It needed a career day from Johnny White and several huge defensive plays, but the North Carolina football team eked out a 21-17 come-from-behind win Saturday afternoon against William & Mary at Kenan Stadium.
The Tar Heels trailed 17-7 at half time after former Tar Heel Michael Paulus took over at quarterback for the Tribe when Mike Callahan went down early in the game. Paulus torched the Tar Heel secondary through the first two quarters, throwing for 118 first-half yards and two touchdowns, and completing 13 of his 14 passes.
Paulus was abetted by an offensive line that held the UNC rush at bay, as Paulus had time to look downfield for his receivers.
But the Tar Heels would turn things around in the second half behind a defensive clampdown that did not allow the Tribe a single point in the game’s final thirty minutes. The Tar Heels closed the gap to three on a long drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter that culminated in a T.J. Yates three-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Taylor with 8:32 to play.
The Tar Heels stifled the Tribe on the ensuing drive, harassing Paulus and getting a huge third-down sack form defensive tackle Quinton Coples. And once they got the ball back, tailback Johnny White took it from there.
The senior scored the game-winning touchdown on a 67-yard touchdown run with less than six minutes to play. The score capped off another impressive game for White, who rushed for a career-high 164 yards on the day.
The Tar Heels stopped two last-gasp William & Mary drives in the final minutes to hold on to their homecoming victory.
