By Scott Payne
Associate Managing Editor
Head Coach Jim Caldwell must have told junior running back Morgan Kane, prior to the Spring Game April 18, that this edition of the annual intra-squad game was going to lay the ground work for the '98-99 season. Kane obviously took his coach's words literally.
Kane did plenty of "ground work" as he ran rough shod over junior Dustin Lyman and the rest of the "Black" defense, busting loose for a game high 126 yards on 21 carries, pacing the "Gold" to a 21-14 victory.
A product of Ontario, Canada, Kane spent much of last season plagued with nagging leg injuries. However, Kane showed no illeffects on a 41-yard scamper up the left side for the first of his two touchdown runs of the evening in the first quarter. Kane later scored on a 4-yard trek through a sea of defenders straight up the middle.
The third "Gold" touchdown was scored by 312-pound defensive tackle junior Fred Robbins, who made like William "The Refrigerator" Perry during his heyday with the Chicago Bears. He took the hand-off from junior quarterback Ben Sankey and barrelled in for the score on a third and goal play from the one yard line in the first quarter.
Senior quarterback Brian Kuklick picked up right where he left off last season before missing the final two games to injury, connecting on 11 of 25 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns for the "Black", both to senior wide out extraordinaire Desmond Clark.
Clark, coming off a stellar junior season in which he led the ACC with 72 receptions, snared a total of six passes on the night for 45 yards in the game. But the most productive receiver for the game for "Black" was senior William Merritt, who made five catches for 106 yards.
The offenses for both squads dominated play in the first quarter, with three of the first four possessions of the game resulting in touchdowns. "Gold" shot out to the early 14-7 lead. However, the second quarter proved to be a defensive struggle, with neither team putting any points on the board.
With only 38 seconds left in the half, senior defensive back Jeffrey Muyres of the "Gold" picked off a Kuklick pass in the end zone that was intended for Clark, squashing the "Black" threat.
Kane's second touchdown of the game with 3:24 left in the third quarter followed by the PAT from junior Matthew Burdick pushed the "Gold' lead up to 21-7.
The final points of the game were scored with 6:13 left, when Kuklick
found Clark in the back of the end zone on a fourth and 14 play, after scrambling all the way across the field to elude the `Gold' pass rush, led by junior linebacker Kelvin Moses.
Moses led the `Gold' team with seven unassisted tackles in the game. Also turning in impressive performances were junior quarterback Ben Sankey who completed all eight of his pass attempts for 85 yards for `Gold' and sophomore linebacker Brian Ray recorded seven tackles for `Black'.
During the halftime intermission, Coach Caldwell presented the Beattie Feathers award to defensive lineman Kelvin Jones and running back Chris McCoy. The award is presented annually to two Deacons, one from offense, one from defense, who showed outstanding improvement and work ethic during the off-season. Coincidentally, McCoy and Jones are both Winston-Salem natives.
The award is named in honor of the former Deacon assistant coach who is a member of the National College Football Hall of Fame.
The Deacs will open their 1998 regular season schedule on Sept. 5 in the thin mountain air at Air Force before returning home to face Navy on Thursday Sept. 10. The game against Navy was moved to a Thursday night so that it could be televised on ESPN.
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Carlton Ward/Old Gold and Black