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(Photo: Wake Forest Athletics )   It was a toasty afternoon at Allegacy Stadium on Saturday as Jake Dickert's 2026-27 squad got their first reps in front of a crowd. It was defense vs. offense, and the defense won the day in the scoring column (Defense: 7 points - Takeaway or 4th down stop, 4 points - Missed field goal, 4 points - Forced punt, 2 points - Safety, 1 point - Three-and-out. Offense: 6 points - Touchdown, 3 points - Field goal, 2 points - 2-points play, 1 point - PAT) by a final score of 51-38.  Quarterbacks:  - Gio Lopez only got a few drives, but he looked more than solid. His first drive ended in an interception in the end zone, but it was just a great play from Deuce Blades to win the battle for the ball with Jack Foley. He had some nice finds for Carlos Hernandez and Kam Shanks. Lopez's second drive ended in a field goal, after some connections with Hernandez, Bryce Kania, and Kamrean Johnson. Third drive ended in his only touchdown of the day, as he found a hole and scrambled for a score. The fourth and last of his drives was a three-and-out. Not the best day of his camp but not the worst, he made good decisions and got the job done.  - It was the best I've seen Steele Pizzella this spring. Four of his seven drives ended in touchdowns and one ended in a field goal. He wasn't super flash, but he was more consistent throwing the football on the run than I've ever seen him. Had some really nice reads including a touchdown pass that he floated over two defenders to the back corner of the end zone for Wondame Davis. Definitely had at least one throw that should've been a pick for Jerron Blackwell, but it ends up being just a PBU. There's no quarterback controversy here, but it was a great day for Steele.  - Grant Lawless and Gannon Jones had some hiccups. Three drives for the former and they all ended in stops, including a fumbled snap that he couldn't fall on before Josh Harrison did. Jones had some nice connections with Kobe Adeleke-Hokes, but his second drive ended in a poor decision as Michael Ahoua jumped the route in the end zone an picked him off relatively easily for what may have gone all the way if it was a game.  Offensive Standouts:  - Elijah Otieno keeps being a name we've come back to this spring. His explosiveness and consistency has made him a safety blanket for the 2's and 3's and he showcased the former for a touchdown down the right side in the second series of the first half.  - Kam Shanks was great in the slot, and he's clearly someone that multiple of these QB's are comfortable with when they've got nothing downfield. Real legit speed.  - I thought Will Way was great at center, the offensive line as a whole had some issues but he seemed to have good control of the interior. Opened up some holes to scramble a few times too.  - The tight ends had a good day, they've been weapons for medium yardage offensively with good work from Kam Johnson, Landon Morris, Will Loerzel, and Dominick Barry, to name a few.  - Hernandez and Shanks are both going to be frequent targets for Lopez. Just got it done.  Defensive Standouts:  - Good day from the corners, especially pressed in the red zone. Blades had the pick on the first drive and Sascha Garcia had a really strong PBU on Chase Tyler on a deep ball to the end zone.  - Jerron Blackwell popped a bit with the 2's, almost had a pick and had an impressive wrap-up of a much bigger Dominick Berry.  - Joel Lowenberg had a really nice drive in the early second half as he downed Pizzella on a keeper and was shot out of a cannon for a "sack" on the next play.  - Dallas Afalava is the leader the Deacs need him to be on the defensive line. It's constant pressure from 52, he came up with some big tackles for a loss.  - Cam Hardy and Tyler Walton both had good days on the edge, that position is just winning every scrimmage this fall.  Special Teams:  - The highlight of the day was actually in this category, and it was Connor Calvert drilling a 57-yard field goal at the first half buzzer. Got it center cut and it had some extra distance on it too.  - Punting from Ethan Hyams (with no defense): 40 yards, 40, 41, 38, 36, 44.