The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 50 1966 2016 CAULTON TUDOR SPORTSWRITER Caulton Tudor is an award-winning columnist who spent almost 45 years in the newspaper business with The Raleigh Times and The Raleigh News & Ob- server. He now writes for WRAL.com. "Over almost 50 years of covering and/or watching games and entertainment events in Carter-Finley Sta- dium, it's a bit strange the things you remember best. "One, for certain, is the first game of the Lou Holtz coaching era in September of 1972, and not because it was a resounding victory. In fact, it ended in a 24-24 tie against then-ACC rival Maryland. "Fans and media often called tie football games the most boring and uneventful of all sporting events. That's probably why we don't see them any longer at the college level and very rarely in the pros. "But that night against Maryland was different in ev- ery way imaginable. Wolfpack fans were immediately mesmerized as much by Holtz' unpredictable, cutting- edge Twin Veer offense as they were by his magnetic personality and machine-gun speaking delivery with accompanying magic tricks. "Few ACC fans had ever seen anything remotely close to the option, quick-strike tactics Holtz and his staff brought in from William & Mary. The offensive was so fast-paced that early on, it took almost as much of a toll on State's defensive stamina as that of the opponents. "After having not placed a single player on the All- ACC offensive teams in 1970 or 1971, and only offen- sive lineman Don Jordan in 1969, that '72 debut under Holtz ended with quarterback Bruce Shaw, fullback Stan Fritts, running back Willie Burden, wideout Pat Kenney, tackle Rick Druschel and All-American guard Bill Yoest all voted to the first team. No other team in the league placed more than two players on the of- fensive all-star unit. "Linebacker Paul Vellano, Maryland's best defender, said after, 'It's like being caught in a crossfire every time they snap the ball.' "The following week, Shaw, Fritts, Burden and his former Raleigh Enloe backfield mate Charles Young keyed a 44-20 rout of Syracuse. That Pack team, picked for sixth in the league preseason outlook, wound up 8-3-1 and smashed West Virginia, 49-13, in the Peach Bowl. Holtz was a runaway winner for ACC Coach of the Year even though Bill Dooley's UNC team won the title with a 7-0 record and an 11-1 overall mark. "Then-Mountaineer coach Bobby Bowden called the performance by State's offense in the bowl a 'game-changer for me.' "He said, 'We went back to the hills and changed ev - erything we were doing on offense. It took us a while to get it all down right, but I found out that offenses had changed a lot that night in Atlanta.'" CARTER-FINLEY MEMORIES Heroics And Heartbreaks FIVE GREAT FINISHES Oct. 1, 1977: NC Sate 24, Maryland 20 — Senior quarterback Johnny Evans engineered a 69-yard drive in the final two minutes of the game, scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 27 seconds remaining on the clock to give his team a 24-20 victory and break Maryland's record 21-game ACC winning streak. Nov. 1, 1986: NC State 23, South Carolina 22 — With no time remaining on the clock, the Wolfpack had one last- ditch opportunity to beat visiting South Carolina, thanks to a Gamecocks' penalty. Using a play literally drawn up in the dirt on the sidelines, future NFL quarterback Erik Kramer found dual-sport star Danny Peebles in the back of the south end zone on the "Hail Mary" throw to give the Wolfpack one of the unlikeliest and most dramatic victories in school history. Sept. 12, 1998: NC State 24, Florida State 7 — Future NFL All-Pro wide receiver Torry Holt caught nine passes and returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown to help the Wolfpack upset No. 2 Florida State in the biggest home win in school history. It was the highest ranked team NC State had beaten since defeating No. 2 Houston in 1967. Even though Seminole quarterback Chris Weinke threw a touchdown pass on the game's first offensive play, the Wolfpack intercepted the future Heisman Trophy winner six times in the game. Nov. 1, 2003: NC State 51, Virginia 37 — Junior running back T.A. McLendon, hobbled with a leg injury through - out the game, exploded on a 38-yard touchdown run with just 23 seconds to play, breaking a 37-37 tie between the ACC's two highest-scoring teams. The Wolfpack scored again following the kickoff on a 26-yard interception return by Victor Stephens in the 51-37 victory. Nov. 26, 2011: NC State 56, Maryland 41 — Mike Glennon threw a stadium-record five touchdown passes and brought the Wolfpack, which had trailed 41-14 late in the third quarter, back for a 56-41 victory against Maryland. Glennon, who also scored a rushing touchdown, helped the Pack score 35 fourth-quarter points, completing the second-largest comeback in ACC history. FIVE DISAPPOINTMENTS Oct. 8, 1966: South Carolina 31, NC State 21 — After years of waiting for a new home, NC State opened the season in its new home, Carter Stadium. Named in honor of brothers Nick and Harry Carter, graduates of Mike Glennon threw a stadium-record five touchdowns and rushed for another while leading the Wolfpack to the second-largest comeback in ACC history during a 56-41 win over Maryland at Carter-Finley in 2011. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN