CHARLOTTE — East Carolina rented Ericsson Stadium for its home opener against West
Virginia Saturday afternoon. But make no mistake — the Pirates played like they owned
the place.“This
football team has got a great look in its eye right now,” eighth-year coach Steve
Logan said after ECU scored a last-minute touchdown and reaped a 30-23 victory. “The
only question is, no one really knows what just happened. If West Virginia goes on and
wins some games, which we feel will happen, this will have been significant. We think we
just opened against a brand-name team and got a brand-name victory.”
It was anything but Brand X. The
Pirates attacked with surprising ease, churning out 327 yards rushing and 496 total. Nine
plays gained at least 20 yards, as quarterback David Garrard and running back Jamie Wilson
picked apart a West Virginia defense decimated by graduation and last spring’s NFL
draft.
“We actually planned on
throwing the ball more,” said Garrard, who passed for 105 yards and ran for another
95. “But we saw something on the option and we stuck with it. Whatever’s working
for you, that’s what you go with.”
What worked best for the Pirates
were handoffs to Wilson, who emerged as a star waiting to happen by motoring for 183 yards
and a third-quarter touchdown.
“He’s not an
electrifying type of guy,” said Logan. “Just a blue collar guy, a guy who runs
hard and skips the dramatics.”
There was plenty of that in the
fourth period after West Virginia took a 23-22 lead when quarterback Marc Bulger, an
early-season Heisman candidate, lofted a 20-yard TD pass to sky-climbing receiver Khori
Ivory. ECU’s winning drive began when Keith Stokes, a transfer from Georgia Military
College, returned a punt 25 yards to the 43 with 2:39 to play.
“Keith was recruited to help
with our kicking game problems,” said Logan. “What today showed me is that we
guessed right. The kid can play.”
On first down Garrard fired a
seven-yard sideliner to Wilson, then flipped the Greenville native a shovel pass that
gained nine more to the West Virginia 41. Next came a film-at-11 play that saw Garrard
drop back to pass, scramble out of the pocket and sprint straight up the gut on a 30-yard
burst. Along the way he faked pitchouts to both his left and right sides, finally coming
to rest on the Mountaineer 11.
“I just stopped and watched
him go,” said Wilson. “I was supposed to be downfield blocking but he caught me
off-guard. He decided to put a little wiggle in there and when you’re 230 (pounds),
that’s not an easy thing to do.”
Three snaps later Garrard shelved
the fancy moves and powered into the end zone from a yard out, chaperoned by 6-3,
290-pound left tackle Samien Jones. Garrard’s subsequent two-point conversion pass to
tight end Rashon Burns closed the scoring with 56 seconds remaining.
ECU secured its win seconds later
when freshman John Williamson picked off an errant, third-and-10 Bulger pass. The ensuing
celebration cost the Pirates a 15-yard penalty, but no one wearing purple, gold and white
took exception.
“We had to take care of
business,” said mammoth lineman Devone Claybrooks. “We didn’t want anyone
thinking of us as lightweights. We rocked the boat and showed people that we’re
here.”
Cloaked, but certainly not
overlooked in the excitement was an exceptional performance by Bulger. The senior out of
Pittsburgh’s Central Catholic High School — which also produced prolific QB Dan
Marino — set a school record by completing his first 13 passes. He finished 20-for-30
for 209 yards and a pair of scores.
“I was wondering if he was
ever going to miss,” said Logan. “He put the ball in places where I
couldn’t hand it off any better. Not only that, his receivers win every jump ball.
I’m glad we don’t have to play these guys again.”
Instead, the Pirates will ride
their jump start back to Greenville and play host to Duke next Saturday. “Yeah,”
smiled Claybrooks. “And there’s no place like home.” |
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