Yardbarker: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Wake Forest: Shipping out to Spokane

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:05:49 -0500

Gonzaga pulled out a tough win last night after trailing by quite a bit at home against Washington State. Matt Bouldin had a great game, netting 28 points. I feel certain that L.D. Williams will have that responsibility on Saturday.

Also, congrats to Travis McKie on a 44 point performance in his first game of the season for the Justices. Both he and J.T. Terrell are off to great starts. Onto the links...

College Chalktalk:NCDS: Dave Wojcik, Asst. Coach - Wake Forest
With the season in full swing and having started quickly out of the gate with a 4-0 record we were feeling good about ourselves. However, losing the last two games has made me think of Martin Luther King and what he once said, "the test of a man's character is not in times of comfort and convenience; it's in times of challenge and controversy." We have to continue to work hard with enthusiasm and get better each day.

Endscore.com's 2010 NBA Mock Draft | EndScore
6. Golden State Warriors select SF Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest, 6-8, 220lbs If Don Nelson is still coach, don’t be surprised if the Warriors draft a guard or another lanky big man he doesn’t intend to use. Aminu makes some sense, though. He scores well off the dribble, is an excellent shot blocker and rebounder, and is extremely athletic. He needs to add muscle, but with all the athletes in Golden State, he would fit in well.

Ugly start gives way to beautiful finish as Gonzaga downs Washington State - The Slipper Still Fits
6-1 is about as good as it gets for this team. The youth is fulfilling their promise and the vets are finding ways to get things done. Next up is a reeling Wake Forest team in the McCarthey Athletic Center. Wake has stumbled in recent games losing two straight to William and Mary and then Purdue. There's no doubt that Gonzaga will get Wake's best game.

The rumor mill | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC
According to the Newport News Daily Press, the list of candidates for the open coaching position at the University of Virginia is a long one. Included on that list are Temple coach Al Golden, Richmond coach Mike London, Connecticut coach Randy Edsall, Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe and Miami offensive coordinator Mark Whipple.

Boys Basketball: No. 2 John Marshall 99, Patrick Henry 48 | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Travis McKie scored 44 points as No. 2 John Marshall swamped Patrick Henry in both teams' season openers.

MLSDraft's Top 10 Seniors | MLSDraft.net
8. Austin da Luz (Wake Forest – M) Austin da Luz has seen a lot of great midfielders come and go during his 4 years at Wake Forest. He played along side MLSers like Pat Phalen, Michael Lahoud and Sam Cronin, yet no one says a word about his play. Quietly, he has been the midfielder whom makes the Deacons tick (38 assists in 4 years). He was also overlooked for the player of the year shortlist. Teammate Corbin Bone was been named to this list, yet da Luz has both more goals (6) and more assists (14) than Bone. Clearly, da Luz will get drafted on the 15th on January, but the question is how much will he shoot up draft boards post-combine.

Illini rally to defeat Deacons women
Trailing 33-17 at the half, Illinois' women staged a big comeback in the second half and defeated Wake Forest 65-50 last night. The loss was Wake Forest's first of the year and sends its record to 6-1. Illinois improved to 7-1. After shooting 52 percent from the floor in the first half, the Deacons hit just 17 percent in the second half. Illinois took complete advantage, going 13 for 19 (68 percent) on second-half field-goal attempts.

WFU's DeGeare, Miller wrap up college careers
¦ Senior Chris DeGeare (Glenn '05) closed his Wake Forest football career by being named honorable mention All-ACC on Monday. DeGeare, an offensive tackle, started all 12 games at left tackle as a senior. He led the line in knockdown blocks three times and graded out at better than 90 percent in games against Miami and Florida State.

DigitalSports preseason boys basketball team, 2009-10
Player of the year ** Travis McKie, John Marshall, 6-7, Sr.: I've written enough about him to fill a book. You know it all. He's signed with Wake Forest, see his highlight video here.

Prep Results 12.01.09 - CharlotteObserver.com
James Terrell 32

This article was originally published at http://www.BloggerSoDear.com. If you are interested in sharing your website's content with SCACCHoops.com, Contact Us.

WEEK 13: ACC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:34:00 -0500

OFFENSIVE BACK – Riley Skinner, Wake Forest, QB, Sr., 6-1, 210, Jacksonville, Fla. (The Bolles School) Wake Forest senior quarterback Riley Skinner completed 28-of-38 passes for a career-high 372 yards and a school record five touchdown passes in the final game of his career, a 45-34 win at Duke. Skinner finished the season with 3,160 passing yards, becoming the first Wake Forest quarterback to eclipse the 3,000-yard mark in school history, and finished his career in fourth place in league hi...

