North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
East Tennessee State
Wolfpack Shut Out East Tennessee State, 34-0
8/31/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug 31, 2002
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.--Many fans were just shutting down their pre-game tailgate parties on Saturday night when 24th ranked NC State scored all the points it would need to defeat East Tennessee State. Scooping up a low kick on the second hop, sophomore cornerback Lamont Reid raced 90 yards untouched on the opening kickoff, putting the Pack in front just 14 seconds into the game. From that point on, there was no looking back for NC State (2-0), which posted a one-sided 34-0 victory in a game that was played in a steady rain at Carter-Finley Stadium
"The best thing that happened was taking the opening kickoff back for a score," said Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato. "That really set the tone for the game."
It also sent a message that East Tennessee (0-1) would not pull a repeat of 1987 when it recorded the biggest football victory in school history by stunning the Pack 29-14. There would be no upsets on this night--not by a long shot.
Reid's return marked the first time since 1980 that NC State had taken the opening kickoff back for a score. It also set the stage for the Wolfpack defense to totally dominate an ETSU offensive unit that lost nine of 11 starters from last year's 6-5 team. The Buccaneers never really threatened to score while accumulating just 81 yards of total offense. The option oriented Bucs, who used three quarterbacks in the game including former NC State signal caller Jatavis Sanders, completed just 1-of-14 pass attempts on the night.
"It's real good for the defense to go out and pitch a shutout. That's our goal every week," said Wolfpack senior linebacker Dantonio Burnette.
With the playing conditions rapidly deteriorating because of the rain, both offensive units had their share of misfires. Still, the Wolfpack was able to generate enough big plays to turn this one into a laugher by halftime. Following Reid's return, tailback Greg Golden tallied his first rushing touchdown from three yards out to give the Pack a 14-0 advantage with 7:59 left in the opening period.
NC State then turned to a little trickery to get Golden into the end zone again. "Rooster" was the call, meaning quarterback Philip Rivers placed the ball between Golden's legs from a tight formation. With the East Tennessee defense wondering exactly where the football was, Golden bolted up the middle from 14 yards out to make it a 21-0 game with 14:31 left in the second quarter.
Golden led the Wolfpack's rushing attack with 66 yards on just eight carries, an average of 8.2 yards per try.
Freshman T.A. McLendon also made his presence known by rushing for 55 yards in nine carries. With 8:39 left in the third, McLendon recorded his first career touchdown on a five-yard run to give NC State a 28-0 advantage. Later, quarterback Philip Rivers scored on a four-yard scamper to complete the scoring. With his team comfortably ahead 34-0 late in the third, Amato gave most of his starters the rest of the night off.
In connecting on 10-of-12 passes for 145 yards, Rivers moved past Terry Harvey into second place on NC State's all-time passing list. He now trails Jamie Barnette by just 3,400 yards. But on this night, in the rain against East Tennessee State, the Wolfpack didn't need a Rivers-led miracle to chalk up a win.
As it turned out, all they really needed was Lamont Reid's scintillating run on the opening kickoff.
"That opening kickoff was really big for us," Burnette said. "During special teams meetings, coach Holliday talks about everybody getting on their blocks. But every week, we seem to have one guy missing a block that prevents us from taking it to the house. Tonight, everybody stayed with their blocks and Lamont took it all the way. That was a real good boost for the whole team."
Said Amato: "We tell our players on kickoff returns, `if you don't let your man make the tackle, we'll score, because we've got a very capable return man back there.' It was money tonight on that."
