Dave Clawson earned his first ACC victory as Wake Forest's head coach when the Demon Deacons defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 6-3. It was a sweet victory for Wake Forest fans who had not seen their team victorious since a September 20th win over Army. Regulation ended with a score of 0-0 after Wake Forest kicker Mike Weaver missed a 37-yard field goal as time expired that would have won the game for the Deacs. It was his third miss of the day, even though he had only missed one field goal all season entering today's game. Weaver recovered, however, when he drained a 49-yard field goal in the first overtime and a 39-yarder to win the game in double overtime.
I cannot say enough about how excellent Wake's defense was today. They limited Virginia Tech to just 254 total yards of offense and forced 3 turnovers. Just when it appeared that Virginia Tech was going to break the 0-0 score, the Deacons forced turnovers when the Hokies were in Deacon territory. Whether it was an interception by Bud Noel, or a forced fumble on a backwards pass, the Deacs were opportunistic when it counted. Additionally, our offense controlled possession and only had one turnover.
The enthusiasm on the Wake players' faces following the game was priceless. They've worked so hard this year, and come up short a handful of times, but this time they sealed the deal and won the football game. It was a great way to send the seniors out and it was great to get Coach Clawson an ACC win in his first season as head coach. There were a lot of excellent recruits on visits this weekend, so the win could not have come at a better time.
Wake Forest will conclude its season next week when they travel to Durham to take on the Duke Blue Devils, who is coming off a 45-20 loss to North Carolina. Virginia Tech must defeat Virginia at home in order to become bowl-eligible.
It's a great day to be a Demon Deacon. Go Deacs!
