Nov. 13, 2001

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WAKE FOREST FOOTBALL NEWS & NOTES
Game #10
November 17, 2001

Wake Forest (5-4, 3-4 ACC) vs. (23) Georgia Tech (6-3, 3-3 ACC)
Groves Stadium (31,500), Winston-Salem, NC

Kickoff: 12:10 pm

Television: Raycom/Jefferson Pilot (locally on WFMY-TV). Steve Martin and "Doc" Walker call the action, with Mike Hogewood reporting from the sidelines.

Radio: The Wake Forest ISP Sports Network, heard on 19 stations in North Carolina and Virginia. Full station listing is on page five of this package. Voice of the Deacons Stan Cotten calls the play-by-play. Former Deacs Ed Bradley and Mike Pratapas serve as color analysts.

On the Web: The radio broadcast can be heard live over the internet via WFU's homepage: www.wakeforestsports.com

The Series: Saturday's game marks the 24th meeting between the Deacons and the Ramblin' Wreck. Georgia Tech leads the series, 17-6, but the teams have split the last two meetings. More series information is on page five.

The Rankings: Georgia Tech dropped out of the AP poll and fell to 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll after falling to Virginia, 39-38, last week.

The Coaches: Wake Forest's Jim Grobe is 5-4 in his first season with the Deacs. His career record now stands at 38-37-1 in his seventh season as a head coach. Georgia Tech head coach George O'Leary is 51-31 in his seventh season as a head coach, all with the Yellow Jackets.

Tickets: Contact the WFU ticket office at 336-758-3322.

Officials: Announced on game day.

WAKE FOREST'S postseason hopes on the line versus Georgia Tech
A week after producing the greatest comeback in Wake Forest history, the Demon Deacon football team (5-4, 3-4 ACC) returns home to Groves Stadium to host ACC-rival Georgia Tech (6-3, 3-3 ACC). The 12 noon matchup, broadcast by JP Sports (locally on WFMY-TV) has developed into a key battle for both teams in regards to the postseason bowl scenario.
Wake Forest is riding a two-game win streak after posting consecutive come-from-behind victories on the road at Virginia and North Carolina. Last week in Chapel Hill, the Deacons were down 24-0 at the half before staging a 32-point second half to defeat the Tar Heels, 32-31.
The win over UNC also marked the third straight road victory for the Deacons, the longest road winning streak since posting four in a row in 1992.
Georgia Tech is coming off a loss after Virginia scored on a last-second play to defeat the Yellow Jackets, 39-38, in Charlottesville last week. Georgia Tech will be the third ranked opponent Wake Forest has faced this season, as it currently sits in 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll.

INJURY update
* Quarterback Anthony Young, who aggravated a partial stress fracture in his right foot at the Duke game on Oct. 13, will be evaluated this week and remains questionable for action on Saturday.

LAST time out
Wake Forest posted the greatest comeback in school history by defeating North Carolina, 32-31, to spoil the Tar Heels' Homecoming in Chapel Hill last week.
The way the game started, however, it appeared UNC would roll to an easy Homecoming victory. Tar Heel quarterback Darian Durant completed 15-of-19 passes for 264 yards in the first half as UNC built a 24-0 lead. By the time the teams headed for the lockerroom, the 'Heels had already amassed 338 yards of offense, including a 75-yard touchdown reception by Sam Aiken. The Deacons, meanwhile, had just 118 yards and no points on the board.
The tide turned in the second half, however. Durant fumbled the ball on the Tar Heels' first possession of the second half, and Marquis Hopkins recovered, giving Wake the ball on the UNC 33. Eight plays later, John Stone went 11 yards on a reverse into the endzone.
On UNC's next possession, Deacon defensive lineman Calvin Pace and Montique Sharpe registered consecutive sacks on Durant, forcing the Tar Heels to go three-and-out.
With the ball at midfield, Wake once again steadily moved toward the endzone, capping off the drive with another reverse, this time on a five-yard run by Fabian Davis that made the score 24-14.
North Carolina, however, upped the lead to 31-14 on the next drive, as Durant connected with tight end Zach Hilton on a 12-yard pass and a touchdown with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Wake continued to chip away at the lead, however, as the Deacons drove 80 yards in 11 plays to open the fourth quarter and score a TD on a three-yard run by Tarence Williams.
The defense did its job again, holding the Tar Heels on downs, and on Wake's next possession, placekicker Tyler Ashe kicked a season-long 42-yard field goal to reduce the Deacon deficit to seven points (31-24).
After the Wake defense forced another three-and-out, the long snap went over the Carolina punter's head and out of the endzone, giving the Deacons a safety and making the score 31-26 with less than five minutes remaining.
The Wake offense, led by quarterback James MacPherson and Williams, than staged its final drive of the game. MacPherson threw one pass, a seven-yarder to Williams, on the first play of the drive, then either kept the ball himself or handed it off to Williams as the Deacons rushed 52 yards up the field over the next nine plays for the game-winning score. MacPherson kept the ball on a one-yard quarterback sneak for the touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt, which would force UNC to score a TD to win or kick a field goal to tie, failed.
Down 32-31, Carolina completed three straight passes to get the ball over midfield. On first-and-10 from the Wake 47, Deacon safety Quintin Williams batted the ball away from Durant and Caron Bracy recovered it to give the ball back to Wake and preserve the one-point victory.
Williams recorded his sixth 100-yard game of the season (eighth career), tallying 101 yards on 29 carries. MacPherson completed 14-of-23 passes for 142 yards and also rushed for 49 yards and a TD.
The 24-point comeback was the best in school history, surpassing the 1979 win over Auburn in which the Deacons overcame an 18-point halftime deficit (38-20) to win 42-38.

