For the second consecutive weekend, Wake Forest played a good first half and a terrible second half, resulting in a 41-24 loss to Clemson in Charlotte today.
As was the case against Maryland last weekend, Wake Forest struck first in the game when sophomore center Ryan Tacon made a line brak and popped the ball from the deck to sophomore wing Franco Cima who was in perfect support and went in for the try. Junior fullback Johnny McMurray made the conversion and Wake lead 7-0. However, Wake let Clemson strike right back, when a poor kick from inside the Wake 22 allowed Clemson a quick, multiphase counter-attack resulting in a try under the posts.
The Demon Deacons regained the lead when prop Matt Storck gathered in an errant pass near midfield and fed freshman lock Christian Gutowski who outpaced the Clemson backline for a 50 meter try. McMurray converted again and Wake was up 14-7. A linebreak by junior flyhalf Rob Kelly culminated in a Clemson penalty between the posts, and McMurray slotted the kick to extend the Demon Deacons lead to 10. Wake Forest looked in prime position to take control of the match when a well worked play off a driving maul saw senior wing Brandon Turner slice through the Tiger defense and brought down 5 meters from the line. But the Wake support was over anxious and an ill-advised pick from the base of the ruck allowed Clemson to turn the ball over and kick to touch to relieve the pressure. This swung the momentum in Clemson's favor and soon play was at the other end of the field with the Tigers going in for a convertd try to make the score 17-14. Wake held on for the rest of the half and kept the lead after Cima held up a Clemson ball carrier in the tryzone and then Tacon forced a knockon as Clemson looked to ground the ball and take the lead.
Holding a 17-14 advantage as the second half began, and having run on some fresh legs, Wake looked to take control of the match. But instead, it was Clemson who came out of the locker room on fire. A powerful run and try in the corner from the Clemson wing put the Tigers ahead 19-17. Then, from a Wake Forest scrum seven meters from the Demon Deacons tryline, an errant pass went out the back of the tryzone and the Tigers were able to put in another unconverted try from the ensuing five meter scrum to extend their lead to 24-17. Wake looked to strike back and were inside the Tigers 22, but Clemson forced a turnover on the wing and immediately went 80 meters down the sideline for a try and a 31-17 lead. A penalty goal extended the Clemson lead to 34-17 and the game looked to be in the books.
However, Wake continued to battle and senior Brendan Shea went in under the posts to keep Wake alive. But any hopes for a comeback were dashed shortly thereafter when Clemson ran in their sixth try of the day and sealed the win, 41-24.
Wake's JV side did not fare much better, falling 29-7 to the Tigers second side. Wake's try was scored by freshman Tommy Kinzer and converted by sophomore Steve Hemric.
Wake concludes its 2011-2012 campaign next weekend at home against Virginia Tech. Both teams are 3-3 in the conference and will be looking to finish with a winning record.
Wake Lineup for Clemson
1. Matt Storck, Sr.
2. Bryce Lambert, So. (Jeff Millar, Sr. @ 55)
3. Nick Conte, Sr. (Jaime Drewery, So. @ 60)
4. Christian Gutowski, Fr.
5. James Watson, So.
6. Tim Zage, So. (Jack Zimmerman, So. @ 40)
7. Kip Lewis, Sr. (Rob Elmore, So. @ 30)
8. Brendan Shea, Sr.
9. Will Hank, Sr.
10. Rob Kelly, Jr.
11. Franco Cima, So. (Jim Kavalec, Jr. @ 45)
12. Ben Cohen, Sr.
13. Ryan Tacon, So. (Ted McGuiggan, Fr. @ 70)
14. Brandon Turner, Sr. (Liam McIntyre, So. @ 65)
15. Johnny McMurray, Jr. (Paul Shumaker, So. @ 75)
Tries: Cima, Gutowski, Shea
Cons: McMurray (3)
Pens: McMurray
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