North Carolina
Hampton's huge day helps North Carolina hold off Wake Forest 31-24 to reach bowl eligibility
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — – Omarion Hampton posted career highs of 35 carries for 244 yards with a key late touchdown that helped North Carolina beat Wake Forest 31-24 on Saturday night, pushing the Tar Heels to bowl eligibility.
It was the latest huge performance for the Tar Heels’ workhorse back, who cracked the 100-yard rushing mark for the eighth straight game. He found the end zone when he hurdled defenders near the goal line and powering through contact with 2:26 left for a 31-17 lead.
Hampton’s scoring run set his career highs for both carries and rushing yards, along with ultimately sending the Tar Heels (6-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a third consecutive win. He also moved into fifth on UNC’s all-time rushing list with 3,327 yards, passing both Don McCauley and Kelvin Bryant.
“He’s tough, he takes care of the ball, he protects in the passing game,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “He’s very humble. He never asks for the ball. I guess you don’t have to when you get it 35 times. But he usually makes the plays when he has to to help us win the game.”
Jacolby Criswell ran and threw for touchdowns for UNC, while linebacker Power Echols had a leaping snag for an interception and returned it 42 yards for third-quarter touchdown.
Demond Claiborne ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns for the Demon Deacons (4-6, 2-4), who arrived for the latest meeting in this long-running instate matchup with a 3-0 road record. But Wake Forest lost three turnovers, the last being a fumble by Michael Kern on a strip-sack by Joshua Harris deep in its own end with 5:08 left to set up Hampton’s score.
“At times I don’t think we’ve grasped the details of what it takes to win a game like that,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. “It’s all said and done, and the yardage is equal, the third downs are equal and the red-zone deals are equal. And it all comes down to those three turnovers we had that were absolute killers.”
Kern threw for 172 yards with one TD and two interceptions after taking over for starter Hank Bachmeier, who was knocked from the game with an apparent upper-body injury early in the third.
Kern hit Taylor Morin for a 40-yard shot down the seam late then found him again from 16 yards in the back of the end zone with 75 seconds left to keep hope alive, but the Tar Heels recovered the ensuing kick to kill the remaining time.
The takeaway
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons arrived needing two wins to reach bowl eligibility and aiming to stay perfect on the road after wins at N.C. State, Connecticut and Stanford. They were within reach on this one, twice closing 14-point deficits to one-possession games, only to come up short.
UNC: The Tar Heels have turned things around from a four-game skid that included giving up 70 points in a loss to James Madison on Sept. 21, as well as the emotional blow from the death of teammate Tylee Craft due to cancer. It’s why Brown said his team had been in “such a hole” before emerging from an open week with lopsided road wins against Virginia and Florida State while racking up 17 sacks, and now pushing through this one.
Bachmeier’s injury
Clawson said that Bachmeier injured his left shoulder after being taken down on a running play, but he was well enough to return to the game. But the team had put in numerous QB running plays and decided to stick with Kern.
Up next
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons hit the road one last time when they visit No. 12 Miami next Saturday before returning home to close the regular season against instate foe Duke.
UNC: The Tar Heels play their final road game when they visit Boston College next Saturday, then return home to close against rival N.C. State.
——
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballbr/]
Copyright © 2024 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.
North Carolina
Former Madison County chief deputy in North Carolina custody after Arizona arrest
AVERY COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Former Madison County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Bronis Coy Phillips was processed on Thursday, June 25, in a North Carolina county, according to court documents.
The warrants were served in Avery County on behalf of Madison County. He is now being held without bond, according to the court paperwork.
SBI ARRESTS FORMER MADISON CO. CHIEF DEPUTY FOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY INVOLVING INMATES, STAFF
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced that Phillips was arrested on June 14 in Maricopa County, Arizona. He’s expected to face charges in N.C., as News 13 previously reported.
According to court records, Phillips faces multiple felony charges, including:
- Furnishing controlled substances to inmates
- Furnishing deadly weapons to inmates
- Involuntary servitude
- Two counts of assault with a firearm on a detention facility employee
COURT RECORDS REVEAL NEW DETAILS IN FORMER MADISON CO. CHIEF DEPUTY ARREST
He was also charged with two misdemeanors:
- Furnishing alcoholic beverages to inmates
- Furnishing tobacco products to inmates
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
The NCSBI said the charges stem from an investigation into alleged criminal activity involving inmates and detention facility staff.
