North Carolina

Drake Maye, No. 24 North Carolina dial up to take down Duke

Published

9 months ago

November 8, 2023

Drake Maye, No. 24 North Carolina dial up to take down Duke

No. 24 North Carolina has one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in the country. Duke appears in a different situation entering the annual Atlantic Coast Conference date with its neighbor.

Will CJ Stroud break every NFL QB record this season?

The teams meet in the Tar Heels’ home finale Saturday night when the Blue Devils try to get back to their winning ways in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The winner of the game will stay in the mix for a spot in the ACC championship game. This is the third-to-last game of the regular season.

North Carolina (7-2, 3-2 ACC) has lost its last two conference games, while Duke (6-3, 3-2) snapped a two-game slide by topping Wake Forest last week.

This might be the final home game for Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye, who’s expected to enter the 2024 NFL Draft.

Coach Mack Brown said Maye will have the option to go through Senior Day activities.

“It’s not my place to tell him to,” Brown said. “He’s very emotional, and he just wants to win. And you all have seen him, he’s so humble that he doesn’t want attention brought to himself. I think it would be cool for him to walk out there, for everybody to say thank you.”

On Tuesday, Maye said he wouldn’t participate in those ceremonies to avoid being a distraction to the senior football players.

Three different starting quarterbacks have directed Duke victories this season. Most recently, that was freshman Grayson Loftis against the Demon Deacons.

So unless Riley Leonard and Henry Belin IV unexpectedly return from injuries, Loftis will make his second career start — and his first on the road.

“It’s trying to find the things that you know he’s going to be able to go out there and execute,” Duke coach Mike Elko said. “You just don’t want to expose him in really awkward, difficult situations and force him to try to make plays or challenge him to make plays that are difficult. That’s what you’re trying to do as a play caller.”

Duke’s defense rates tops in the ACC in some categories, while North Carolina’s offense is a high-powered unit.

“They’re certainly dangerous and they certainly can hurt us, but we also have a lot of confidence in who we are,” Elko said.

Brown is in his second stint as North Carolina’s coach. He has been in charge in 12 consecutive North Carolina victories in the series, last falling to the Blue Devils in 1989.

“And two of our games (recently with Duke) have come down to the last play of the game,” Brown said. “So this is a great game, a great rivalry. So along with Senior Day, homecoming, a packed house, night game, it should be a tremendous setting for this weekend.”

Last year, the Tar Heels scored the winning points on Maye’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Antoine Green with 16 seconds remaining. The teams combined for 1,078 yards of total offense in last year’s meeting, which had seven lead changes.

Duke and North Carolina have competed for the Victory Bell in football since 1948.

“Everybody knows what this game means and what this game is about around here,” Elko said. “It’s an opportunity for our seniors to go and compete and try to get the bell and bring the bell back here to Durham and so that’s not something that we take lightly. We understand how important that is to our fans, our alumni, and all the people associated with Duke football.”

—Field Level Media

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North Carolina

North Carolina Zoo celebrates its 50 anniversary

Published

7 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

North Carolina Zoo celebrates its 50 anniversary

ASHEBORO, N.C. (WTVD) — The North Carolina Zoo is celebrating 50 years.

Located in Asheboro, the zoo houses about 1,700 animals and over 250 species primarily from Africa and North America.

On social media, NC Zoo wrote Friday:

“Throughout our history, we’ve been home to a diverse array of remarkable animals, dedicated keepers, and passionate employees who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Join us in honoring this milestone by visiting the Zoo in 2024!”

The Zoo also mentioned the Zoo’s first animals, which were two Galapagos tortoises named Tort and Retort.

The post said in part: “These two tortoises symbolize the early days of the North Carolina Zoo and are cherished deeply in our hearts.”

The North Carolina Zoo is one of two state-supported zoos in the country. The other is the Minnesota Zoo.

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North Carolina

NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank

Published

14 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank

With a recent study revealing North Carolina as one of the states with the riskiest roads to travel, some may wonder how safe the roads are here in the Cape Fear region.

MarketWatch Guides, a site that provides “reviews of consumer products and services to help readers make educated purchasing decisions,” focuses in part on car insurance comparisons, vehicle safety and more.

A recent study by the site analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.

More: Distracted driving in Wilmington: How big of a problem is it?

North Carolina’s ranking among the most dangerous

According to the study, the states with the most dangerous drivers based on the factors studied are:

Louisiana – 7.55/10

California – 7.21/10

New Mexico – 6.74/10

Hawaii – 6.73/10

Delaware – 6.67/10

New Jersey – 6.53/10

Mississippi – 6.47/10

North Carolina – 6.39/10

Massachusetts – 6.33/10

Maryland and Texas – 6.26/10

According to the study, North Carolina had 32.5 fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers, but only 2.1% of rough roads, which was the lowest percentage out of the other ranked states.

For a more localized perspective, the North Carolina Department of Transportation releases annual traffic crash facts data. The most recent 2022 report includes a ranking of counties based on several factors, including reported crashes, crash severity, crash rates based on population, registered vehicles and estimated vehicle miles traveled.

The most dangerous county for drivers, ranked at No. 1 for the past five years, was Robeson County. The county had 60 fatal crashes in 2022 with 1,136 non-fatal injury crashes. The rest of the total 4,056 crashes were property-damage-only. The county with the best ranking was Hyde County, coming in at No. 100. The county had one fatal crash in 2022 and 10 non-fatal injury crashes. The county had a total of 45 crashes, the rest of which were property damage only.

More: MyReporter: Which intersections see the most red-light camera violations in Wilmington?

Here’s where the Cape Fear region counties ranked.

Brunswick County

Ranked No. 76 in 2022, Brunswick County had 25 fatal crashes and 715 non-fatal injury crashes. The total crashes for that year were 3,146. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.

New Hanover County

Ranked No. 58, New Hanover had 19 fatal crashes and 1,313 non-fatal injury crashes, both of which went down from 2021. The total crashes in New Hanover were 5,617. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.

Pender County

Ranked No. 47, Pender County had the worst ranking despite having the lowest number of crashes. The county had 12 fatal crashes and 374 non-fatal injury crashes, and a total of 1,156 crashes. The rest of the crashes were property damage only.

Iris Seaton, USA Today Network, contributed to this report.

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North Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby expected to bring rainfall to Virginia & North Carolina

Published

22 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Tropical Storm Debby expected to bring rainfall to Virginia & North Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby already has parts of Florida under tropical storm warnings. The Florida Big Bend is currently under a Hurricane Warning. Debby is forecast to briefly strengthen into a category 1 hurricane as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico where water temperatures are near 90 degrees.

As it continues its path over land it is expected to dial back to tropical storm strength as it reaches the Carolinas mid to late next week. Moderate rainfall is possible for northeast North Carolina and southern Virginia by the end of the week.

Higher amounts of rain are possible for southernmost portions of the Outer Banks but generally models show 2-4 inches for northeast North Carolina and 1-2 inches for southern Virginia through Thursday.

Stay with News 3’s First Warning Weather Team for the latest updates as the storm develops.

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