Month: July 2006

RALEIGH — NC State moved to 5-0 Monday night at Carter-Finley Stadium with a dominating 35-14 victory over #6 Florida State in front of 63,500 screaming fans.  The Wolfpack thouroughly dominated the Seminoles (3-2) on both sides of the ball, and moved into the AP Top 25 for the first time this season, landing at #23.

Andre Brown continued his Heisman Trophy campaign in front of a national ESPN audience, carrying the ball 32 times for 143 yards and five touchdowns.  The Wolfpack had 16 first downs to the Seminoles’ three, was 5-for-5 in the red zone, and had a 275-56 advantage in total offense.

It was a performace typical of FSU in this rivalry with NC State.

The State defense swarmed sophomore quarterback Christian Ponder relentlessly after knocking starting quarterback Xavier Lee out of the game on the second play.  Willie Young and DeMario Pressley had two sacks each and the defensive added eight hurries to take away the FSU passing attack. 

“Those ends gave me fits the whole game,” Ponder, the Coleyville, TX 5-star recruit said after the game.  Ponder was sacked four times and finished 1-for-2 on the game.  His only completion was a 51-yard touchdown strike against broken coverage.  That was the most offense FSU would see on this evening.

Lorenzo booker, who many have as their pre-season ACC player of the year, had 11 carries for 24 yards.

The Pack D set the tone early, knocking Lee out of the game on the first series.  It took the offense a little longer to get going, but Andre Brown found the end zone for the first time with a 2-yard TD run with 1:33 left in the first quarter. 

The defense again set up the offense, intercepting Ponder on the next drive and returning the ball to the FSU four yard line, where Brown was called on and scored for the second time of the day on a 1-yard run.

The Pack led the Noles 21-7 at the half, but FSU made it interesting on the first drive of the second half, as Marcus Stone unleashed a Jay Davis-esque pass that was promptly intercepted and returned 61 yards for a touchdown to close the score to 21-14.  It would turn out to be the only positive note for the Noles though, as State recovered and regained control.

Stone would finish a modest 8-for-16 for 124 yards with two interceptions.  Darrell Blackman led all receivers with 68 yards on four catches.  Lamart Barrett pulled in one catch for 15 yards, and Geron James had one catch for 18 yards.  The ACC’s leading receiver John Dunlap left the game with a bruised rib after his only catch of the game.  He should be ready to go for Wake Forest (2-3) next week.

Brown would go on to add touchdown runs of four, one, and two yards on his way to being named the national player of the week.  He was even featured on the cover of this week’s ESPN The Magazine under the title “Hostility Abounds in Raleigh as NC State downs FSU to move to 5-0.”

“Daggumit, them boys just have our number,” Bobby Bowden said after the game, where he met his former protege Quack Amato at midfield to have a quick makeout session. 

Coach Amato was hoarse as usual after the game, but he was fired up about something other than the game.  Apparently someone in Section 30, Row Y left the game at the end of the 3rd quarter to go drink in the parking lot.  “I tell you what, he’s a bad fan!”

The Pack are at home next weekend against 2-3 Wake Forest. 

RALEIGH – The defending 1-AA National Champions were no match for the defending Meineke Car Care Bowl champions Monday night in the 2006 season-opener.  The Wolfpack dismissed the Mountaineers 70-0 in front of a sellout crowd at Carter-Finley Stadium, most of who were much too drunk and sweaty to notice, or even care.

With Appalachian State returning 17 starters from their 2005 championship team, many Wolfpack fans had worried this would be a close game.  But Darrell Blackman and Andre Brown, along with the penetrating NC State defense, put those worries to rest early in the first quarter.

“They were knocking the hell out of me,” said ASU junior Trey Elder, who split time at quarterback with All-Everything Richie Williams last season.  “This definitely wasn’t Western Carolina’s defense.”

Elder was sacked for six and eight yard losses, respectively, on the first two plays, and then hurriedly threw an interception to Garland Heath.  The Mountaineers’ first first-down was at the 0:03 mark of the first quarter when A.J. Davis inexplicably “dove” in the open field while sliding over to cover the pass. 

“I don’t know what happened on that play,” Davis joked after the game.  “It was like someone else was controlling my movements out there at times.”

Elder was sacked a total of 10 times and hurried 14 times.  The Appalachian State offense managed just 95 total yards for the game, almost all of it coming in the second half after State coach Quack Amato substituted both his second-string offense and defense into the game. 

Meanwhile, NC State was cruising.  Andre Brown got the Pack on the board first at the 2:44 mark with an eight-yard scoring run.  After a three-and-out for the Mountaineers, Brown followed on the first play of the second drive with a 43-yard touchdown run, untouched.  State’s D held again, and Darrell Blackman returned the ensuing punt 58 yards for his first touchdown to end the first quarter, untouched.   

Brown added touchdown runs of 90 yards and four yards in the second quarter, and Blackman returned his second punt 54 yards for another touchdown.  Marcus Stone was an impressive 4-for-5 for 71 yards, completing two passes each to John Dunlap and Lamart Barrett, who both complained after the game about not getting enough touches.  State led 42-0 at the half. 

Amato took the entire first string offense and defense out to give the backups some reps, but the dominance continued.  The Wolfpack began the second half with a 78-yard, 3:45 drive, all rushing plays, ending with a 2-yard touchdown run by Toney Baker. 

Blackman returned two more punts for touchdowns in the second half, and Baker added another rushing touchdown to push the score to 70-0.

“They stomped us,” Jerry Moore said after the game.  There had been upset hopes for this team; the Mountaineers went to Baton Rouge to open the 2005 season and left with a moral victory, losing 20-0 and playing LSU as hard as anyone in the SEC did all season.  But there were no moral victories to be had in this game.

The Wolfpack totaled 604 yards altogether, but only ran 26 offensive plays.  Brown rushed for 179 yards on nine carries and had four touchdowns; Baker rushed for 113 yards on 13 carries and added two touchdowns.  Darrell Blackman perhaps began a Heisman campaign with 223 punt return yards and four touchdowns.

“I was like Forrest Gump out there tonight,” Blackman added.  “I even fair-caught two just so the offense could get on the field and burn clock.  Then I found out this game wasn’t even televised; I wasted all that effort for jack shit.”

On defense, the Pack dominated the Appalachian O-line and controlled the tempo of the game, never allowing Elder any comfort to pass.  DeMario Pressley and Willie Young each had three sacks, Littleton Wright added two, and DeMarcus Tyler and Garland Heath added one each. 

Young, starting as a redshirt freshman after spending a year improving his academics at Hargrave Military Academy, also had five tackles for loss.  “That’s how we roll in the WP, bitches,” he added, apparently referring to his hometown of West Palm Beach, FL.

ASU’s A.D., Charlie Cobb, who played for Dick Sheridan and spent time as the Assistant A.D. at State, had mixed emotions.  “We got pounded, sure.  But that $200,000 check they gave us is my moral victory.”