N.C. State whips Richmond

Posted 7:44AM on Sunday 5th September 2004 ( 20 years ago )

RALEIGH, N.C. - Jay Davis got his first completion on his first play. After that, he settled in and played like a veteran. Davis threw two touchdown passes in his first chance as Philip Rivers' replacement, leading North Carolina State past Division I-AA Richmond 42-0 Saturday night in a game marred by a deadly shooting in a nearby parking lot. One person died at the scene and another died at the hospital, said Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison. No one else was injured in the incident, which took place on the north side of Carter-Finley Stadium. Several police cars remained at the scene well after the completion of the game. Harrison said neither of the victims were students at the school, and the coaches and players weren't told about the deaths. ``I have no idea what you're talking about,'' Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato said. On the field, the Wolfpack blocked a punt for a TD and had two interceptions in a dominating performance, despite missing two of their best players. Tramain Hall and Brian Clark each caught scoring passes, and John Deraney kicked two field goals. Davis finished 16-of-22 for 168 yards, almost matching his total from the previous two seasons (177). ``I made some mistakes, especially in the red zone, that I can't do again,'' Davis said. ``If I can improve those, I'll be all right.'' N.C. State was without star tailback T.A. McLendon, who sat out with a strained hamstring. Rover Andre Maddox, the leading returning tackler a year ago, missed the game with the same injury. They were hardly missed. The Spiders, 2-9 last season, managed only 167 total yards in their first game under new coach Dave Clawson and advanced past midfield only three times. ``I wanted to come into this game and see this team compete,'' Clawson said. ``The effort for us was great, we just did not make enough plays. The defense missed too many tackles, and on offense, we could not get our receivers open.'' Rivers, now a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers, set an NCAA record with 51 career starts at N.C. State, leaving as the second-leading passer in NCAA history with 13,484 yards. He led his team to victory and was named MVP in all five bowl games in which he played, including the Senior Bowl. A night before the game, Rivers called a few of his old teammates including Davis and wished them all luck. ``He's doing good,'' Amato said of Rivers. ``We'll have some great memories of that young man.'' Davis beat out Marcus Stone for the job in preseason practice and looked sharp on Saturday against the obviously less-talented Spiders. He completed six of his first seven passes, including an 11-yarder to Richard Washington on fourth-and-3 on the second possession. ``There were some questions going into the game about how I would handle it,'' Davis said. ``I think I handled it pretty well. You could say I was a little bit nervous, but once I got in the game, I was OK. I just kind of gradually got better.'' Later in the first quarter, he threw a 14-yard pass to John Ritcher on third-and-7, then capped the drive with a 17-yard scoring toss to Hall. Davis' second TD pass was a beauty. He lofted a perfect spiral toward the right sideline, hitting Clark in the corner of the end zone. ``I guess any time you put six points on the board, it's a great throw,'' Davis quipped. Stone took over in the second half and was 8 for 10 for 61 yards. Richmond's best scoring opportunity came after Reggie Davis fumbled the kickoff to start the second half, and Stephen Howell recovered for the Spiders at the 31. After Stacy Tutt converted one fourth down with a quarterback sneak to keep the drive alive, Joseph Fore missed a 43-yard field goal. Richmond never threatened again. Tutt completed 10-of-26 passes for 63 yards. ``I think Stacy did a good job against a very good defense,'' Clawson said. ``He made some good plays with his feet, and he ran the huddle just like we wanted him to. N.C. State plays a pressing-type defense, and we just could not get our receivers open off the line of scrimmage.''

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/9/152961