North Carolina beats Syracuse on road

Posted 8:18AM on Sunday 8th September 2002 ( 22 years ago )

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Darian Durant finally got a grip on the ball, and he stunned Syracuse. Durant, shaking off a bad case of fumble-itis, threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and Dan Orner kicked field goals from 51, 52 and a school-record 55 yards as North Carolina beat the Orangemen 30-22 Saturday night. Durant hit Jarwarski Pollock and Bobby Blizzard in the final 11:25 to end the see-saw game. For a guy who committed six turnovers last week and fumbled twice in the early going against the Orangemen (0-2), those scoring passes were a welcome sight. ``It was a bit of a tough start,'' said Durant, who was 19-for-36 for 284 yards with no interceptions. ``But once we all got on the same page, it was OK.'' Orner was on the right page throughout the night. He equaled the Division I-A record for most 50-yard field goals in a game, set in 1966 by Wyoming's Jerry DePoyster and matched by Wichita State's Sergio Lopez-Chavero in 1984 and Iowa's Tim Douglas in 1998. ``This game was kind of a break-out game for me. Things just kind of fell into place,'' said Orner, a native of Warwick, N.Y. ``Those were the longest field goals I've ever kicked in a game.'' North Carolina (1-1) atoned for a miserable nine-turnover performance in its opening loss to Miami of Ohio, while Syracuse had a seven-game winning streak at the Carrier Dome stopped. And it was Durant who led the Tar Heels back after Syracuse had taken a 22-16 lead. He scooted up the middle for 17 yards on a draw play that went just past midfield. After a long pass failed, Durant came right back with another, hitting Pollock for a 48-yard score over the middle. Pollock caught the ball between defenders Latroy Oliver and Steve Gregory at the Syracuse 10, then bulled his way in for the score and a 23-22 lead with 11:25 left. After the Orangemen went three-and-out, Durant guided a 14-play, 77-yard drive that lasted 7:17. Durant hit Sam Aiken with a 22-yard pass on third-and-16, picked up 12 yards on a draw play, then hit Blizzard with a 12-yard scoring pass over the middle. North Carolina won because it excelled on third down, converting 10 of 19 opportunities, including four straight on that decisive drive. The Orangemen were 3-for-9. ``We blew our opportunity in the fourth quarter,'' said Syracuse quarterback R.J. Anderson, who completed only four passes for 71 yards, bringing his total for two games to 12-for-35 for 199 yards and no touchdowns. ``That put the game out of reach. When you don't cash in, this is what happens.'' Orner kicked his 55-yarder midway through the third to give the Tar Heels a 16-14 lead in the seesaw battle. That surpassed the 54-yarder Kenny Miller made against Florida State in 1985 as the longest in Tar Heels history. But the Orangemen came back to score in six plays. Anderson hit Johnnie Morant for 37 yards over the middle to the Carolina 13. A pass-interference call against Michael Waddell on third down set up Anderson's 1-yard touchdown run. Freshman tailback Damien Rhodes then hit David Tyree for the 2-point conversion pass to put Syracuse ahead 22-16. Orner gave North Carolina a 3-0 lead early in the first with his 52-yarder. It came after some shaky play by both teams. Tar Heels safety DeFonte Coleman intercepted Anderson's first pass of the game and returned it 11 yards to the Syracuse 36. Durant then fumbled the second-down snap, but Brandon Russell fell on it at the 35 for a 4-yard gain to set up Orner's kick. Willie Parker gave the Tar Heels a 10-0 lead on the final play of the first quarter, going around the left side for 50 yards. Syracuse rallied quickly, scoring twice in a span of 68 seconds to take a 14-10 lead. The Orangemen, who failed to sustain any long scoring drives in their season-opening 42-21 loss at BYU, finally put one together early in the second quarter, going 84 yards in 14 plays in 5:26. Rhodes gained 27 yards on four carries and Anderson combined twice with tight end Joe Donnelly for 10 and 14 yards on key third downs to keep the drive going. Walter Reyes scored on a 1-yard run with 9:24 left to make it 10-7. When Carolina got the ball back, Durant fumbled again, this time on a scramble, and this time Will Hunter recovered for the Orangemen. Morant scored on a 14-yard reverse on the next play.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/9/190362