WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Wake Forest opened a 17-point lead two minutes into the third quarter Saturday night and held on for a 27-22 victory over East Carolina in its home opener.
Last week, Wake Forest dropped a 42-41 overtime decision at Northern Illinois, opting to go for the win rather than kicking the extra point to take the game to a second overtime.
This time, there were no tough decisions for Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe as the Demon Deacons took a 20-3 lead on James MacPherson's 46-yard pass to Jason Anderson within 12:54 left in the third quarter. MacPherson completed 16 of 29 passes for 216 yards.
East Carolina (0-2) closed to within 20-16 on Art Brown's six-yard run with 3:15 left in the third quarter, but Wake Forest made it 27-16 on Cornelius Birgs' two-yard plunge with 8:27 left in the contest.
East Carolina needed just 77 seconds to score again, reducing its deficit to 27-22 on Paul Troth's 15-yard pass to Edwin Rios with 7:16 to go.
The Pirates got back the ball once more, but their hopes ended when Troth's pass on fourth and three from the Wake Forest 35 was incomplete with 33 seconds remaining.
Wake Forest held a slim 397-395 edge in total yards, but took advantage of four interceptions by Toth, who completed 21 of 41 passes for 273 yards.
The Demon Deacons took a 3-2 lead in the all-time series, beating East Carolina for the second time in as many seasons.
