Following last week’s underwhelming win against Kennesaw State, Wake Forest crushed Western Carolina in a much-needed blowout victory. Despite enduring a 2-hour, 18-minute delay just three minutes after the opening kickoff, the Demon Deacons returned to the slippery turf to take care of business.
Many fans and students alike were extremely disappointed after Wake Forest barely beat a team in Kennesaw State, which, just a year ago, got promoted to the FBS level. However, the Demon Deacons bounced back nicely against the Catamounts.
Amidst the pouring rain and heavy winds, it was star running back Demond Claiborne who lit the offense on fire with 193 yards and three touchdowns on just 10 carries.
Before the start of the game, it was unclear if Claiborne, who sustained a rib injury in last week’s game against Kennesaw State, would rejoin the backfield for the matchup against Western Carolina.
“It felt amazing to be back out there,” Claiborne said following Saturday’s win. “I’m just glad that I was able to leave the game with no more damage to that one spot.”
On his first score, Claiborne darted from the 33-yard line all the way to the endzone, dusting defenders in his path.
The next play, the Deacons’ defensive front forced Western Carolina quarterback Bennett Judy to throw an interception to cornerback Zamari Stevenson. Directly thereafter, Claiborne did it again.
On the first play of the next drive, the speedster juked two defenders and galloped his way to another six points. His third and final touchdown was arguably the most impressive, as he went untouched from the 15-yard line to put the game out of reach.
Wake Forest needs Demond Claiborne’s rushing production. Last game, the offense averaged just 3.2 yards per carry. This week, they skyrocketed to 9.7 yards per carry with Claiborne back from injury.
Among other strong week two performances, redshirt freshman Chris Barnes broke out with a remarkable 149 yards on six receptions.
Barnes, the transfer from Washington State who joined Coach Dickert in his move to Winston-Salem, was initially viewed as an additional receiver with decent potential. Saturday’s performance proved he could be this team’s primary wideout moving forward.
“I’m really proud of Chris for taking the next step because we recruited Chris’s talent,” Dickert said. “To see him take that next step today was really important for him and his confidence.”
While the significant offensive improvement on Saturday was extremely encouraging, quarterback Robby Ashford still struggled to find his groove in the passing game.
The senior had solid counting stats, completing 59% of his passes for 227 yards. However, Ashford was inaccurate all day, and he threw a horrible interception into double coverage at the start of the second quarter.
The defense, on the other hand, once again delivered an outstanding performance.
After allowing just nine points last week, the squad led by senior Nick Anderson and redshirt sophomore Davaughn Patterson held steady against the Catamounts. They allowed just 238 total yards and forced nine punts. Their relentless pressure forced Western Carolina to make mistakes and turnovers all game long.
