Sept. 8, 1997
Deacs Down Wildcats / Pirates Up Next
Wake Forest opened its 1997 season in impressive style this past
Saturday with a 27-20 victory over the
nationally 21st-ranked Northwestern Wildcats. The Demon Deacons have
little time to savor their win, however, as they face another formidable
non-conference opponent this Saturday (Sept.13) when they travel to East
Carolina.
Kickoff time in ECU's Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 3:30 pm. The game,
which is the first meeting between the two schools since 1979, will be
televised regionally on Fox Sports South.
Team Data
WAKE FOREST (1-0) EAST CAROLINA (0-1)
Offense: Multiple Offense: Pro Set
Lettermen/Starters Back: 19/9 Lettermen/Starters Back: 17/4
Defense: Multiple Defense: Multiple 50
Lettermen/Starters Back: 20/8 Lettermen/Starters Back: 20/4
Total Lettermen Back: 42 Total Lettermen Back: 39
Head Coach: Jim Caldwell (5th year) Head Coach: Steve Logan (6th year)
W-10, L-35 W-31, L-27
same record overall same record overall
first meeting with ECU first meeting with Wake Forest
1997 Schedule 1997 Schedule
9/6 Northwestern W 27-20 9/6 at West Virginia L 17-24
9/13 at East Carolina 3:30 (FSS) 9/13 Wake Forest
9/20 Georgia Tech 6:30 9/20 South Carolina
9/25 N.C.State 8:00 (ESPN) 10/4 at Syracuse
10/4 at Virginia tba 10/11 Southern Miss
10/11 at North Carolina tba 10/18 at Tulane
10/18 Maryland 1:00* 10/25 Memphis
10/25 at Duke tba 11/1 Louisville
11/1 Clemson 1:00* 11/8 at Houston
11/8 at Rutgers tba 11/13 Cincinnati
11/15 at Florida State tba 11/22 at N.C.State
*tentative - subject to change
THE SERIES WITH EAST CAROLINA - Wake Forest and East Carolina have
met two times previously, but not since 1979. The first get-together
between the Deacs and Pirates occurred in 1963 (September 21, 1963) when
Wake traveled to Greenville and absorbed a 20-10 defeat. The Demon Deacons
won their second encounter with ECU 16 years later (September 22, 1979),
23-20, in a game played in Groves Stadium.
That 1963 contest was the dedication game for ECU's Ficklen
Stadium. This year's contest came about when East Carolina announced plans
to open an expanded portion to that facility (now Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium)
and invited Wake Forest to again be the guest institution Construction
problems with the new upper-deck seating area, which will increase the
stadium's capacity from 35,000 to 43,000., have prevented the new seats
from being available for this game, however.
Wake Forest and ECU have also made plans for an extended series
beginning in 2001.
1997 CAPTAINS - Wake Forest players have selected four seniors to
serve as co-captains throughout the '97 season. They are wide receiver
THABITI DAVIS, defensive end ROBERT FATZINGER, center CHRIS GASKELL and
defensive back D'ANGELO SOLOMON.
THE DEACS LAST WEEK - Wake Forest defeated visiting Northwestern,
27-20, behind a solid defensive effort and the accurate arm of quarterback
Brian Kuklick. The Demon Deacons surrendered only 63 yards in rushing
offense to the #21-ranked Wildcats and had limited them to fewer than 300
yards in total offense until a last-minute drive. Kuklick completed 23 of
33 passes for 273 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the day, but did most
of his damage in the second half when he connected on 15 of 19 throws for
183 yards.
Wake was its own worst enemy in the opening two periods, turning
the ball over three times on fumbles. Two of those turnovers came inside
the Northwestern 30-yard-line. The other by D'Angelo Solomon on a punt
return set up a Wildcat field goal. The Deacon offense totaled 210 yards
in the first half but put just six points on the board on two Matthew
Burdick field goals.
The game turned in the third quarter when Kuklick directed his team
to back-to-back TDs in less than two minutes. First he and Jammie Deese
joined on a 12-yard scoring play that culminated a 75-yard drive, then the
Deacon QB found his favorite receiver on the day, Desmond Clark, for a
37-yard TD. Those two plays gave the Deacs a 20-10 lead, which they
increased to 27-10 on a Morgan Kane one-yard plunge early in the fourth
quarter. The Wildcats rallied with a field goal and then a touchdown at
the 1:13 mark for the final score.
