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.

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CNN
 — 

Asheville, North Carolina, residents could have a boil water notice lifted as soon as Tuesday, more than seven weeks after Tropical Storm Helene struck on September 27.

Helene hit western North Carolina as a tropical storm, causing devastating flood damage and harm to its water system. The storm dumped so much water over the southern Appalachians in three days that it became a catastrophic, once-in-1,000-year rainfall event for the region, the National Weather Service said.

Asheville Water Resources spokesperson Clay Chandler said Friday there’s a sampling process that must take place before the notice can be lifted.

“Due to reduced turbidity levels in the North Fork Reservoir and our capacity to push treated water into the system, we’ve been able to feed a sufficient amount of filtered water into the distribution system without blending it with raw water,” Chandler said.

Turbidity is a measure of the level of particles in a body of water, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The turbidity level must be around 1.5-2 units to be safe for a standard treatment process at North Carolina’s North Fork Reservoir, the city previously said.

The North Fork Reservoir provides water to most people in Asheville, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times. Its turbidity levels dropped below 15 units on Wednesday, according to recent information released by the city. Turbidity levels had been as high as 90 units in the immediate aftermath of Helene, CNN affiliate WLOS reported.

“The use of treated water combined with customer usage has given us data that we feel is sufficient to reach the conclusion that the system has, for the most part, turned over. And the vast majority of raw water has been replaced with treated water,” Chandler said.

The sampling process, which was developed in conjunction with guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency and The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality will begin Saturday, Chandler said Friday.

“By Tuesday afternoon, evening, next week, we should have a pretty good idea of the health of our distribution system and whether or not we will be able to lift the boil water notice,” Chandler said. “Lifting the boil water notice will allow residents to resume normal domestic water use and for business to operate, unrestricted.”

Turbidity could still increase due to unforeseen events like line breaks, or “heaven forbid,” another natural disaster, Chandler said.

One Asheville couple who has lived in the area for 15 years told CNN affiliate WLOS they are excited about the possible lifting of the boil water notice.

“It’s very exciting,” Corrie Enright told WLOS. “We had heard mid-December. We had been planning for another month at least.”

In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, at least 42 people died due to Helene. The Asheville City Schools district reopened last month, CNN previously reported.

Nebraska wrestling had two matches at two locations Friday. The Huskers are leaving the Tar Heel State with a pair of victories.

No. 4 Nebraska (3-0) beat Campbell (1-3) 40-6 in Buies Creek, North Carolina. The Big Red then traveled to Chapel Hill (2-1) to beat No. 25 North Carolina 34-3.

The match against Campbell took place, in part, at Jim Perry Stadium, the school’s baseball field. The “Dual on the Diamond” was the first outdoor dual for the Huskers in program history.

Only the first three matches were outside. Conditions on the mat led to a relocation of the rest of the matches indoors to the Carter Gym. At that point, Campbell led 6-5.

But Nebraska would not lose another match, scoring 40 unanswered to take the win.

After a roughly one-hour trip to face the Tar Heels, the Huskers got on the board first and never looked back. NU got wins from nine wresters.

Heavyweight Harley Andrews led the Big Red in dual points, claiming a combined 11 points for the team.

Nebraska is next off to Annapolis, Md., for the Navy Classic on Nov. 23 to defend its first-place 2023-24 finish. Bouts are slated to start at 9 a.m. CST and will be streamed via FloWrestling.

No. 4 Nebraska 40, Campbell 6

No. 4 Nebraska 34, No. 25 North Carolina 3

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