Extra Points: Gio, The Oral History

By Lee Pace
 
Larry Fedora was introduced at a press conference on Dec. 9, 2011, as the Tar Heels’ new head football coach. After thanking and acknowledging those who’d helped in his career, after talking about recruiting and the Carolina brand, the first words from his mouth specifically about the game of football were these: “On special teams, and I’m not just starting there by chance, we will be very aggressive. You can count on game-changing plays on special teams.”
 
And so it came to pass.
 
Nine games into the Fedora era, Gio Bernard and 10 teammates on the punt return squad engineered a 74-yard return known as “The Wall” with Swiss-timepiece precision. The resulting touchdown turned Kenan Stadium into a cauldron of noise and emotion as the Tar Heels collected a 43-35 win over N.C. State.
 
Carolina had lost five straight games to the Wolfpack when State came to Chapel Hill on Oct. 27, 2012, the last two of the losses with some extra salt in the wound from the evolving off-the-field issues that would result in sanctions against the Tar Heels. It took no time for Fedora to buy into the rivalry and throughout his tenure at Carolina would only refer to the Wolfpack as “the team in red.” Carolina was 5-3 and had just dropped a three-point decision at Duke. The Tar Heels arrived at Kenan Football Center Sunday after losing in Durham the night before to find their locker room festooned with red streamers and balloons. The managers also printed off State logos and put one in every locker.
 
“I had red streamers in my practice shoes,” says Bryn Renner, the starting quarterback that year. “No one said a word on Sunday when we went to lift. You talk about being mad. That set the tone for the week.”
 
Thirty seconds remained on the scoreboard clock in Kenan Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Thirty-five points for Carolina, thirty-five for N.C. State.
 
The emotional juice from the Tar Heels’ just-unveiled chrome helmets, the new navy socks and silver-and-navy shoes had worn off. The razzle-dazzle of a double-pass, reverse and flea-flicker so well executed in the first quarter had settled into a focus of trying to get Bernard, Eric Ebron and Sean Tapley into mismatches against N.C. State’s linebackers and safeties. The Tar Heels burst to 25 first-quarter points, morphed into a somnambulant mid-game and ignited again with a…