The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/714462
32 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 50 1966 2016 Last summer, the $14 million Close-King Indoor Practice Facility opened, giving not only the football team, but other field teams like soccer, baseball and softball, a place to work out and practice during inclement weather. Future plans include modernizing the bathrooms and concession stands on the east side of the field. In the distant future, a skybox could be added, on the east side if demand for more luxury seating requires it. "We need to modernize the east side," said Purcell. "The key to making sure we don't have to go through so much at one time is to keep everything at the stadium up to date, which we didn't do for 35 years after it opened." A SEA OF RED Through the years, Carter-Finley has been the home to some of the school's most decorated athletes: placekicker Ger- ald Warren, defensive lineman Dennis Byrd, Amato (who played linebacker for the Pack), running back Willie Burden, the Buckey twins (Dave was a quarterback and FRANCIS COMBS FORMER PLAYER AND CURRENT MEMBER OF THE WOLFPACK RADIO CREW Francis Combs has seen it all. As a spotter and post- game interviewer for NC State's radio broadcast crew, he has worked 588 straight games. The first game of that streak: the 1966 game against South Carolina in the first game ever at Carter-Finley Stadium. "The first thing that comes to mind when I think about it is the Hail Mary to Danny Peebles in 1986 against South Carolina. Erik Kramer was the quar- terback, and it was a 32-yard pass on the last play of the game. What I remember is I had already gone down from the press box to the sideline, thinking we had lost. I try to get down there before the end of the game. "I remember that South Carolina jumped offside and that gave State the extra play. A lot of people listening to the game on the radio heard Wally Ausley said, 'That's it folks, State loses.' They didn't know State had won until the next day. "I was around close to the line of scrimmage. I could tell right away he caught it. I looked into the stands, and South Carolina fans couldn't believe it. They were devastated. "Another one that came to mind is when Daniel Evans took the team down to score and win the game in the last minute against Boston College in 2006. His dad, Johnny, is one of the announcers, and he is trying to announce while everything is going on. "Everyone was jumping around, doing high fives. They showed me on TV because they thought I was Johnny Evans. They picked out the wrong one." CARTER-FINLEY MEMORIES STU COMAN PUBLISHER OF THE WOLFPACKER Stu Coman started The Wolfpacker in 1980. In the 36 years since, he has seen hundreds of Wolfpack football and basketball games in person, yet his fondest memory had little to do with what he saw. "My favorite memory of Carter-Finley Stadium is of a game I didn't attend. "My godson was getting married in the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 12, 1998. It also happened to be the day NC State was playing No. 2-ranked Florida State at Carter-Finley Stadium. "My nephew Creed Wood, who was 17, and my son Jay, who was 12, had been going to every game with me for 10 years, and were huge Wolfpack fans. They didn't want to take any chance of missing some of the game, so Creed drove Jay to Carter-Finley. "I went to the wedding with the goal of seeing the ceremony, hugging the bride and groom at the reception, and then slipping out quickly and joining the boys at the game. "However, my godson forgot his shoes and had to wear tennis shoes during the ceremony. He drove home at his new bride's insistence to get dress shoes for the pictures afterward. "That whole process took well over an hour. By the time I got out of there, it was halftime, and I decided to drive home and watch the second half on TV. It ended up being an incredible game, with NC State winning 24-7. "I could not wait for the boys to get home and tell me about it. I waited and waited, and about an hour and half later they finally showed up. "They had gone on the field after the game and celebrated with all the students. They were dirty and sweaty, and could not stop talking about all that happened. I had never seen them that excited about a Wolfpack football win. "Each had removed clumps of turf from the field as souvenirs. My wife took Jay's and put it in a glass container for him. Creed took his home. "About 10 years later Jay was a student at NC State, and my wife and I decided to move to downtown Durham. We were cleaning up the house, and in his room we found that glass container with the turf. It had been there for over 10 years. Seeing the dried up grass bought a big smile to my face and a few tears to my eyes. Going to football games at Carter-Finley with Creed and Jay was a very special and very cherished part of helping raise both of them." CARTER-FINLEY MEMORIES One year after Torry Holt torched Florida State on the road with an ACC-record five touchdown catches, he led the Pack to a home victory over the second-ranked Seminoles by hauling in nine passes for 135 yards and a touchdown while also returning a punt for a score. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS