In its 2016 season opener, the NC State football team dominated William & Mary on both sides of the ball en route to a 48-14 victory Thursday night in Carter-Finley Stadium.
Senior running back Matt Dayes and junior tight end Jaylen Samuels made a huge offensive impact from the beginning, as they combined for all 70 of the Wolfpack’s (1-0) yards on the first drive of the game alone. Dayes finished the game with 23 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns and two catches for 18 yards, while Samuels garnered 66 yards and a touchdown on five catches to go along with five carries for 24 yards and touchdowns.
“I think we did pretty well coming out with the fast-paced tempo,” Samuels said. “We had a lot of good play calls. I think we came out pretty fast and that’s what coach Drinkwitz wanted us to do, we executed.
With the quarterback battle ongoing between redshirt sophomores Ryan Finley and Jalan McClendon, nobody really knew who would start at quarterback. Finley ended up getting the nod, and finished with 174 yards and two touchdowns while completing 17 of his 21 pass attempts. Head coach Dave Doeren said he was very pleased with Finley’s performance.
“He’s got command, he’s not nervous at all,” Doeren said. “He looked really comfortable. He was doing exactly what [offensive coordinator] Eli [Drinkwitz] wanted him to do. He played pretty smart.”
While the Wolfpack spread the ball around more on the second drive, it was again Dayes and Samuels who carried the load. The drive ended the same as the first one did, with Dayes pounding it in for his second touchdown of the game to make it a 14-7 game early in the second quarter.
“When Matt scored his first two touchdowns I knew I had to get some,” Samuels said of his and Dayes’ combined production. “I knew mine was coming sometime. I had to block for him and he blocked for me.”
McClendon came in at quarterback for the Wolfpack in the third series after Finley manned the offense for the first two. However, it did not end well for him, as he threw an interception while under pressure on third down in enemy territory.
However, just two plays later, redshirt junior linebacker Jerod Fernandez picked off a pass and returned it to the Tribe’s 26-yard line to give the offense the ball right back. The Pack capitalized off a seven-play, 26-yard drive with a 3-yard score on a jet sweep to Samuels to give it a 21-7 lead with 3:48 left in the half.
A pair of penalties helped the Tribe advance past midfield for just the second time in the game. Then, redshirt junior safety Josh Jones halted the momentum with an interception. The Pack once again capitalized, this time in the form of a seven-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard catch-and-run effort by senior wide receiver Bra’Lon Cherry.
William & Mary started the second half with a bang, going 65 yards in four plays with the help of a 32-yard catch by Dedmon and a 10-yard rushing touchdown by senior quarterback Steve Cluley to cut the lead to 28-14.
However, that would be as close as the Tribe would get for the rest of the game, as NC State scored just two drives later off another jet sweep by Samuels.
After Samuels scored again early in the fourth quarter to give the Pack a 41-14 lead, this time on a swing pass, McClendon re-entered the game, and he was accompanied by a variety of other reserves, including freshmen Johnny Frasier, Thad Moss and Kelvin Harmon. All three contributed as the drive ended with a rushing touchdown from Frasier.
The Wolfpack front seven was disruptive all game, particularly in the running game, as it held the Tribe to just 62 yards on 28 carries. Junior defensive tackles Justin Jones and B.J. Hill didn’t stuff the score sheet, but they were constantly giving the W&M offensive line fits, allowing their teammates to make plays on the ball.
“We had a lot of guys making plays,” junior defensive end Bradley Chubb said. “First couple plays you saw B.J. Hill and Justin Jones holding down the interior. If we just keep pushing forward and working on the fundamentals, we could be a pretty good defensive line.”
With a stellar offensive and defensive showing, the Pack looks to take its momentum into its first road contest of the season Sept. 10 against East Carolina.
“I’m obviously excited to be 1-0,” Doeren said. “It’s good to get out there and play the game. I thought there were a lot of things that we did well. It’s fun to be out there with the players and just hear them talk to each other throughout the game.”
Senior running back Matthew Dayes dodges between Tribe defenders. Dayes's longest rushing play was 30 yards while he came in at an average of six yards per play. The NC State football team beat William & Mary in the home opener, 48-14, on Sept. 1 at Carter-Finley Stadium.