ROAD warriors
Four of Wake's five wins this season have come on the road, and the Deacons have won three consecutive games on their opponents' turf - all ACC opponents.
After opening the year with a win at East Carolina in Greenville, Wake has also won its last three road games at Duke (Oct. 13), Virginia (Nov. 3) and North Carolina (Nov. 10). The Deacons' only road loss this season came at Florida State on Sept. 29.
The last time Wake enjoyed such a long road winning streak was during the 1992 season, when it actually won four straight road games - three of those against ACC opponents. The Deacons won at Vanderbilt (40-6), at Maryland (30-23), at Duke (28-14) and at Georgia Tech (23-10) before 13th-ranked NC State halted the streak in Carter-Finley Stadium, defeating the No. 25 Deacs 42-14.

TURNING it around
Saturday's 32-31 victory at North Carolina gives the Wake Forest football team a 5-4 record and makes the Deacons one of college football's most improved teams. Last season Wake struggled to a 2-9 mark, but the Deacs have won three straight road games under coach Jim Grobe to pull ahead the .500 mark.
In terms of number of victories, Washington State (4-7 last season, 9-1 this season) and Colorado (3-8 to 8-2) are college football's most improved teams, followed by Bowling Green (2-9 to 6-3), BYU (6-6 to 10-0), Kent State (1-10 to 5-5), Maryland (5-6 to 9-1) and Rice (3-8 to 7-3). The Deacons are next with a three-game improvement and are tied with Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana Tech and Utah.

TWO DEACONS named ACC Player of the Week
Two Wake Forest football players earned ACC Player of the Week honors following the win over North Carolina. Center Vince Azzolina was named co-Offensive Lineman of the Week and Quintin Williams earned ACC Defensive Back of the Week accolades.
Azzolina, a 6-4, 275-pound senior from Easton, Pa., started for the 35th consecutive game Saturday, helping Wake Forest accumulate 354 yards and 32 second-half points in a 32-31 win over North Carolina. Azzolina's blocking prevented Deacon QB James MacPherson from being sacked all day.
Williams, a 6-2, 195-pound safety from Goldsboro, N.C., forced a fumble on North Carolina's final possession of the game Saturday, preserving Wake Forest's 32-31 victory. Williams had nine tackles on the day, including six solo stops and he added one pass deflection.

CLOSE calls
Fans have certainly gotten their money's worth at Wake Forest football games this season. Seven of Wake's nine games this season have been decided by seven points or less, including six of seven ACC contests.
After winning by two points (21-19) at East Carolina in the season opener, Wake Forest defeated Appalachian State by 10 points (20-10) in its home opener. The Deacs opened ACC play with a seven-point loss to Maryland (27-20) before suffering its largest margin of defeat of the season at Florida State (48-24). The last five games - all ACC contests - have been decided by a touchdown or less, including a 17-14 loss to NC State, a 42-35 win at Duke, a 21-14 loss to Clemson, a 34-30 win over Virginia and a 32-31 win at UNC.
In the three close losses - Maryland, NC State and Clemson - Wake Forest had the ball with good field position and with a chance to go ahead or even the score late in the game. Two of those situations resulted in interceptions in the endzone.
This year's close games are a sign of improvement over the scores against these same teams last season. Against the seven ACC opponents Wake Forest has faced so far this year, it has improved its scoring margin from its 2000 meeting with all seven opponents.

