Sept. 1, 2001

Recap| Box Score| Quotes

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland secured a 23-7 win over North Carolina to open its 2001 football season. Here are game notes from Saturday's game:

* With today's win, Maryland has won six of its last seven season openers. It is the first time since 1991 that Maryland has opened its season with a win over an ACC opponent (beat Virginia 17-6 on Sept. 7, 1991).

* Ralph Friedgen becomes the first first-year Maryland coach since Tom Nugent in 1959 to open his Terrapin coaching tenure with a victory.

* Friedgen is the first Maryland coach ever to win his ACC opener in his first year as head coach. The last time a Terrapin coach won a conference opener in his first season was in 1947 when a Jim Tatum-led team defeated South Carolina in a Southern Conference opener.

* Friedgen also is the first Terrapin letterman since Bob Ward in 1967 to win a game as Maryland's head football coach.

* Tailback Willie Parker's 77-yard run on UNC's first offensive play was the first TD run over 75 yards by a Maryland opponent since NC State's Tremayne Stephens ran one 76 yards on November 11, 1997.

* Following the Tar Heel's opening-play TD burst by Parker, Maryland outscored North Carolina 23-0 the rest of the game.

* Sophomore Jafar Williams' 20-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the first of his career.

* Tyrone Stewart's safety in the second quarter was the first by a Terrapin since October 30, 1999, when Duke QB Spencer Romine was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.

* With the exception of Willie Parker's 77-yard TD run, the Terrapins held North Carolina to 56 yards on 26 plays in the first half, an average of 2.2 yards per play.

* Maryland had six first-time starters in today's game -- OT C.J. Brooks, TB Bruce Perry, FB James Lynch, WR Jafar Williams, DT C.J. Feldheim and LB Leon Joe.

* CB Tony Okanlawon's interception of Ronald Curry midway through the third quarter was his second career interception. His first came at Virginia in 2000 (October 7).

* With three tackles for loss today (all sacks, totaling -20 yards), senior LB Aaron Thompson now has 38 TFLs for his career, passing Charles Johnson's (1976-78) previous Maryland career record of 37.

* Maryland had four sacks against UNC: three by Thompson and a fourth by junior defensive end Durrand Roundtree. For Roundtree, it was the first sack of his career.

* Junior E.J. Henderson led the Terrapins with 10 tackles, recording the eighth double-figure game of his career.

* Scooter Monroe's touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter was the second of his career and his first in over 21 games. His first came in his freshman year (1999), a 72-yard reception against Western Carolina that happened to be the first catch of his career.

* With 116 rushing yards today, Bruce Perry posted the first 100 yard rushing performance of his career and the first by a Maryland back since LaMont Jordan ran for 101 against the Tar Heels last year in Chapel Hill.

* Perry and Marc Riley (10-30, 1 TD) led the Maryland rushing game to 161 total rushing yards.

* Junior punter Brooks Barnard, fourth in the country in punting last season (school record 44.7), averaged 50.4 yards on eight punts against UNC. Excluding his first kick of just 27 yards, Barnard averaged 53.9 yards on seven kicks (his own single-game school record is 53.8, set on six kicks in last season's opening game vs. Temple). Barnard's kick sequence: 27, 53, 56, 55, 54, 51, 56, 51.

* Barnard's punting was a key in the game of field position against the Tar Heels. Of North Carolina's 14 drives on the day, nine began inside its own 25-yard line. Seven of those nine began immediately following a Barnard punt.

* Senior quarterback Shaun Hill finished the day with 86 yards passing and two touchdowns. After beginning his day 0-for-5, his first completion was good for a 19-yard score to Jafar Williams. He finished 10-for-26 overall, and 10-for-21 after the first five incompletions. He did not throw an interception.

* Senior receiver and return specialist Guilian Gary caught two passes for 26 yards, and returned two punts for 17 yards. Gary moved into third place on the Terps' career chart for punt returns (62). He is fifth in career punt return yards (493) and just seven yards from becoming the fourth Terp ever to pass 500 career yards.

* Guilian Gary, Jafar Williams and Scooter Monroe each had three pass receptions to lead the Terps' receiving corps.

* Attendance: 44,080