South Roundup : North Carolina St. Gets Moving in Second Half

John Johnson’s 60-yard interception return for a touchdown put life into sluggish North Carolina State, and the 15th-ranked Wolfpack pulled away from winless Kent State for a 42-22 victory Saturday night at Raleigh, N.C.

Until Johnson’s return, the Wolfpack had been struggling to stop the Golden Flashes’ offense and move consistently against the defense.

Kent State, led by former North Carolina coach Dick Crum, scored on its opening drive, then rallied after deflecting a field goal attempt to get within 18-15 after Patrick Young’s touchdown pass to Shawn Barnes and a two-point conversion run 16 seconds before halftime.

John Taylor blocked Preston Poag’s punt at the N.C. State 28 to set up Young’s touchdown pass to Mark Cunningham with 10:26 left in the third quarter for a 22-18 edge.

N.C. State punted to Kent State after the ensuing kickoff, and two plays after the exchange, Young’s pass for Barnes was intercepted by Johnson, who raced down the left side of the field to score and give N.C. State a 26-22 lead with 9:10 left in the third quarter.

The Wolfpack scored on its next three possessions. Tyrone Jackson scored on a one-yard run late in the third quarter, and Damon Hartman kicked a 25-yard field goal with 10:07 remaining after N.C. State recovered a fumble by Young.

Young lost another fumble to the Wolfpack, and on the next play, freshman Aubrey Shaw ran 48 yards for a touchdown on his first collegiate carry.

Navy 12, North Carolina 7--James Bradley’s 18-yard touchdown run put the Midshipmen ahead for the first time, and free safety Bob Weissenfels’ interception in the end zone with 22 seconds left sealed the victory at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Bradley’s touchdown with 2:34 left capped an 80-yard drive for Navy (1-2), which had relied on field goals to stay in the game. The PAT run failed after Bradley’s score.

The victory ended an eight-game losing streak for the Midshipmen. The Tar Heels are 1-3.

Virginia 24, William & Mary 12--Quarterback Shawn Moore threw for one touchdown and ran for another score as the Cavaliers overcame a sluggish second half to win at Charlottesville, Va.

Moore had both scores in the first half as Virginia built a 21-6 lead by halftime en route to winning for the fourth consecutive time after a season-opening loss to Notre Dame.

William & Mary (2-1-1) came into the game as the No. 19 team in Division I-AA.

Louisville 37, Cincinnati 17--Browning Nagle, who wasn’t expected to start because of a toe injury, threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns as the Cardinals scored on four of its first five possessions to win at Louisville.

Nagle suffered a severely sprained right toe in last week’s loss to No. 9 West Virginia and was expected to be replaced by freshman Jeff Brohm. But Nagle was named the starter after pregame warmups and went on to complete 17 of 28 passes with no interceptions to lead the Cardinals (3-1).

Cincinnati is 1-2-1.

Rice 17, Wake Forest 17--Wilson Hoyle kicked a 27-yard field goal on third down as time ran out, giving the winless Demon Deacons a tie with the Owls at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Demon Deacons (1-3-1) took a 14-10 lead on Phil Barnhill’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 4:26 left.

Rice (1-2-1) went ahead, 17-14, when quarterback Donald Hollas scored from the one. Rice drove from midfield after a 30-yard kickoff return by Trevor Cobb. Hollas kept the drive alive with a 10-yard run on a third-and-eight.