WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Wake Forest keeps getting stronger as November arrives. The No. 14 Demon Deacons scored on each of their first five possessions and buried Virginia 51-7 at home on Saturday, stretching their winning streak to five games at Allegacy Financial Stadium.
The win lifts Wake to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in ACC play, and the last four league games have been lopsided: the Deacons have outscored those opponents 187-31. Three of their five conference wins have come by more than 30 points.
Wake ran for 309 of its 538 yards. Ty Clark III scored three times on the ground, a career best, opening the game with a 2-yard run on the first drive and adding a 4-yard score to cap an 81-yard march. Jamar Searcy ran for 78 yards and a touchdown, and Kyndall McCaleb scored the first touchdown of his career. Five rushing scores in one game is a mark the program had not reached more than once in a season since at least 2017.
Gio Lopez completed 13 of 21 passes for 229 yards and a score and ran for 64 more. Through eight games he has 2,494 total yards, 24 touchdowns and one interception. Carlos Hernandez caught eight passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, his fourth 100-yard game of the year.
The defense set the tone early. Braylon Johnson made seven tackles and picked off a fourth-down pass in the first quarter, and Virginia was stopped on fourth-and-short on its first trip into the red zone. Kicker Connor Calvert made all three of his field goals, from 45, 25 and 44 yards, and Kam Shanks returned two punts for 94 yards, including a 64-yarder in the third quarter.
It was only the second time Wake has scored 50 against Virginia and the first since 1975. Virginia fell to 4-5 and 2-4 in the ACC.
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