- Back to News |
- Community |
- Police |
- State |
- Nation |
- Politics |
- World |
- Weather |
- Archives |
- Back to home
Enlarge Image
Rhett Butler/The Daily Reflector
East Carolina quarterback Patrick Pinkney carries the ball as he is tackled by Virginia Tech's Jason Worilds at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Thursday night.
Gerry Broome/AP
Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor, left, is hit by East Carolina's Scotty Robinson during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Greenville.
Gerry Broome/ASSOCIATED PRESS
East Carolina's Rob Kass (14) grimaces after an injury during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Virginia Tech.
Gerry Broome/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Virginia Tech's Davon Morgan, right, brings down East Carolina's Darryl Freeney during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Greenville, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009.
Enlarge Image
Gerry Broome/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Virginia Tech's Greg Boone (8) and East Carolina's Van Eskridge (4 go up for a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Greenville, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009. The pass fell incomplete.
Gerry Broome/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) dives for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against East Carolina in Greenville.
Enlarge Image
Gerry Broome/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Virginia Tech's Jarrett Boykin (81) is stopped by East Carolina's Emanuel Davis during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Greenville.
Enlarge Image
Jenni Farrow/The Daily Reflector
East Carolina fans line up before the gates open at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Thursday night.
More in News
Blackout for ECU offense
By Nathan Summers
The Daily Reflector
Thursday, November 05, 2009
A scheduled blackout in the stands Thursday night at East Carolina carried over onto the playing field.
ECU football fans donned black shirts in support of their team, but the Pirates could not solve the stalwart defense of visiting No. 22 Virginia Tech, which effectively turned the lights out in a 16-3 win.
The Pirates (5-4) played great defense as well, keeping the score within 10 points for much of the game. But on the offensive end, a few critical miscues smeared the Pirates’ chances for points and complemented the play of the defense of the Hokies (6-3).
“It was frustrating. We knew it was going to be a low-scoring game,” fifth-year ECU coach Skip Holtz said after his team failed to beat at least one Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in the regular season for the first time in his tenure with the Pirates. “We were going to rely on our defense, try to control the ball a little bit with our running game. Offensively, we ran the ball really well.”
The Pirates, trying to upend a ranked Virginia Tech team for the second consecutive season, could not take the initiative away from the Hokies despite the game’s plodding, meticulous pace which produced just one touchdown all night.
ECU passer Patrick Pinkney (167 yards, 0 touchdowns) outdueled Tech QB Tyrod Taylor (137 yards, 0 touchdowns). But Tech freshman back Ryan Williams stole the show with his 179 yards rushing.
Dominique Lindsay led the Pirates with 69 ground yards.
The scoring died completely in the second half at 13-3 until Matt Waldon stroked his third field goal of the game to finish the scoring with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
In the second half, the Virginia Tech offense nickel-and-dimed its way behind Williams (179 yards), who joined Marshall’s Darius Marshall as the only backs to rush for 100 yards against ECU this season.
The ECU offense, meanwhile, mustered 277 yards of total offense to Tech’s 379, and accrued 14 first downs, eight less than the Hokies.
Yellow flags flew at the worst possible moments for the Pirates, who were penalized eight times for 79 yards.
“It seemed like every time we had a 10- or 15-yard play, you look back and there was always a flag on the ground,” Holtz said. “It wasn’t just the 10-yard penalty, it was taking a big play away from us on offense. That takes the air out of your balloon a little bit.”
As has been the case in each of the last two meetings between the teams, critical mistakes swayed the momentum.
Early in the third quarter, the Pirates shot themselves in the foot after successfully driving to the Virginia Tech 18-yard line. Two big bursts in the run game — an 18-yard gain from Lindsay and a 16-yard stroll by Giavanni Ruffin — had the Pirates headed for the end zone, but Ruffin lost the handle on his next hand-off, and Tech was headed back the other way.
It was the second promising ECU drive squelched by a mistake, as the Pirates saw a first quarter touchdown erased by a holding penalty.
“We didn’t capitalize on the big plays,“ said Lindsay, whose 20-yard touchdown was called back. “We had opportunities where we went down the field and didn’t get anything out of it.
“Turnovers and penalties killed us. We should have been more disciplined.”
