Halftime: Duke leads Wake Forest 20-17
With a quarterback showdown between both teams on display, Duke entered halftime with a 20-17 lead. Sam Hartman passed for 197 yards and a touchdown for Wake Forest, while Riley Leonard led the Blue Devils with 219 yards and two touchdowns.
Read below for a summary of the first half.
First Quarter:
Over the course of an eight-minute drive, Duke pushed down the field with several nice passes from Riley Leonard. The sophomore quarterback hit Jordan Moore twice before finding Jalon Calhoun for 15 yards. But, a Jasheen Davis sack sent the Blue Devils back and a 42-yard kick from Todd Pelino opened the scoring.
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In their first drive of the game, Sam Hartman beat a third down with a completed pass to Taylor Morin. Then, on a third-and-seven, Hartman threaded the needle through several defenders to find tight end Blake Whiteheart for 30 yards. Inside the Duke red zone, Wake Forest leaned on Hartman and Justice Ellison, who combined for 31 yards on five-straight runs. The final rush — by Ellison over the right edge — took the Deacs into the end zone to secure the lead.
Duke balanced the pass and run well early on the next drive — Leonard completed a 15-yarder to Moore, while Jaquez Moore rushed for 24 yards on two carries. The Blue Devils sat just outside the red zone leading into the second quarter.
Second Quarter:
On third-and-seven, Leonard found Sahmir Hagans over the middle for what at first appeared to be an intermediate completion. But, with a burst of speed, Hagans blew past several Deacons’ defenders and in for the score.
After a positive start to the drive — Hartman completed two passes for 28 total yards — it was derailed by one-yard loss on a run and an intentional grounding. After a risky pass to Perry was knocked away, Wake Forest was forced to punt.
Leading by three, Leonard needed just two passes to get the Blue Devils back on the board. On third down, a 31-yard pass to Calhoun put Duke in Wake Forest territory. Then, on another defensive breakdown, Calhoun was left open on the sideline, allowing him to break a tackle on the reception for a Blue Devil touchdown.
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Down by 10 and needing a score, Hartman marched the Deacs down the field with several big-time passes. The redshirt junior completed two-straight passes to Morin for a combined 47 yards. Then, on third down after two rushes, Hartman found Donavon Greene wide open in the middle of the end zone for the score.
After a big hit by Ryan Smenda Jr. that broke up a key pass, Wake Forest forced a punt, giving them a chance to retake the lead. Hartman then made quick work of the Duke defense with a 20-yard completion to Ke’Shawn Williams and an arching 31-yard pass to Perry. Inside the Blue Devils’ red zone, two-straight incompletions brought out Matthew Dennis for a 32-yard kick, which tied the game at 17 with just under two minutes remaining in the half.
With completions of 13, 19 and 11 yards, Leonard and the Blue Devils made their way inside the Deacons’ red zone with second remaining in the half. But, after two-straight incompletions, Pelino drilled a 33-yard field goal to give Duke the three-point lead going into halftime.
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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.