Courtesy of Miami Athletics:
Through the first two games of the season, Miami’s offense has scored plenty and put up a series of gaudy, record-breaking numbers.
That trend continued early Friday when the fifth-ranked Hurricanes visited Wake Forest.
On this night, though, Miami would need every single bit of its offensive prowess to weather an upset-minded Wake Forest team that wasn’t daunted by a 24-point second-half deficit.
Still, a record-breaking performance by quarterback Darian Mensah and a well-timed interception by Ethan O’Connor in the game’s final minutes helped the Hurricanes earn a 33-20 win over the Deamon Deacons in a crucial ACC matchup.
Mensah was 30 of 34 for 220 yards and set new Miami and ACC records for both single-game completions with 24 and consecutive completions in multiple games with 35.
Wide receiver Malachi Toney, meanwhile, finished with 12 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown and Mark Fletcher Jr. had 16 carries for 85 yards with a score. He also surpassed the 2,500-yard mark for his career.
The Hurricanes (3-0, 2-0 ACC) opened the game the way they opened their first two: with a touchdown.
Miami took the opening kick and marched down the field on a methodical, 14-play, 92-yard drive that took 7:33 off the clock and ended when Mensah connected with Joshua Moore on a 9-yard scoring pass.
But previously unbeaten Wake Forest answered.
The Demon Deacons (2-1, 0-1) became the first opposing offense to score on the Miami defense this season, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive when quarterback Gio Lopez connected with Kamrean Johnson on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Then came Miami’s offensive onslaught.
The Hurricanes scored 24 unanswered points and pushed their lead to 31-7 with 8:56 left in the third quarter while Mensah continued his ascent in both the Miami and ACC record books.
First came the 21-yard touchdown pass to Elija Lofton. Then Fletcher scored on a 1-yard run. That was followed by a 27-yard field goal from Jake Weinberg just before halftime and continued when, on Miami’s first drive of the second half, Mensah tossed a 2-yard scoring pass to Toney that sent a good number of Wake Forest fans to the exits.
Those fans would miss the Demon Deacons’ attempt at a comeback.
Wake Forest scored a pair of unanswered touchdowns to cut the deficit to 31-20 after Lopez engineered a pair of scoring drives that ended with the signal caller completing scoring passes to Jack Foley and Carlos Hernandez.
The Demon Deacons put together another drive late, but O’Connor’s interception – Miami’s first takeaway of the season – ended any thought of an upset and helped keep the Hurricanes unbeaten.
Through the first two games of the season, Miami’s offense has scored plenty and put up a series of gaudy, record-breaking numbers.
That trend continued early Friday when the fifth-ranked Hurricanes visited Wake Forest.
On this night, though, Miami would need every single bit of its offensive prowess to weather an upset-minded Wake Forest team that wasn’t daunted by a 24-point second-half deficit.
Still, a record-breaking performance by quarterback Darian Mensah and a well-timed interception by Ethan O’Connor in the game’s final minutes helped the Hurricanes earn a 33-20 win over the Deamon Deacons in a crucial ACC matchup.
Mensah was 30 of 34 for 220 yards and set new Miami and ACC records for both single-game completions with 24 and consecutive completions in multiple games with 35.
Wide receiver Malachi Toney, meanwhile, finished with 12 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown and Mark Fletcher Jr. had 16 carries for 85 yards with a score. He also surpassed the 2,500-yard mark for his career.
The Hurricanes (3-0, 2-0 ACC) opened the game the way they opened their first two: with a touchdown.
Miami took the opening kick and marched down the field on a methodical, 14-play, 92-yard drive that took 7:33 off the clock and ended when Mensah connected with Joshua Moore on a 9-yard scoring pass.
But previously unbeaten Wake Forest answered.
The Demon Deacons (2-1, 0-1) became the first opposing offense to score on the Miami defense this season, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive when quarterback Gio Lopez connected with Kamrean Johnson on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Then came Miami’s offensive onslaught.
The Hurricanes scored 24 unanswered points and pushed their lead to 31-7 with 8:56 left in the third quarter while Mensah continued his ascent in both the Miami and ACC record books.
First came the 21-yard touchdown pass to Elija Lofton. Then Fletcher scored on a 1-yard run. That was followed by a 27-yard field goal from Jake Weinberg just before halftime and continued when, on Miami’s first drive of the second half, Mensah tossed a 2-yard scoring pass to Toney that sent a good number of Wake Forest fans to the exits.
Those fans would miss the Demon Deacons’ attempt at a comeback.
Wake Forest scored a pair of unanswered touchdowns to cut the deficit to 31-20 after Lopez engineered a pair of scoring drives that ended with the signal caller completing scoring passes to Jack Foley and Carlos Hernandez.
The Demon Deacons put together another drive late, but O’Connor’s interception – Miami’s first takeaway of the season – ended any thought of an upset and helped keep the Hurricanes unbeaten.
