Hank Bachmeier made a successful debut for Wake Forest, coming off the bench to throw for three touchdowns in Thursday night’s 45-13 victory against visiting North Carolina A&T in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Bachmeier, a past starter for Boise State and Louisiana Tech, replaced starter Michael Kern late in the first quarter. There was preseason competition at the position with the outcome not revealed until the Demon Deacons’ first possession.
Wake Forest received well-rounded contributions in its season opener.
Wide receiver Taylor Morin returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown early in the second half and finished with 100 receiving yards on six catches. Running back Demond Claiborne ran for 135 yards and a score on 17 carries.
Bachmeier ended up 18-for-28 for 263 yards in the air without an interception.
A&T running back Kenji Christian had a touchdown run and 121 rushing yards on 16 attempts. Aggies kicker Andrew Brown provided field goals from 38 and 51 yards.
Starting quarterback Kevin White was 10-for-16 for 116 yards in the air for A&T before he was pulled in the third quarter.
Coming off a one-win season, the Aggies led 10-7 late in the second quarter until the Demon Deacons rattled off the next 31 points.
Bachmeier helped engineer touchdown drives of 75, 88, 90 and 64 yards to open up a 38-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Wake Forest took the lead for good at 14-10 when Donavon Greene took a short pass from Bachmeier and shed would-be tackles for a 24-yard scoring play five minutes before halftime.
Matthew Dennis booted a 31-yard field goal to make it 17-10 at the half, during which the Demon Deacons outgained A&T 260-194.
Wake Forest went up 7-0 on their second possession on Claiborne’s 7-yard run.
Christian’s 21-yard run around the right side helped the Aggies tie the score later in the first quarter. A&T went up 10-7 on Brown’s 38-yard field goal to cap a 71-yard drive that consumed more than 8 1/2 minutes and 15 plays before the Demon Deacons took over.
Wake Forest won the only previous meeting in 2004 between schools located about 30 miles apart.