DEACON O-LINE stops the sacks
Wake's offensive line is one of the deepest, most talented and experienced position groups in the Deacon lineup. Two senior All-ACC candidates - left guard Michael Collins and center Vince Azzolina - both own 36 career starts, while Azzolina is riding a streak of 35 consecutive starts, dating back to his freshman season. Senior Michael Moosbrugger and junior Blake Henry have split starting nods at right guard. At the tackle spot, sophomore Tyson Clabo has started every game this season at left tackle, while underclassmen David Walters, Tim Bennett and Mark Moroz have split starting duties on the right side. Another senior, Seth Houk, provides depth at guard after starting seven games last season.
The offensive line has obviously been instrumental in Wake's rushing success this season, but the "Hogs" can also take credit for another impressive statistic. Wake Forest leads the ACC in fewest sacks allowed, giving up just 10 sacks (-88 yards) through nine games, a mark that also unofficially ranks 21st nationally.
The effectiveness of the line this season can be attributed to the philosophy of head coach Jim Grobe and offensive coordinator Troy Calhoun. Their gameplan has been to play a number of linemen, keeping legs fresh while providing valuable experience at the same time. The Deacons have played up to 10 different offensive linemen in five games this season (not including three tight ends employed by the Deacs).

HEAD COACH Jim Grobe
The 2001 season marks the debut of new head coach Jim Grobe on the Wake Forest sideline. After opening the 2001 campaign with wins over East Carolina and Appalachian State, Grobe joined an elite group of first-year Deacon coaches. Only six coaches in school history have opened their WFU careers with two straight wins.
Grobe is no stranger to the Atlantic Coast Conference. After beginning his collegiate career at Ferrum Junior College, Grobe went on to the University of Virginia, starting two seasons for the Cavaliers and and earning Academic All-ACC honors. He earned both a bachelor's and master's degree from Virginia.
Grobe came to Winston-Salem from Ohio University, where in six years he resurrected a program that had previously been considered one of the worst in Division I football. Inheriting a team that was winless the previous season, Grobe turned the Bobcats into perennial conference contenders in the MAC and posted a 33-33-1 record during his tenure.
Prior to Ohio, Grobe served as an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy for 11 years under legendary coach Fisher DeBerry. The Falcons produced a record of 84-50 and went to seven bowl games during Grobe's tenure. He also served as an assistant coach at Marshall (1979-83) after beginning his college coaching career at Emory & Henry.
With a 5-4 mark through his first eight games at Wake Forest, Grobe's career record as a head coach now stands at 38-37-1.

MORE NOTES from the North Carolina game
* Wake's 32-31 win marks the closest game in the WFU-UNC series since a 14-13 Wake win in 1970. It also represents the most points scored on the Tar Heels by an ACC opponent this season and the third most by any UNC opponent this season, behind Texas (44) and Oklahoma (41).
* The Deacons' one-point victory marks the seventh of nine WFU games (and fifth consecutive) game this season decided by seven points or less.
* North Carolina's touchdown following Wake Forest's interception on its first series of the game marked the first time since the FSU game on Sept. 29 that the Deacons did not put the first points on the scoreboard.
* Deacon linebacker Kellen Brantley recorded his third career interception when he picked off a Darian Durant pass in front of the endzone in the second quarter. He is now tied with Marcus McGruder with a team-high three interceptions this season.
* Placekicker Tyler Ashe's wide right field goal attempt in the second quarter was his first miss since the season opener at East Carolina on Sept. 1. He rebounded, however, to kick a season-long 42 yarder in the fourth quarter which reduced to the Tar Heel lead to seven points.
* North Carolina's Sam Aiken's caught a mid-range pass from Darian Durant and converted it into a 75-yard touchdown completion that will go down as the longest receiving touchdown by a Wake Forest opponent this season. The previous longest was 52 yards, from Chris Rix to Javon Walker at Florida State.
* For the third straight week, WFU walk-on punter Chris Rolle booted a career-long punt. At UNC, he kicked a 51-yarder in the second quarter, surpassing his previous record of 48 yards, set last week at Virginia. The previous week against Clemson, Rolle a booted a then-career long of 47 yards.
* North Carolina's shutout of the Deacons in the first half marked the first time since the NC State game on Oct. 6 that Wake Forest had been shut out in consecutive quarters. NC State held WFU scoreless in the second half en route to a 17-14 victory. The last time Wake was shut out in the first half was also against NC State, in the 2000 season finale. The Wolfpack won that game, 32-14.
* Defensive end Calvin Pace recorded his 19th career sack in the third quarter, moving into a tie for second place on Wake Forest's all-time sack list along with Bryan Ray (1997-00).
* Tarence Williams recorded his eighth career (sixth of the season) 100-yard rushing game with 101 yards on 29 carries against the Tar Heels.
* Quarterback James MacPherson scored his first career rushing TD on a one-yard keeper in the fourth quarter. The Deacon junior is responsible for eight touchdowns (seven passing, one rushing) in his career.

