Oct. 10, 2009

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WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Wake Forest scored early and often and gained over 500 yards of total offense en route to a 42-32 victory over Maryland in their Homecoming game. The result was never really in doubt as the Demon Deacons took a 35-10 lead into halftime and cruised through the second half for the victory.

With the win, the Deacons improved to 4-2 (2-1 ACC) and currently sit in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division. The Terrapins fall to 2-4 (1-1 ACC).

Wake's top-ranked ACC offense once again put on a show, putting up 381 yards in the first half and finishing with 516. It was the fourth time this season that the Deacons gained over 400 yards, and the first time that they broke the 500-yard barrier since a 2005 game against Duke. Their 35 first half points were the most points in a half for Wake since a game against North Carolina A&T in 2004.

Riley Skinner completed 24 of 33 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns. It was the first time in Skinner's career that he threw for four scores. Skinner's 33-yard pass to Chris Givens in first quarter pushed him past Brian Kuklick to make him the Wake Forest all-time leader in passing yards with 8,296.

Josh Adams picked up 94 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries and Brandon Pendergrass added 47 yards on 12 rushes.

Givens caught five passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns. It was his second straight game with over 100 yards receiving and was the first multi-touchdown game of his career. Marshall Williams had six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Parker caught the other passing touchdown.

Cyhl Quarles led the Wake Forest defense with seven tackles. John Russell make six tackles including two sacks, and Hunter Haynes and Dominique Midgett also had six tackles each. Dominique Tate made an interception - the first of his career.

For Maryland, Chris Turner completed 24 of 44 pass attempts for 307 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Turner also was the leading rusher for the Terrapins with 16 carries for 27 yards. Davin Meggett ran for 21 yards on six carries.

Torrey Smith caught 10 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, while Adrian Cannon had four receptions for 48 yards and two touchdowns.

Alex Wujciak led all tacklers with 11, and Anthony Wiseman also had seven tackles for Maryland.

The Deacons got the ball to start the game. They ran the ball five straight times culminating in a 48-yard touchdown run from Adams to put Wake Forest up 7-0.

Maryland struck right back as Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to the Wake Forest 15-yard line. The Demon Deacons stopped Maryland on third down at the 1-yard line, but the Terps elected to go for it and Meggett punched the ball into the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.

Wake took the lead again on the next drive as a 4-yard touchdown run by Devon Brown made the score 14-7. The Demon Deacons started at their own 20-yard line and Riley Skinner threw three straight passes to get into Maryland territory. Skinner hit Adams on a screen pass that went for 25 yards, and a couple more passes got the ball to the Terrapin 4-yard line before Brown punched it in.

The Demon Deacons scored again as the first quarter expired to extend their lead to 21-7. On the drive, Skinner completed a 33-yard pass to Chris Givens, which made him the all-time Wake Forest leader in career passing yards. On third down from the Maryland 10-yard line, Skinner escaped pressure and found Marshall Williams streaking across the end zone for the score.

On their next possession, Wake Forest drove 57 yards in 2:21 to make the score 28-7 in their favor. A 15-yard run by Adams brought the Demon Deacons to the Maryland 31-yard line, and on third down Skinner fired deep to Givens in the end zone for the touchdown.

Maryland started the ensuing drive on its own 29-yard line, and on the first play Turner found Tommy Galt for a 21-yard completion. The Terrapins made it as far as the Demon Deacon 33-yard line, and a 50-yard field goal by Nick Ferrara cut the Wake lead to 28-10.

Two big plays by Wake Forest took them 77 yards in six plays to extend their lead to 35-10. After starting at their own 29-yard line, Skinner found Devon Brown wide open on the sideline at midfield and he ran it to the Maryland 23-yard line for a 51-yard gain. Three plays later, Skinner hit Andrew Parker in the middle of the field who took into the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown.

In the third quarter, Maryland drove 77 yards for a touchdown to make the score 35-17. Turner threw to running back Gary Douglas who sped down the sideline for a 50-yard gain to the Wake Forest 27-yard line. On fourth down at the Wake Forest 2-yard line, Turner threw a fade to Cannon who got a foot down near the side of the end zone for the score.

The following drive was the Chris Givens show for the Demon Deacons as he caught three passes for 51 yards including a 27-yard touchdown that put Wake Forest ahead 42-17. Earlier in the series, Adams broke multiple tackles after a short pass to convert a long third down and keep the drive alive.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Maryland went 77 yards to get a touchdown and two-point conversion to cut the Wake lead to 42-25. Smith caught a 19-yard pass from Turner to bring the Terrapins into Demon Deacon territory. Turner threw to Cannon in the flat, and he broke a tackle to tiptoe down the sideline into the end zone. Maryland went to the air on the two point conversion as Turner successfully threw to Meggett.

The Terrapins threatened again as they drove deep into Wake Forest territory on the via a 24-yard pass from Turner to Kerry Boykins. However, Turner was hit as he threw deep by Joey Ehrmann, and Dominique Tate intercepted the floating pass in the end zone. It was the first interception of Tate's career.

Maryland went 88 yards to score with 1:37 left in the game making the final score 42-32 in favor of Wake Forest. Cannon caught a 21 yard pass on the series, and Ronnie Tyler grabbed a pass over the middle and ran to the Wake Forest 4-yard line for a 49-yard gain. On the next play, Turner threw to Smith in the end zone to finish off the drive.

Wake Forest will take to the road as they travel to Clemson on Saturday, Oct. 17. Kickoff is scheduled for noon. The game will be televised live on Raycom, and can also be heard on the Wake Forest ISP Radio Network.