Demon June scored on three touchdown runs as North Carolina won its home opener by defeating East Tennessee State 35-3 on Saturday afternoon at Chapel Hill, N.C.
Billy Edwards Jr. threw two touchdown passes for the Tar Heels (2-0), completing 15 of 20 throws for 244 yards. Jelani Thurman and Benjamin Hall made TD catches.
East Tennessee State (1-2) was held to 255 yards of total offense. Quarterback Mason Mims went 23-for-31 passing for 178 yards and an interception.
Defensive back Greg Smith made an interception and a fumble recovery to set up two North Carolina touchdowns.
With score 35-0, the game entered a weather delay because of lightning detections in the area prior to the start of the fourth quarter. The game resumed following a pause of about 75 minutes.
East Tennessee State scored on Ewan Johnson’s 41-yard field goal to conclude a 15-play drive for the only points of the fourth quarter.
North Carolina ended up with 427 yards of total offense on just 53 offensive snaps. The Tar Heels were without a turnover and converted on 5 of 9 third downs.
The Tar Heels were up 21-0 at halftime. After Smith recovered a fumble on the first snap of the second half at the East Tennessee State 36-yard line, June took advantage to score on a 6-yard run four plays later.
North Carolina’s next possession resulted in a 92-yard scoring drive that consisted of 10 plays and ended on June’s 1-yard run.
Earlier, the Tar Heels’ first points came three plays after Smith’s interception when Edwards connected with Thurman on a 24-yard pass play. The second touchdown came on an Edwards-to-Hall play covering 26 yards.
East Tennessee State reached the North Carolina 32-yard line near the midway mark of the second quarter but didn’t convert when Johnson missed on a 49-yard field goal attempt.
–Field Level Media