North Carolina
NC State, UNC planning nonconference men’s basketball game this season
North Carolina and NC State, scheduled to meet just once in the men’s basketball regular season for the second consecutive season, are working to schedule a nonconference meeting in Greensboro in December, WRAL has learned.
The Atlantic Coast Conference rivals had played annual games in Raleigh and in Chapel Hill for more than 100 years before last season when the teams met just once in Raleigh. This season, the ACC scheduled just one meeting between the schools in Chapel Hill.
The additional meeting, which is not finalized, would be played Dec. 15 in Greensboro, according to a source.
The 18-team ACC moved from 20 conference games to 18 before last season in an attempt to improve the league’s NCAA Tournament credentials. It worked as the league received eight bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2026, but it also created some scheduling changes, including the elimination of a second game between NC State and UNC in most seasons.
The current conference schedule dictates that each school plays two teams twice (a primary partner and a variable partner), plays 14 teams once and misses one school altogether. In 2026-27, UNC will play Duke (primary) and Louisville (variable) twice and won’t play Clemson. NC State will play Wake Forest (primary) and California (variable) twice and won’t play Syracuse.
Greensboro was the longtime home of the conference office. The ACC men’s basketball tournament has been held at First Horizon Coliseum, formerly the Greensboro Coliseum, 29 times – the most in league history.
For decades, the ACC played a true round robin among its members — a format that became unworkable as the league grew to 12, 15 and, now, 18 basketball-playing schools.
State lawmakers have pursued various measures to force schools in the UNC System to play each other, citing the economic impact of such meetings. North Carolina and NC State are UNC System schools.
A 2024 bill would have required the two ACC schools to play each other and other in-state public universities in football and basketball. A 2025 bill, aimed at potential conference realignment, would have required that NC State and UNC play each annually in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball. The Senate’s 2025 budget proposal would have required more basketball games between UNC, NC State and smaller schools across the state. The budget would have added UNC and NC State to the schools that receive annual distributions from sports betting tax revenue.
None of those measures have become law.
NC State and North Carolina have been conference mates since 1911, first in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association, then in the Southern Conference and now the ACC. Both have been members of the ACC since its 1953 founding.
North Carolina
Great Horned Owl kills barn owl owlet on North Carolina Wildlife Live Cam
There is some sad news from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s popular Barn Owl Live Cam.
Wildlife officials say a Great Horned Owl entered the barn Wednesday around midnight and killed one of the barn owl owlets. Biologists have not been able to determine which owlet was lost.
They have confirmed it was one of the three youngest birds in the nest. The Wildlife Commission says the incident is heartbreaking but also a natural part of life in the wild.
Great Horned Owls are one of the main predators of Barn Owls, and encounters between the two species do happen. The attack was captured on the live camera.
Officials say the video also shows an extremely rare moment when the adult female Barn Owl fought the Great Horned Owl on top of the nest box. Despite the loss, the surviving owlets are expected to continue growing over the coming weeks.
They will lose their fluffy down feathers, begin exploring outside the barn, and continue developing hunting skills.
The Wildlife Commission says some of the young owls could leave the nest as early as July.
After leaving the nest, they usually travel alone and may eventually move hundreds of miles from where they hatched. The Barn Owl Live Cam remains available for the public to watch.
-
Lifestyle25 minutes ago‘Supergirl’ has a solid hero but could use a better villain : Pop Culture Happy Hour
-
Technology35 minutes agoOf course Meta thinks gambling is the future
-
World40 minutes agoDeath toll from Venezuela earthquakes rises to at least 589, with thousands reported missing
-
Politics47 minutes agoMcCarthy says Trump will use ‘everything he can’ to force Senate action on SAVE America Act
-
Health50 minutes agoSwitching from cigarettes to vapes linked to higher risk of major eye diseases, large study finds
-
Sports55 minutes ago2026 World Cup Odds: Which Nations are Favored to Reach Semifinals?
-
Technology1 hour agoWorld Cup ticket scams target desperate fans
-
Business1 hour ago
Snap sued by parents of girl who was raped by man she met on Snapchat