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Marcus Benjamin @_benjaminmoney
Miami Gardens, FL – The Canes could not have asked for a better start to ACC play with suffocating 47-10 win over North Carolina. Red shirt freshman N’Kosi Perry got his first start over red shirt senior Malik Rosier and the Hurricanes seem to have their quarterback of the future. The defense came out and forced their will and turnovers on the Tar Heels to the count of six. The Canes were able to capitalize on turnovers scoring 24 points from four takeaways.
“Great win. We are 1-0 in conference play, that’s where we wanted to be.” said Head Coach Mark Richt after the game.
Coach Richt told Perry that he would start a couple of days ago. Rosier, who started all of last season was disappointed with the decision, but still helped coach and mentor Perry on the sideline. Richt, played quarterback at Miami and is all too familiar with the scenario.
“It’s not easy, I spent my whole life behind a guy named Jim Kelly. So it’s not fun to be in that position. I understand the feeling. He showed a lot of class.”
The Hurricanes started scoring offensively on their second drive which was setup by a 56-yard run by Travis Homer. DeeJay Dallas followed that run with a four yard jog into the endzone. The running game was working well for the Canes as both Homer and Dallas combined for 210 yards on 25 carries. Trayone Gray also got in on some action late scoring their final touchdown on a 1-yard rush.
The turnover chain made an appearance early in the 1st quarter when Shaquille Quarterman forced a fumble on the Tar Heel quarterback and Jonathan Garvin of Lake Worth High School, tracked down the football and ran it in for the scoop and score for a 14-3 lead for Miami. Quarterman sprained his ankle in the game but Coach Richt says its nothing serious. Garvin wore the chain twice in the game as he also recovered another fumble in the second half.
“Getting the chain is almost like scoring. And scoring is scoring,” said a jovial Jonathan Garvin. “That was fun. It was a great hit by [Quarterman] because he forced the ball out of the [quarterback’s] hand.”
Chazz Surratt, the former North Carolina Gatorade player of the year, gained chunks of yards on the Hurricane defense in the first half. The 6’3” quarterback ran for 68-yards on nine attempts. He would score on a 17-yard run making defenders miss to decrease the lead to four.
“They were committed to running the quarterback, said defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. “His legs were an issue.”
In the second quarter, Bubba Baxa extended the Hurricane lead with a 35-yard field goal on a 10-play drive engineered by Perry. On the North Carolina ensuing possession, Joe Jackson of Gulliver Prep in Miami, intercepted a screen pass that he would take 42 yards for a touchdown.
Post game with Joe Jackson @joejackson919. The former @GulliverFB defender intercepted a screen pass and dashed for 42 yards for a @CanesFootball touchdown tonight. Jackson explains how the turnover celebration is not as easy as it looks. @FootballHotbed pic.twitter.com/zsn9d0FVrk
— Marcus Benjamin (@_BenjaminMoney) September 28, 2018
Perry, from Vanguard High School in Ocala, went to work again on their next possession and found Mike Harley streaking open down the sideline, but the receiver could not keep his footing and stumbled to the ground. After the 42-yard gain, Perry would hit Darrell Langham on an in route for a 5-yard touchdown. Perry would finish the game going eight for twelve for 125 yards and the one touchdown. He did however have one interception, lost one fumble and was sacked twice.
The second half came to a screeching halt as neither team was able to get on the scoreboard.
The fourth quarter started with a bang when North Carolina decided to go for the first down on fourth down instead of going for the field goal in Cane territory. Surratt threw to his left and Romeo Finley who played significant time in place of the injured Jaquan Johnson, jumped the route and outran Surratt to the endzone.
The three defensive touchdowns were the first by the Canes since September 23, 2000 at West Virginia which tied a school record.
The Thursday night game now gives the Canes extended time to prepare for the arch rival Florida State at Hard Rock Stadium next Saturday.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a big crowd, said Perry. “But practice and preparation is not going to be different from any other game. I know it’s a rival, I know it’s a big game but as long as I’m prepare like I’ve been doing we should take care of business.”
