Wilson makes strong case to be starter

[Baby Arm!]

Wilson makes strong case to be starter

By Bill Spinks

Herald Democrat

DENTON — Woody Wilson made a strong case Saturday night for taking over as North Texas’ starting quarterback. Before Wilson entered the game early in the second quarter, the Mean Green had struggled to sustain offensive possessions. But after the junior transfer was through directing UNT’s offense, the Mean Green had secured a landmark 24-6 victory over Southern Methodist, thrilling a mostly green-clad crowd of 25,231, the third-largest crowd in Fouts Field history.

Wilson rushed 10 times for 74 yards and a touchdown and threw for 103 more on 8-of-10 passing, sparking a dormant Mean Green offense in the second half.

“We needed to attack the perimeter to open up the inside, and that’s what Woody can do for us,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “When he’s in the game, you definitely have to worry about being attacked on the perimeter. His bringing that to the table will allow him to compete for more playing time.”

Senior Johnny Quinn caught nine passes for 132 yards, extending his career-long reception streak to 38 games. And junior Jamario Thomas finished with 90 yards rushing and scored his first touchdown since the 2004 season, when he led the nation in rushing, with two minutes left to wrap up the scoring.

Thomas was hampered most of last season with a hamstring injury and did not score a touchdown in 2005.

“Tonight might be one of the nights I’m most proud of Jamario,” Dickey said. “It was easy (for him) two years ago when he was running wild. Tonight he was getting stuffed and thrown for losses, but never once did he get down on himself and the offensive line. He had that look in his eye that he was going to run hard the whole game.”

UNT outgained SMU in total yardage and dominated time of possession by a 39-to-21-minute margin. Also helping was a strong defensive effort in which the Mean Green limited SMU to 111 rushing yards and took advantage of numerous major penalties against the Ponies.

But it was the special teams phase of the game that gave UNT the spark it needed from the outset. Redshirt freshman Evan Robertson took less than a minute and a half to make an impact in his first home game when he blocked a Southern Methodist punt and recovered the loose ball in the end zone for a Mean Green touchdown.

After the Mean Green held the Mustangs on the game’s first series, the Mustangs lined up to punt on their own 25-yard line. Robertson broke through the Ponies’ containment and blocked Thomas Morstead’s kick, and the ball rolled into the end zone. Robertson tracked it down, and Denis Hopovac’s extra-point kick gave UNT (1-1) a 7-0 lead.

“The whole week the coaches were saying I could block (a punt),” Robertson said. “I went outside and tried to get around the corner so I could get a chance at blocking it. Nobody touched me. I think it was a big play. The defense came back out and wanted to get a stop, and everybody wanted to play hard after (the block).”

After Robertson’s opening score, the Mean Green couldn’t get much traction offensively despite solid play from starting quarterback Matt Phillips, who was 4-of-6 passing for 42 yards.

The moment Wilson entered the game, however, things changed.

Wilson completed a pair of third-down passes to Quinn, then found true freshman Bryant Seidle open inside the 10. But Seidle was separated from the football on a hard hit, and SMU’s Cory Muse recovered to keep the Mustangs within a touchdown at the half.

The Mustangs stopped UNT’s opening drive of the second half and drove 63 yards in 11 plays for a TD pass from freshman Justin Willis, a Denton native, to Columbus Givens to make it 7-6. The PAT by Morstead, though, was no good, keeping the Mean Green in the lead.

Then Wilson went to work. He scrambled 13 yards for a first down, then rolled out left, tucked the ball under, got outside and raced 33 yards to the left pylon with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter, giving UNT an 8-point cushion.

“It was a pass play and the protection broke down,” Wilson said. “It was just a little crease. I guess I was running scared.”

Hopovac’s 22-yard field goal and Thomas’ 5-yard run concluded the scoring, while the Mean Green defense did the rest.

“We felt we got embarrassed last week (at Texas),” said linebacker Maurice Holman, who celebrated his 22nd birthday Saturday by leading the team with 11 total tackles. “We wanted to make a statement at home. Everybody came out with fire in their eyes. We thought it would be a tight ballgame, but we had something to prove.”