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After a nearly month-long hiatus from known football games, the Farmers came back to play the White and Blue of Chapel Hill for a second time, this time on home grounds. A&M took a break from formal games, and instead worked on training and development of their team. Though I have found no mention of games from October 16th until mid November, it was announced that the Red and White would be playing public practice games daily at 4:15 PM; this lack of games is especially odd when you consider that A&M had originally been advertised as playing as little as two days before the start of the fair, though the opponent ("another strong team") was yet to be named. Games had also been announced in early October against Oak Ridge and Virginia Polytechnic Institute, but neither game ever came to fruition (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 20th, 1901, p. 1; News and Observer, October 11th, 1901, p. 5). UNC, on the other hand, had been busy, winning four straight games, three of those on the road. The 'Varsity defeated Guilford at home 42-0, then traveled southward to defeat Davidson in Charlotte 6-0, on their way to Atlanta. In Atlanta the Tar Heels defeated Georgia 27-0 before continuing south to Auburn, where they beat the Tigers 10-0 just two days later. After non-stop road games from October 26th to November 4th, the UNC boys got a week off from football before taking a short trip over to Raleigh to meet the Farmers.
Local fans and A&M openly vocalized their belief that the rematch would be closer than the first time the two teams had met. "The A. and M. boys say they had had little training at the time," wrote one paper, "and that the contest was in no sense a measure of the relative strength of the teams" (News and Observer, November 12th, 1901, p. 2). Other reports noted that though the Farmers had been practicing hard, "the eleven is handicapped by the fact that their right tackle and college strong man, O. M. Gardner, will, it seems, be unable to take part in the game Saturday, as he is suffering with a lame leg." The article also mentioned that usual starting left half back, Darden, would also be out due to a "wrenched arm." Despite the injuries to the Red and White, "the A. and M. College expects to put up a fast and snappy game against the University" (News and Observer, November 15th, 1901, p. 5).
A&M | North Carolina | |
---|---|---|
Gulley | RE | Cox |
Gardner | RT | Council |
Neal | RG | Hester and Brem |
Council | C | Jones, H. |
Carpenter | LG | Jones |
Turner (Capt.) | LT | Foust |
Kennedy | LE | Makeley |
Asbury | QB | Carr, W. and Graves |
Welch | RHB | Nichols and Donelly |
Darden | LHB | Berkley |
Wooten | FB | Carr, M. |
Ross | SUB | |
Gaither | SUB | |
Brockwell | SUB | |
Isler | SUB | |
Graydon | SUB | |
Foster | SUB |
Period | Time | Description | NCSU | UNC |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 19:40 | UNC - Council - 3 yd Run (W. Carr kick) 4 plays, 17 yards, TOP unk | 0 | 6 |
1st | 11:20 | UNC - Foust - unk yd Run (W. Carr kick) unk plays, unk yards, TOP unk | 0 | 12 |
2nd | 11:15 | UNC - Foust - unk yd Run (Graves kick) unk plays, unk yards, TOP unk | 0 | 18 |
2nd | 2 | UNC - Foust - unk yd Run (Graves kick) unk plays, 50 yards, TOP unk | 0 | 24 |
2nd | ~0 | UNC - Jones - unk yd Defensive Fumble Recovery (Graves kick) 0 plays, unk yards, TOP unk | 0 | 30 |
NCSU | Opponent | Rushing TDs | none | Foust (3), Council (1) | Passing TDs | N/A prior to 1906 | N/A prior to 1906 | Receiving TDs | N/A prior to 1906 | N/A prior to 1906 |
---|---|---|
Defensive TDs | none | Jones (1) |
PATs | none | Graves (3), W. Carr (2) |
2PT: | N/A/ prior to 1958 | N/A/ prior to 1958 |
FGs | none | none |
Safety: | none | none |
Length: 40 (25 / 15) - Duration: unk Attendance: unknown Location: Fair Grounds - Raleigh, NC Temperature: ??? Weather: ??? Wind: ??? |
Despite the day being described as "biting wind" and temperatures for the day peaking somewhere around 45 degrees Fahrenheit, a "large and enthusiastic crowd" watched the game (News and Observer, November 19th, 1901, p. 8; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 17th, 1901, p. 3). The first half of the game lasted 25 minutes, but the second was only 15 minutes, with the game being called early on account of darkness.
A&M won the coin toss and chose to defend the South goal, kicking off first to UNC. Wooten kicked the ball 25 yards away where it was caught by M. Carr, who advanced the ball another 5-10 yards. After a few gains long enough to make a first down, Berkley broke off for a 20-30 yard run to bring the ball to midfield. Eventually, though, "The gains of the visitors were growing less each play," and the Farmers got the ball in "a mix-up" just 7 yards from their goal line. Welch, Gardner, and Turner brought the ball about 10 yards away from their line but then lost it on a fumble which was recovered by the Tar Heels. Berkley gained 5 yards for the visitors, but after holding the Tar Heels for no gain twice, the Farmers were ruled off sides and the Tar Heels were given 10 yards, which put the ball within 3 yards of the Raleigh boys' goal line. Council finally made the touchdown for UNC, and W. Carr kicked the goal to make the score 0-6 after 5 minutes of play.
