Stachitas to Marshall Williams a Play to Remember
Ted Stachitas could complete a lot of passes at Wake Forest without any of them being any bigger—in terms of his own career—than the 33-yard strike to Marshall Williams with five minutes left in the first half of tonight’s game against Presbyterian.
Stachitas, a sophomore in his first start, had some nice moments early against the Blue Hose, especially when he scrambled 34 yards for a touchdown on the Deacons’ first possession of the season. But after Wake extended the lead to 21-0 on Alex Frye’s interception and 44-yard return for a touchdown, the offensive bogged down and was forced to punt three straight times.
Stachitas, over those three possessions, completed only two of five passes for 11 yards while overthrowing an open Jordan Williams on one possession and an open Andrew Parker the next. He looked a bit over-revved, which I suppose is understandable.
So when Stachitas then fumbled the ball away at the Presbyterian 19 to end a fourth straight drive without points, I scoured the sidelines to see if any other quarterbacks were warming up. I looked first for No. 11, worn by freshman Tanner Price. But there was no sign any change was in the works.
The next Wake drive began with a holding penalty, forcing the Deacons into a first-and-16 from their 22. Stachitas took the shotgun snap, stood tall in the pocket and spied Marshall Williams running step for step with cornerback Brian Wilson down the left sideline, just in froint of the Wake bench.
The throw had to be perfect, and was. Williams hauled it in for a 33-yard gain and, just like that, Stachitas’ performance looked a whole lot better.
The pass led to a 16-yard touchdown run by Brandon Pendergrass, and a possession later Stachitas made a tough sideline throw to Jordan Williams at the PC 3 that set up a strong, 3-yard run by redshirt freshman Josh Harris.
Stachitas, for the half, completed seven of 13 passes for 84 yards and carried 10 times for 76 yards. The issue, best I can tell, is far from settled, but I know Stachitas was feeling better in the locker room at halftime than he was with five minutes remaining in the half.