Looking Back on the Best Class in Wake Forest History

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:18:27 -0500

Riley Skinner passes against Duke during an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009 in Durham, N.C. Wake Forest defeated Duke 45-34. Skinner passed for a career-high 372 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to help Wake Forest defeat Duke. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Ted Richardson)" />

by Ted Richardson - AP

1 day ago: Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner passes against Duke during an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009 in Durham, N.C. Wake Forest defeated Duke 45-34. Skinner passed for a career-high 372 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to help Wake Forest defeat Duke. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Ted Richardson)

View full size photo »

I don't really know how long it's going to take for it to really sink in that there will be no Riley Skinner next year. I think we as fans just got so used to him. We may have even taken him for granted a little bit. Those kind of leaders and performers don't come along that often. We certainly noticeably missed AC, KP, Chip, Phonz, Arnoux and Robinson this year. But, it's time to turn the page and see what the young gunners can give us.

FIFTH QUARTER: Still second-fiddle to the SEC – ACC Insider - Wilmington Star News - Wilmington, NC - Archive
2. Winning Wake: They won’t finish their careers by making their fourth straight bowl trip, but with a 45-34 win at Duke, 22 Wake Forest seniors earned their 33th career victory, making them the winningest class in school history.

ACC Football: Wake Forest 45, Duke 34 | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post
"It feels a lot better than anybody outside of our locker room can imagine," said Skinner, who finished the year with single-season school records of 3,160 yards and 26 touchdown passes. "Just what we've gone through this year and the kind of games that we've had have been the toughest to lose."

Scout.com: Things To Be Thankful For After 2009
Thanks to Wake Forest AD Ron Wellman and Wake head coach Jim Grobe for showing the Duke administration that you can be a small private school and have a good football team at the same time. Your team’s continual embarrassment of ours in the early and mid-90’s was the kick in the pants needed to institute a paradigm shift in how Duke’s decision-makers approached the football program. You made them reaize that Duke strives for excellence in everything we do, except football. That became an unacceptable viewpoint in large part due to your success. because of this shift, Duke football is no longer a red-headed stepchild in its own university community.

UNC, Wake Forest advance to soccer quarterfinals : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis
"I think it was a tremendous treat for the soccer fans in Winston-Salem tonight," Wake head coach Jay Vidovich said. "They saw six goals. It was a tremendous start to the match for us. We scored three first half goals and I thought it really could have blown open when Corben (Bone) hit the post early in the second half."

Deacons shut down Blue Hose
Brittany Waters scored 14 points to lead Wake Forest past Presbyterian 66-25 yesterday in a nonconference women's game at Joel Coliseum. Presbyterian's 25 points were the second fewest for a Wake Forest opponent since 1972.

Team nicknames: much ado about nothing
Are protestants up in arms because Wake Forest players are known as the Demon Deacons? Lighten up, folks.

Week 13 postgame, the players: Gerhart punches his trophy ticket - Sporting News
2. Riley Skinner, Wake Forest QB. Skinner's college career ended in fitting fashion. He was the catalyst in Wake Forest turning around its miserable program (the Deacons returned to gloomy days this year, however). Skinner passed for a career-high 372 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to help Wake Forest defeat Duke 45-34. He was 28-of-38 passing and did not throw an interception.

'Breakthrough' victory for William and Mary men's basketball -- dailypress.com
William and Mary had lost its last 24 games to ACC schools and its previous 29 road games to ACC teams before knocking off Wake Forest. The Deacons had won 23 consecutive non-conference games at Joel Coliseum and never had lost at their present home in the month of November. It had been 25 years since they beat an opponent in the ACC, taking a 54-53 victory over Virginia on Dec. 5, 1984.

Tough-Minded Purdue Knows Its Identity | The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN
"We’re looking forward to it," Painter said. "They have a great program. They have very talented players, size, athleticism and quickness. We’ll have our hands full. We have to do our part (in upholding Big Ten honor against the ACC). The last couple of years we haven’t. We have to dive into our scouting report and play well."

Stanford impresses Tim Jackson during in-home visit | Home Team | Tampabay.com
UNC will make an in-home Tuesday. Both Wake Forest and Vanderbilt will stop by Wednesday. "I know it's going to get crazy these next couple of months," Jackson said.

