Wake Ends Losing Streak Against State in Dramatic Fashion

Sophomore wing Franco Cima led the Wake Forest first half comeback (Kyle Ray O'Donnell Photo)

Sophomore flanker Rob Elmore had a monster game defensively (Kyle Ray O'Donnell photo)

For the second consecutive year, Wake Forest let NC State race out to an early 14-0 lead. However, strong defensive play and offensive patience lead to two late first half tries from the Demon Deacons and the momentum carried over into the second half with two more tires to give Wake a 24-21 victory in Raleigh. The win puts Wake at 3-1 in the conference and in a tie for first place, while the Wolfpack drop to 0-3 in ACRL play.

Both teams played less than stellar rugby throughout the day, as missed passes, knockons, and penalties disrupted the flow of the game. But the first 20 minutes belonged to State, as their forwards used a very methodical attack off the fringes of the ruck to maintain territory and possession for long periods of time. Wake Forest defended well at times, but the Wolfpack were able to run in two converted tries complements of Wake Forest mental breakdowns and were unlucky not to have added more points as they had a ball knocked on in the tryzone and another ball held up.

Despite the disparity in possession and territory, Wake Forest remained calm and positive and slowly worked to establish their offensive pattern. Their patience was finally rewarded when a multiphase attack culminated in sophomore wing Franco Cima receiving the ball on the wing and stepping inside two defenders to touch down. Fullback Johnny McMurray added the conversion and the score was 14-7. With no time remaining in the half, Wake had a scrum 40 meters out on the left side of the field. A well executed move from the back of the scrum sent Cima into space and a few phases later Cima received the ball on the wing, was brought down short of the line but offloaded from the deck to sophomore lock James Watson for the try in the corner. The whistle blew with Wake within two at 14-12.

The second half saw messy rugby from both backlines, as neither seemed to be able to get in sync. NC State's usually reliable goalkicker Bryan Maxwell missed a penalty kick and then the favor was returned when McMurray missed a shot at goal as well. But from the ensuing 22 meter drop, which was actually gathered in by State, a dropped ball in the backline was kicked forward by flyhalf Rob Kelly. A fortuitous bounce came right into Kelly's hands and he raced in for a try to put Wake ahead 17-14.

The momentum was now clearly in Wake Forest's favor, but the Demon Deacons were sloppy on multiple set pieces inside the Wolfpack 22 and the game hung in the balance as the clock wound down. But from a 5 meter scrum to the left of the posts, senior captain Brendan Shea picked from the base and broke 3 tackles to touch down and give the Demon Deacons some breathing room. The breathing room was much-needed, as NC State's replacement wing took advantage of lackadaisical defense by the Deacs to bring State back within 3 with two minutes remaining. But Wake Forest was able to hold on for the final few minutes to claim the victory.

Wake's JV side continued to struggle in ACRL play, giving up a number of first half tries to the Wolfpack second side. But the Deacs stepped up their efforts in the second half and matched the Pack two tries apiece with sophomore prop Jaime Drewery and sophomore scrumhalf Andrew Estes scoring tries. Drewery's try was converted from the touchline by sophomore wing Steve Hemric.

Wake Forest travels to College Park, Maryland next weekend to take on the Maryland Terrapins, the defending ACRL champion. The Terps are undefeated this season at 3-0, but face a tough test on the road tomorrow at UVA.

Lineup vs. North Carolina State

1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Jeff Millar, Sr. (Bryce Lambert, So. @60)
3. Nick Conte, Sr.
4. Christian Gutowski, Fr.
5. James Watson, So.
6. Tim Zage, So. (Jaime Drewery, So. @ 40)
7. Rob Elmore, So. (Matt McCurdy, So. @ 77)
8. Brendan Shea, Sr.
9. Will Hank, Sr. (Jack Zimmerman, So. @ 40)
10. Rob Kelly, Jr.
11. Franco Cima, So. (Tommy Kinzer, Fr. @40)
12. Ben Cohen, Sr.
13. Ryan Tacon, Jr.
14. Brandon Turner, Sr.
15. Johnny McMurray, Jr.

Tries: Cima, Watson, Kelly, Shea
Cons: McMurray (2)