Late in the third with the score still 13-3, the Pirates drove behind wide receiver Dwayne Harris in the wildcat formation and found the going just as tough as Pinkney did.
With Pinkney back under center in the fourth, the senior fired and missed Harris down field, then threw behind Darryl Freeney to stifle a drive. A second drive in the fourth met with the same result, never crossing the ECU 40-yard line.
Virginia Tech seized control in a sluggish game with just over two minutes to play in the opening half. Already leading 6-0 after a pair of Waldron field goals, Taylor took off through to his left from the ECU 13-yard line, steered around a couple of blocks and dove, planting his right hand and the football into the front corner of the end zone, giving Tech a 13-0 lead.
ECU countered to score its only points of the half during a furious two-minute drill in which Pinkney continually found Alex Taylor, who made five catches in the half for 60 yards. As time expired in the half, Ben Hartman connected on a 24-yard field goal to make it 13-3 at the break.
The teams also traded fumbles to no avail, but Tech’s 252-yard production in the first half was boosted by six ECU penalties for 60 yards.
Lindsay’s touchdown in the first quarter erased by one of those infractions, a 10-yard holding call against offensive lineman Terence Campbell, and the drive ended when Pinkney zipped a short pass to tight end Rob Kass, who fumbled the ball away.
Both Kass (right knee) and defensive back Dekota Marshall (broken leg) left the field and are feared lost for the season.
Contact Nathan Summers at nsummers@reflector.com or (252) 329-9595.
The Daily Reflector
|
Weather
|
Sports
|
Look
|
Business
|
Opinion
|
Classifieds
|
Site Map
Cars
|
Jobs
|
Homes
Copyright 2009 The Daily Reflector All rights reserved. - The Daily Reflector - Our Partners
By using this service, you accept the terms of our
visitor agreement
and
privacy policy. About our ads.
Registered site users, you may edit your profile.
Having trouble? Visit our
help & FAQ
Your comments
statman200
11/08/2009 11:34:04 PM
to "josh supporter"..........Jordan came in with 1:07 to play and took 4 snaps. Not impressive, you say? Who could be, given that lousy opportunity? Get real. PP peaked in the first half of the 2008 Liberty Bowl. Since then, he's been very, Very, VERY average. But we don't have many options at QB since the coaching staff hasn't given anyone else enough playing time to even break a sweat. Poor planning.
Suggest removalSay it ain't so
11/07/2009 04:26:14 PM
Rush - Say it ain't so. Please say you are kidding, joking...Just flat out lying.
Suggest removalESEAU
11/07/2009 12:55:55 PM
Kay get your eyes checked seriously! and go back to UNC
Suggest removalKay Clemens
11/07/2009 11:27:36 AM
We live in Hokie territory and as a true ECU fan we were displaying our Pirate Pride to all our friends. We were very disappointed to find the crowd wearing black and the Pirate uniforms showing up as blue instead of the beautiful Purple. We felt ECU didn't show its true colors.
Suggest removalRush
11/06/2009 08:22:59 PM
This just in ... "Patrick Pinkney to return to ECU next season; Skip is retaining his services as a quarterback coach!!!"
Suggest removalI think that last night
11/06/2009 07:32:10 PM
showed that ECU is only a couple of players away from being able to do something like TCU, Boise State, and Utah have all accomplished. They beat VA Tech last year. And this year they hung right in there with them......held them to one TD. And ECU had a TD called back over a BS call. I bet they go on to win their conference this year. And watch out for them next year.
Suggest removalObserver
11/06/2009 05:37:22 PM
Too many people are trying to blame the refs. ECU is a average team with average coaches and players in an average conference...nothing more. That's why they lost. Last year is over so welcome back to reality all you ECU fans. BAHAHAHAHAHA.
Suggest removalwisdom
11/06/2009 05:12:27 PM
I am not into the personal attacks. My Pirates continue to turn the ball over and make costly mistakes. This has been an anemic offense all season. If we would have executed , we would have been in the game until the end. The sad reality is that we are mediocre at best !
Suggest removalPaul Ellingson
11/06/2009 05:11:56 PM
The game did not go our way, but the paint scheme @ midfield was amazing. A nice stadium print of last night's crowd and the midfield logo are tops on my Christmas list. Well done Greenville!
