College Sports
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Tar Heels may at last have players, coaches
AP Photo
Linebacker Bruce Carter, who blocked three punts for UNC, flies through the air in an attempt to tackle Donald Brown.
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Published: October 5, 2008
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina kept looking for some kind of sign that it had finally escaped the football darkness.
Last night, the signs came from everywhere.
Linebacker Bruce Carter blocked three straight punts. Converted safety Shaun Draughn revived memories of slashing tailbacks from days long gone, his signature move a 39-yard draw play through the guts of Connecticut's queasy defense. Marvin Austin, a 300-pound defensive tackle, hauled an intercepted pass 23 yards, his thighs churning in molasses-slow motion as he neared the end zone.
If those episodes or the 38-12 score failed to satisfy chronic doubters, the event provided a literal symbol. Early in the third quarter, the lights went out on the north side of Kenan Stadium, elongating the players' shadows and forcing a 22-minute delay.
Backs and receivers tossed footballs. Fans revived an ancient adolescent ritual, "The Wave." The elaborate sound system delivered an absurd song from the 1974 recycle bin, Kung Fu Fighting, which was originally recorded as the B side of a single in the final 10 minutes of rented studio time.
The Carolina version of that radio staple didn't last 10 minutes. The impact of Carolina's unusual victory should last for quite some time, coming on the heels of a 28-24 win at Miami and coming against the No. 24 team in the AP poll. Nine straight ranked teams had dusted off the Tar Heels, a streak stretching over the previous three seasons and predating Coach Butch Davis' arrival in late 2006.
Maybe Connecticut (5-1) didn't belong there, its schedule diluted with Hofstra and Temple. Maybe Carolina (4-1) won't get there in the next poll, pending further evidence from the showdown here against Notre Dame next Saturday afternoon.
A more likely maybe: The Tar Heels have enough talented players and enough mastery of the coaches' basic lessons to cash in regularly at the competition window.
After losing close games from all angles, they have started learning how to win under odd circumstances. Carolina rallied from 10 points down in the second half at Miami behind third-string quarterback Cam Sexton. UConn's Donald Brown, the national leader, rushed for 161 yards last night. The Huskies controlled the ball for 84 plays to Carolina's 49 and outgained the Tar Heels 378 yards to 263, yet the blowout arrived from the other direction.
That can happen. The ball takes funny bounces, especially when a 6-3 linebacker from Havelock nicks or swats a punt three times and sets a school record. Carter's exploits confounded Randy Edsall, the UConn coach.
"It was surprising because we hadn't had any problems with it," Edsall said.
Carter is a surprisingly unusual fellow. He blocked Miami's last punt the previous week, giving him blocks on four straight punt plays. That might qualify as a previously unrecorded record.
"I'm able to get a good jump on the ball," Carter said. "With all the guys on the line going hard, you never know who's going to open up."
One of Carter's blocks wound up in the end zone, where sophomore Matt Merletti pounced on it and staked Carolina to a 17-3 halftime lead.
Merletti always had an instinct for rough-and-tumble chaos. He was only 7 when he took up football, immediately after other soccer parents complained about him tackling their little kickers. Merletti understood Coach Davis' sideline moods before any other Tar Heel. He grew up in Cleveland and worked as a ball boy when Davis coached the Browns.
The ball winds up in funny places, especially when the projected tailback, Greg Little, stands up and develops an infatuation with hesitation. Davis and his assistants, like their predecessors, keep searching for the real thing.
The latest candidate: sophomore Draughn, the 205-pound son of two ministers from Tarboro. During his childhood, Draughn pulled for the Dallas Cowboys, who once employed assistant coach Butch Davis.
Draughn rushed for 1,452 yards and scored 21 touchdowns as a prep senior, but he majored in special teams last year and concluded spring practice as a safety. No more. He gained 109 yards on 19 carries against UConn, a prelude to something else, perhaps something big.
"It felt good," Draughn said. "I'm the first back to do it. I wanted to give the team a spark when I go in the game. I've got the swagger. I make something happen. Over 100 yards -- it's a milestone for the team."
Milestones beat millstones every time, in darkness or in light.
■ Lenox Rawlings can be reached at lrawlings@wsjournal.com
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