Oct. 31, 2009

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Final Stats in PDF Format | Postgame Press Conference

By Alex Botoman, WakeForestSports.com

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - It was a heartbreaker at BB&T Field as Miami put together a late comeback to defeat Wake Forest 28-27. The Demon Deacons had led the entire game before Hurricanes quarterback Jacory Harris found Travis Benjamin for the game-winning touchdown with 1:08 to play.

With the loss, Wake Forest falls to 4-5 (2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) while Miami improves to 6-2 (3-2 ACC).

The Demon Deacons racked up 555 yards of total offense - a season high. The Hurricanes' offense gained 356 yards.

A fourth-quarter hit left quarterback Riley Skinner with a broken facemask and kept him out of the rest of the game. Prior to the injury, Skinner was having one of the best games of his career completing 29-of-43 passes for 349 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Skinner also ran 7 times for 43 yards and a touchdown. Skinner moved into second place on the all-time ACC pass completion list with 824, behind only Philip Rivers.

Josh Adams also had a stellar day for the Deacons, running nine times for 48 yards as well as making five catches for 71 yards. Devon Brown caught 12 passes for 101 yards, both career highs. Chris Givens also caught three balls for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Jonathan Jones led the Wake Forest defense with six tackles. Joey Ehrmann had five tackles and 2.5 sacks while Dominique Tate made an interception.

For Miami, Jacory Harris completed 22-of-43 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Damien Berry carried the ball six times for 26 yards and a touchdown. Leonard Hankerson made five catches for 97 yards, while Travis Benjamin, Aldarius Johnson, and Tervaris Jackson all had touchdown receptions.

The Hurricanes' Colin McCarthy led all tacklers with 11. DaMarcus Van Dyke made an interception.

After forcing Miami to go three-and-out on the first possession of the game, Wake drove 78 yards to the Hurricanes' 6-yard line before a 23-yard field goal gave the Deacons an early 3-0 lead. Wake Forest came out throwing, as Skinner completed four-of-six passes on the drive, highlighted by a 43-yard play action pass to Marshall Williams.

Towards the end of the first quarter Wake went 75 yards and this time found the end zone to extend their lead to 10-0. The Demon Deacons again moved the ball through the air as Mike Rinfrette caught two passes out of the backfield for 22 yards on the drive. Skinner picked up 20 yards on a scramble to advance the ball to the Miami five-yard line. A defensive penalty brought Wake closer, and fullback Tommy Bohanon caught a three-yard pass in the end zone for his first career touchdown.

Later in the quarter, the Demon Deacons took the ball on their own 20-yard line. A reverse pass from Marshall Williams to Skinner went for 17 yards and brought Wake into Miami territory. It was Skinner's fourth career reception. Two passes to Devon Brown took Wake inside the 10-yard line. On third down Skinner dropped back to pass, but saw the middle of the field open up and took off running into the end zone to put Wake up 17-0.

Miami answered back quickly to score its first points of the game. The Hurricanes started the drive on their own 33-yard line. Jacory Harris went 4-for-4 on the drive, culminating in a 35-yard touchdown pass to Aldarius Johnson to make the score 17-7.

With 42 seconds left in the half, Newman nailed a 42-yard field goal to make the Wake Forest lead 20-7. Adams was featured on the drive as he caught a short pass and ran for a 20-yard gain, and then stiff-armed a defender on another run. Newman's kick was his career long.

However, the scoring was not finished for the half, as Miami went 64 yards in 39 seconds to close the gap to 20-14. Harris found an open Thearon Collier for a 29-yard gain to the Deacons' 35-yard line. A 20-yard run by Cooper brought the Hurricanes into the red zone, and a three-yard touchdown run by Damien Berry with three seconds left on the clock was the last offensive play of the half.

In the third quarter, the Demon Deacons took the ball on their own 29-yard line. Wake picked up two long third downs, one by virtue of a beautiful catch by Devon Brown and the other on a screen pass to Brandon Pendergrass. A defensive holding call took the Deacons into Miami territory. With the ball on the 45-yard line, Skinner hit Givens on a slant and there was nothing but green grass between him and the end zone, increasing the Wake Forest lead to 27-14.

The Deacons followed the score with a strong defensive stand. John Russell sacked Harris for a 14-yard loss, and Cooper was tackled for a one-yard loss. On third down, the front four got pressure on Harris and he threw a lofted ball that was easily intercepted by Dominique Tate.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Wake drove the ball to the Miami 28-yard line on the strength of two long plays by Adams. However, Newman's 45-yard field goal attempt was no good.

Miami closed the gap to 27-21. A long Hurricanes punt by Matt Bosher was muffed by Devon Brown and recovered by Miami at the Wake Forest two-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Harris found Tervaris Jackson in the back of the end zone for the score.

Miami found some more late magic, as they went 82 yards in 1:32 to take a 28-27 lead with 1:08 to play. On third down, Harris found Collier for a 29-yard gain to keep the drive alive. The Deacons broke up two deep passes, but the third one was the charm Harris again threw deep, this time to Johnson to the Wake Forest 30-yard line. Harris then threw to Benjamin who just managed to get his fingertips under the ball in the end zone for the score.

With Skinner on the sidelines, Ryan McManus was left to try to engineer a last minute comeback. Wake Forest was able to reach the Miami 43-yard line, but Jimmy Newman's 60-yard field goal attempt as time expired was no good.

The Demon Deacons will travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech next Saturday, November 7. The kickoff time and television information have not yet been announced. The game can be heard on the Wake Forest ISP Sports Radio Network.