CHAPEL HILL--For the sixth straight year, Duke and North Carolina waged a battle befitting the tradition and ferocity of their storied rivalry.
And for the sixth-straight time, the Tar Heels emerged winners, topping the Blue Devils 28-24 in another Carolina classic.
"I think Duke-Carolina is fast becoming one of the best college series in the country," North Carolina head coach Mack Brown said.
Sparked by the gritty play of senior quarterback Mike Thomas and senior tackle Marcus Jones, the Tar Heels battled back from a 10-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to hand the Blue Devils (3-8, 1-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) their seventh loss in eight league games this year. The loss kept head coach Fred Goldsmith winless against UNC and also ended the careers of members of the senior class, a class that never beat North Carolina.
"The execution just wasn't there today," sophomore wide receiver Corey Thomas said. "The first half, we started out OK. The second-half we just slacked off, and we paid for it."
Mike Thomas, who was greeted with a smattering of boos for his erratic play this year, completed 10 straight passes late in the game to lead the Tar Heels (5-5, 3-4 in the ACC) to touchdowns on consecutive possessions. The two drives erased the 10-point Blue Devil lead and denied the Blue Devils a chance to ring the traditional Victory Bell.
"I heard a lot of guys on the sideline saying, `Let's go ring that bell now. Let's just go take it,'" senior free safety Ray Farmer said. "I think we lost focus on what was going on."
With both focus and the lead gone, the Duke offense tried to muster a last-minute drive of its own. But then Jones, a preseason All-America candidate, left his mark on the game. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Jones nailed senior quarterback Spence Fischer on a first-and-10 play. He followed that blow with a six-yard sack two plays later, ending the Blue Devils' last real chance to win the game. Jones led the Tar Heels with two sacks and seven tackles.
"[Jones] did a lot of good things," Goldsmith said. "The big sack in the fourth quarter, that one play was a big, big play."
On Duke's final possession of the day, Fischer lofted an errant pass down the sideline that was easily intercepted by the North Carolina secondary, effectively sealing the game.
That interception marred a valiant performance by Fischer. Fischer--who completed 17-of-34 passes for 120 yards--edged Ben Bennett, Duke '83, to become Duke's all-time leader for total offense and only the third player in ACC history to tally over 9,000 total yards in a career. He claimed the record on a 15-yard scramble up the middle in the third quarter, a play typical of Fischer's all-around performance Saturday afternoon. In addition to his 120 passing yards and 53 rushing yards, Fischer also notched his first career reception on a pass from tight end Jeff Hodrick.
"[The record] was something I had been thinking about, but I would have taken the win," Fischer said. "I really wish we could have won this game. I wanted the Victory Bell more than the stats."
After trading touchdowns in the first quarter, the Tar Heels gave the Duke defense an unexpected look by replacing Thomas with redshirt freshman Chuckie Parquet. Parquet, who had not played a down all year, got the nod because of his skill at running the option.
"Since Duke had had trouble containing the option this year, why not give him a shot," Brown said.
The substitution paid off quickly, as North Carolina drove 51 yards in less than 90 seconds to take the lead on a 25-yard Parquet scramble around the left side. The score gave the Tar Heels a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
The Blue Devils rallied, however, behind an extended drive at the conclusion of the first half. Hodrick's 23-yard trick pass to a wide-open Fischer set up a four-yard bolt by sophomore Laymarr Marshall. That score tied the game at 14-14 heading into halftime.
After forcing Carolina to punt after a three-and-out situation to open the second half, the Duke special teams came through with a big play. Thomas punted the ball 38 yards to sophomore Adam Geis. Geis handed off to freshman Reco Owens, who squirted 29-yards down the sideline deep into Tar Heel territory, setting up a 39-yard field goal from senior Tom Cochran.
With the Blue Devils ahead 17-14, Duke junior Dominique Flemming blocked a Thomas punt. Fischer punched through for the score and things looked up for the Blue Devils, leading 24-14 with little more than a quarter to play.
"There's a 10-point swing that nearly swung the momentum for Duke and could have killed us," Brown said.
But Carolina wasn't killed.
Besides limiting Fischer to only 4-of-17 pass completions in the second half, the Tar Heel offense really picked up. Thomas caught fire, completing pass after pass, as the Tar Heels marched over the fading Blue Devils defensive unit. After cutting the lead to three on a four-yard touchdown pass, Thomas sealed the game with a 62-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a Thomas pass to Freddie Jones.
"[The defense] fought back from several situations of adversity today, and we needed to stop them on one more drive today and we couldn't do it," Goldsmith said.
In spite of the losing effort, Goldsmith was proud of his troops for coming so close to breaking Carolina's recent stranglehold over Duke.
"It was by far the best defensive game we played since early in the season, but we didn't come here to look good losing," Goldsmith said.
Note: Senior Tijan Redmon broke the NCAA record for total kickoff-return yards in a season and the NCAA record for most kickoff-returns in a season with 45.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.