North Carolina

N.C. State, Armstrong rebound strong in 45-7 win over outmatched VMI

Published

11 months ago

September 16, 2023

N.C. State, Armstrong rebound strong in 45-7 win over outmatched VMI

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Brennan Armstrong piled up 303 yards of total offense and North Carolina State routed VMI 45-7 on Saturday afternoon.

Armstrong led N.C. State (2-1) by completing 27-of-32 passes (84%) for 264 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 39 yards on six carries. His completion percentage was a career-high mark for the sixth-year quarterback when attempting at least 11 passes in a game.

“It feels good. This game was kind of our bounce-back game after coming off a loss against Notre Dame, not playing really well, especially offensively,” Armstrong said. “This was a great game for us, to just get back on track and play efficient.”

After forcing the Keydets (1-2) to a three-and-out to start, N.C. State got on the scoreboard with a 12-play, 58-yard drive that ended with the first of two rushing touchdowns from Delbert Mimms. About a minute later, the Wolfpack scored again when fifth-year defensive back Robert Kennedy picked off an errant VMI pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

Those scores led to a 31-point Wolfpack scoring run before VMI responded in the third quarter, with Collin Shannon finding Egypt Nelson for a 22-yard touchdown pass. Nelson proved to be a thorn in the Wolfpack’s defense with 107 yards receiving on three receptions.

N.C. State countered as sophomore Julian Gray ran back the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for the first touchdown of his collegiate career.

“(N.C. State) kind of put us in a place early that we were just having to play catch-up, and it was uphill the whole stinking game,” first-year VMI coach Danny Rocco said. “So, that was difficult, and certainly not the way we wanted this thing to play out.”

Rocco didn’t play quarterback Collin Ironside, who had started VMI’s previous two games. Rocco said he practiced “minimally” this past week and it was “in his best interest to not play” against N.C. State.

THE TAKEAWAY

VMI: Since beating Virginia Tech in 1981, VMI is 0-40 against FBS opponents. It was apparent throughout the game that the Keydets were facing a team that was bigger, faster and stronger. VMI had just 15 rushing yards on 21 carries and was 1 of 10 on third downs. The Keydets aim to fare better against opponents on their level in the Southern Conference.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack used this game to correct mistakes that surfaced in its loss to Notre Dame last week. This time, the offense didn’t turn the ball over and the wide receivers played well – Gray even hauled in a 64-yard catch, the longest of his career. What remained a concern was the Wolfpack defense’s inability to stop big plays, as it allowed VMI to notch three plays that gained 20 yards or more.

“That’s something that we really go to work on and really got to harp on,” Kennedy said. “Explosive plays, I mean, that’s really killing us on our defense.”

FRESHMEN STEP UP

N.C. State’s offense was boosted by strong performances from a pair of first-year players.

Kendrick Raphael – who had just four offensive touches entering the game – paced N.C. State’s rushing attack with 85 yards on 16 carries. And wideout Kevin Concepcion proved to be Armstrong’s favorite target, pulling in a game-high seven catches for 62 yards.

“It’s one of the beauties of youth, you know, these kids are very quick to respond and bounce back more so than the adults, I think,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. “Every play that a guy makes builds confidence. Like that run Kendrick had, jumped over a guy, that’s going to build confidence for him.”

EXTRA POINTS

VMI had just 191 yards of total offense, making it the second time in the last two seasons that N.C. State has held an opponent under 200 yards. The other instance was N.C. State’s 2022 home win over UConn. … This was the first meeting between N.C. State and VMI since 1946. VMI still holds the advantage in the all-time series with an 11-8-1 record.

UP NEXT

VMI: Returning to FCS play, the Keydets host Wofford on Saturday.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack begin ACC play Friday at Virginia.

____ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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North Carolina

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

Published

4 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

12 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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North Carolina

Tropical weather update for Wilmington: What we can expect and when

Published

19 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Tropical weather update for Wilmington: What we can expect and when

The National Hurricane Center continues to monitor a tropical depression over Cuba. It’s expected to become a tropical storm later Saturday, bringing impacts to the Carolinas around the middle of next week.

Heavy rainfall and flooding are the primary impacts expected, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

“Gusty winds are also possible, but it is too early to predict specific impacts in great detail at this time,” the weather service said.

At the same time, there is the potential for heavy rainfall and some flooding associated with front expected to stall inland this weekend.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the center of the tropical depression, which would be name Debby if it becomes a tropical storm, was over Cuba and moving west-northwest near 15 mph. The hurricane center said a turn toward the northwest is forecast for Saturday, followed by a northward motion on Sunday and then a slower northeastwardmotion Sunday night and Monday.

Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph. Slow strengthening is expected throughout the day Saturday. Faster strengthening is possible Sunday, with the storm nearing hurricane strength when it reaches the Florida Gulf Coast, the hurricane center said.

STORM TRACKER: Monitor the latest tropical developments here.

Here’s a look at what we can expect in the Wilmington area, according to the latest briefing from the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Wind

The probability of tropical storm force winds has increased, especially for the South Carolina coast. The most likely time of arrival of for northeast South Carolina is Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, and for Southeastern North Carolina is during Wednesday morning.

Rain

The potential for significant rainfall exists with 8 to 12 inches possible from near Cape Fear to portions of thenortheast South Carolina coast. Flash flooding and urban flooding are possible. Some rivers, including the North Cape Fear River and the Waccamaw River, could exceed flood stage next week.

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