EXTRA POINTS FOUNDED AND PUBLISHED FROM 1990-93 BY THE GENERAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA Vol. XV, No. 4, September 20, 2004 Early Defensive Stops Set Tone For Tar Heels. CHAPEL HILL seen. Murmurs of appreciation graduated Bunting said, referencing Virginia’s 56-24 into lusty bellows of congratulations. The triumph a week ago. t began early in the game Saturday with energy level picked up. “This is truly phenomenal,” center Jason Georgia Tech inside the red-zone at the “The fans were solidly behind this football Brown said. “A win, especially a home win, is ICarolina 15 yard-line. team, and that helped,” Tar Heel coach John twice as good. The encore at the end was Nose guard Jonas Seawright shucks his Bunting said. “No doubt we gained some perfect. What a response from our fans. It truly block and stops Tech tailback P.J. Daniels for a confidence. Having the knowledge that we shows how all the hard work pays off. Our fans one-yard gain. That’s big. Interior linemen for can get off the field after a long drive and a have been so loyal and so great. It’s a great the Tar Heels, frequently double-teamed and turnover and stop them and hold them to six feeling to give back to them.” lost amid the chaos of the scrimmage scrum, points was real significant in this game.” “We just had that chemistry tonight,” have produced few significant plays in this Carolina builds on these little victories the Sensabaugh added. young 2004 season. And so ends a six-year Then, two snaps later, end stretch of losses to Georgia Alden Blizzard rejects his block, Tech—three in the Carl Torbush moves laterally and sniffs out a era and three under Bunting. third-down shuffle pass to The Tar Heels had beaten every Daniels. No gain for the Yellow team in the old ACC since Jackets, and they’re left to beating Tech—and it’s not like attempt a field goal. That’s the Yellow Jackets were on the significant as well. A unit as cusp of Bowl Championship fragile as this Carolina defense Series consideration each fall. following last week’s flagellation But second-half or last-minute at Virginia can ill-afford a run of meltdowns against Tech had misfortune to start the next become a matter of course— game. Three points versus seven from the overtime in the rain in is a major accomplishment. 1999 to Joe Burns’ galloping “Holding them to a field goal runs late in the 2000 skirmish to the first series showed us we JEFFREY the Ball-and-Daniels Show one could stop them,” freshman year ago. linebacker/end Hilee Taylor said. CAMARATI “Three years in a row we’ve “We started to believe. That was played them fairly tough into a big boost to our confidence.” the fourth quarter and came up On Tech’s next series, started empty,” Bunting said. “This year at the Tar Heel 31 after a pass Defenders Jacoby Watkins (bottom), Mahlon Carey (23) and we were finally able to pull one interception, linebacker Fred Kareen Taylor (27) converge on Tech WR Damarius Bilbo. out. It’s nice to win. We played Sparkman gets his hands on a hard and gave great effort. Reggie Ball pass and knocks it to the turf. Safety rest of the evening. Watkins intercepts a pass, “But we’re still not playing even close to Gerald Sensabaugh reads and reacts on an out- going head-to-head with Tech standout where we need to be to be a competitive team. cut to Damarius Bilbo and levels the receiver Calvin Johnson for a jump ball near the goal Hopefully, we can build on this and continue to just as the ball is nearing his hands. Mahlon line. Watkins and fellow cornerbacks Cedric learn to play at a high level.” Carey, playing only his third game at line- Holt and Lionell Green do a good job tackling It was a difficult week for the Tar Heels and backer after moving from safety, reads his keys the receiver on Tech’s bread-and-butter hitch their coaches in the aftermath of Virginia’s perfectly, stays in his gap and hammers Ball to pattern, missing only one tackle among them. dominating win in Charlottesville. Carolina the ground on a quarterback draw for a one- Sparkman intercepts a pass as well. Melik first lost senior offensive lineman Skip yard gain. Tech resorts to another field goal. Brown, playing what Bunting terms his “best Seagraves for the year to a foot injury. Next Six points versus 14. The game’s still on. game as a Tar Heel,” forces three