Orange Struggles Early, Rolls Late in Win over Wake

Story by Morgan Gordon

Photo by Alex Busch

Syracuse, N.Y.  – Trailing 17-13 at the half, the Syracuse Orange shut out the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the second half and ran way to win 30-17 Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome in the first ACC game of the season for both teams. Some of the biggest cheers of the game were for Syracuse's Hall of Fame coach Dick MacPherson, who was honored on the field between the first and second quarters.

"We are 2-0 for Coach Mac and have the game ball for him," head coach Scott Shafer said. "We had to win this game for Coach Mac, period."

First Half

The Syracuse offense got off to a strong start as it moved into Wake Forest territory on the first drive of the game, getting as far as the Wake 32-yard line. But the Deacons' Thomas Brown  put a stop to Syracuse’s momentum when he sacked freshman quarterback Eric Dungey on third and seven, forcing a Riley Dixon punt.

Wake Forest gained possession of the ball on its 10-yard line and QB John Wolford completed passes for two first downs. But SU’s defense responded when Wolford’s third and eight pass was intercepted by Parris Bennett, putting SU back in position to score on Wake Forest’s 37-yard line.

The Syracuse offense became stagnant as Dungey struggled to throw complete passes, resulting in Syracuse’s sophomore Cole Murphy kicking a 35-yard field goal to put up the first points of the game.

Back and forth

Wake Forest came out firing on the next series, Wolford threw a 40-yard TD pass to KJ Brent who scored the first touchdown of the game, putting Wake Forest ahead 7-3.

The Orange made its way down the field, but Dungey failed to convert on third down play with a pass that was nearly intercepted

“He was more mad at himself, than I was mad at him to be quite honest with you,” Shafer said. “I could see it in his eyes, just keep being the man that we recruited.”

The Orange was forced to settle for another field goal, this one from 39-yards, leaving the Deacons ahead, 7-6. 

Wake Forest gained 13 yards on first down on its next possession, but Syracuse's senior defensive end Donnie Simmons picked off a pass that Wolford threw right to him and ran in it 41 yards. after Murphy’s extra point the Orange's had 13-7 lead.

"Good to see us scoring on that side of the ball while the other side grows up a little bit at quarterback," Shafer said.

It didn't last. 

Wake Forest marched 75 yards in ten plays, with Wolford taking it in on a six-yard keeper. The extra point by Mike Weaver gave Wake the lead back at 14-13.

After an exchange of punts, Wake finished out the half with a 12-play, 45-yard drive that ended in a 27-yard Weaver field goal with less than a second to play.
 

Second Half

The Syracuse defense continued to show Wake Forest that it was not willing to back down. Wake Forest made its way into Syracuse territory after the opening kickoff but was not able to make much out of it. Deacons' quarterback Wolford was sacked for the first time in the game by defensive end Ron Thompson. Coupled with a delay of game penalty, that forced the Demon Deacons to try a 50-yard field goal, which Weaver missed.

Syracuse went three-and-out, but another long Wake drive stalled and Syracuse got the ball at its own eleven-yard line. That's when the Orange offense finally arrived.  .

Dungey shines

After a rocky first half, Dungey showed why he has the starting QB position when he dodged a defender and connected on a pass to Syracuse wide receiver Brisly Estime for an 89-yard touchdown, giving the Orange a 20-17 lead to end the third quarter.

"I was just trying to have a level head," Dungey said. "The guys...do a great job of keeping me up, (saying) 'You've got this.'"

As the defense continued to shut down the Deacons, Dungey took took control, connecting with wide receiver,Steve Ishmael for a 43-yard touchdown pass, making the score 27-17.

"We were just looking forward to the rest of the game after that," Ishmael said. "We knew that we had it."

Dungey was 8 of 13 passing for 221 yards and the two touchdowns, and rushed a dozen times for 36 net yards.

The freshman from Oregon credited his offensive line and his receivers.

"They do a great job getting open," he said. "I've just got to keep my eyes downfield and I'll find them."

Syracuse's last drive was stopped, but another successful kick by Murphy brought the final score to 30-17, giving the Syracuse Orange its second win of the season and their first conference win.

"I was really upset at the end, Shafer said. "Should have got another touchdown there. We've got to get locked in. We're not going to get away with that when we get into some tighter ball games with some teams down the road."

Next up
 

Syracuse's next game is at the Carrier Dome against Central Michigan, an opponent outside the Atlantic Coast Conference next Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m.

“Those guys [Central Michigan] know how to play tough hard-nosed football, so we'll have our hands full,” Shafer said.