GoHeels Exclusive: Fight To The Finish

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

RALEIGH — The barrage complete, the result all but certain, Myles Dorn stood on the metal bench nearest NC State's student section and hoisted North Carolina's turnover belt above his head, as if the ever-thinning crowd hadn't seen it enough.

Three of his teammates had already raised the WWE-style belt. Yet, they didn't take nearly as much pride as the senior safety in doing so.

Earlier in the week, Dorn had stood in the Kenan Football Center, winless in three career games against the Wolfpack. He spoke then of how much it'd mean to win his final game in the rivalry and earn bowl eligibility. He also talked about the long-awaited postgame phone call he so badly wanted to make to his older brother Torin Dorn Jr., a former NC State basketball player.

At long last, all of that was well within reach when Dorn wrestled away an interception with just over six minutes left in Saturday's 41-10 win at Carter-Finley Stadium. It wasn't until he reached the sideline and triumphantly lifted the turnover belt, though, that it all started to seem real.

"The game is over," he recalled thinking in that moment. "There were a lot of emotions going through my head."

As there were for all the Tar Heels as the final seconds ticked down.

A 6-6 regular season might not be viewed as significant some places. But after winning five games the past two seasons, Mack Brown's first year back in Chapel Hill can't be deemed anything other than a success. And it was worth celebrating.

UNC did just that in the aftermath of its first win over the Wolfpack since 2015, with some players posing for pictures with their position groups and others interacting with the fans still hanging around. A few players even lined up side by side, then toppled over like bowling pins when Nick Polino rolled his helmet toward them.

Brown watched it all, thrilled to have delivered on his promise of reigniting a passion for football in Chapel Hill and to have the opportunity to send his seniors out right with a bowl game.

"It means everything," Brown said. "Last spring, we were selling hope."

Now, they can sell what tends to matter most: Results.

"I'm just glad that we put the nation on notice of just how hard we've been working, how much we've come close together," Javonte Williams said. "Coming off two losing seasons and now we're going to a bowl game, that just shows how hard we've been working over the summer, how much closer we came together and how hard the coaches are working, also."

All that was certainly on display Saturday.

Throughout the week, Brown told his players that although NC State could no longer qualify for a bowl, it would approach the contest with Carolina as if it were one. That message held true, as the Wolfpack built a 10-6 halftime lead.

Not much went right offensively for the Tar Heels in the first half, during which they rushed for 24 yards on 18 attempts and Sam Howell was sacked three times and intercepted once. Defensively, they weren't much better, giving up 83 yards on the ground and a 39-yard touchdown pass just before the break. But they never panicked.

"I think we just had a plan that we were going to fight to the finish," Dorn said, "and see if they were going to fight with us."

To NC State's credit, it fought for two quarters. In the third period, though, UNC broke the Wolfpack's will to fight anymore.

Freshman Don Chapman flipped the momentum when he made a diving interception early in the quarter. Two plays later, Williams rushed for a 26-yard touchdown, giving Carolina a 13-10 lead. That proved to be the first of three touchdowns scored by the sophomore tailback in the period, as the Tar Heels also capitalized on an interception by Trey Morrison and a fumble forced and recovered by Jeremiah Gemmel.

By the end of the quarter, UNC had turned a 10-6 deficit into a 34-10 lead. Its four touchdowns – the other being a 52-yard reception by Dyami Brown – were its most in a period against a Power 5 team since tallying five in the first quarter of the 2015 game at NC State.

To Williams, no score felt more important than his first.

"I just feel like it gave us confidence and let us know, 'Alight, we came to play. We can win this game,'" said Williams, who became the first Carolina player with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in the same game since Marquise Williams at Georgia Tech in 2015.

"Really, the thing we were talking about the whole game was getting to a bowl game. … I really think the touchdown, it kind of killed NC State's pride. And that's just when we woke up."

Between the third and fourth quarters, the Tar Heels turned toward the emptying student section and held four fingers in the air, just as they have all season. The signal has served as a reminder to finish throughout this season in which nine games have been decided by seven or fewer points. It was clear, though, this game wouldn't be like any of them.

In fact, it was at that point the party started on the visitors' sideline. Brown instructed his players to act like they'd been there before, knowing full well most of them hadn't. Once the stadium clock struck zero, though, nothing could contain their excitement.

Dorn especially couldn't stop smiling.

The senior stayed on the field and snapped a few photos for just a few minutes. Then, he took off, darting toward the tunnel and into the locker room, as if he had somewhere to be. Speaking of which, Myles, have you had a chance to call Torin?

"I'm going to call him right when I get on the bus," he said. "He's probably not going to be up, but I'm going to call him anyway."

Make sure he knows you won't be home for Christmas.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Dyami Brown

Don Chapman

Myles Dorn

Jeremiah Gemmel

Sam Howell

Trey Morrison

Nick Polino

Javonte Williams

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