Under the orange dome lights, freshman running back Demon June became the nightmare Syracuse couldn’t wake from.
The North Carolina freshman delivered a frightful Halloween performance, piling up 182 total yards and two touchdowns in the Tar Heels’ 27-10 win that snapped a four-game skid. His mix of patience, burst, and balance turned simple plays into scenes straight out of a Halloween thriller.
“It just felt good to see the hard work paying off,” June said. “Once you practice it so much, it becomes second nature.”
The highlight came early in the second half. On a perfectly timed screen, June slipped through a pair of tacklers, unleashed a stiff arm worthy of a horror flick, and sprinted 72 yards for the touchdown. “Big shout-out to the O-line,” he said. “They’re the ones who got that play going. I just made a guy miss, broke again, and when another came up, I threw the stiff arm and kept going.”
DEMON JUNE. 72 YARDS. 🤯
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 1, 2025
📺 ESPN x @UNCFootball pic.twitter.com/njL1cbrtxE
By the end of the night, June had 13 carries for 101 yards and two receptions for 81 yards. For a freshman who’d waited behind older backs, it was proof that preparation meets opportunity. “You attack every practice the same,” he said. “When your number’s called, you’re ready. It’s a mindset thing.”
After back-to-back heartbreakers, the Tar Heels finally exhaled. “It felt good,” June said with a grin. “It won’t be the last time it feels that way either.”
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Halloween may have belonged to ghosts and goblins elsewhere, but in the Dome, the only Demon that mattered wore Carolina blue, leaving Syracuse defenders haunted long after the lights went out.
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