UNC bowled over by Eagles

CHARLOTTE — As Boston College quarterback Paul Peterson lay on the field injured after a botched third down attempt early in the fourth quarter, it appeared that momentum might have swung to North Carolina’s side.

But the BC coaching staff used the prolonged timeout to devise a fake field goal run that the Eagles executed for a touchdown that ultimately buried the Tar Heels in No. 21 Boston College’s 37-24 victory in the Continental Tire Bowl on Dec. 30.

“Through the whole interlude and everything, it gave us time to actually make a better play,” said Boston College coach Tom O’Brien. “So, sometimes divine interventions work in strange ways.”

FOOTBALL UNC 24 BC 37

On the play, the handoff went to placekicker Ryan Ohliger, who ducked through the line and past a lunging Chad Scott for a 21-yard score.

Although O’Brien trusted Ohliger to pick up at least the three yards needed for a first down, he wouldn’t have let his kicker boot the field goal if BC had gone with that option.

Ohliger had a 22-yard chip shot blocked by Jonas Seawright and had just shanked an extra point that would have put BC up by four.

After the touchdown run, Ohliger was promptly replaced by Mike McCarthy, who nailed the extra point.

“It was one of those, ‘You couldn’t kick it anyway,’ so it was a great shot to take a fake and … it obviously worked out to our benefit,” O’Brien said. “And then we fired him and kicked the other kid for the extra point.”

And while the Eagles (9-3) made the most of their opportunity, the Tar Heels (6-6) failed to capitalize on their chances to get back in the game.

After the touchdown put Boston College ahead 34-24, UNC drove into Eagle territory.

From the 46-yard line, quarterback Darian Durant unloaded a deep pass to wide receiver Derrele Mitchell, but the ball slipped through Mitchell’s hands.

“I don’t think about ‘ifs,’” said Durant, who completed 23-of-41 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns in his final game as a Tar Heel. “We just didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”

After the drive resulted in a punt, the offense didn’t get another real chance to come back.

The Eagles pounded the tiring UNC defense with running back Andre Callender, who led all rushers with 174 yards. The freshman ran for 55 yards on eight carries as BC drove the length of the field for a field goal despite the absence of Peterson, who was named the game’s MVP.

The Eagles’ bruising ground attack racked up 84 rushing yards in the fourth quarter as BC outscored the Tar Heels 16-0 in the game’s final 15 minutes.

“I think that it will be good for the ACC to see a little bit of a different approach since everyone else seems to have a finesse game and we have a little bit more of a pounding game,” said Callender. “I think after today, we (belong), we played a very good game.”

Regardless of future conference allegiances, it was a game the Eagles were determined to win, especially after they lost their leader.

“We were going to win this football game. Didn’t matter what it took or how long it took,” O’Brien said. “We’d play until tomorrow morning if we had to, but we were going to win the football game.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.