The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/714462
SEPTEMBER 2016 ■ 35 50 1966 2016 NC State's School of Textiles, the Wolfpack's state- of-the-art steel and concrete stadium debuted in front of a crowd of 40,000 spectators. It was a dream come true for longtime head coach Earle Edwards, who pushed to get a new stadium for football in the same manner basketball coach Everett Case worked to get Reynolds Coliseum. Sociology student Dianne Davis was named "Miss Carter Stadium," and fundraiser Walker Martin was honored for his tireless efforts to raise $1.75 million of the $3.7 million project. South Carolina won the game, however, 31-21. Nov. 10, 1979: Penn State 9, NC State 7 — After NC State engineered a remarkable 72-yard scoring drive to take a 7-6 lead against Penn State with 1:18 to play, the Nittany Lions had one last chance to win the game. Backed up on a fourth-and-24, head coach Joe Paterno's offense converted with a 36-yard pass. With one second to play, kicker Herb Menhardt's wobbly field goal attempt from 54 yards glanced off the upright and fell through to give Penn State a dramatic victory and the Wolfpack its most heart - breaking home defeat. Sept. 5, 1987: East Carolina 32, NC State 14 — Following a 32-14 victory by East Carolina, some 2,000 Pirate fans came down the grassy bank and stormed the field at Carter-Finley, causing damage to a chain-link fence, the playing surface and the south end zone goal posts. A similar event had occurred in 1985, and a week after the '87 game NC State director of athletics Jim Valvano cancelled all future home games in the rivalry. The two teams met again at the 1992 Peach Bowl in Atlanta and in a neutral-site game in Charlotte in 1996. The Pirates returned to Carter- Finley in 1997. Nov. 2, 2002, Georgia Tech 24, NC State 17 — The Pack was 9-0 and ranked No. 10 in the coun - try, and NCSU seemingly had control early in the fourth quarter with a 17-9 lead and an apparent third-down stop after sacking Georgia Tech quar- terback A.J. Suggs. However, the play was nullified by a delay of game penalty on the Jackets. They would convert the third-and-19 from its own 16 on the next play and drive for a tying score. The Jackets would score on its next drive to take the lead, and NCSU had two potential game-tying drives falter in Georgia Tech territory, including a fumble by running back T.A. McLendon at the Georgia Tech 31. Nov. 22, 2003: Maryland 26, NC State 24 — Quarterback Philip Rivers's final home game was set up perfectly to make the NC State graduate, the ACC's all-time passing leader and happily married father of (then) two the ultimate hero. His No. 17 jersey was retired just before he ran out onto the field to start his NCAA-record 51st game at quarterback. But the Wolfpack was facing nemesis Maryland on the field and could not make a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead stick. Moments after he had missed an extra point that would have tied the game, on a possession set up by a T.A. McLendon fumble, Maryland kicker Nick Novak nailed a 43-yard field goal to give his team a 26-24 victory, the fourth consecutive season the Terrapins had rallied in the final moments to beat Rivers' Wolfpack. Don was a wide receiver), quarterback and punter Johnny Evans, ACC career rushing leader Ted Brown, center Jim Ritcher, run- ning back Joe McIntosh, quarterback Erik Kramer, signal-caller Jamie Barnette, wide receiver Torry Holt, all-time ACC career passing leader Philip Rivers, and defensive end and eventual No. 1 NFL Draft pick Mario Williams, just to name a few. Victories over Florida and Penn State, a winning streak against Florida State, matchups against North Carolina and the on-again, off-again series with East Caro- lina have generated excitement that is pal- pable on Saturday afternoons in the fall at Carter-Finley Stadium. This coming season, more than 36,000 sea- son tickets have been sold, and Notre Dame, perhaps the biggest name in college football history, makes its first appearance in Raleigh. "For me, it was always a special place to play," Rivers said when he returned to Ra- leigh for this year's Kay Yow Spring Game. "A lot of my teammates in San Diego or other players we run into that played here on opposing teams have said what a neat place to play it is. "They thought it was good atmosphere, with all those fans down low right on top of them like they are part of the bench. The fact that we can call it ours, with the atmo- sphere it has, is really awesome." Of all the great moments during its 50 years, there was probably none greater than Sept. 12, 1998, when the Wolfpack beat No. 2 ranked Florida State, thanks to an in- credible performance by Holt, who caught nine passes and returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown in the biggest home vic- tory in Carter-Finley's history. "What always comes to mind for me when I think of Carter-Finley is the sea of red you see in the stands," Holt said. "It was like that for the Florida State game — red everywhere you looked." And the individual parts that make up that sea of red on autumn Saturdays are the ones responsible for making Edwards's dream of a big-time home for Wolfpack football a re- ality, with their donations, their purchases of lifetime seating rights and their continued at- tendance through the best and worst of times. Fittingly, Edwards ashes were spread on the playing surface after he died in Febru- ary 1997. The stadium is both his lasting legacy and his final resting place. ■ ANNABELLE MYERS NC STATE ASSISTANT ATHLETICS DIRECTOR FOR COMMUNICATIONS Annabelle Myers's primary responsibility since 1998 has been overseeing coverage for the football program. "Nothing should top the memory of the sheets of water pouring down the windows of the old press box in the 1999 South Carolina game, or the year we spent in the temporary press box while Vaughn Towers was being constructed in 2004. I had to sweep water with a push broom off the floor before the Ohio State game. And, of course, there have been many fun, mid - field postgame interviews after big wins that stand out. "But the one memory that stands out the most in my mind was on Nov. 22, 2003 and the pregame ceremonies before the Maryland game. There is always so much go- ing on before a game so it's almost impossible for me to get down on the field. That day, coach Chuck Amato had de- cided to do a pregame ceremony to retire Philip Rivers's jersey. "I remember standing behind our stats crew in the 'Double- Wide in the Sky' watching Philip and his wife Tiffany and baby Halle come out and a throng of photographers surrounding them. Philip was wearing his graduation cap and it suddenly hit me that this was his last home game. Having a four-year starter at quarterback is pretty rare, and I had gotten to know him and his family well over that time. "He was such a unique and special young man, and I knew that working with a student-athlete like that was pretty much a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity. I didn't want to be unprofessional, but I got a little emotional and had to duck back to the copy area to compose myself." Philip Rivers's last home game in 2003 featured his jersey retirement. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN CARTER-FINLEY MEMORIES