Clark finished with nine receptions for 127 yards. Deese
contributed seven catches for 53 yards. Sophomore Kito Gary, in his first
significant action as a Deacon, gained 74 yards on just eight attempts--all
in the first half. Standouts on the defensive side for Wake Forest
included tackle Aljamont Joyner (6 tackles, three for negative yardage) and
linebackers Dustin Lyman (10 tackles), Kelvin Moses and David Zadel (9
tackles each).
Noting the Demon Deacons
HISTORY REPEATS - It was two different teams with different
motivations but the result was the same as a year ago. For the second
straight season, Northwestern brought a Top 25 ranking into Groves Stadium
and left with its first defeat of the year as Wake Forest recorded another
surprising--at least to some--victory.
In 1996, though, the Demon Deacons had rallied from an 11-point
deficit in the fourth quarter for a dramatic come-from-behind win over the
13th-ranked visitors. This time there was little doubt as soon as the
Deacs overcame their own first-half mistakes in the form of three fumbles.
Wake held the upper hand in nearly every category, outgaining the
21st-rated Wildcats, 452-330, and dominating time of possession (34:06 to
25:54). This year it was Wake Forest with the upper hand early in the
fourth stanza at 27-10, and the closest that Northwestern could come was
the final seven-point margin (27-20) after a final TD with 1:13 remaining.
Wake Forest had waited 17 years (since 1979) to defeat a nationally
ranked opponent prior to last season's verdict. Now the Deacons have
themselves two impressive wins over a program that has won or tied for the
Big Ten championship the past two years.
EYEING THE DEACS - Last week's win over Northwestern was televised
on a regional basis by ABC in the first national network appearance for
Wake Forest since its win over Oregon in the 1992 Independence Bowl. It
had been 13 years (since an ABC regional telecast of a Deacon game at
Virginia in 1984) since Wake had a regular season contest on a national
network.
This Saturday, the Deacs are again spotlighted regionally by the
Fox Sports South network as it televises the matchup with East Carolina.
Later this month (September 25), Wake will host N.C.State in a nationally
televised game on ESPN--the first WFU regular season game ever to be
televised to the entire country.
THE STARTING LINEUP - Only four players made their first career
starts for Wake Forest in last Saturday's win. They were fullback CHAD
ALEXANDER, cornerback DAMEON DANIEL, defensive end KELVIN JONES and
offensive guard SAM SETTAR. No fewer than nine Deacons currently have
personal streaks of consecutive starts that have now reached double digits
(see chart below), and a total of 13 individuals have started 10-or-more
games in their careers.
Demon Deacon Career Starts (1997 starts)
24 Robert Fatzinger (1)
12 Desmond Clark (1)
4 DaLawn Parrish (1)
D'Angelo Solomon (1)
Chris Gaskell (1)
3 Reggie Austin
23 Kelvin Moses (1)
11 Taris Clark (1)
2 Herman Lewis
22 David Zadel (1)
Fred Robbins (1)
Mark Makovec
20 Wande' Shaw
10 Joe Zelenka (1)
1 Chad Alexander (1)
18 Jeffrey Muyres (1)
8 Morgan Kane (1)
Dameon Daniel (1)
15 Thabiti Davis (1)
7 Jon Mannon
Kelvin Jones (1)
14 Jeff Flowe (1)
Brian Wolverton (1)
Sam Settar (1)
Aljamont Joyner (1)
6 Dustin Lyman (1)
Kelvin Shackleford
Brian Kuklick (1)
Clinton Wilburn
Consecutive Starts: Solomon - 24; Zadel - 18; D.Clark, Davis, Flowe,
Joyner, Kuklick, Moses - 12; Muyres 11
STILL A YOUNG GROUP - The '97 Demon Deacon roster includes just 13
scholarship seniors (and a total of 15 overall). Of that group, eight are
in their fifth year in the program but just four fifth-year-men started
against Northwestern. They were defensive linemen ROBERT FATZINGER and
ALJAMONT JOYNER, center CHRIS GASKELL, and fullback CHAD ALEXANDER.
REDSHIRTING RULES - Although he was not able to redshirt the
desired number of individuals in his first two classes to Wake Forest,
coach JIM CALDWELL has stayed with that course the past two years and the
numbers are beginning to reflect that commitment.
