Wake Forest Dominates Western Carolina 42-10 in Week 2
Wake Forest cruised to a convincing 42-10 victory over Western Carolina in Week 2, with the Demon Deacons' defense stifling the Catamounts throughout the contest. Wake Forest scored 21 points in both the first and third quarters, establishing control early and maintaining it through the second half.
The Demon Deacons' offense was led by standout performances from Robby Ashford, who scored on both a 41-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter and a 51-yard passing touchdown to Sterling Berkhalter in the third quarter. Demond Claiborne added an 85-yard rushing touchdown, also in the third quarter. Connor Calvert was perfect on extra points.
Western Carolina's Isaac Lee led the Catamounts' passing attack with 49 yards, but the visiting offense struggled to generate momentum against Wake Forest's defense. The Catamounts managed just a field goal in the second quarter and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Wake Forest covered the 17.5-point spread handily and the game finished under the 60.5 over-under.
AI-generated recap · Aug 20, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Western Carolina | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
 Wake Forest | 21 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 42 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Western Carolina | Wake Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 26-43 | 16-26 |
| Pass Yards | 204 | 269 |
| Rush Yards | 34 | 273 |
| Total Yards | 238 | 542 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| 3rd Down | 4-17 | 4-10 |
| Penalties | 5-48 | 3-22 |
| Possession | 35:58 | 24:02 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Christian Lowery kickoff for 60 yds , Chris Barnes return for 26 yds to the WAKE 31
Robby Ashford pass complete to Chris Barnes for a loss of 1 yard to the WAKE 30
Demond Claiborne run for a loss of 2 yards to the WAKE 28
Robby Ashford run for 16 yds to the WAKE 44 for a 1ST down
Robby Ashford run for 2 yds to the WAKE 46
Robby Ashford pass complete to Carlos Hernandez for 1 yd to the WAKE 47
Robby Ashford pass incomplete to Micah Mays Jr.
Cal Joseph punt for 41 yds
Bennett Judy pass complete to Patrick Boyd Jr. for a loss of 1 yard to the WCU 11
James Tyre pass incomplete to Dominic Dutton
Bennett Judy pass complete to Malik Knight for 20 yds to the WCU 31 for a 1ST down
Dominic Dutton run for 1 yd to the WCU 32
Bennett Judy sacked by Langston Hardy for a loss of 5 yards to the WCU 27
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Malik Knight
Stephen Brantley punt for 52 yds , Carlos Hernandez returns for 2 yds to the WAKE 23
Chris Barnes run for 3 yds to the WAKE 26
Robby Ashford run for a loss of 2 yards to the WAKE 24
Robby Ashford pass incomplete to Carlos Hernandez
Cal Joseph punt for 44 yds, fair catch by James Tyre at the WCU 32
Branson Adams run for 4 yds to the WCU 36
Branson Adams run for 1 yd to the WCU 37
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Trey Walker
Stephen Brantley punt for 52 yds , Carlos Hernandez returns for 27 yds to the WAKE 38
Robby Ashford pass incomplete to Carlos Hernandez
Robby Ashford pass incomplete to Demond Claiborne
Robby Ashford pass complete to Sterling Berkhalter for 21 yds to the WCU 41 for a 1ST down
Robby Ashford pass incomplete to Jeremiah Melvin
Robby Ashford run for 41 yds for a TD (Connor Calvert KICK)
Caleb Carlson kickoff for 64 yds , Dominic Dutton return for 11 yds to the WCU 12
Bennett Judy pass complete to Painter Richards-Baker for 17 yds to the WCU 29 for a 1ST down
Bennett Judy pass complete to Malik Knight for 6 yds to the WCU 35
Patrick Boyd Jr. run for a loss of 4 yards to the WCU 31
Bennett Judy pass complete to David Hulbert for 5 yds to the WCU 36
Stephen Brantley punt for 38 yds , Carlos Hernandez returns for 1 yd to the WAKE 27
Robby Ashford pass complete to Chris Barnes for 25 yds to the WCU 48 for a 1ST down
No Huddle-Shotgun Ashford,Robby pass incomplete deep middle to Berkhalter,Sterling thrown to W Car05 PENALTY W Car Pass Interference (Sykes,Hasaan) 15 yards from W Car48 to W Car33, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Demond Claiborne run for 33 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
Bennett Judy pass intercepted Zamari Stevenson return for 5 yds to the WCU 27
Demond Claiborne run for 27 yds for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
PENALTY W Car False Start (Carney,Evan) 5 yards from W Car25 to W Car20. NO PLAY.
