CHAPEL HILL - A rainy day yes, but a fun one nonetheless as North Carolina held its first spring game since 2019 on Saturday afternoon in Kenan Stadium.
Using a somewhat confusing set of rules, Team Tar Heels out-gained Team Carolina, 190-154, on their way to a 14-12 victory in the 70-minute game.
Despite seeing limited reps, quarterback Sam Howell showed why he’s a Heisman hopeful, completing six of his 10 passes for a game-high 118 yards and one touchdown.
Quarterback Jefferson Boaz finished with a game-high 50 rushing yards on two carries and one touchdown.
Defensively, both teams looked solid, with Cameron Roseman-Sinclair and Power Echols leading Team Carolina with four tackles a piece while JaQurious Conley, Eugene Asante and Chris Collins paced Team Tar Heels with four tackles each.
Asante finished wiih a game-high two tackles for loss, while Ra Ra Dillworth and Des Evans tallied 1.5 apiece.
“Everybody got to play,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said after the game. “We had 85 plays, we've been 75 and 77, so we had more today than we've had in our other scrimmages. I thought the guys competed, so this will be a tremendous video for us.”
The game started off relatively slowly, with both offenses racking up a combined 12 yards on the opening two possessions.
After starting the first drive, the blue (first team) offense took over again on the third for Team Tar Heels, with DJ Jones stepping in for Ty Chandler at running back. Howell completed a 12-yard pass to Antoine Green on the first play before Jones had back-to-back run plays, gaining just two yards.
An incomplete pass to Green followed before Jones ran for two yards and was tackled by Echols, ending the drive.
True freshman Drake Maye got the first snaps of his career on the fourth drive, going 1-for-2 for three yards and running for 11. Team Carolina went on to open the scoring thanks to a Josh Henderson six-yard run, capping off a nine-play, 47-yard drive. Henderson finished the drive with six carries for 33 yards.
Howell took over once again on the fifth drive, completing a 48-yard pass to Downs on the opening play. A five-yard run by Chandler followed before Green caught a 13-yard pass in the right corner of the end zone to wrap up a three-play, 66-yard drive and put Team Tar Heels in front 7-6.
It was Jacolby Criswell’s time again on the sixth drive while Elijah Green saw his first action of the game at running back, but Team Carolina found little success, going three-and-out.
Howell and the first-team offense took over on the seventh drive, starting with an incomplete pass to Green before Emery Simmons jumped over three defenders to catch a 45-yard pass on second down, putting Team Tar Heels at the 21-yard line.
Team Carolina’s defense held firm, though, as Team Tar Heels gained just one yard on three plays before deciding to go for it on fourth.
Ladaeson Hollins was called for pass interference on the play, giving Team Tar Heels a fresh set of downs, which eventually led to a two-yard Jones touchdown run two plays later, stretching their lead to 14-6.
On the following drive, the eighth of the game, Maye was back at quarterback for Team Carolina. The offense gained just eight yards in three plays, all of which came on a third-down run from Maye, before Caleb Hood ran for seven yards on fourth down to give them a fresh set of downs.
Team Carolina got inside the ten, but back-to-back false starts eventually ended the drive.
Criswell was back at quarterback for the ninth drive of the game while British Brooks saw his first action. The freshmen linebacker duo of Dillworth and Echols combined to end the drive after tackling Brooks for a loss on fourth down.
“I saw the physicality of the two young guys,” Asante said about Dillworth and Echols. “I was a young guy once, so it's great seeing those guys get on the field and fly around.”
After a sack ended a relatively uneventful 10th drive, Criswell came back in for Team Tar Heels on the 11th, running for 15 yards on the second play before Maye replaced him. The drive ended on the 10-yard line after the offense failed to convert on fourth down, ending the third quarter.
The start of the fourth quarter was when Boaz got his first snaps of the game, facing a relatively inexperienced Team Tar Heels’ defense that featured some walk-ons.
Boaz showed his athleticism, though, taking a 38-yard run into the end zone and cutting Team Tar Heels’ lead to 14-12.
Boaz played every snap in the fourth quarter, going 1-for-6 for five yards, before the game ended with a Christopher Holliday interception in the end zone for Team Carolina.
Despite a dreary afternoon that saw rain continuously fall on a few thousand fans inside Kenan, the Tar Heels got better on Saturday and are looking forward to fall camp in August.
“We know what we can do,” Asante said. “We saw what we could do last season, but let's be better and transcend and take it to the next level.”
Saturday’s game was UNC’s 15th practice of the spring, thus concluding things until fall camp begins in early August.