fumbles, one Bunting had to suspend linebacker Tommy “Field goals are points, but a field goal’s on a punt that gives Carolina the ball inside Richardson—the one defensive player from the much better than a touchdown,” cornerback the Tech five. Virginia game he had singled out for praise— Jacoby Watkins said. “That gave us the Finally it ends with Taylor scooping the for one game following an internal disciplinary confidence to stop them the rest of the game. ball on the game’s last play and racing 21 matter. Bunting and his defensive staff had to Last week, we had hardly any third-and-longs. yards for a touchdown after a Ball fumble. figure out how to continue to usher along a Tonight we had a lot and we came through.” The Tar Heels bound to the end zone en masse unit with newcomers in eight positions. Finally, As the Tar Heel defense came off the field on for an orgy of celebration, a convincing 34-13 Bunting and special teams coach James Webster those two series, the crowd of 46,250 in Kenan victory in hand. had to dissect the kicking game and plug the Stadium began warming to what they had “What a difference a week makes,” leaks that led to two long kickoff returns by PAGE ONE EXTRA POINTS Hot Boy Jacque Lewis Sets Standard For Toughness And Heart. acque Lewis’s left biceps muscle is unit, on one snap reacting to the Jemblazoned with the image of a Lewis carries opposition’s formation shuffling, football engulfed in flames. Above for chunk of making an adjustment to the the ball are the words “UNC career-high protection and then executing it Football,” and below the image is 161 yards. flawlessly. the inscription “Hot Boy”—Lewis’s “That’s what football’s all about high-school nickname taken from a Jacque Lewis!” Bunting boomed. favorite rap group. “Taking charge!” Last week throughout practice On the Tar Heels’ first two and Saturday night against Georgia punts against Tech, Lewis Tech, Lewis was indeed the Tar protected for Wooldridge against a Heels’ hot boy. meager rush, then was involved in Hot with emotion in the after- making the tackle downfield—and math of last week’s embarrassing this a player who has the furthest loss at Virginia. to run to cover a punt. Hot with desire to win after two “I feel like the punt team is my years of steady losing. punt team,” Lewis said. “I’m like And hot with the winning hand the Darian Durant of the offense, among the Tar Heel tailbacks as the the quarterback of the punt team. I game unfolded. Lewis rushed for take charge of it. I love it. I love 161 yards on 16 carries—including a blocking on the punt, I love going 40-yard jaunt around left end—and down and making tackles. I don’t scored two TDs to ignite the Tar Heel get to play defense, so it’s fun to offense. run down and hit someone else.” “That boy has a heart of gold,” I have gotten a steady stream of fellow senior Jason Brown said. emails over two seasons now from “More than gold. Gold is malleable. people wanting to know why He has a heart of steel. He’s so tough. JEFFREY CAMARATI Lewis isn’t the Tar Heels’ No. 1 He’s very, very tough. He doesn’t let tailback, why he doesn’t play hard times get him down. Last week, every snap. The answers are that he was so infuriated. He wanted to 1) Ronnie McGill and Chad Scott go out and play 10 times harder.” have some talent as well; 2) Lewis “Jacque Lewis is a warrior,” needs to be fresh enough for that receiver Adarius Bowman added. key punt-team assignment; and 3) “He’s my man. Today he said, ‘Hey A.D., true freshman—along with Brown, Chase he’s had to battle an assortment of minor when I hit that field, I’m going to make Page and Jocques Dumas. Those seniors injuries over his career. This year it’s been a things happen.’ He did exactly what he form a leadership group this year commit- stress fracture in his left foot that has said. He’s my player of the game. He ted to returning Tar Heel football to its limited him at times. Saturday night as the played tough and with a lot of heart.” winning ways. game wore on, the foot became painful, Lewis is small in stature, standing only “I hate losing video games,” Lewis said and Lewis was limping noticeably. 5-foot-10, but his 190 pounds are all of his competitive nature. “If I lose a real “I’ve got to suck it up and play for this muscle. He’s got brains, strength, decent game, I’m very upset.