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Painter Richards-Baker
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Dominic Dutton
Bennett Judy sacked by Jayden Loving for a loss of 14 yards to the WCU 6
PENALTY W Car Delay Of Game (Brantley,Stephen) 3 yards from W Car06 to W Car03. NO PLAY.
Stephen Brantley punt for 37 yds
Demond Claiborne run for a loss of 3 yards to the WCU 43
Robby Ashford pass incomplete to Carlos Hernandez
Robby Ashford pass incomplete to Chris Barnes
Cal Joseph punt for 40 yds, fair catch by James Tyre at the WCU 3
Camury Reid run for a loss of 2 yards to the WCU 1
run for a loss of 1 yard for a SAFETY
Demond Claiborne run for 34 yds to the WCU 41 for a 1ST down
Robby Ashford pass intercepted
Patrick Boyd Jr. run for 3 yds to the WCU 24
Bennett Judy pass complete to James Tyre for 14 yds to the WCU 38 for a 1ST down
Bennett Judy run for 8 yds to the WCU 46
Patrick Boyd Jr. run for a loss of 1 yard to the WCU 45
Bennett Judy pass complete to James Tyre for 2 yds to the WCU 47
Camury Reid run for 1 yd to the WCU 48 for a 1ST down
Bennett Judy pass complete to James Tyre for 13 yds to the WAKE 39 for a 1ST down
Bennett Judy pass complete to Malik Knight for 2 yds to the WAKE 37
Camury Reid run for a loss of 2 yards to the WAKE 39
Bennett Judy pass complete to Camury Reid for 15 yds to the WAKE 24 for a 1ST down
Wake Forest Penalty, unnecessary roughness (9 Yards) to the WAKE 9 for a 1ST down
Bennett Judy pass complete to Marcus Striggles for no gain to the WAKE 9
Camury Reid run for 3 yds to the WAKE 6
(07:31) No Huddle-Shotgun Judy,Bennett sacked for loss of 6 yards to the Wake12 (Williams,BJ, Cusano,Frank) PENALTY Wake Face Mask (Lohavichan,Zach) 3 yards from Wake06 to Wake03, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Camury Reid
Camury Reid run for a loss of 1 yard to the WAKE 4
Camury Reid run for a loss of 1 yard to the WAKE 5
Christian Lowery 23 yd FG GOOD
Robby Ashford pass complete to Chris Barnes for 64 yds to the WCU 11 for a 1ST down
Demond Claiborne run for a loss of 1 yard to the WCU 12
Robby Ashford pass complete to Demond Claiborne for 3 yds to the WCU 15
Robby Ashford pass complete to Demond Claiborne for 15 yds Wake Forest Penalty, Offensive Holding (Carlos Hernandez) to the WCU 24
Wake Forest Penalty, Offensive Holding (Yards) declined
Connor Calvert 35 yd FG MISSED
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to James Tyre
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Marcus Striggles
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Patrick Boyd Jr.
Stephen Brantley punt for 62 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the WAKE 18
Robby Ashford pass complete to Chris Barnes for 17 yds to the WAKE 35 for a 1ST down
Robby Ashford pass complete to Chris Barnes for 17 yds to the WCU 48 for a 1ST down
run for a loss of 17 yards to the WAKE 35 fumbled, recovered by WCU Evan Carney
Bennett Judy pass complete to Patrick Boyd Jr. for 3 yds to the WAKE 32
Bennett Judy pass complete to Dominic Dutton for 7 yds to the WAKE 25 for a 1ST down
Bennett Judy pass complete to Branson Adams for 6 yds to the WAKE 19
Bennett Judy pass incomplete
Bennett Judy sacked for a loss of 7 yards to the WAKE 26
Bennett Judy pass complete to Marcus Striggles for 10 yds to the WAKE 16
Robby Ashford run for 2 yds to the WAKE 18
End of 2nd Quarter
Bennett Judy run for 1 yd to the WCU 26
Bennett Judy pass complete to Marcus Striggles for 10 yds to the WCU 36 for a 1ST down
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Patrick Boyd Jr.
