Wake vs. Duke

So as I mentioned before, I had the opportunity to assist the media relations department in their game day operations for the Wake vs. Duke game this weekend.

I first arrived at the stadium at approximately 9:45 a.m. and headed up to the press box on the 6th floor of Deacon Tower at BB&T Field. I'm not quite sure why my supervisors had me get there that early because in all honesty, I just sat there killing time and watching ESPN Game Day until kick-off. Once it got closer to game time, I went up on the camera deck on the top of Deacon Tower to watch the pre-game show and the special fly-over that they had. I then sprinted back down to the press box to help one of the media relations people take account of 'participation'. 'Participation' is all of the players that make it onto the field during the game. The hardest part about that was being able to see the numbers on the jerseys from all the way up in the box every time a new player came onto the field. It was a very short task though because, after all of the different teams (offensive, defensive, special teams, kick-off, etc.) make it onto the field once, the players that are participating don't really change.

My next responsibility was to write short play-by-play recaps of all successful touchdown drives. Considering that the game ended up being the 2nd highest scoring game in ACC history (the final score was 54-48), giving short recaps of every touch down as actually a hefty task. I have put my play-by-play below for anyone who is interested in how each of the touchdowns, both by Wake and Duke, were achieved... or if you just want to see my attempt at football writing!

I pretty much did the touchdown recaps for the rest of the game without much else to worry about. I did have to keep tabs on participation just in case new players made it out onto the field, but that was very rare.

Once the game was over, I rushed down to the media room in Bridger Field House to prepare for Jim Grobe's post-game press conference. I had already set up the tripod before the game, so it wasn't too difficult to set up. The only issue was that I had approximately 10-15 minutes to get down to the Field House with the elevators for Deacon Tower being hogged by the rest of the patrons in the tower. I definitely do not recommend trying to sprint through a crowd, with a video camera bag, on a rainy day. Definitely risked some lives (including my own) in pursuit of the media room.

My job during the press conference was just to man the video camera so that media relations could post the footage (and quotes) as soon as possible after the presser's completion. The presser lasted about 15 minutes and Grobe answered the questions with humor, eloquence and thought. I was very impressed with his ability to answer the reporters in a way that suggested both humility and pride.

Once the presser was over, I made my way back up to the press box to hand off the footage I had gotten then finished writing my touchdown recaps. Once I finished doing that, everyone else had attacked the other post-game tasks (like transcribing player interview quotes and crunching stats numbers), so I was able to go home.

Parts of me had missed the tailgating and being a real student at the game, but considering the bad weather (it rained the whole time) and how awesome the experience was, I know that it was all worth it. My time in the press box actually made me realized that football is definitely where I want to be (ideally) if I pursue a career in sports media relations. I just get much more into it than I do any other of the big three sports and I can see myself being passionate about it forever. Though I am definitely going to have to work on abiding by the 'no cheering in the press box' rule. I definitely ran the risk of getting kicked out a few times.

This week, I will be working on writing my next feature story for the website about the VERY exciting individual I mentioned in my last post. I'll keep you updated if anything notable happens when I go into the office tomorrow!

Until then,
Calais


Game Day Play Breakdowns

Within the first three minutes of the first quarter, the Deacons drove into Blue Devil territory with several short passing plays before Ted Stachitas faked the option and ran 23 yards untouched into the end zone.

Duke scored with 7:37 left in the quarter after two short running plays from Desmond Scott and a 12-yard pass to Vernon left the Blue Devils at first and goal on the Deacons’ 8-yard line. A quarterback draw by Brandon Connette brought the Blue Devils to second and goal at the Deacons’ 4-yard line before Connette faked the hand-off, broke a tackle at the two and ran for the touchdown.

Duke brought the score to 14-7 with 3:26 left in the quarter after Sean Renfree went five-for-five for 68 yards, landing Duke on Wake’s 10-yard line. Connette then took over for a play before Renfree returned to the field to throw a 6-yard pass to Cooper Helfet in the end zone for the touchdown.

