Dec. 24, 1999 SportsLine wire reports

HONOLULU -- Wake Forest and Arizona State made it to the Aloha Bowl the hard way.

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Having to win their final regular-season games to gain bowl bids, both did to earn a place in the Christmas Day game.

For the Demon Deacons (6-5), getting to their first bowl game in seven seasons followed a 26-23 victory over then-No. 14 Georgia Tech.

For the 23 fifth-year seniors on the team, that meant redemption after years of struggle and a rewarding trip for remaining faithful to the program.

"A lot of people take the easy way out and go to big-name schools," defensive back DaLawn Parrish said. "We chose to come here to make a difference. I started as a freshman and we were 1-10. We had a meeting when we were freshmen and we told coach (Jim) Caldwell we wouldn't abandon ship, we wouldn't leave.

"When you look at all the things we went through and what we accomplished, it was worth it."

Arizona State (6-5) had to beat rival Arizona to get the bowl bid, overcoming a poor season's start that included losses to New Mexico State and California.

"We earned it. We did it the hard way," coach Bruce Snyder said, recalling victories at Washington, and over UCLA, Southern Cal and rival Arizona. "This team has gone through a lot of struggle and stress."

Beating Arizona 42-27 was costly: quarterback Ryan Kealy tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

That leaves the Sun Devils with John Leonard and Griffin Goodman to lead the offense. Both quarterbacks will play in the first half, Snyder said. Then, Snyder will decide who plays the second half.

Wake Forest averages 317 yards a game, half rushing and half passing, and is averaging 22 points a game. The Demon Deacons like to run to set up the pass, then rely on their defense, ranked 26th nationally, to give them an advantage in field position.

Morgan King led Wake Forest with 1,161 yards and 10 touchdowns, while quarterback Ben Sankey passed for 1,496 yards and nine touchdowns.

"They're going to run the ball, make the field as short as possible," Arizona State defensive coordinator Phil Snow said. "They play great defense and special teams and I think what they are trying to do is beat you 20-14."

Arizona State averages 410 yards on offense and 25 points a game and, without Kealy, will rely heavily on J.R. Redmond, whose 1,085 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns this season gave him 3,210 yards and 32 TDs for his career. He also played strong safety this season.

"Any time you lose a guy like Ryan, it puts pressure on everybody to step up their game," Redmond said. "That's fine with me because I like that kind of situation."

For King, losing would put a damper on what has been a joyful season for the Demon Deacons and their fans.

"Being 7-5 is our goal," he said. "Wake Forest is such a small community. You walk down the street and people ... they'll come and tell how excited they are and how much they enjoyed watching you, how proud they are of you. So it's something I want to bring back to our fans."