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson and his daughter Courtney found an overlook spot close to the locker room to watch it all unfold.
"My daughter, who you know I'm really close with, came down after the game and gave me a big hug," Clawson said. "Then, I was shaking hands with some NC State players and hugging some of our players. I saw the students come down. I was kind of in the middle of it, then I walked up to our locker room and I had a little bit of an elevated view. I had my arm around my daughter and I was just watching it."
"This is pretty cool," Clawson told his daughter as they watched the celebration together.
Instead of a culmination of his eight seasons on the job, Clawson feels the foundation has been laid for seasons like this to happen with more regularity. The Deacs are 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the ACC — ranked No. 10 in the College Football Playoff. He wanted to fully embrace the moment.
"You have those surreal moments where you just want to suck it in and enjoy it," Clawson said. "Our players could have stayed out there three hours and I would have waited.
"Usually, we want them to get right in after the game, but I wanted them to stay out there. They earned this. We had all the students there and they felt a part of it, which is important. It was one of those moments. It's not going to happen all that often, so when it does, you should enjoy it. If you don't enjoy those moments, then why are we doing this?"
Senior safety Traveon Redd recovered a fumble forced by second-year freshman JJ Roberts and returned it to the Wake Forest red zone, where the Deacs cashed it in for a big touchdown and momentum shift.
"I honestly had a rush of emotions," Redd said. "It was my senior night and last time playing on this field. We won a big game and I just had a flood of emotions. I honestly didn't know what to do — yell, run around, congratulate my teammates. I'm just out there running around smiling and screaming."
Nick Andersen grabbed his first interception of the season against the Wolfpack, making a leaping catch of a Devin Leary deep pass before rolling over then leaping to his feet to celebrate.
"It was a pretty special moment, not just for us as players, but for the university," Andersen said of the postgame field rush. "Any time you have that coming together, especially in front of a sell-out crowd, it was just really good to see. It's good to see everyone come together.
"It makes every single hard thing you do worth it. Pushing that extra rep or that extra period in practice — for that moment right there, it makes it all worth it. It was pretty special."
With a pair of receivers exiting the game with injuries, grad student Donald Stewart became one of nine players to catch Hartman passes during the victory.
"It was one of the best feelings of my life," he said about celebrating with the students and fans. "We've had Deacon Nation behind us from start to finish this entire season. After the game when they stormed the field was just an amazing experience."
Sixth-year senior Luke Masterson came back for one last ride, moving from safety to linebacker, in hopes of having a special campaign — so far that's been the case.
"That was one of the most special moments I've had since I've been here," he said. "All of the guys would agree that you don't get those moments a lot, so we all kind of took that in. We've had a few moments like that this season, where you take a moment to reflect and become grateful that you've come back."
There was a program-record 4,584 students in attendance and the vast majority of them stayed to the end — with most spilling onto the field in celebration.
"Once again, I want to thank our students," Clawson said. "That section, the noise and energy — it's been awesome this year. It means so much. I also want to thank our fans. That was a big-time environment with the packed house.
"I just want to thank our fans, the way they rushed the field afterward. Usually when the game is over, I have the players in the locker room, we break them down and they head back to the field to see their families. To just watch that scene, I just stood there for 15-20 minutes. This is really cool that we were able to create a moment like that for our players, our students and our fans. It was a very rewarding win. But as we tell our team, the reward for winning a big game is another big game."
But it was beautiful mayhem — the likes of which hasn't been seen at Truist Field in well over a decade.
It wasn't quite a stream, but fans trickled at first from the student sections, leaping over the wall closest to them, but they quickly learned to cut to the left for a shorter plunge to begin the celebration. Dozens of fans turned into hundreds, which quickly turned into thousands.
The Demon Deacons had prevailed in the first matchup between ranked teams in Winston-Salem in 15 years, putting themselves in a position to control their own destiny in their quest to reach the ACC Championship.
As thousands of joyous fans hugged, screamed and danced with their favorite Deacs, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson and his daughter Courtney found an overlook spot close to the locker room to watch it all unfold.
"My daughter, who you know I'm really close with, came down after the game and gave me a big hug," Clawson said. "Then, I was shaking hands with some NC State players and hugging some of our players. I saw the students come down. I was kind of in the middle of it, then I walked up to our locker room and I had a little bit of an elevated view. I had my arm around my daughter and I was just watching it."
"This is pretty cool," Clawson told his daughter as they watched the celebration together.
Instead of a culmination of his eight seasons on the job, Clawson feels the foundation has been laid for seasons like this to happen with more regularity. The Deacs are 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the ACC — ranked No. 10 in the College Football Playoff. He wanted to fully embrace the moment.
"You have those surreal moments where you just want to suck it in and enjoy it," Clawson said. "Our players could have stayed out there three hours and I would have waited.
"Usually, we want them to get right in after the game, but I wanted them to stay out there. They earned this. We had all the students there and they felt a part of it, which is important. It was one of those moments. It's not going to happen all that often, so when it does, you should enjoy it. If you don't enjoy those moments, then why are we doing this?"
Senior safety Traveon Redd recovered a fumble forced by second-year freshman JJ Roberts and returned it to the Wake Forest red zone, where the Deacs cashed it in for a big touchdown and momentum shift.
"I honestly had a rush of emotions," Redd said. "It was my senior night and last time playing on this field. We won a big game and I just had a flood of emotions. I honestly didn't know what to do — yell, run around, congratulate my teammates. I'm just out there running around smiling and screaming."
Nick Andersen grabbed his first interception of the season against the Wolfpack, making a leaping catch of a Devin Leary deep pass before rolling over then leaping to his feet to celebrate.
"It was a pretty special moment, not just for us as players, but for the university," Andersen said of the postgame field rush. "Any time you have that coming together, especially in front of a sell-out crowd, it was just really good to see. It's good to see everyone come together.
"It makes every single hard thing you do worth it. Pushing that extra rep or that extra period in practice — for that moment right there, it makes it all worth it. It was pretty special."
With a pair of receivers exiting the game with injuries, grad student Donald Stewart became one of nine players to catch Hartman passes during the victory.
"It was one of the best feelings of my life," he said about celebrating with the students and fans. "We've had Deacon Nation behind us from start to finish this entire season. After the game when they stormed the field was just an amazing experience."
Sixth-year senior Luke Masterson came back for one last ride, moving from safety to linebacker, in hopes of having a special campaign — so far that's been the case.
"That was one of the most special moments I've had since I've been here," he said. "All of the guys would agree that you don't get those moments a lot, so we all kind of took that in. We've had a few moments like that this season, where you take a moment to reflect and become grateful that you've come back."
There was a program-record 4,584 students in attendance and the vast majority of them stayed to the end — with most spilling onto the field in celebration.
"Once again, I want to thank our students," Clawson said. "That section, the noise and energy — it's been awesome this year. It means so much. I also want to thank our fans. That was a big-time environment with the packed house.
"I just want to thank our fans, the way they rushed the field afterward. Usually when the game is over, I have the players in the locker room, we break them down and they head back to the field to see their families. To just watch that scene, I just stood there for 15-20 minutes. This is really cool that we were able to create a moment like that for our players, our students and our fans. It was a very rewarding win. But as we tell our team, the reward for winning a big game is another big game."
Players Mentioned
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