Junior kicker Niklas Sade helped the Wolfpack beat Richmond 23-21 on Saturday night after a last-minute 48-yard field goal.
“I’m proud of the way we battled,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “We made it hard on ourselves, there’s no doubt. You turn the ball over four times and it’s hard to win.”
Sade’s kick came minutes after junior quarterback Pete Thomas threw an interception when the Wolfpack were deep into Spiders’ territory.
“After that horrible pick I threw at the end, I just wanted another chance,” Thomas said. “On the sidelines we just believed in each other so when we got the ball back with 1:59 left we knew we were going to drive down the field and get a touchdown or let our great kicker kick a game-winning field goal.”
Thomas led another mostly effective offensive effort for the Wolfpack, going 24 of 31 for 237 yards with two interceptions. But the junior’s most notable trait was his willingness to use his legs. He finished with nine rushes for 49 yards and battled for extra yards to keep the chains moving.
“Coach Doeren wants the quarterback to make a play on third down,” Thomas said. “Great quarterbacks move the chains on third down. I just tried to do whatever I could to help the team and stay on the field.”
State’s main problem Saturday was an inability to put the ball in the end zone. One opportunity arose at the end of the first half with the Pack down 21-10. But State’s offense couldn’t score a touchdown after having first and goal from the three-yard line, settling for a 19-yard Sade field goal to lessen the gap.
The Wolfpack had another chance in the third quarter after recovering a fumble inside Richmond’s red zone. With the score at 21-20 and the momentum firmly in favor of the Pack, freshman quarterback Bryant Shirreffs fumbled the ball inside Richmond’s five-yard line and the Spiders recovered.
Shirreffs’ fumble was the only blemish on a solid performance. The freshman completed all three of his passes, one of which was a touchdown to freshman running back Matt Dayes. Shirreffs also scored an impressive 28-yard rushing touchdown.
However, Sade was undoubtedly State’s player of the game, nailing a clutch 48-yarder with 0:33 left to win the game for the Wolfpack. The Wake Forest native has been a key figure in State’s 2013 campaign, saving the Wolfpack this weekend and making all four of his field goal attempts last week against Louisiana Tech.
“I’ve been in that situation before in the Maryland game and in the game-tying field goal in the Miami game, so I was confident,” Sade said. “I had a perfect week of practice. Anywhere he put me on the field, coach [Doeren] knew I could make the field goal.”
“We gave our kicker a chance to win it and he did,” Doeren said. “I’m very proud of Nick for that kick.”
Although a last-minute win against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent might not look good on the face of it, Doeren believes that this is a good win for the program. State showed resilience and toughness to recover from ill-timed turnovers and penalties and come through with an early-season win.
“To come back and win a game like that against [Richmond]… I knew we’d have to battle hard to get the win,” Doeren said.
