The Wolfpack football team came ready to play in its season opener and it showed with its back-and-forth 45-42 win over Wake Forest to end it’s six-game losing streak. Head coach Dave Doeren said he was proud of the way his team fought even if it wasn’t the perfect game.
“They just kept fighting, they had a lot of fun tonight,” Doeren said. “It’s been a long time coming to play.”
The offense came early and often for the Pack today, shooting out of the gate like a cannon to start the game. After receiving the kickoff, the Wolfpack sped down the field in less than two minutes for its first touchdown of the season. The drive was capped off by a 30-yard run by sophomore running back Zonovan Knight.
NC State stepped up on defense to start the game, forcing a punt and taking the ball down the field again, this time on the back of the passing game. Redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman, in a surprise start over redshirt sophomore Devin Leary, picked up 61 yards in the air on the drive and capped it off with a 7-yard touchdown run.
Despite the 14-0 lead early, the Pack couldn’t keep the advantage, trading blows with the Deacons, resulting in five touchdowns on the first six drives of the game and leaving the Pack with a 21-14 lead in the second quarter
The high-scoring first half ended in a tie at 21 with a late touchdown from Wake Forest. While the Pack should’ve kept the lead, its offensive efforts left a lot of hope for the second half. Those hopes came to fruition early in the second half, with another fast start with two quick touchdown drives.
After a Wake Forest punt, junior running back Ricky Person Jr. led the Wolfpack down the field. Following two 20-plus-yard runs, Person threw it in from the 2-yard line to sophomore Devin Carter. While fans may have been surprised to see Person throw the ball, it was certainly something he had prepared.
“We worked on it constantly during practice… we practice it like at least four times throughout practice when we work red zone days,” said Person.
Wake Forest punted on another three-and-out, then NC State got the ball and went back to work on offense. Long runs from Knight and Hockman set up a 15-yard pass from Hockman to redshirt senior tight end Cary Angeline for his first passing touchdown of the year.
This was a big day for Hockman, who got one score through the air and one on the ground while averaging 8.3 yards per attempt on his 23 passes. However, after the game, he was complementary to everyone besides himself.
“The offensive line was blocking their butts off, just working so hard up there,” Hockman said. “I have nothing but respect for those guys. The run game being so effective, it’s hard not to step up.”
With the Pack up 35-21, it forced another punt from Wake Forest and seemed to have all the momentum on their side. This quickly changed when, on the second play of NC State’s drive, Hockman threw an interception that was returned 45 yards for a touchdown.
Another quick three-and-out later for the Wolfpack and Wake Forest promptly drove down the field in nine plays for a touchdown to tie the game at 35-35.
NC State was forced to punt after its second straight possession, but was able to jump on a fumble on Wake Forest’s following drive. Junior defensive tackle Alim McNeill punched the ball free and recovered it after a run play that was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.
The Wolfpack couldn’t take full advantage of the field position after starting at Wake Forest’s 35-yard line but salvaged the drive with a field goal. Junior kicker Christopher Dunn split the uprights on a 30-yard field goal to put the Pack up 38-35.
Wake Forest responded with a nine-play touchdown drive to take its first lead of the game.
NC State’s offense didn’t shy away after falling behind and responded with a touchdown drive of its own. The running game kept on moving, picking up 48 of the 75 yards on the drive. It ended with Person’s third touchdown of the day when he ran in it from the 3 to put the Pack up 45-42.
This was the final touch for Person on his huge day, which included 99 yards rushing on 7.1 yards per carry in addition to his scores. While Person was the statistical headliner of the Wolfpack’s running backs, it was an all-around effort for the Pack, which ended the game with 270 rushing yards.
While it wasn’t an ideal day for the Wolfpack’s defense, it came up clutch late. It stuffed Wake Forest on its final drive under three minutes, including back-to-back sacks from redshirt junior linebacker Vi Jones and graduate transfer defensive lineman Daniel Joseph on second and third down to set up the fourth and long that effectively ended the game.
Doeren said he was proud of the way his defense finished the game but added that the defense must improve moving forward.
“On defense, a lot of stuff we got to get better,” Doeren said. “We gave up the edges of our defense way too much and it wasn’t by design.”
Even though there’s plenty for the Wolfpack to work on, it put up a very strong showing to start the season and left fans excited for next Saturday when the Pack goes on the road to face Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia at 8 p.m.
