CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — North Carolina’s punt return unit correctly had identified the gamble that was unfolding from Virginia, pointing out before the snap that a fake punt was coming on a crucial fourth-and-3 situation with two minutes remaining Saturday night.
The Tar Heels weren’t fooled by the trickery and had the play design covered, hemming in Virginia’s Keytaon Thompson briefly. All of which forced him to change his intended course and attempt to escape in the other direction as only a last resort.
Thompson made enough out of seemingly nothing to convert the decisive first down there and clinch the Cavaliers’ 44-41 upset victory in Atlantic Coast Conference football, the final haunting moment that turned against No. 15 North Carolina on a cursed Halloween at Scott Stadium.
“We’ve got to start winning these games that are close at the end,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. “It’s not good enough to fight back and be close. Close doesn’t help you. You’ve got to win, and any loss is disappointing. This one’s disappointing.”
For all of the glowing numbers — underlined by career-best performances from quarterback Sam Howell (443 passing yards and four touchdowns) and top target Dyami Brown (11 catches for 240 yards and three touchdowns) — disaster after disaster left the Tar Heels digesting another unexpectedly frightful night on the road, while dropping Mack Brown to 3-9 all-time against Virginia.
North Carolina (4-2 overall, 4-2 ACC) nearly erased a 21-point, second-half deficit here during the concluding 20 minutes of game time, the type of timely rally reminiscent of the considerable comeback that fell just short two weeks ago in a narrow upset loss at struggling Florida State.
“We made a lot of mistakes in this game,” Howell said. “We left a lot of points out there.”
Howell’s 10- and 13-yard touchdown tosses to Dyami Brown, sandwiched around linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel’s interception of Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong, had the Tar Heels surging from down 41-20 to within 41-34 of the previously slumping Cavaliers (2-4, 2-4) by early in the fourth quarter.
Later, with Howell feeding Dyami Brown and North Carolina’s potent offense fast-breaking again, Javonte Williams’ 3-yard touchdown run moved the Tar Heels within 44-41 with 2:51 left. North Carolina’s defense stuffed Thompson for no gain on a third-and-3 near midfield, and Virginia’s ensuing series appeared as if it would end in a three-and-out, thus offering the hot-handed Howell and Co. a final shot with the outcome hanging in the balance.
The Tar Heels’ offense had accumulated 536 total yards by that juncture and never punted, prompting Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall to give the go-ahead on the fake punt.
“We were in position to stop it,” Mack Brown said of Thompson’s role as the upman in the punt formation. “Obviously, he had to bounce and go back the other way, and we lost our contain on the backside and didn’t tackle him. Good play by them.”
In halting its four-game losing slide, Virginia rode a wave of 28 unanswered points to lead 41-20 in the third quarter. That stretch included a train-wreck ending to the first half for North Carolina. Rontavius “Toe” Groves muffed catching a punt that hit him squarely in the chest, setting the table on a short field that produced a quick Cavaliers touchdown with 1:14 remaining before halftime.
Then, Howell sprinted the Tar Heels to the Virginia 2-yard line and the doorstep of the goal line in the closing seconds, only to have his throw behind the line of scrimmage bounce off Dazz Newsome’s hands and become a fumbled lateral as the first half expired. Virginia led 27-20 at halftime.
“I didn’t really give Dazz a catchable ball,” Howell said. “I should’ve taken something off of it. I kind of threw a hard ball at him, a little bit behind him.”
Howell’s 23-for-28 passing line highlighted by explosive first-half touchdowns of 76 yards (to Khafre Brown) and 54 yards (to older brother Dyami Brown) hinted at near perfection, and Mack Brown called his play some of the most proficient quarterbacking he has witnessed in his 43 years of coaching.
But after Virginia went ahead 34-20 in the second half on Wayne Taulapapa’s short touchdown run, Howell was corralled outside of the pocket by Charles Snowden and fumbled, giving the Cavaliers had another short field to work with. They capitalized to lead 41-20.
“We had two turnovers,” Mack Brown said. “We had a quarterback fumble that led to points, so we didn’t step up with sudden change defense very well. We dropped the punt right before the half where they scored very easily. That was a 20- and a 30-yard drive (for Virginia touchdowns).”
Snowden, the 6-foot-7 linebacker, proved to be a pass-rushing menace. He collected 10 tackles on the night and sacked Howell four times. Afterward, Snowden called Virginia’s fourth straight defeat of North Carolina particularly sweet. He grew up a Tar Heels fan and keeps a photo of himself with basketball coach Roy Williams.
Armstrong’s creativity fueled the Cavaliers. The crafty lefty quarterback threw for 208 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 66 yards and another score. He extended plays and evaded trouble with his mobile ability, before leaving due to injury in the final three minutes.
During the early going, Armstrong’s 71-yard touchdown pass to running back Shane Simpson put Virginia ahead 13-10, marking the first time that the Cavaliers have held a first-quarter lead this season. North Carolina linebacker Chazz Surratt took a terrible angle while arriving late in coverage, and Simpson raced away along the sideline.
“Obviously, we’re a big fourth-quarter team,” Gemmel said. “I think we just need to come out faster in the first half and do better on special teams.”
Virginia defeated an opponent ranked among the top 15 for the first time in nine years.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Fright night: Mistakes curse UNC in haunting Halloween loss to Virginia
