Chapel Hill
North Carolina didn’t have a sack on a night when the opposing quarterback threw 43 times. No one will be named national defensive player of the week.
But on a night when both offenses were humming along, when UNC’s Omarion Hampton had a career game with 234 yards rushing and Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar made a name for himself, it took defense to finally decide it.
North Carolina’s defense. In a second overtime.
“We definitely made some mistakes tonight,” UNC linebacker Ced Gray said. “But all we can do is keep fighting and find a way to win.”
And the Tar Heels did, edging App State 40-34 in a fast-paced, entertaining game at Kenan Stadium that UNC quarterback Drake Maye would later call both fun and stressful.
Maye’s 13-yard scoring run to begin the second overtime pushed the No. 17 Tar Heels ahead 40-34, Maye doing a little finger-roll with the ball in the end zone. Maye then tried to run for the 2-pointer, launching his body into the air near the end zone and taking a big smack, falling short of the goal line.
It’s those kinds of plays — the “franchise” QB getting hit hard by the App State defense and taking a body roll — that can turn coaches gray. Even someone like UNC’s Mack Brown, who already has plenty.
ASU had scored easily in the first overtime. Nate Noel, small but powerful, ran the ball three times and that’s all it took. The holes were there and Noel ran through them.
“Credit to App State. They bring it every time we play ‘em and they came to play,” Maye said.
UNC answered quickly, on Hampton’s 17-yard TD run, but the second OT came down to the Tar Heels needing a play on defense to seal UNC’s home opener and go 2-0.
The Apps picked up five yards on three plays. It came down to fourth-and-5 at the UNC 20 and the Mountaineers were thinking big, thinking win.
Aguilar, who had a highly impressive first start for ASU, was pressured by Kaimon Rucker but gunned a throw to Dashaun Davis toward the right end-zone pylon. UNC defensive back Alijah Huzzie made contact on Davis from behind but the pass was a little high and fell incomplete.
The ASU sideline pleaded for interference. There was no flag. Ball game.
“I’m going to give the secondary some credit today. They stepped up and made plays in big-time moments,” said Gray, who had a team-high 11 tackles.
One of the biggest moments, Gray said, came in a third quarter. The score was tied 17-17 and ASU was moving the ball and getting comfortable doing it when Aguilar, who made so many good decisions in the game, made a poor one.
Aguilar tried to squeeze the ball in to a receiver near the right sideline but UNC’s Don Chapman stepped in front for an interception at the UNC 29. The Tar Heels converted the turnover into a field goal and 20-17 lead.
“Definitely a big play in the game,” Gray said. “Any time you can get a turnover it’s a big play, but at the moment the play was made it was huge for us. They had a lot of momentum in the game.”
A week after facing Spencer Rattler and South Carolina, the Tar Heels had ASU and a junior-college quarterback coming into Kenan. But Aguilar, a big, mobile Californian with a live arm, passed for 275 yards and two scores on a 22-for-43 night.
“He had 275 yards against a very good defense, that wore South Carolina out last week, that had nine sacks and had minus-2 yards rushing,” ASU coach Shawn Clark said.
Aguilar has a quick release and Gray said the Heels did not blitz a lot – thus the lack of sacks. Noel finished with 127 yards and Aguilar had 42 as the Apps closed with 219 yards rushing.
But in the end, there was a game to be won. When UNC’s Ryan Coe missed what could have been a walk-off 39-yard field goal at the end of regulation, it could have been a crusher for UNC.
But not this night. Maye and Hampton wouldn’t have it. Neither would Gray and the defense.
“Coach always says to protect our house,” Maye said. “That’s all that matters.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2023 6:15 AM.