Wake Up! Q&A withWake Forest's Blogger So Dear - Hammer and Rails
Hammer & Rails plays the Q&A game with Blogger So Dear about the ACC/Big Ten Challenge this week.

Deacons closing in on a trip to College Cup
Zack Schilawski really wants to play soccer in his hometown of Cary next month. "It's a nice place," Schilawski said with a smile after he scored two goals and assisted on a third as Wake Forest defeated Duke 4-2 yesterday in a third-round match of the NCAA men's tournament at Spry Stadium. Coach Jay Vidovich of the Deacons joked: "He's got a prom date he still has to hook up with there."

This article was originally published at http://www.BloggerSoDear.com. If you are interested in sharing your website's content with SCACCHoops.com, Contact Us.

Week 13 postgame, the players: Deacons' Skinner is a demon in finale

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:11:08 -0500

Sporting News' Derek Samson covers the best and worst performances of Week 13 in college football. Game balls 1. Riley Skinner, Wake Forest QB. Skinner's college career ended in fitting fashion. He was the catalyst in Wake Forest turning around its miserable program (the Deacons returned to gloomy days this year, however). Skinner passed for a career-high 372 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to help Wake Forest defeat Duke 45-34. He was 28-of-38 passing and did not t...

Wake Forest: Blackout BB&T Field against FSU

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:36:01 -0500

On senior night (although I guess it is senior day since the game is being played at noon), Wake Forest is going to black out BB&T Field as the Deacs take on Florida State. Show support for the guys if you're going to the game and throw on something black.

In addition, the athletic department will be auctioning off the Demon Deacon's motorcycle at halftime. I have no idea how much that is going to go for, but I can safely say that WakeJake would look pretty good driving that thing to class every day.

After the jump, you'll find some quotes from Coach Grobe's presser today.

"As an assistant and as a head coach I've been doing this about 35 years. I've had two or three games in a season where we played right to the wire and came up short, but not this many times."

-He's right. The last time I saw this many close games as a Demon Deacon fan was in the 05-06 basketball season. I know it's not something we all want to relive, but that season saw the Justin Gray-led team lose by six or less eight times. If that team had ANYONE to run the point or a few things had gone their way (paging Trent Strickland), it may have been a completely different season.

"We don't get to see a lot of tape. This is a really talented guy, we know that he's got great skills, the ability to run and throw. He was personally recruited by Jimbo Fisher. I'm sure all the things they're doing with Christian Ponder, they feel like they can do with Manuel."

-Wake has not exactly had a great track record against quarterbacks making their first career start (two losses this year--BC and Navy), so we'll see how Manuel will fare. He'll have a whole week of preparation and was a complete stud in high school. Hopefully the Demon Deacon defense will dial up the pressure and keep Manuel from getting comfortable.

"We're a better football team. I don't think there's any question. I would love to be able to rewind with the team that's playing right now and start the season over again. This would be a pretty special year for us. The way we played against Miami and Georgia Tech, there's no question we're a great football team. One of the keys is keeping our heads up. Our guys don't enjoy playing good teams just tough, we need to win, we need to keep our heads up and come back and play a great effort Saturday against the Noles."

-This is true. The team has definitely improved over the course of the year. Losses and the offensive line's stuggles aside, the defense has improved and it has been extremely fun to watch players like Kenny Okoro, Joey Ehrmann and Gelo Orange grow up. Plus, I am stoked about the chance to see this receiving core for the next couple years. These guys deserve to have a break go their way and you have to believe they will be playing their hearts out to get Riley Skinner to another bowl.

Beating Florida State for a fourth consecutive year would be absolutely amazing. Here's hoping the team can come through on senior day.

This article was originally published at http://www.BloggerSoDear.com. If you are interested in sharing your website's content with SCACCHoops.com, Contact Us.

Wake Forest QB Skinner cleared to play

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:46:19 -0500

Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner has been cleared to play in Saturday's game at No. 10 Georgia Tech after sustaining a concussion last week. The school announced Friday that the senior is expected to start his 33rd consecutive game. Skinner was replaced by backup Ryan McManus in the fourth quarter of last week's loss to Miami after taking a hard hit that ripped off his helmet and broke his face mask.

Wake Forest: Prepping For The Triple Option

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:43:49 -0500

Lots of GT discussion from the normal Tuesday media day in today's links. Still no word on Mr. Skinner.

