bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHESNUT HILL, Mass. -- North Carolina safety Deunta Williams was on the phone with one of his friends earlier this week, and the friend was raving about teammate Kendric Burney's three-interception performance in a win over Miami last weekend.
The junior then told his friend to make sure he watched Saturday's game against Boston College.
A week after Burney's record-setting day, Williams had his own three-pick performance to help the Tar Heels beat the Eagles 31-13 at Alumni Stadium. It was the fourth consecutive victory for UNC (8-3, 4-3), and the school's longest winning streak since winning five straight in 2001.
"It's a little competition between us," said Williams, whose 21st birthday was Saturday. "We're both from Jacksonville, North Carolina so I couldn't let him go out like that."
Williams' interceptions, including one he returned to the Eagles' 1 to set up the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, accounted for three of the six turnovers UNC's eighth-ranked defense forced against BC (7-4, 4-3). After struggling to create turnovers early in the season, the Tar Heels have recorded 14 turnovers the past four games.
Williams now leads the team with six interceptions compared to Burney's five.
"I said, 'Can't I lead the team for more than a week in interceptions?' " Burney said jokingly. "But you know I'm so happy for him."
But it's not like Burney came up empty-handed Saturday.
UNC jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first ten minutes of the game when it took its opening drive down the field for a 1-yard Ryan Houston run and got two touchdowns from its defense -- one of which came from Burney.
The first defensive touchdown was scored by 6-4, 325 pound lineman Cam Thomas -- who scooped up a fumble caused by teammate E.J. Wilson's sack -- and then lumbered 20 yards into the end zone to put his team up 14-0.
"I ain't no bragger, I'm going to act like I've been there before," said Thomas, whose last touchdown came when he played fullback in high school. "But it felt good, I'm not going to lie."
And 1:14 later, Burney broke the school record for interceptions returned for touchdowns. The junior picked off quarterback Dave Shinskie and strolled 30 yards into the end zone for his third career interception returned for a touchdown. It's the second consecutive game UNC's defense has scored two touchdowns, and the Tar Heels lead the ACC with seven non-offensive touchdowns this season.
Shinskie was picked off four times and finished 12 of 28 for 101 yards.
"You can't [give them 21 points] with a defense like that -- that's the bottom line" BC linebacker Mike McLaughlin said. "You put yourself behind the eight-ball."
But even though the Eagles faced such a large deficit early in the game, they made it a one-score game just before halftime. BC capitalized on an Erik Highsmith fumble with a 28-yard field goal and turned a T.J. Yates interception into a 20-yard field goal. UNC's third turnover of the first half, another Yates interception, resulted in a the Eagles' lone touchdown of the day -- a 2-yard pass from Shinskie to Rich Gunnell -- to cut the lead to 21-13 at the break.
"I don't think I have been in a game where there were as many sudden change situations in a game as there were today," UNC coach Butch Davis said. "Sometimes if things are so easy early then all of a sudden, if you are not careful, you let up a little bit and allow teams to get back into the game."
But Williams made sure the Eagles didn't make a full comeback.
The fourth quarter began with the Eagles still in striking distance as neither team scored in the third quarter and Yates was picked off in the end zone for his third interception of the night.
But with five minutes remaining in the game Williams grabbed his third pick at BC's 40 and, even though it appeared he had reached the end zone, he was ruled down at BC's 1. One play later Houston punched it in to put UNC up 28-13 and seal the victory.
"It hurt a little bit, I can't lie," said Williams, who hasn't scored a touchdown in his collegiate career. "I wanted the end zone real bad, man. I was fighting, I was pushing, I was clawing and everything but I guess my butt hit before I turned around and fell over. I tried, man."
NOTES -- Houston sat out most of the second half after bruising his quad during the first half of Saturday's game. The junior said he's fine and he sat out because the coaches didn't want him to risk getting more injured. ...Defensive end Robert Quinn recorded his 11 sack of the season Saturday.