Suggest removalto ACC fan
11/06/2009 04:07:14 PM
no, I would rather be a Pirate and lose a football game and be 5 and 4 than to be a castrated turkey and be 6 and 3, thanks for asking though
Suggest removalACC fan
11/06/2009 03:48:52 PM
"so a hokie is a "castrated turkey" WOW, now we know"
Suggest removalIt must be pretty embarrassing to be a pirate and to be beaten soundly by a castrated turkey don't you think?
what is a hokie??
11/06/2009 03:21:53 PM
definition..an emasculated turkey. what does emasculated mean..to castrate. so a hokie is a "castrated turkey" WOW, now we know
Suggest removalDG
11/06/2009 02:17:45 PM
I don't care who you are, some of these comments are really funny.
Suggest removalAbout the game - the teams looked very even in talent - except for the VT running back who was by far the best player on the field. In the end, it was the penalties (and for some really dumb stuff,too)and turnovers, and just plain bad luck that killed ECU. If they could have just cut the penalties in half, I think they'd have been in the game to the end.
to VT rules
11/06/2009 01:30:52 PM
it was reported that Frank Beamer was only going to be dressing 20 players for the ECU game, the rest of the team had to dress themselves...
Suggest removalto VT rules
11/06/2009 01:28:58 PM
what do you call a fine looking girl on the VT campus?
Suggest removala visitor....
to VT rules
11/06/2009 01:28:00 PM
how many VT freshmen does it take to change a light bulb?
Suggest removalNone, thats a sophmore course...
to VT rules
11/06/2009 01:20:24 PM
what does VT and pot have in common?
Suggest removalthey both get smoked in bowls...
Blackbeard
11/06/2009 01:19:09 PM
The Pirates lost to a better team ...but..not so much better that they couldn't have won. SOMEBODY in the ECU athletic dept. needs to go ahead and say it..the officials were biased, over officiated the game,and were the most aggessive team on the field. I don't mind losing...I hate seeing the officials decide the game
Suggest removalVT RULES
11/06/2009 12:56:59 PM
WHAT DO THE PIRATES AND BILLY GRAHAM HAVE IN COMMON???
Suggest removalTHEY BOTH CAN MAKE A CROWD OF 70,000 STAND UP AND SAY JESUS CHRIST!!!
VT RULES
11/06/2009 12:55:59 PM
HOW DO YOU KEEP THE PIRATES OUT OF YOUR BACKYARD??????
Suggest removalPUT UP A GOALPOST!!!
Kinston Buc
11/06/2009 11:59:17 AM
ACC Fan go back to Obama headquarters I hear the gay rights movement is calling you
Suggest removalTo ACC fan
11/06/2009 11:57:09 AM
You sure pay very close attention to ECU for someone who doesn't like them. All over the game, the blog, everything.
Suggest removalAnd by the way genius, West Virginia is not mediocre. They are ranked in the top 30 in all polls and were 20 last week. That is way above average if you are trying to figure it out.
Josh supporter
11/06/2009 11:54:52 AM
buc, Josh Jordan was not impressive last night. End of Story. And I truly beleive he is not a better player than PP, ortherwise he would be the starter. Come on...let's keep it real
Suggest removalSad Just Sad
11/06/2009 11:52:31 AM
DP...I disagree with the idea of 17 behind the center. The play is old and every team we play who watch the tapes, will stop that play. We have so many weapons on the field at any given time. Can we come up with some new plays, coaches...please. Dwayne can throw, Kass can throw...Something new please
Suggest removalReally now
11/06/2009 11:44:26 AM
Enought already, i have been watching Patrick for the last 3 years. And he has truly been consisent. He has the ability to get players hurt. Delayed throws and not reading the entire field well. Last night is just a demonstration of the last three seasons. It is what it is...
Suggest removalTo LTP
11/06/2009 11:42:56 AM
Yea, the waitress at O'Cools
Suggest removalEnough already
11/06/2009 11:34:55 AM
Enough about Pinkney. You try standing back there with no blocking and deliver a ball on the money. He throws short passes on 3rd and long because that is all that is open to him. Yes the receivers look open to us on tv or in the stands, but we aren't in the middle of the offensive lineman and blitzing defenders. I say the line and playcalling are more to blame than PP. Plus, how many dropped passes have there been?