Tech beat up, but still going | ajc.com
There's one color combination that Johnson won't allow his players to wear this weekend: gold pants and gold jerseys. "Looks like a giant French fry," Johnson joked. The Jackets have worn white jerseys for every home game since Johnson was hired. NCAA rules say that the visiting team is supposed to wear white, unless the visitors grant the home team permission to do so. Tech asked, but the Demon Deacons said no, as they have traditionally done. So Tech must choose between its old gold tops and the blue ones.

Surging Yellow Jackets play host to Demon Deacons
The fact that Georgia Tech permitted 31 points to a weak Vanderbilt team last weekend is a bit concerning. One of the touchdowns allowed to the Commodores was on a kickoff return, so the score was a bit deceiving, but there were still three touchdowns permitted to the Vandy offense. The Commodores were able to post 218 rushing yards against Tech, and the Yellow Jackets need to play better run defense against Wake Forest.

Scout.com: Quinn Discusses WFU Visit (Premium)
Had a chance to talk to Quinn Cook after his weekend visit to Wake for the Miami game and a tour of the campus. Quinn is one of the top PG targets for the class of 2011 and has had an outstanding summer playing AAU ball and is getting ready for his Junior season at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Demon Deacons left dazed by losing streak - Burlington Times News
"He looked pretty good (while watching practice Monday), but I don’t know what’s going on in that brain," Grobe said of Skinner. "… We’ll do what’s best for Riley Skinner, not what’s best for the football team."

Tech to wear alternate jersey against Wake
Wake Forest has elected to wear white jerseys for Saturday's game at Georgia Tech. This means Tech will wear either a gold or blue jersey for the 3:30 p.m. matchup. Paul Johnson said the players will choose between the gold and blue jerseys.

ACC Insider - Wake may not be final stop for Grobe anymore | StarNewsOnline.com | Star News
At the time, Grobe seemed sincere enough about his desire to stay at Wake for the rest of his career. And it could still happen. But even though he was having too much fun to go anywhere else back then, he was smart enough to leave the door slightly ajar. Just in case.

Deacs have no margin for error
"We'll just monitor him through the week and see how he progresses," Steelman said. "Doctors have already looked at him (yesterday), and we'll see how he's doing on Thursday." Grobe said yesterday that if Skinner can't play, the position belongs to Ryan McManus, a fifth-year backup who played his first four years as a walk-on. "I think Ryan's capable," Grobe said. "I feel good about that. But at the same time I hope Riley's healthy and can go."

Georgia Tech's rise is impressive
The only fair way to decide the national champion is a playoff, he said, just like the one they have in every other NCAA division. "Whoever is picked first to start with, unless they lose, they're going to play in the (BCS championship) game. They pick that before we ever play a game," Johnson said, adding that a playoff "is the best way I know to do it. You find out who's the champion."

da first family: Da Luz is soccer at WFU
Times are good for Wake Forest's da Luz family. Austin da Luz, a senior on the men's soccer team, has become the program's career assists leader with 35. Tony da Luz, Austin's father and the women's soccer coach, signed a three-year contract extension over the summer, won his 200th career game this season and has a chance to take the Deacons to their best record ever.

This article was originally published at http://www.BloggerSoDear.com. If you are interested in sharing your website's content with SCACCHoops.com, Contact Us.

The Next Level -- Week 9

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:32:26 -0500

Byes and injury combined to make for a lighter week than usual in terms of play by former area football standouts. There will still, however, some dynamic performances. Redshirt freshman Joey Ehrmann got his second straight start (and the second of his career) at strong-side linebacker in Wake Forest’s 28-27 home loss to Miami. Though the Hurricanes rallied late for a dramatic victory, the Gilman alum made quite an impact – especially on Miami quarterback Jacory Harris. Ehrmann was credite...

Tricked: Miami Steals a Victory Over Wake Forest

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:33:53 -0500

You all didn't think they'd hold on, did you? Show of hands: who thought the Deacs had any chance to win after Devon Brown fumbled the punt and Miami got it at the one? Thought so. It's just amazing how many different ways Wake Forest can lose games. I wish I had that kind of imagination.

Today's was a new story, same result. After that fumble, Wake was up 6 and stayed there for awhile. The defense continued to hold strong (and played a great game despite the fact that they had about a dozen chances at INTs and couldn't hold onto the ball) behind Dominique Tate, Kenny Okoro, John Russell and company. But when the Deacs got the ball back, Riley Skinner threw a pick and later went out with what is probably a concussion.