As noted above, there are only eight fifth-year scholarship players
on this year's roster, the lone remainder of Caldwell's first group of
Demon Deacon freshmen. His second incoming group (in 1994) had five of 16
players play as true freshmen. But since then, the redshirt numbers have
increased considerably. Of 1995's 23 freshman, 22 have been redshirted.
And 12 of 16 first-year players a year ago were held out of action as
rookies.
Deacon Redshirting Progress
Class Total Members* Not Been Redshirted Have Redshirted
Senior 13 5 8
Junior 12 1 11
Soph 26 4 22
Redshirt Freshmen 12
*scholarship players only
BREAKING DOWN THE TWO-DEEP - The sophomore class dominates the
current Wake Forest depth chart. Of the 45 players listed on the most
recent two-deep, 22 are current sophs. That's two more than the TOTAL of
seniors (11) and juniors (9). There are also three freshmen (2 redshirts,
1 true).
The '97 sophomore class consists of 26 individuals. Twenty-two of
those entered as freshmen two years ago but have been redshirted either in
1995 or 1996 (DESMOND CLARK is the only '95 newcomer who has not been
redshirted). The other four current sophomores played as true freshmen
last fall--REGGIE AUSTIN, MATTHEW BURDICK, DA'VAUGHN MELLERSON & DAVID
MOORE.
STINGY DEACONS - Only once in Jim Caldwell's previous 44 games as
Wake Forest head coach has his defense done a better job (at least
statistically) against the opposing rushing attack. The Demon Deacons
surrendered just 63 yards on the ground to Northwestern this past week on
26 rushing attempts. Even when including the 18 yards that the Wildcats
lost on two quarterback sacks, they still totaled only 81 yards on the
ground.
The only time that a Caldwell-coached squad has been more effective
was in a 1995 contest with Maryland when the Deacons held the Terps to just
50 yards rushing. Wake lost that game, however, 9-6. On two other
occasions in the past four seasons, Wake Forest has limited the opposition
to under 100 yards on the ground, both times in 1993 (80 by App State, 71
by Maryland).
PRODUCTIVE DEACONS - Wake Forest's 452 yards of total offense
against Northwestern was higher than any single game total from the 1996
campaign. Three times last season, the Demon Deacons surpassed the
400-yard mark in total offense, with a high of 431 coming in the season
finale at N.C.State. The 452-yard figure is the highest for a Deacon squad
since the final game of the 1995 season when Rusty LaRue passed for an ACC
record 545 yards, also against State.
KUKLICK IN KONTROL - Demon Deacon quarterback BRIAN KUKLICK turned
in perhaps his finest overall career performance against Northwestern. The
junior from Hatboro, PA, making his 14th career start, completed 23 of 33
passes for 273 yards and two TDs without an interception. His 69.7%
completion rate was the highest of his career for one game, but he was even
better than that in the pivotal third period of the contest.
In Wake Forest's three touchdown drives (two in the third quarter,
one that concluded with 13:05 left in the game), Kuklick connected on 14 of
15 passes for 176 yards. Two of those scoring drives were completed by
Kuklick TD passes--the first covering 12 yards to JAMMIE DEESE; the second
going for 37 yards to DESMOND CLARK.
The 273-yard total, though, was only the fifth-highest for the
Deacon signal-caller, who twice last year topped 300 yards through the air.
He threw for 330 yards at N.C.State and totaled 301 yards in a win over
Appalachian State.
MAYBE IT'S THE NEW NUMBER - The past three years, BRIAN KUKLICK
wore #17. This year, he's found in the game program as #14, which was his
old high school jersey number. That number had previously been worn by
starting defensive back Tom Stuetzer, who graduated last spring.
OR MAYBE IT'S THE PROTECTION - In 1996, BRIAN KUKLICK was sacked 28
times (and hit quite a few more times). In last week's win over
Northwestern, the Demon Deacon quarterback was downed only once by the
Wildcat rush, and after the game he praised his offensive line, which he
said had protected him so well that he was hit "just three times" the
entire afternoon.
That line consisted of senior center CHRIS GASKELL, who received
the highest grade on the coaches video grade following the contest; guards
TARIS CLARK and SAM SETTAR; and tackles JEFF FLOWE and BRIAN WOLVERTON.
Gaskell and Wolverton played all 79 offensive snaps in the game. Only two
reserves were utilized during the day--sophomore BRIAN WALLS, who played
briefly at both guard and tackle, and sophomore WILLIE LAM, who had
switched to guard from tight end just a couple of weeks ago.
