Bill Belichick earns first home win at North Carolina behind dominant defense

Richmond Spiders 6 North Carolina Tar Heels 41 Final

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina’s defense was dominant and its offense delivered throughout in a convincing victory over Richmond as head coach Bill Belichick earned his first home victory with the Tar Heels.

Freshman running back Demon June had a breakout game, wide receiver Jordan Shipp had two touchdown catches and linebacker Mikai Gbayor added a fumble return for touchdown in a 41-6 win Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.

UNC improved to 2-1 under Belichick, the NFL coaching legend who was hired in December to elevate the Tar Heels’ football program.

June had a 50-yard rush on the Tar Heels’ first possession, which ended with a field goal, and scored on a 45-yard run in the fourth quarter. He finished with 148 yards on 14 attempts as he seemed to establish himself as the team’s top running back.

Quarterback Gio Lopez threw for 119 yards and two touchdowns, both to Shipp, and rushed for another 40 yards.

The defense forced three turnovers, all in the second half. Defensive tackle CJ Mims forced a fumble, and Gbayor returned it 62 yards for a touchdown. Gbayor forced an earlier fumble, and cornerback Jaden Patterson added an interception.

North Carolina held Richmond to less than 200 yards of total offense. Steve Belichick, Bill’s son, is the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator. UNC allowed more than 540 yards of total offense to TCU in its season-opening loss. But the Tar Heels limited Charlotte to 303 yards in last week’s victory before Saturday’s strong performance.

The defense will face a bigger test at UCF on Sept. 20.

Scoring summary

First quarter

UNC – Rece Verhoff 27 field goal, 9:57. Drive: 7 plays, 58 yards, 2:39. Key play: Running back Demon June had a 50-yard run on third-and-1 from the UNC 42 to move the Tar Heels into field goal range. UNC 3, Richmond 0.

UNC — Jordan Shipp 29 pass from Gio Lopez (Verhoff kick), 3:22. Key play: Richmond committed an offside penalty with the Tar Heels lined up to punt on fourth-and-2, giving UNC a first down. UNC 10, Richmond 0.

Second quarter

UNC — Verhoff 22 field goal, 14:51. Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, 1:45. Key play: UNC got the ball at the Richmond 25 after the Spiders’ fake punt attempt was stopped short of the line to gain. UNC 13, Richmond 0.

UNC — Lopez 1 run (Verhoff kick), 10:01. Drive: 7 plays, 36 yards, 2:39. Key play: Will Hardy returned a Richmond punt 22 yards to the Richmond 36; June had a 19-yard catch-and-run off a screen pass. UNC 20, Richmond 0.

Richmond — Jayden Alsheskie 25 field goal, 1:11. Drive: 14 plays, 76 yards, 8:42. Key play: North Carolina’s Kaleb Cost committed a pass interference penalty on third-and-5, giving Richmond its first first down of the game and sparking the first extended drive of the game for the Spiders. UNC 20, Richmond 3.

Third quarter

UNC — Shipp 3 pass from Lopez (Verhoff kick), 2:06. Drive: 7 plays, 34 yards, 3:21. Key plays: Linebacker Mikai Gbayor forced a Richmond fumble, and linebacker Khmori House recovered it at the Richmond 34; June rushed for 18 yards on UNC’s first play. UNC 27, Richmond 3.

Fourth quarter

UNC — Mikai Gbayor 62 fumble return, 14:00. No drive. UNC 34, Richmond 3.

UNC — June 45 run (Verhoff kick), 8:13. UNC 41, Richmond 3.

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