
{"id":22167,"date":"2011-12-01T12:18:14","date_gmt":"2011-12-01T17:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=22167"},"modified":"2011-12-01T12:18:14","modified_gmt":"2011-12-01T17:18:14","slug":"%e2%80%98geothermal%e2%80%99-finish-for-tar-heels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2011\/12\/01\/%e2%80%98geothermal%e2%80%99-finish-for-tar-heels\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcGeothermal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122  finish for Tar Heels"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/landreth-mug1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"landreth-mug\" width=\"100\" height=\"134\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-20318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/landreth-mug1.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/landreth-mug1-84x113.jpg 84w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/landreth-mug1-74x100.jpg 74w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px\" \/><strong>By Eddy Landreth<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Staff Writer<\/em><br \/>\nNorth Carolina finished off its second consecutive season of unholy stress in style with a 37-21 victory over Duke at Kenan Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams.<\/p>\n<p>Freshman runner Giovani \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gio\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bernard burned the Blue Devils for 165 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n<p>The victory assures the Tar Heels of their fourth straight winning season, and they now have a chance to win an eighth game in whichever bowl they attend.<\/p>\n<p>Carolina ends the regular season 7-5. The last two years, these players and their coaching staff have weathered the loss of eligibility from eventual first- and second-round NFL draft picks because of NCAA violations. The program has been hammered by an NCAA investigation and a string of internal and external allegations, some true and some false.<\/p>\n<p>They even lost their head coach just one week before the start of training camp. The journey might have crippled a lesser group, and when one stands back and looks at the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body of work, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult not to admire what these players have accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153These kids are tough, mentally and physically,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d interim coach Everett Withers said after probably his final game as head coach at Kenan Stadium. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They mean an awful lot to me. They are resilient. They work their butt off every day. They try to do everything we ask them to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bat an eye [when coach Butch Davis was fired],\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Withers said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They came to work. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how they would react initially. When we started camp it was, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcOK, here we go.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Once we got about three or four days into it, it was like, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcOK, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to respond.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 As coaches,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Withers continued, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153we had to respond because they did. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m as proud of this football team as any I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever been on.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The players awarded Withers with the game ball to honor his stepping in to be the head coach under trying circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>The Tar Heels had their tough moments, but overall they refused to let the adversity tear them apart.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153This team and last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team, there is a great family bond,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bernard said.<br \/>\nBernard has been impressive all season, never more so than in this game.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153[Bernard is a shifty runner],\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And one of the things with Carolina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s big offensive line, if we leave a gap uncontested, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very difficult for a safety to get in there quick enough to stop a youngster like him. And when they get moving down on people, it minimizes your backer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability to get to a gap; it minimizes your safety\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability to field.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I thought they got more movement than most people have against us.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Bernard gained 1,222 rushing yards in 12 regular-season games. His production on Saturday gave him seven 100-yard rushing games this season, breaking the freshman record of six held by Amos Lawrence.<\/p>\n<p>He missed last season with a knee injury.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Even when I was not on the field last year, I felt that family bond,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bernard said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That is one of the reasons I came to this school, that family tie. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done a great job of finishing strong, even through the hard games and the hard losses.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The success on the ground helped quarterback Bryn Renner and wide receiver Dwight Jones enjoy one of their finest days together, too.<\/p>\n<p>Renner completed 21 of 34 passes for 274 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Jones, a senior, caught 10 passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns to finish his career at Kenan Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dwight, for maybe the last month of so, you could see he cherished every day that he has been out there on the field, whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been the practice field or game field,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Withers said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Every day he has come to work, it has been, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI know I want to make sure I give everything because this game isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t promised to you.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You could tell that in his eyes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Withers said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dwight has become the guy in that locker room. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say a whole lot, but when Dwight talks, there are a lot of people in that locker room who listen.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The coaching staff moved defensive end Quinton Coples back to defensive tackle, the spot he played last season, and he led a Carolina defense that held Duke to 46 yards rushing.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have an answer for Coples, obviously,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cutcliffe said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We saw that.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Coples finished tied for second on the team with six tackles, while leading in sacks with two and posting three total tackles for losses. He also forced a fumble and recovered one.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was my last game at Kenan Stadium,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Coples said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a senior, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a rivalry, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more personal. I think I was more into it mentally.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>There was also the matter of finishing with a winning record instead of breaking even.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s huge,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Withers said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All we want is the opportunity to win eight. When we stepped into this week, we said, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcLet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s win seven,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 first things first.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s see if we get to a bowl and win eight.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>North Carolina finished off its second consecutive season of unholy stress in style with a 37-21 victory over Duke at Kenan Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":20318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[431],"class_list":["post-22167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22168,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22167\/revisions\/22168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}