FAVORITE TARGETS - Quarterback BRIAN KUKLICK distributed his 23
completions among eight different receivers last Saturday. That group was
comprised of five wide receivers, two tight ends, and running back MORGAN
KANE.
Two individuals accounted for 16 of the 23 completions, however, as
DESMOND CLARK (9 receptions for 127 yards) and sophomore JAMMIE DEESE (7
for 53) both enjoyed very productive afternoons. Deese's seven catches
equaled his career-high at N.C.State last year, while Clark's totals were
both the second-best of his already notable career. The only better
numbers that the Lakeland, FL junior has posted during his first two years
at WFU were the 13 receptions for 137 yards that he compiled in the win
over Duke last November.
BILETNIKOFF CHECKLIST - Wake Forest's two outstanding wide
receivers--senior THABITI DAVIS and junior DESMOND CLAR--are included in
the preseason checklist for the 1997 "Biletnikoff Award," which is
presented annually by the Tallahassee (FL) Quarterback Club to the top
receiver in the country.
The dynamic Deacon duo are coming off excellent 1996 seasons in
which they ranked 2nd and 3rd in the two primary receiving categories in
the ACC. Davis was 2nd in receiving yardage (792) and 3rd in receptions
(60), while Clark was 2nd in receptions (61) and 3rd in yardage (782).
Only six times in Wake Forest history has a receiver caught 60 or
more passes. Last year marked the first time that milestone was reached
twice in the same season. It was also the fourth time in ACC history that
two players on the same team caught at least 60 passes in the same year.
The Magic Number is "60"
(Wake Forest receptions in a single season)
68 - Marlon Estes (1995) 61 - DESMOND CLARK (1996)
66 - James Brim (1986) Wayne Baumgardner (1979)
65 - Ricky Proehl (1989) 60 - THABITI DAVIS (1996)
NEWCOMER TO THE RUNNING GAME - Returning starting running back
MORGAN KANE had missed more than two weeks of preseason drills with a
strained hamstring, allowing some younger backs to work with the number-one
offensive unit. Demon Deacon fans got their first collective look at one
of those promising youngsters last Saturday when sophomore KITO GARY
erupted for 74 first-half yards on just eight carries.
The first time he touched the ball, on the game's second play from
scrimmage, Gary burst through a hole and sprinted 41 yards to set up a
MATTHEW BURDICK field goal. He later added a 26-yard run on the Deacs'
second possession of the contest.
In abbreviated action as a redshirt freshman in 1996, the Miami
product had carried the ball just five times, picking up 32 yards.
TEAM EFFORT ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE - Wake Forest's outstanding
defensive performance versus Northwestern, which saw the Deacons hold the
Wildcats to only 256 yards until a drive in the final two minutes of play,
was a result of contributions from numerous individual performers. In
fact, 21 different Deacons played on defense in the season opener--18 of
those were on the field for more than 15 defensive snaps.
The reverse of that figure, of course, is that only four Deacon
defenders participated in more than 50 plays in the victory as the Wake
Forest coaches constantly rotated personnel in order to have fresh bodies
on the field as much as possible.
TACKLE LEADERS - Sophomore linebacker DUSTIN LYMAN recorded 10
tackles (4 solo) to lead the Demon Deacons in that department, while his
starting mate at inside 'backer, KELVIN MOSES, and outside linebacker DAVID
ZADEL were credited with nine stops apiece. Zadel had a team-high six
unassisted hits, including two for negative yardage.
Up front, senior tackle ALJAMONT "AJ" JOYNER played one of his
finest contests as a Deacon. The popular Joyner led all linemen with six
tackles, three of which went for losses (a total of 7 yards).
SPECIAL TEAMS QUITE SPECIAL, TOO - The kicking game was a definite
positive for Wake Forest as well in its opening win. Punter TRIPP MOORE
was outstanding, averaging 49.3 yards per punt on four boots. His kicks
were returned for a total of only seven yards as well, giving the Deacons
an eye-catching 47.5-yard net gain per punt.
Sophomore placekicker MATTHEW BURDICK converted field goals of 28
and 46 yards before missing a 40-yarder late in the game. He and his
kickoff coverage unit also performed quite well, allowing Northwestern to
average just 16.4 yards per return on kickoffs.
Redshirt freshman KEYSHORN SMITH was a leader on the coverage team with
three tackles.
