Game Summary: Louisville defeats Wake Forest 48-21
First Quarter:
The Louisville offense started the game on fire. Two passes of 19 yards, both to Tyler Hudson, put the Deacons on their heels in the red zone. As they have many times before, the defense bent but didn’t break, forcing James Turner to hit a 29-yard field goal.
After an ugly three-and-out, a 21-yard rush by Cunningham set the Cardinals up in Wake Forest territory. Again, the Deacons’ defense held strong and Louisville elected to kick a second field goal, taking a 6-0 lead.
On their second drive, Wake Forest was held to three plays, leaving the defense to return to the field after a very short break. This time, the Deacs broke. The Cardinals reached Wake Forest’s goal line on a well-run flea flicker that went for 39 yards. From there, Cunningham took it into the end zone on a one-yard run, extending the team’s lead to 13 points.
Second Quarter:
For the first time all game, the Wake Forest offense hit their stride, starting with quarterback Sam Hartman. After a pass interference to open the drive, Hartman hit tight end Blake Whiteheart for 25 yards, then again for nine. A keeper for 10 by Hartman got the Deacs deep into the red zone, and Ellison punched it in from three yards out to give Wake Forest their first points of the day.
The Deacs were aggressive on defense after Wake Forest’s first score, notching two tackles for loss on the way to a three-and-out. Then, the Deacs’ offense picked right up where they left off. After a potential fumble was blown dead by the referees, Hartman found Donavon Greene for 20 yards. Christian Turner then added a 21-yard rush. After a pass interference and a 11-yard connection to Whiteheart, Hartman stared down Jahmal Banks and found him in the end zone on an acrobatic catch. With that, Wake Forest took their first lead of the game.
After a 23-yard rush by Jawhar Jordan to begin the drive, the Wake Forest defense made a big-time stop to force a field goal attempt. After two penalties for a total of 15 yards, Louisville missed the kick, sending the Deacs to halftime with the lead.
Third Quarter:
After one first down by Wake Forest, Louisville made a game-changing play on defense to open the half. Cornerback Kei’Trel Clark jumped a sideline pass by Hartman and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown, giving the lead back to the Cardinals.
Then, only a few plays later, Hartman was sacked and stripped, giving Louisville the ball back at Wake Forest’s 29-yard line. The Deacs’ defense bailed out the offense, though, stopping Louisville on fourth-and-short to get the ball back only trailing by six.
After a drive that saw the Deacs get well into Louisville territory, Hartman was hit again in the arm and fumbled, marking the third straight turnover for Wake Forest.
After securing a first down following a sack to start the drive, running back Tiyon Evans found a hole in the Wake Forest defensive line and scampered 52 yards for the touchdown. Just like the beginning of the game, Louisville’s lead went back to 13.
And then, within two plays, the Cardinals’ lead grew. A Hartman pass bounced off the hands of Greene, was picked off and returned to the Wake Forest nine. Then, Cunningham rushed the ball all the way into the end zone to give Louisville a 34-14 lead.
After another Hartman fumble, a 28-yard trick play pass added seven more Louisville points on the board.
On the next drive, a Hartman pass was jumped and intercepted by LB Quincy Riley, who returned it 90 yards for a touchdown to give Louisville a 48-14 lead. With that, Hartman’s day was done with a final stat line of 20-35, 271 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and three fumbles.
Fourth Quarter:
With Mitch Griffis leading the offense, the Deacs marched down to the Louisville 30. Then, a snap when Griffis wasn’t ready made for the seventh turnover of the day.
Griffis did toss a touchdown to Trey Boll to make the score 48-21. Then, Louisville ran out the remainder of the clock for the win.
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Essex is the lead football writer and a managing editor for Deacons Daily. Essex served as the Sports Editor for the Old Gold & Black for two years, in addition to roles as a beat and feature writer.