Wooten kicked off a second time for A&M, delivering "a long drive up the field." Capt. Carr brothers caught the ball and returned it 10 yards before being stopped. Berkley then broke off a long, 35-yard run before being stopped. From there, "The Varsity seesawed for a few minutes and then the ball went over for offside play." Once the home team got the ball, reports slightly differ as to what happened. Both reports agree that the fact the Raleigh boys were advancing the ball "set the rooters wild." The News and Observer wrote that Welch and Turner both started off the Farmers' drive well, each making a 10-yard run, followed by short gains by Wooten and Gardner. The Morning Post, on the other hand, wrote that Welch made a "brilliant 40-yard run" before the ball was returned to the hands of Chapel Hill after a few runs for little gain. The White and Blue gained about 12 yards before a second "mix up" gave the ball back to the Farmers, but the home team was again unable to capitalize on the turnover. During a slow succession of short gains, Asbury, of A&M, "was knocked out, but gamely resumed his place." Eventually, Foust carried the ball over the goal line for the Tar Heels and W. Carr successfully kicked the goal after another 8 minutes and 40 seconds of play.
Neither team scored for the remainder of the second half, though there were "some clever exchanges of long punts" and the Farmers were reportedly "putting up their best game." In the final kick off of the first half, UNC's returner fumbled the kick and let it roll out of bounds. UNC then kicked the ball off to Turner, who caught the ball and advanced it 12 yards. Another 4 yards were made by Welch, and a few other short gains, but UNC got the ball back. Berkley made another long run, this time for 20 yards, but soon thereafter A&M got the ball back. The ball changed hands a few more times, and the half ended after the Farmers had gained about 30 yards through successive rushes with the ball on UNC's 40 yard line.
UNC started the second half with W. Carr kicking the ball 40 yards, to the Farmers' 10 yard line. Wooten caught the ball and made a "splendid run" of 20-25 yards. After gaining a distance described as either a "slight gain" or 20 yards, "the pig skin passed from one team to the other" until eventually Foust returned a kick from A&M, taking advantage of an opening in the line to make a touchdown. Graves made the goal kick for the Tar Heels to make the score 0-18 after just under 4 minutes of play.
Wooten kicked off for A&M for the first time in the second half, delivering a long 40-yard kick. Unfortunately, the powerful kick was marginalized by a 20-yard return by Capt. Carr of UNC. After a few unsuccessful attempts to gain by the Tar Heels, W. Carr punted the ball 30 yards away. The Red and White returned with a kick of their own which went 25 yards. Carr then fumbled but recovered the ball and punted the ball 40 yards, where the ball was fumbled by A&M but recovered by Gulley. "It was rocky playing along here," reported News and Observer, with "both teams fumbling again in succession. The ball," the reporter continued, "passed from one side to the other in a desultory sort of way" until Berkley "made a magnificent dash for 35 yards" which was ended just 15 yards shy of A&M's goal. The Tar Heels slowly worked the ball towards the goal line until Foust carried the ball over and Graves made his second kick, putting the score at 0-24 after 13 minutes of play in the second half.
The final touchdown of the game came quickly for UNC. Wooten kicked the ball 30 yards up the field, where it was recovered by Capt. Carr and kicked 40 yards back upfield. While attempting to punt the ball back towards UNC's goal, Asbury fumbled the ball. UNC's guard, Jones, recovered the fumble and carried the ball over the goal line for UNC's fifth and final touchdown of the game. Graves kicked the final goal kick to make the score 0-30. The game ended not long later, with the ball "well down in the University's territory."
Overall, the Farmers were true to their word; the Tar Heels could not accomplish in two halves what they had done in the previous game in just one. The work of Gardner, Turner, and Welch was congratulated for the Red and White, "but they did not have the team play to back them up, as did Berkley, Foust, Council, and the Carrs of the University." Despite outweighing the Tar Heels, A&M's team had shown a lack of teamwork, but a definite improvement over a month before, making more than just a few lone first downs, despite never scoring (News and Observer, November 17th, 1901, p. 1; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 17th, 1901, p. 3).
Reportedly, A&M was forced to play substitutes in the half back positions, with Richardson, Ross, and Asbury being injured before or during the UNC game (News and Observer, November 21st, 1901, p. 8; News and Observer, November 22nd, 1901, p. 5).
Last updated: 6/4/2024