Sept. 13, 1997
East Carolina Comes Back to Defeat Wake Forest
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Dan Gonzalez threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes,
including a six-yarder to Scott Harley with 3:44 remaining, to
lift East Carolina to a 25-24 come-from-behind victory over Wake
Forest.
Gonzalez completed 23-of-41 pases for 269 yards and two
touchdowns as East Carolina rallied from an early 14-0 deficit
to even its record at 1-1. Gonzalez's 33-yard TD pass to Troy
Smith brought the Pirates within 21-19 with 12:06 remaining but
the two-point conversion pass failed.
After an exchange of possessions, Wake Forest's Brian Kuklick
connected with Thabiti Davis for a 40-yard gain to the East
Carolina 21. But the drive stalled when Kuklick was stopped for
a one-yard loss on a third-down keeper at the Pirates' 12. The
Demon Deacons settled for Matthew Burdick's 30-yard field with
6:21 left and a 24-19 lead.
East Carolina answered with a seven-yard, 76-yard scoring drive
to bounce back from last week's season-opening 24-17 loss to
West Virginia.
Gonzalez and Smith hooked up for completions of 21 and 44 yards
during the winning drive. The 44-yarder moved East Carolina to
the Wake Forest 13 and Gonzalez found Harley for the go-ahead
score two plays later.
Kuklick's 13-yard scoring strike to Jammie Deese and a one-yard
TD run by Morgan Kane gave Wake Forest a 14-0 lead in the first
quarter.
The Demon Deacons, who surprised then-21st-ranked Northwestern
last week, fell to 1-1.
