THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 1, 1996 TAG: 9609010242
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: 70 lines
The scariest part of North Carolina's stunning victory Saturday over longtime tormentor Clemson was that the Tar Heels did not celebrate as if they had done anything special.
The 45-0 skinning of the Tigers was only the second victory in the last 11 games against their ACC rival, but no one dumped Gatorade on coach Mack Brown and no one tried to uproot the goal posts.
No one chided pollsters who gave Clemson a No. 25 ranking and left the Tar Heels out, either.
It was as if the Tar Heels had opened the season with a feeling that even bigger victories are ahead of them.
They may be, too, as Carolina moves on to play Syracuse and Florida State in coming weeks.
``We are excited by the win,'' Brown insisted, ``but our players know we've got a lot of work to do. Clemson is a good football team. It was just our day.''
Brown's view of Clemson remains to be verified, but it certainly was Carolina's day.
From one end of Kenan Stadium to the other, the Tar Heels dominated with a retooled offense that scored a record number of points in the series against the Tigers.
Carolina's splendid tailback Leon Johnson rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns despite being used sparingly after the Heels broke open the game with a third-period outburst.
Quarterback Chris Keldorf, a junior college transfer who learned he was going to start on Thursday, was impressive at the controls of Carolina's pro-style attack.
He passed for 182 yards and two touchdowns.
But the best part of Carolina's game was a chilling defense that limited Clemson to only 50 net rushing yards and set up three scores with turnovers.
``That may have been the best defense we've ever played against a good team,'' Brown said.
The defense was supposed to be Carolina's strength, but few people expected it to be better than last year's, which featured All-American Marcus Jones.
``Everybody kept asking what we were going to do without Marcus,'' said defensive end Greg Ellis. ``Well, I think we answered that.''
Adding speed and power to the defense was cornerback Dre' Bly, a redshirt freshman from Chesapeake who also was Carolina's top punt returner.
Bly's 25-yard return in the third period set up Carolina's third touchdown, a first-down, 45-yard pass from Keldorf to split end L.C. Stevens that produced a 24-0 lead.
Bly brought fans to their feet earlier with a vicious tackle and display of emotion that prompted Brown to calm him down.
``I was feeling good. He brought me back to earth,'' Bly said.
Bly's punt return came during a 3:51 third-period stretch in which Carolina scored 21 points to break open the contest with a 31-0 lead.
The other two touchdowns were set up by a fumble recovery and an interception by the defense.
``We have to feel good about winning, but we know there are 10 more games to be played,'' Bly said. ``We can't get too excited because of that.''
Clemson's Raymond Priester, who led the ACC in rushing last year, finished the warm afternoon with only 34.
Clemson coach Tommy West had predicted his team would be in ``big trouble'' if his running game was stopped, and he was proved right.
Even with the defense keyed on Priester, quarterback Nealon Greene managed to connect on only eight of 19 passes for 41 yards.
Carolina's opening touchdown was set up on a 67-yard run by Johnson, who scored from the 2 on the next play. ILLUSTRATION: AP PHOTO
North Carolina L.C. Stevens has the inside position on Clemson's
Peter Ford to pull down on of his two TD catches. by CNB