Wake Forest Takes Attitude Adjustment Out on Virginia, 51-7
· Yahoo Sports
Whatever attitude adjustment head coach Jake Dickert gave to his Wake Forest team during the week, the Demon Deacons took it out on Virginia Saturday night at Allegacy Stadium. Wake pummeled Virginia 51-7 to improve to 7-1 on the season and 5-1 in ACC play. Coupled with SMU’s earlier loss at Syracuse, the Deacs are now in sole possession of second place in the ACC.
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Wake Forest Takes Attitude Adjustment out on Virginia, 51-7
Gio Lopez Early Exit
The cost of the win is still to be determined. Up 37-0 in the third quarter, Wake quarterback Gio Lopez dropped back to pass and was leveled by the Cavaliers’ Matthew Fobbs-White. UVA got flagged for roughing the passer, but Lopez was on the ground, grabbing his right knee. After being tended to by trainers, he hobbled off the field on his own, even rejecting help from receiver Carlos Hernandez. After being examined in the trainers’ tent, he stayed on the sidelines with his teammates for the rest of the game. After the game, Dickert answered the question about why Lopez was still in the game with Wake holding such a big lead late in the third quarter. “I think it’s a fair question.” Dickert said he wanted to give his starter one more series. “Obviously we got a bad result there. I take that on me always.” According to Dickert, Lopez will be examined more thoroughly on Sunday.
Photo courtesy: Jim Dedmon-Imagn ImagesWake is not required to issue an injury/availability report next week because it is not a conference game. Lopez’s status may be a question mark for many days.
As for the game itself, the Deacs came out like a team that heard its coach’s message loud and clear. They scored on their first nine possessions of the game. “We really dominated from start to finish, Dickert said after the game, emphasizing the importance of getting off to a fast start.
Dickert told us on Wednesday that he was far from pleased with the effort from his team at practice. He felt they were resting on their 6-1 record and, coming off a bye week, they needed a fire lit under them. Dickert was the fire starter.
Wake scored on its first drive of the game, going 51 yards in just five plays and 1:05 off the clock. On first down, Lopez, under pressure, delivered the ball right on target along the right side to Hernandez for a 33-yard completion to Virginia’s two-yard line. Running back Ty Clark took it up the middle on the next play for the touchdown and the 7-0 lead.
The Deacs added a 45-yard Connor Calvert field goal later in the first half for the 10-0 lead.
Dominating All Three Phases of the Game
Wake extended that lead on its first drive of the second quarter. It was Lopez slinging one to Hernandez again, along the left side, for 18 yards to the UVA 42-yard line. After an 18-yard Lopez scramble and a Clark 13-yard run, it was the Lopez-Hernandez combination for seven yards to the four-yard line. Clark ran it in up the middle from there, and Wake was firmly in control 17-0.
Even when UVA mounted a couple of good-yardage plays, as they did on the ensuing drive when they got down inside the red zone, the Deacs’ defense stepped up to shut down the Cavaliers’ momentum. On fourth and one at the Wake Forest six-yard line, and down 17 points already, coach Tony Elliott opted to go for it. Running back Xay Davis was slammed at the line of scrimmage by Zach Lohavichan.
Wake converted that into another three points. The 13-play, 82-yard drive ended in a 25-yard Calvert field goal and a 20-0 lead going into halftime. The disparity was clear already. Wake’s 255 yards of total offense were just seven yards shy of doubling UVA’s. Lopez was 10 of 15 passing for 149 yards. He was also the team’s leading rusher at the half with 52 yards. UVA’s Beau Pribula had been held to 108 yards passing and an interception.
Putting It Away in the Second Half
The second half was a lot more of the same. On its opening drive, Wake went 49 yards in 11 plays for another Calvert field goal. This one was from 44 yards out, for the 23-0 lead.
Wake’s next scoring opportunity was set up by its special teams. UVA’s Daniel Sparks, one of the best punters in the country, nailed a 60-yard punt for the Cavaliers. Kam Shanks got under it and returned it along the right side of the field. When it seemed like he was corralled in around his own 45-yard line, Shanks slammed on the brakes, pivoted through the defense and took off for the other side of the field. By the time he was shoved out of bounds, he had a 64-yard return to the UVA 14-yard line.
From there, Wake only needed two plays and 37 seconds to score again. On second and six, Lopez threw a fade route to the far right corner of the end zone to Hernandez for the 10-yard touchdown and the 30-0 lead.
UVA went four and out and turned it over on downs on the next series. That gave Lopez one more shot at the highlight reel. Under pressure, he threw it right down the middle of the field over double coverage to Drayden Dickman at the two-yard line for a 47-yard completion. On the next play, Clark ran it in from up the middle. Wake had a second two-play drive, and this one took only 11 seconds for the 37-0 lead.
Jamar Searcy added a seven-yard touchdown run, and Kyndall McCaleb had a 27-yard touchdown run to get Wake to 51 points.
The shutout was thwarted when Pribula connected with Da’Shawn Martin on a 47-yard touchdown pass for the Cavaliers’ only score.
Tribute
Wake’s home crowd was chanting Lopez’s name as the game neared its end, in a tribute to the transfer quarterback. “The guy is the heart and soul of this football team,” Dickert said after the game.
The Last Word
Wake has outscored its last four opponents 187-31. The offense is starting fast, and the defense is overwhelming outmanned opponents with a decisive brand of physicality. Still, Dickert said after the game that the team needs to get better. “To get to where we want to go, we’ve got to take a really hard eye, even at this film, and see where we can grow. And I’ve got a bunch of things on my mind already.
The next step in the process is against Merrimack on Saturday at home at 3:30 pm.
Main Image: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images