Patrick Boyd Jr. run for 5 yds to the WCU 41
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Malik Knight
Stephen Brantley punt for 42 yds , Carlos Hernandez returns for no gain to the WAKE 17
Robby Ashford pass complete to Kamrean Johnson for 2 yds to the WAKE 15
Demond Claiborne run for 85 yds for a TD (Connor Calvert KICK)
Bennett Judy pass complete to Malik Knight for 17 yds to the WCU 42 for a 1ST down
Bennett Judy pass complete to Dominic Dutton for 9 yds to the WAKE 49
Branson Adams run for no gain to the WAKE 49
run for 2 yds to the WCU 49 fumbled, recovered by WCU Evan Carney
Stephen Brantley punt for 51 yds for a touchback
Demond Claiborne run for 13 yds to the WAKE 33 for a 1ST down
Demond Claiborne run for 1 yd to the WAKE 34
Robby Ashford run for no gain to the WAKE 34 Robby Ashford fumbled, recovered by WCU Evan Carney
Bennett Judy pass incomplete to Branson Adams
Bennett Judy sacked by Langston Hardy for a loss of 10 yards to the WAKE 44
Bennett Judy sacked by Nuer Gatkuoth for a loss of 12 yards to the WCU 44
Stephen Brantley punt for 37 yds, fair catch by Carlos Hernandez at the WAKE 7
Robby Ashford pass complete to Chris Barnes for 27 yds to the WAKE 34 for a 1ST down
(07:27) No Huddle-Shotgun Ashford,Robby pass incomplete deep left to Barnes,Chris thrown to W Car35 PENALTY W Car Pass Interference (Anderson Jr,Darian) 15 yards from Wake34 to Wake49, 1ST DOWN. NO PLAY.
Robby Ashford pass complete to Sterling Berkhalter for 51 yds for a TD (Connor Calvert KICK)
Camury Reid run for 7 yds to the WCU 32
Camury Reid run for a loss of 1 yard to the WCU 31 Camury Reid fumbled, recovered by WCU Quincy Bryant
Robby Ashford run for 7 yds to the WCU 24
Ty Clark III run for 7 yds to the WCU 17 for a 1ST down
Ty Clark III run for no gain to the WCU 17
Robby Ashford pass incomplete to Carlos Hernandez
Robby Ashford pass complete to Ty Clark III for 9 yds to the WCU 8
Ty Clark III run for a loss of 1 yard to the WCU 9
Ty Clark III run for a loss of 1 yard to the WCU 9
Isaac Lee pass complete to Malik Knight for 11 yds to the WCU 20 for a 1ST down
Markel Townsend run for 1 yd to the WCU 21
Isaac Lee pass complete to Markel Townsend for 2 yds to the WCU 23
Isaac Lee sacked for a loss of 5 yards to the WCU 18
Stephen Brantley punt for 35 yds , Carlos Hernandez returns for 23 yds to the WCU 30
Deshawn Purdie pass incomplete to Jr. Reginald Vick
Deshawn Purdie pass complete to Jeremiah Melvin for 3 yds to the WCU 27
Deshawn Purdie pass complete to Jeremiah Melvin for 27 yds for a TD (Connor Calvert KICK)
Isaac Lee run for 31 yds to the WAKE 44 for a 1ST down
Isaac Lee run for 4 yds to the WAKE 40
Isaac Lee pass incomplete to Dominic Dutton
Isaac Lee pass complete to Markel Townsend for 7 yds to the WAKE 33 for a 1ST down
Isaac Lee pass complete to Markel Townsend for 4 yds to the WAKE 29
Isaac Lee run for 2 yds to the WAKE 27
Wake Forest Penalty, Defensive holding (William Tackie Jr.) to the WAKE 30
Isaac Lee pass complete to Dominic Dutton for 9 yds to the WAKE 21 for a 1ST down
Markel Townsend run for 3 yds to the WAKE 18
Isaac Lee pass complete to Josiah Thomas for 8 yds to the WAKE 10 for a 1ST down
Isaac Lee pass complete to Marcus Striggles for 1 yd to the WAKE 9
Isaac Lee pass incomplete to Dominic Dutton
Isaac Lee run for 8 yds to the WAKE 1
Markel Townsend run for 1 yd for a TD (Marcus Trout KICK)
Ty Clark III run for 3 yds to the WAKE 38
Ty Clark III run for 3 yds to the WAKE 41
Ty Clark III run for 4 yds to the WAKE 45 for a 1ST down
Ty Clark III run for 3 yds to the WAKE 48
Deshawn Purdie pass complete to Kamrean Johnson for 12 yds to the WCU 40 for a 1ST down
JaMario Clements run for 4 yds to the WCU 36
Tate Carney run for 9 yds to the WCU 27 for a 1ST down
(01:55) Kneel down by Wake Forest at W Car28 for loss of 1 yard.
(01:10) Kneel down by Wake Forest at W Car30 for loss of 2 yards.
(00:29) Kneel down by Wake Forest at W Car31 for loss of 1 yard.