That gave Miami QB Jacory Harris a chance to put the 'Canes up. The Deacs got it down to 4th and long, but Harris completed an insane pass for the first...yadda yadda yadda, and Miami went up one. Backup QB Ryan McManus had a chance with a minute to go and got a 60 yard FG attempt that was way right. Hurricanes: 28, Demon Deacons 27. Final.

It's nothing new to lose to Miami, but I don't know whether to laugh or cry right now. And I'm used to this stuff...I'm a Cleveland sports fan.

Lobo called a much better game today and the Deacs completely dominated. I mean it wasn't even close. But penalties, mental mistakes and missed opportunities continue to plague the Demon Deacons like they have all year.

And that's why instead of being at around 6-3, this team is at 4-5 and on the outside looking in right now at a bowl bid.

This article was originally published at http://www.BloggerSoDear.com. If you are interested in sharing your website's content with SCACCHoops.com, Contact Us.

Postgame Report Card: Wake Forest 42, Maryland 32

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:11:00 -0500

Maryland's short reign atop the Atlantic Division is over with the loss to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. The Deacs had the type of team that could beat Maryland, a strong passing team against a weakened secondary, and they exploited this advantage over and over again.It is hard to place blame in correct places. Wake Forest is just a better team, could the secondary have really stopped Riley Skinner? Could the Terps running game be effective with the "running back by committee?"...

A horrific defensive half for the Terps

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:25:00 -0500

I had said before the game that I was interested to see how fifth-year Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner would handle Maryland's blitzes. Terps fans, you know the answer but you don't have to like it. How did Skinner do? He led touchdown drives on the Demon Deacons’ first five possessions of the game. The drives went 67, 80, 66, 57 and 77 yards to give Wake Forest a 35-10 lead in the second quarter. Wake had only one punt in the first half, and it came with under ...

Three Wake drives, three TDs

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:39:52 -0500

QB Riley Skinner, Wake Forest's fifth-year senior, has led touchdown drives on his first three possessions. The drives went 67, 80 and 66 yards and Wake Forest leads 21-7 early in the second. How badly does Maryland a stop? The 21 points were Wake's highest in the first quarter this season. Total offense? Wake had 213 at the end of the period and Maryland had 22.

Pregame: Maryland at Wake Forest

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Maryland got a nice win last week, upsetting Clemson 24-21 and (somehow) sitting atop the Atlantic Division with a 1-0 conference record, but still has a long way to go for bowl contention at a 2-3 overall record. But, as Chris Turner said, win through the ACC and they can go to the Orange Bowl; at least they took the first step. But Maryland hits the road for the first time in a month as they head down to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest.The Maryland Terrapins (2-3, 1-0 ACC) take on the ...

With Record Success, Wake Forest's Riley Skinner Wants to Go Out on Top

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:45:00 -0500

by Jim HenryFiled under: Wake Forest, ACCRiley Skinner enjoyed his summer. Skinner spent six weeks in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., training, golfing and visiting the beach. The veteran quarterback returned to Wake Forest energized -- and with a nice tan -- to help extend the Demon Deacons' school record eight-or-more win bowl seasons to a fourth consecutive year. After years of relying on defense, Skinner wants to make sure the offense pulls its weight this season. "We were fa...

ANOTHER SCHIZOPHRENIC ACC SATURDAY

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:53:32 -0500

MARYLAND 17, 16 NORTH CAROLINA 15 Quarterbacks are important, and QB play was the difference for teams trying to control their own destinies. NC QB Cam Sexton's performance was spotty at best while Maryland's Chris Turner was good when it counted. Don't be shocked if Butch Davis puts injured ...

Boom Goes The Dynamite. No, Seriously.

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:02:49 -0500

Someone should have explained this to former Wake Forest RB Luke Caparelli before he decided to post his plans to blow up the Wake Forest campus on his Facebook page. He also claimed to have an Uzi "locked and loaded in his bag".

Florida State-Wake Forest Thursday Night College Football Pick

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:57:50 -0500

An in depth look and analysis into the Thursday Night College Football game between Florida State and Wake Forest. I like the home underdog in this match up. I'll go over a list of reasons why to take Wake Forest with the points in this matchup.

Wake Forest Football Preview

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:59:41 -0500

Wake Forest tries to make another run at the ACC title. Read our Wake Forest writer's feelings about the upcoming season.