Wake brought the score to 14-14 at the beginning of the second quarter when Chris Givens picked up the Duke punter’s dropped snap and ran 18 yards uninterrupted into the end zone.

The Deacons embarked on their third successful drive to the end zone after Hunter Haynes tipped off Donovan Varner’s pass at the Deacons’ 17-yard-line and Alex Frye intercepted the pass. Tanner Price continued the drive with a career-high 48-yard pass and subsequent 15-yard pass, both completed by Givens, leaving Wake on Duke’s 13-yard line. Price then faked off to the left, bringing the Deacs to Duke’s 1-yard line, before taking the ball into the end zone on a quarterback sneak.

The Blue Devils tied the game once again at 21-21 after a 23-yard return by Juwan Thompson brought Duke to Wake’s 30 yard line.

Wake Forest brought the score to 28-21 with 7:39 left in the half after Stachitas pitched the ball to Marshall Williams, who threw an 81-yard pass completed by Givens for the touchdown. Williams’ pass was the longest touchdown pass by Wake Forest in BB&T Field history and third longest in Wake Forest football history. This is also the first time that Wake Forest has ever had two passing plays over 80 yards in a season, with the first one being Devon Brown’s 85-yard catch during the fourth quarter of Wake’s winning game against Presbyterian College on Sept. 2.

Wake Forest scored once again on a two-play scoring drive that began when Frye intercepted a pass intended for Kelly at the 44-yard line and drove the ball 28 yards on the return to Duke’s 16-yard line. A pass from Price completed by Williams brought the score to 35-21 with 5:17 left in the half. The 28 points scored in the second quarter tied Wake Forest’s record for number of points scored in one quarter.

Scott completed Duke’s five-play drive into Deacon territory with a 63-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 35-28 with 2:43 left in the first half.

Duke tied the game at 35-35 after a 31-yard pass completed by Scott at the 13-yard line led to a 13-yard touchdown pass from Renfree to Kelly with 41.3 seconds left in the half.
The Deacons made the first touchdown of the second half after Devon Brown’s 43-yard return on Duke’s punt led to a 38-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Price to Marshall Williams. The Deacon holder mishandled the snap for the field goal attempt leaving the score at 41-35 with 8:12 left in the third quarter.

Duke brought the score to 41-38 with 3:13 left in the third quarter with a 6-play, 11-yard drive that ended with a successful 46-yard field goal by Will Snyderwine.
With 13:58 left in the game, the Deacons completed a 10-play, 73-yard drive to the end zone with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Price to Danny Dembry. The touchdown, which brought the score to 48-38, was the first of Dembry’s career.

Duke completed a 14-play drive into Deacon territory with a successful 38-yard field goal by Snyderwine, bringing the score to 48-41 with 8:45 left in the game.
Wake Forest scored its third touchdown of the half at 2:53 after Chris Givens completed a 19-yard pass to bring the Deacons to first and goal. Devon Brown finished the Deacons’ 13-play, 79-yard drive with a 6-yard run into the end zone. The field goal attempt on the play was unsuccessful due to a bad snap, leaving the score at 54-41.

After a 12-yard return on Popham’s kick, Duke scored the last touchdown of the game with a 51-yard touchdown pass from Renfree to Conner Vernon, leaving the score at 54-48. Wake Forest’s eight touchdowns in the game are the most ever scored by the Demon Deacons at BB&T Field. The combined score of the game, 102, beat the combined score record for BB&T Field by 15 points.

Wake Forest’s win over Duke marks the first time ever in University history that the Deacons have scored over 50 points in two consecutive games. It is the first time since 1990 that the Deacons have scored over 50 points twice in the same season. Wake’s win also marks the second highest scoring game in ACC history, the record being Clemson’s win over Wake Forest 86-14 on October 31, 1981 at Clemson.

Wake Forest will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 18 when it travels to Palo Alto, Calif. to take on Stanford. Kick-off is set for 11:15 p.m. EST. The game will be televised by ESPN 2 and can also be heard on the Wake Forest ISP Sports Radio Network.