Eagles not ready to pack it in

BC 14, N.C. State 10

They hold on late for third victory

November 13, 2011|By Mark Blaudschun, Globe Staff

Donnie Fletcher preserved BCs lead with an end-zone interception in the… (Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff )

In the end, nothing bothered them.

Not a 2-7 record coming into their last home game of the season.

Not an offense that was held to 3 yards in the second half.

Not the startling sight of All-America middle linebacker Luke Kuechly being temporarily knocked out of the game with an elbow injury in the second half.

And not a North Carolina State team, led by former Boston College coach Tom O’Brien, that was coming off a 13-0 shutout of North Carolina and staged a second-half comeback yesterday.

No, the BC Eagles had worked too hard to shed the bad taste left by last week’s pounding by Florida State.

And they were not about to squander a 14-3 halftime lead and leave Alumni Stadium with a loss.

The Eagles made the big defensive plays when needed in the second half and held on for a 14-10 victory before 33,712 at Alumni Stadium on a chilly but sunny day.

“Obviously we are very happy to get a victory. It wasn’t pretty but we made some plays,’’ said coach Frank Spaziani. “We made a play at the end and we won.’’

BC, now 2-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, scored a touchdown on the opening drive and added a scoring pass from Chase Rettig in the second quarter to lead at halftime for only the fourth time this season.

The play at the end that sealed it was a tipped pass on fourth down by defensive end Max Holloway, ending the Wolfpack’s final possession at the BC 27.

The Eagles took over with 1:10 remaining and took a knee twice. The celebration was warranted, but also short-lived with preparation starting today for next Saturday’s visit to Notre Dame.

Spaziani tried to get the Eagles into an aggressive mind-set all week, following a 38-7 embarrassment against Florida State on national television. Playing N.C. State, which uses a system similar to BC’s, helped.

Spaziani looked for any extra advantage during practice, including simulating game noise and fiddling with Wildcat schemes to utilize the running ability of backup quarterback Josh Bordner, who had some success in his BC debut last week.

BC needed only five plays to march 66 yards for the opening touchdown. The key play was a 41-yard pass from Rettig to wide receiver Alex Amidon, putting the Eagles at the N.C. State 9. Two plays later, Bordner went up the middle for a 3-yard run to give BC a 7-0 lead.

The Eagles expanded their lead to 14-3 with 1:40 left in the first half. Rettig ended a 10-play, 59-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass down the middle to Colin Larmond Jr.

The Eagles received a scare on the first series of the third quarter when Kuechly injured his right elbow. He returned to the field on the Wolfpack’s next possession and finished with 18 tackles (nine solo), his 32d straight game in double digits.