Photo by John Quackenbos
For the first time under coach Steve Addazio, the Eagles gained more than 500 yards in total offense in a game . . . and lost. The Eagles fell short, 27-24, against Wake Forest yesterday.
Tied at 17 at halftime, the two teams had each run 38 plays in the first half, with BC outgaining the Demon Deacons by 50 yards, 260 to 210. As has been characteristic of this season, the Eagles were outdone in the second half.
Wake Forest ran 49 plays in the second half, 10 more than BC, and possessed the ball for nearly 8 1/2 minutes longer than the Eagles. While BC outgained Wake in the half, 273-230, the Deacons scored a touchdown and field goal to go up 27-17 early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive for a touchdown, to come within three with 6:39 remaining.
Wake then took 12 plays to gain only 35 yards, but consume six minutes, 11 seconds, of game time. Their punt put BC back on its own five-yard line, with only 28 seconds left and no time-outs. The game ended when BC fumbled after a series of laterals.
At the start of the fourth quarter, with Wake ahead 20-17, BC had moved from its 18-yard line to the Wake Forest 26. On fourth-and-three, Aaron Boumerhi kicked a 44-yard field goal to tie the game. Flag. Delay-of-game penalty against BC. On the subsequent play, backup QB Dennis Grosel’s pass attempt was incomplete and Wake Forest took possession.
Addazio said in the Boston Globe that he had decided not to call a time-out to avoid the penalty. “I made the call to not call the timeout at that time. That was my call. At that point I still thought we would get it off. I knew it was close, but I did not want to burn that timeout and I thought we would get the ball off.”
Once again, BC running back AJ Dillon turned in a an excellent performance, rushing for more than 150 yards for the third time this season. Dillon ran 23 times for 159 yards, a 6.9 yard per carry average. QB Anthony Brown was 21-of-29 for 265 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions.
Here are video highlights.
BC falls to 3-2 for the season, 1-1 in the ACC. Besides Notre Dame, only pure ACC teams remain on the schedule. Next up is Louisville.