YELLOW JACKET details
* Georgia Tech, considered by many in the preseason as a contender for the ACC crown in 2001, is 6-3 on the season with all three losses coming against league opponents. Similar to the Deacons' situation, the Jackets' losses have all been close calls, as they fell to both Clemson and Maryland in overtime and lost to Virginia on a last-second play.
* Georgia Tech's loss to Virginia last week means that Wake Forest will be facing an opponent coming off a loss for the seventh straight game. The streak began in September with Florida State coming off its 41-9 loss to North Carolina. Wake has posted a 3-3 record against the six opponents faced during the streak thus far.
* Georgia Tech ranks first in the league in both total offense (448.2 ypg) and total defense (310.2 ypg). Its total offense mark ranks 15th nationally while its defense is 19th nationally. The Deacons rank in the middle of the pack in both categories - fifth in total offense (394.8 ypg) and sixth in total defense (389.1 ypg).
* Georgia Tech also ranks third in the league in scoring offense (34.3 ppg) while ranking second in scoring defense, limiting its opponents to 19.4 points per game.
* Tech quarterback George Godsey leads the ACC in passing average per game, completing over 65 percent of his passes and averaging 262.7 yards per game.
* Receiver Kelly Campbell, who caught five passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns against Wake Forest last season, has caught 45 passes for a team-high 599 yards this season despite missing two games this season (including last weeks' Virginia game).
* Tailback Joe Burns ranks second in the league with 99.2 rushing yards per game, just ahead of WFU's Tarence Williams (99.0 ypg).
* Tech placekicker Luke Manget leads the ACC in scoring with 8.8 points per game.

ON THIS DATE in WFU history
Wake Forest is 3-9 overall in games played on this date, including a 1-5 mark against ACC opponents ... Wake's last two Nov. 17 games have been at home against Georgia Tech (1984 and 1990), with the Deacs losing both contests ... WFU's last victory on this date was a 35-17 win over Maryland in 1967 ... Wake is 0-2 against ranked opponents on this date, including a loss to 10th-ranked Baylor (42-0) in 1951 and a 42-7 loss to fourth-ranked Georgia Tech in 1990 ... the Deacons are 2-5 in Nov. 17 games played at home.

THE SERIES with Georgia Tech
The Deacons and Yellow Jackets meet for the 24th time... Georgia Tech leads the series, 17-6... the two teams have split the last two meetings with Tech winning 52-20 last season in Atlanta and Wake coming away with a 26-23 upset in 1999... the Ramblin' Wreck has taken five of the last six meetings... Georgia Tech has won six of the nine previous meetings played in Winston-Salem... over the last three meetings, Tech has outscored Wake by an average of 46.0 to 27.0... the first meeting between the two teams was a 33-0 Georgia Tech victory in 1917... the Deacs and Yellow Jackets met four times between 1917 and 1921 and Georgia Tech won all four of those meetings by shutout... the two teams did not meet between 1921 and 1982... Wake and Tech meet in the regular season finale for the third time in four years... Wake Forest's Jim Grobe will coach against Georgia Tech for the first time... Tech's George O'Leary is 5-1 all-time against Wake Forest.

TECH connections
* Georgia Tech director of player development Ed Ellis and assistant director Scott Sinclair both previously worked in similar positions at Wake Forest.
* Wake Forest has seven players on its roster from the state of Georgia - Calvin Pace (Douglasville), Scott Marino (Dunwoody), Marcus McGruder (Fairburn), Jamaal Argrow (Savannah), Walter Simmons (Savannah), Dion Williams (Stone Mountain) and Derek Tharpe (Warner Robins).
* Georgia Tech has one player from the state of North Carolina - Leo Furlong (Cornelius).
* Wake Forest freshman defensive back Caron Bracy and Georgia Tech defensive end Chirod Williams were teammates at Trinity Christian in Jacksonville (FL).
* Georgia Tech free safety Jeremy Muyres' older brother, Jeffrey, played defensive back at Wake Forest from 1995-98.

