Week 2 of the North Carolina college football season was all about explosive offense, with two running backs nearly hitting the 200-yard mark and several teams crossing the 500-yard plateau in total yards.
North Carolina Wesleyan and Elon stole the show with box-score busting victories, while East Carolina and Wake Forest flexed their firepower at the FBS level going against FCS opponents. Here’s a breakdown of the state’s top Stat Champions for the weekend.
Team Scoring 50+ Points
- 64 – North Carolina Wesleyan (D3), Week 2 vs. Averett (W, 64-12) – Season’s Best
- 56 – East Carolina (FBS), Week 2 vs. Campbell (W, 56-3)
- 55 – Elon (FCS), Week 2 vs. Davidson (W, 55-7)
North Carolina Wesleyan set the high mark for the year with 64 points, while ECU and Elon also lit up the scoreboard against overmatched opponents.
Longest Offensive Scoring Plays
- 86 yards – Nahjiir Seagraves, NC Wesleyan – rushing TD (Season’s Best)
- 85 yards – Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest – rushing TD
- 80 yards – Destun Thomas, Lenoir-Rhyne – receiving TD from Khamoni Robinson
- 75 yards – Michael Pannell, NC Wesleyan – receiving TD from Javier Rice
- 73 yards – Tyson Resper, NC Wesleyan – receiving TD from Javier Rice
North Carolina Wesleyan accounted for three of the five longest offensive scores of the weekend.
Longest Defensive Scoring Plays
- Season’s Best: 24 yards – Tycorien Gist, Louisburg, interception return (Week 1)
- Week 2 featured two safeties – Wake Forest vs. Western Carolina and NC Wesleyan vs. Averett – but no other defensive points.
Longest Special Teams Scoring Plays
- 95 yards – Sincere McIntyre, Greensboro, opening kickoff return TD vs. Guilford (Soup Bowl) Season’s Best
Our state’s first kickoff return for a touchdown of the season set the tone in Greensboro’s first win in the Soup Bowl rivalry since 2012.
Longest Field Goals (48+ yards)
- 48 yards – Rece Verhoff, North Carolina (Week 2 vs. Charlotte) – Season’s Best
Team Rushing 250+ Yards
- 396 yards – North Carolina Wesleyan (Week 2 vs. Averett) – Season’s Best
- 289 yards – Elon vs. Davidson
- 273 yards – Wake Forest vs. Western Carolina
Wake Forest averaged 8.8 yards per rush against WCU, led by Demond Claiborne’s 193 yards (see more below). North Carolina Wesleyan rushers found the end zone five times.
🏆 ACC RB of the Week 🏆
📰: https://t.co/In77IT8cjx pic.twitter.com/ZyQxaCdu93 — Wake Forest Football (@WakeFB) September 8, 2025
Team Passing 350+ Yards
- 363 yards – East Carolina vs. Campbell
- 356 yards – Duke vs. Illinois
ECU quarterbacks have 746 passing yards through two games, with four TDs.
Total Offense 500+ Yards
- 627 yards – North Carolina Wesleyan (Week 2 vs. Averett) – Ties Season’s Best with Gardner-Webb (Week 1 vs. WCU)
- 547 yards – Elon vs. Davidson
- 542 yards – Wake Forest vs. Western Carolina
- 535 yards – East Carolina vs. Campbell
- 503 yards – Appalachian State vs. Gardner-Webb
NC Wesleyan averaged 9.5 yards per play over 66 snaps. Wake Forest also averaged 9.5 yards per play, running 57 on offense.
Individual Passing Leaders (350+ yards)
- None reached the 350-yard mark in Week 2.
Darian Mensah (Duke) still has the season’s best single-game total, completing 27-of-34 passes for 389 yards and 3 TDs vs. Elon in Week 1.
Individual Rushing Leaders (100+ yards)
- 194 yards – Rashod Dubinion, App State (Season’s Best)
- 193 yards – Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest (3 TDs)
- 152 yards – Nahjiir Seagraves, NC Wesleyan (1 TD, 86-yard burst)
- 140 yards – Hollywood Smothers, NC State (2 TDs)
Dubinion edges Claiborne for the state’s best rushing day so far, while Seagraves and Smothers also delivered highlight efforts. So far, we’ve had 14 total 100-yard rushing performances, including two each from Dubinion and NCCU’s Chris Mosley.
Individual Receiving Leaders (100+ yards)
- 149 yards – Chris Barnes, Wake Forest (6 catches)
- 141 yards – Dalton Stroman, App State (3 catches, 1 TD)
- 133 yards – Michael Pannell, NC Wesleyan (3 catches, 1 TD)
- 126 yards – Isaiah Jacobs, Barton (4 catches, 1 TD)
- 118 yards – Landyn Backey, Elon (5 catches, 2 TDs)
Ten receivers topped 100 yards this week, led by Barnes’ big day in Winston-Salem. Season leader remains Brian Lane (Johnson C. Smith) with 163 receiving yards against Morehouse in Week 1.
Tackling Leaders (12+ tackles)
- 14 tackles – Robert Lamar, Davidson
- 14 tackles – Ben Watson, Lenoir-Rhyne
- 14 tackles – Omar Goodwin, Methodist
- 14 tackles – Dominique Leonard, Louisburg
- 13 tackles – Keno Jones, Barton
Season leader remains Western Carolina’s Hayward McQueen Jr., who earned 15.0 tackles against Gardner-Webb in Week 1.
Tackles for Loss (3.0+)
- 3.5 TFL – Travis Burton, Guilford (19 negative yards)
- 3.0 TFL – Vincent Anthony Jr., Duke
- 3.0 TFL – Thomas Davis, App State
Livingstone’s Kenyon Garner and Catawba’s Evan Simons lead the category for the season with 4.0 TFLs in Week 1 games.
Sacks (2.0+)
- 3.5 sacks – Travis Burton, Guilford – Season’s Best
- 3.0 sacks – Vincent Anthony Jr., Duke
- 2.5 sacks – Langston Hardy, Wake Forest
- 2.5 sacks – Cephas Pettis, Louisburg
Interceptions (2+)
- 2 – Jay Law, Greensboro (Soup Bowl win)
- 2 – Trevyn Smith, Louisburg
Both joined Week 1’s Elijah Wilson (Johnson C. Smith) in the season lead with two picks each.
Longest Punts (60+ yards)
- 64 yards – Brandon Bowman, North Carolina Central
- 62 yards – Stephen Brantley, Western Carolina
- 61 yards – Brady Braun, Gardner-Webb
Lenoir-Rhyne’s Stewart Simmons has the longest punt of the season – 67 yards against West Florida in Week 1.
Kicker Points (10+)
- 13 points – Luke Barnes, Elon (2 FG, 7-of-7 PATs vs. Davidson) – Season’s Best
- 11 points – Braxtyn Green, NC Wesleyan (2 FG, 5 PATs vs Averett)
Braxtyn Green, a two-time USA South Special Teams Player of the Year, is already building a resume for the three-peat.
