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Shinskie leads BC past Wake Forest 27-24 in OT

Sep 26, 2009 - 10:01 PM By HOWARD ULMAN AP Sports Writer

BOSTON(AP) -- Wes Davis recovered a fumble in overtime to foil Wake Forest's drive for a winning touchdown as Boston College held on for a 27-24 win behind Dave Shinskie's three scoring passes on Saturday.

The Demon Deacons had rallied behind Riley Skinner 's two touchdown passes in the last 3:44 of regulation before the Eagles (3-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) went ahead on a 23-yard field goal by Steve Aponavicius on the first series of overtime.

Wake Forest (2-2, 0-1) then got its chance to start at the 25-yard line and moved to a first down at the 4 on four running plays. It tried another run but, on a broken play, no one was in position to take a handoff and Skinner ran to the left without blockers.

Isaac Johnson forced the fumble and Davis recovered, ending the game and sending BC's players rushing onto the field.

The Eagles led 24-10 before Skinner marched his team to a tie. He threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Chris Givens with 3:44 left in the fourth quarter and a 16-yarder to Marshall Williams with 11 seconds remaining. On that last possession, Skinner completed 7 of his last 8 passes, spiking the ball to stop the clock for his only incompletion.

In overtime, BC couldn't advance after getting a first down at the 6 and settled for the field goal.

Wake Forest's Brandon Pendergrass then ran three times for 20 yards and Skinner picked up 1 against a defense that seemed vulnerable to the run. Then Skinner fumbled and Pendergrass lay face down on the ground for about a minute before being consoled by teammates.

Shinskie, a 25-year-old former minor-league pitcher and college freshman, completed 18 of 29 passes for 228 yards and one interception in his first start. Skinner went 25-for-35 for 354 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

One week after the Eagles gained just 54 yards in a 25-7 loss at Clemson, they picked up 59 on their first nine plays. That drive ended with a 32-yard field goal by Aponavicius, and BC never trailed.

Jordon McMichael made a one-handed catch and scored on a 50-yard pass play for a 10-0 lead. The Demon Deacons tied it on Pendergrass' 76-yard run and Jimmy Newman's 23-yard field goal.

Shinskie's 4-yard touchdown pass to Chris Pantale made it 17-10 30 seconds before halftime and his 17-yarder to Colin Larmond Jr. with 9:32 left in the game built the lead to 24-10.

Shinskie spent seven seasons in the minors, the first six in the Minnesota Twins organization. He pitched in 2008 for New Hampshire in the Toronto organization but never rose above Double-A in those seven years. Justin Tuggle, a 19-year-old freshman, started the first three games, although Shinskie saw considerable playing time in the first two.

The ACC win was the first for BC coach Frank Spaziani, who took over for the fired Jeff Jagodzinski after 12 years as a BC assistant, the last 10 as defensive coordinator.