THOMAS becoming more of a receiving factor
Junior Ray Thomas, who has been the Deacons' starting tight end for the last two seasons, has become more of a factor as a receiver over the last five games. Through the first four games of the season, Thomas caught just three passes for 30 yards. But in the last five outings, the Ontario, Canada native has caught 12 passes for 152 yards, averaging 2.4 catches/30.4 yards per game.
Thomas enjoyed a career-best day as a Deacon last Saturday at North Carolina. He tied his career high with three receptions for a career-best 53 yards. The key notes about his receiving statistics, however, were that all three receptions resulted in first downs, and all three took place during Deacon scoring drives in the second half.

PUNTING carousel stops on Rolle - for now
No starting role has been more up for grabs this season than punter. Through nine games, Wake Forest has employed three different punters - walk-on Chris Rolle, quarterback James MacPherson and recently, returning starter Matt Brennie.
After using Rolle in the season opener against ECU, coaches turned to MacPherson for the next three games. Although MacPherson did not attempt a punt last season, he saw action at punter in three games in 1999 as a redshirt freshman, including the Jeep Aloha Bowl. His 48.8-yard punting average against Maryland earned him ACC Specialist of the Week honors.
After MacPherson suffered a sprained ankle at FSU, Rolle once again stepped in versus NC State. And at Duke, Brennie made his first appearance of the season, punting six times before Rolle punted once near games' end.
With MacPherson the only experienced, healthy quarterback dressed for the last three games, Rolle has earned the starting nod at punter and shown great improvement, averaging 43.0 yards a punt against Clemson, Virginia and UNC and setting new career highs with each outing.
MacPherson has punted 12 times for 509 yards - a 42.4 average - with three punts inside the 20. Rolle owns 21 punts for 799 yards (38.0 average), and also has five inside the 20. Brennie is averaging 33.8 yards on six punts (203 yards) with one inside the 20.

JOHN STONE: an all-purpose kind of guy
Senior wide receiver/kick returner John Stone is widely known for his kick return abilities, having returned two kickoffs for touchdowns during his career. But this season he's also become a bigger part of the Deacon offensive scheme while continuing to post impressive numbers on kickoff returns.
In the month of October, Stone accumulated 219 rushing yards on 33 carries (6.6 ypc) after carrying the ball 15 times for just 50 yards in Wake's first three games. Stone reached another milestone - as a receiver - against Duke on Oct. 13. He tied his career-high (set in 1999, also against Duke) with five catches for a career-best 82 yards. He also caught his first career touchdown pass.
Also in October, Stone tallied over 100 all-purpose yards a game in a three-game streak against Florida State, NC State and Duke. He was named ACC Specialist of the Week on Oct. 1 after producing 233 all-purpose yards at Florida State, a total which ranks as the seventh-best single game all-purpose performance in school history.
Against the Seminoles, Stone led Wake Forest in rushing with 70 yards, receiving with 57 yards, and returns with 106 yards. Stone rushed 11 times for 70 yards to average 6.4 yards per rush, and his 57 receiving yards came on two receptions. His four kickoff returns accumulated 106 yards, with a long return of 37 yards.
He currently ranks sixth in the ACC and 65th nationally with 110.6 all-purpose yards per game. Stone has tallied 2,731 all-purpose yards during his career, including 400 rushing yards, 544 receiving yards, and 1,787 kickoff return yards. He ranks sixth all-time among ACC kickoff return leaders. With 57 return yards against UNC last week to boost his career total to 1,787, Stone became Wake's all-time kickoff return leader, passing Anthony Williams (1988-91), who had 1,762 yards.

PACE'S sack attack
Keep an eye on defensive end Calvin Pace, who, midway through his junior year, has already moved up to second place on WFU's career sack chart. With 19 career sacks to his credit, the junior has tied Bryan Ray, who also recorded 19 sacks from 1997-00. Wake Forest's all-time leader, Mike McCrary, recorded 30 sacks from 1989-92.
Pace's nine sacks (for -67 yards) last season were a team-high while his 12 tackles-for-loss (-74 yards) was also the team's top returning mark entering the year.

COMING up next
Wake Forest remains at home to play its final regular season game next week versus Northern Illinois at Groves Stadium. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. The game was rescheduled from Sept. 15 in response to the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. earlier that week.