No. 23 Wake Forest Holds Third and Final Preseason Scrimmage
Deacons turn in solid night on both sides of the ball

Aug. 19, 2008

Offensive Stats | Defensive Stats | Scoring Summary

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - No. 23-ranked Wake Forest held its third and final preseason scrimmage Tuesday evening at BB&T Field. The Demon Deacon offense scored 30 points on the night, but the defense had its moments as well with seven sacks total.

The Deacons scored two touchdowns in the air and one on the ground, and Sam Swank booted three field goals on the night.

After Swank opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal on the offense's initial drive, Wake pulled out a trick play to score two possessions later.

Facing a second and nine from its own 27-yard line, the Deacons faked a wide receiver reverse by Casey Hill. Instead Hill hit Andrew Wright in stride down the middle of the field, and Wright scampered in for a 73-yard touchdown.

Swank added another field goal, this time from 48 yards out, on the offense's next possession.

Wake Forest went five more possessions without scoring until the Deacons hit paydirt with a seven-play, 65-yard drive. Brandon Pendergrass found a hole on the left side and ran it in for a 12-yard score.

"Our running backs had a good night tonight," said head coach Jim Grobe. "Josh Adams is doing really well. His knees been a little sore lately but he preformed well this evening. Brandon Pendergrass did some good things, C.J. (Washington) did some good things, it's nice to see a little bit of depth at that running back position."

The Deacons put another touchdown on the board two possessions later when Brett Hodges hit Chip Brinkman for an eight-yard score.

Swank wrapped up the scoring with a 42-yard field goal.

Hodges had a strong showing behind center, completing 19 of 29 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown. Hodges ran the first team offense with starting quarterback Riley Skinner sitting out the scrimmage to rest an ailing hamstring.

"My hamstring got tight on me the past couple of days," said Skinner "Just as a precautionary, coach Grobe felt that it wasn't worth the risk of running around and maybe hurting myself tonight. I'll be fine for next Thursday. It was just precautionary."

Ryan McManus completed five of 10 passes for 38 yards, while Skylar Jones completed four of seven passes for 30 yards.

Pendergrass rushed six times for 41 yards and a score, while Josh Adams ran the ball six times for 23 yards. C.J. Washington also rushed six times, netting 20 yards.

Devon Brown had a strong night for the receiving corps, catching eight passes for 99 yards. D.J. Boldin caught four passes, including a highlight-reel one-handed grab, for 47 yards. Marshall Williams and Washington had three catches apiece.

Matt Robinson led the defensive effort with three sacks for the second straight scrimmage. Robinson totaled 19 yards on his three tackles for loss.

Michael Carter led the Deacons with seven tackles, including 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. Junior Petit-Jean was not far behind with five tackles, while Joey Ehrmann had four stops on the night.

Michael Locket forced a fumble, and Ted Randolph came up with the recovery for the only turnover of the contest.

The Deacons will hold a double-session of practice tomorrow at the Doc Martin Football Practice Complex. Wake will practice at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Jim Grobe

On the running backs...
"Our running backs had a good night tonight. Josh Adams is doing really well. His knees been a little sore lately but he preformed well this evening. Brandon Pendergrass did some good things, C.J. (Washington) did some good things, it's nice to see a little bit of depth at that running back position."

On the O-Line performance...
"It's so hard to tell because some of the breakdowns that we had, you don't know whether the quarterback held the ball too long or whether the line broke down. You really have to go back and look at the film. I thought that our kids competed really well. I thought that our"

On the No. 23 AP preseason rank...
"The AP ranking is a good feeling, but at the same time our guys are mature enough to know you have to earn that ranking. Right now it feels good but it's also a little scary because it puts that added pressure on you."

Junior quarterback Riley Skinner

On taking care of the football and not turning it over...
"That's what hurt the offense and what hurt us in the opener at Boston College and almost cost us against Maryland. So that's the biggest thing for me. That and taking control of the offense. I feel like we're in a pretty good place right now. I like where our offense is. Brett (Hodges) and I both have a really good grasp of what's going on."

On whether the turnovers early on last season came because he was trying to do too much...
"When I first started playing last year, I felt like I needed to prove myself after what we did the year before. I felt like I needed to be the hero and make a bunch of plays. But that was the last thing I needed to do. Once I got comfortable and back in the moment, I stopped turning the ball over and we started doing better. Once you turn the ball over, it screws up the whole flow of the offense."

On his sore hamstring...
"It just got tight on me the past couple of days and just as a precautionary, coach Grobe felt that it wasn't worth the risk of running around and maybe hurting myself tonight. I'll be fine for next Thursday. It was just precautionary. I think it was good though because Brett (Hodges) hasn't got a lot of good reps with the first team offense. Everyone knows that the second quarterback needs to be just as ready as the first quarterback. Brett played well tonight. He made good decisions."

On having to sit and watch tonight...
"It was hard. It really was not fun, that's for sure. But I was glad because I thought Ryan (McManus) and Skylar (Jones) played really well. They moved the second team offense down the field against one of the better defenses in the conference. So that was good to see."