Nov. 14, 2009

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By Alex Botoman, WakeForestSports.com

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Senior Day at BB&T Field for the Class of 2009 did not go quite as planned as Wake Forest fell 41-28 to Florida State. The Seminoles jumped out to an early 31-7 lead, and it proved to be too much for the Demon Deacons to recover from.

With the loss, Wake falls to 4-7 (2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) while Florida State improves to 5-5 (3-4 ACC). It was the most points given up for Wake since a 44-10 road loss to Clemson in 2007, and the first time the Deacons lost by double-digits at home since a 19 point loss to Virginia Tech in 2006.

Wake Forest outgained Florida State 454 to 437, and picked up 227 rushing yards - the most since the second game of the season against Stanford.

Riley Skinner completed 25 of 40 passes for 227 yards, a touchdown and an interception. With his touchdown pass to Chris Givens in the fourth quarter, Skinner tied Jay Venuto's 1980 single-season school record for touchdown passes with 21.

Brandon Pendergrass carried five times for 60 yards, and Josh Adams picked up 59 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. It was Adams first game with multiple rushing touchdowns this year.

Chris Givens caught six passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, and Devon Brown also made six grabs for 23 yards.

Defensively for Wake, Dominique Midgett led all players with 11 tackles, while John Stamper recorded eight stops. Cyhl Quarles made an interception, and Alex Frye recorded his first career sack.

In his first career start, Florida State quarterback E. J. Manuel completed 15 of 20 passes for 220 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Manuel also ran for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Jermaine Thomas spearheaded the Seminole rushing attack, carrying the ball 25 times for 149 yards and a touchdown. Bert Reed caught five passes for 81 yards, and Jarmon Fortson snagged three balls for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Nigel Brandham made nine tackles for FSU and Jamie Robinson recorded six stops.

Florida State got the ball to start the game and drove 81 yards to take an early 7-0 lead. The Seminoles were able to convert on third down with a pass from Manuel to Rod Owens that brought them to the Wake Forest 40-yard line. After a few more runs, Ty Jones carried the ball into the end zone from nine yards out for the score.

The Demon Deacons answered right back on their first possession. With the ball in Wake territory, Skinner scrambled for 17 yards to the Florida State 47-yard line. On third down and eight, Skinner escaped from the grasp of a defender to once again scramble for a first down. On fourth down and one to go from the Seminole's three-yard line, Skinner pitched to Adams on an option and he stretched the ball across the goal line to even the score at 7-7.

The scoring would continue at a frantic pace as the Seminoles went 68 yards to take a 14-7 lead as the first quarter came to a close. Manuel had a couple big passes on the drive, finding a wide open Reed on a play action pass for a 20-yard gain, and then a short pass to Fortson who ran 30 yards to the Wake Forest six-yard line. On the next play, Thomas ran the ball into the end zone for six points.

After Kendall Smith intercepted Skinner, Florida State took over on the Wake Forest 27-yard line. Manuel threw to Fortson for a 23-yard gain to the one-yard line, and on the next play Manuel took the ball into the end zone himself to extend the Seminole lead to 21-7.

In the second quarter, the Seminoles started a drive at their own four-yard line. On third down from their 11-yard line, Manuel found Owens who broke a tackle for a 14-yard gain and a first down. Florida State methodically moved the ball, aided by a Wake Forest personal foul penalty, but was stopped at the Demon Deacons' 28-yard line. Dustin Hopkins 47-yard field goal was good, making the score 24-7.

With 3:40 to play in the half, Greg Reid fielded a bouncing punt at his own 32-yard line, and scampered 68 yards for a punt return touchdown - pushing the score to 31-7.

The ensuing possession was the Josh Adams Show for Wake Forest. The Deacons started on their own 21-yard line, and Adams burst through the line for a 16-yard gain. A 12-yard reverse by Devon Brown took the ball to the 49-yard line. Skinner found Adams on a swing pass for 16 yards, and a personal foul on the Seminoles brought Wake to the Florida State 20-yard line. The offensive line opened up a huge hole for Josh Adams who ran untouched into the end zone to cut the deficit to 31-14.

The Seminoles looked to be threatening again towards the end of the second quarter, but Cyhl Quarles intercepted Manuel near the goal line to leave the halftime score at 31-14

Midway through the third quarter Wake Forest again cut into the Florida State lead. Starting from his own 21-yard line, Skinner found Tommy Bohanon in the flat for a 15 yard gain. Pendergrass shot through a huge hole for a 48-yard gain to the Seminoles' 16-yard line. The Demon Deacons came out in the Wildcat formation for the first time all year, and Kevin Harris took the snap and ran into the end zone to make the score 31-21.

On the ensuing possession, Florida State moved the ball 43 yards in six plays, but was stopped on third down at the Wake Forest 23-yard line. Hopkins 42-yard field goal attempt bounced off the upright, but snuck over the cross bar to extend the lead to 34-21.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Seminoles drove 79 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown to extend their lead to 41-21. The Seminoles kept the ball on the ground for the most part, but an 18-yard pass to Owens brought them to the Wake 36-yard line. Manuel kept the ball on an option play to the nine-yard line, and then threw to Fortson for the score.

The Demon Deacons tried to keep things interesting, as midway through the fourth quarter they drove all the way to the Seminoles' two-yard line on the strength of a circus catch by Givens. However, on second and goal, Skinner tried to loft the ball to Mike Rinfrette in the end zone but it was a bit underthrown and picked off by Ochuko Jenije.

Wake Forest scored a touchdown with 3:01 to play in the game, pulling to within 13 points at 41-28. The drive spanned 80 yards and was highlighted by a 28-yard pass from Skinner to Marshall Williams that brought the Deacons into Florida State territory. On fourth and four from the 10-yard line, Skinner found Chris Givens for six yards and a first down. On the next play, Skinner again threw to Givens in the back of the end zone for the score.

The Demon Deacons will travel to Duke on Nov. 28 for their final game of the season. The kickoff time and television information will be announced on Monday. The game can be heard on the Wake Forest ISP Sports Radio Network.