Radford Tops the Tar Heels
Radford, Va (10/3/10) - The last time UNC and Radford met, neither teams could get their offense moving. With both the Tar Heels’ and the Highlanders’ defense showing a strong performance that day, no offense ever saw the end-zone. The only score of the game was when UNC got a safety on Radford late in the 4th quarter, resulting in a 2 to 0 victory for the Tar Heels.
This was not the case this year as both teams found their way to the end-zone all throughout the game. On their opening drive, the Tar Heels were forced to a three and out, giving Radford the ball on their own 35. On their opening play, the Highlanders’ quarterback, Shawn Grahm, threw a 30 yard pass to wide receiver John Webb, who would run it in for the first score of the game. After forcing UNC to another three and out, Radford’s offense brought the ball to the Tar Heels’ 20 before turning the ball back over to UNC with a fumble.
UNC eventually scored and found a way to keep their offense clicking, forcing Radford to play catch up throughout most of the game. Late in the 4th quarter, linebacker Eric Zimmet picked off a pass by UNC’s quarterback Josh Broach and returned it for a touch down, putting Radford up 22 to 11. The Highlanders seemed to have the game locked up but UNC was quick to find the end-zone again, making the score 22 to 18. Radford then attempted to run out the clock but was stopped by UNC’s defense, giving the Tar Heels the ball on Radford’s 40 with a minute left in the game.
The Tar Heels would push their way to the Radford 5, but the Highlanders’ defense had no intention of giving up the game. UNC made three attempts to get into the end-zone but failed to move the ball an inch. Finally, with only 6 seconds left in regulation, UNC made one final attempt to score. With all receivers covered, quarterback Josh Broach attempted to scramble for the end-zone but was stopped a yard short with a hard hit by strong safety, Jacob Nichols. This strong defensive stop sealed the game with Radford on top 22 to 18. The Highlander’s are now 1 and 0 in the conference.