Suggest removalECU man to: Bias Refs
11/06/2009 11:30:06 AM
You definitely do not know rule terminology. I could see you wanting a block in the back but not a chop block on the Marshall injury. Chop blocks involve 2 players on the same team. Marshall just got leveled on the side and his foot was in a bad spot. I replayed it over and over and it was nasty, but a legal hit. VT showed they can deliver vicious, but legal Special Teams blocks.
Suggest removalltp
11/06/2009 11:28:53 AM
Defense did a good job when it counted. Holding VT to one TD in a game is not something to be ashamed of. Offense on the other hand is a different story. If we had an offense that matched our defense, we would be in the top 25 with no problem. Sadly we don't and it is not getting better only withering to nothing. It is mostly mental and it is what is not going on in Pinkney's head. He has to be thinking about something other than football.
Suggest removalkeeping it real
11/06/2009 11:17:27 AM
ACC Fan, The ACC is a joke. But as far as C-USA there is not argument the ACC is better however, do not act like the ACC is the strongest conference in the country. As far as the mediocre team in the Big East that ECU lost to has a 6-2 record which is better than both VT and UNC.
Suggest removalEZU fan
11/06/2009 11:14:11 AM
The run defense didn't play well either. Ryan Williams rushed for 179 yards. EZU still sucks!
Suggest removalperplexed pirate
11/06/2009 11:13:26 AM
To ACC FAN... you want to make jokes about team logos.. are you serious!! UNC ~~ Dirty Feet and Goats ~~ and you call us rednecks. Get a bar of soap and stop painting your girlfriends horns baby blue, pink is OK. Obvious there's no animal rights ativists that attend Chapel Hill.
Suggest removalMy Observation
11/06/2009 11:09:03 AM
I'm not a PP fan but it was clear that many of the "errant" passes PP thew could have been caught if the receivers would recognize that VT was blitizing on obvious passing downs. They should have broken their routes, turned their head around, and make the adjustment to catch the ball. Some were really good passes and could have sustained drives. Just basic football here.
Suggest removalkeeping it real
11/06/2009 10:58:34 AM
And to the ACC Fan guy, Do you watch football?? Yea Taylor did fumble on the 1 but ECU forced the fumble. As far as the holding call goes on the TD I have watched the play over and over again and I still cant find the holding call. Plz read next comment ACC fan
Suggest removalltp
11/06/2009 10:58:29 AM
Pinkney should have been pulled after the third drive in which he did nothing. Really Skip does Syracuse still want you? You played a QB that looked like he could not hit the broad side of a barn for the whole game. I think all 43,000 in the stands knew you should have tried something else. Why didn't you?
Suggest removalkeeping it real
11/06/2009 10:55:02 AM
PP is not great, but for all the Pirate fans he plays at his best when there is competition for him at the QB position. Look at the last two years when it was an "open" competition between him and Kass. With an open competition PP played well enough for us to win.
Suggest removalMy thinking
11/06/2009 10:42:12 AM
Some thoughts about ECU injuries. ECU players lack the speed and alertness of what's happening on the field. Penalties also indicate a grasp (no pun intended) of basic football fundamentals. Out of conference losses to much better players
Suggest removalwill always be the end result. In conference losses at least Southern Miss. and Houston (if ECU wins East Division)
Then on to some rinky dink bowl to loose to a six win team. That's Pirate football!
Pir808
11/06/2009 10:41:54 AM
The fans were great! I don't know what game you were watching?
Suggest removalESEAU
11/06/2009 10:40:56 AM
And just because I know what kind of person you are just by reading your post I will go ahead and correct myself, topic you have "chosen".
Suggest removalTo the fans
11/06/2009 10:39:17 AM
Wow you guys sure gave up after the half. I felt like I was the only one out there making noise on the Pirate club side! So many people sitting down and looking solemn throughout the 3rd quarter. At least support the D while they're on the field! They held the hokies to 13 for much of the game and thats something.
Suggest removalESEAU
11/06/2009 10:37:04 AM
ACC fan why don't you try something different than your counter parts and show some class. Everything you say is discredited due to your lack of knowledge about any topic you have choosed to talk about. Find an issue, research it a bit then come to the table and argue you would look much better.
Suggest removal...
11/06/2009 10:33:17 AM
Sad, really. Gotta love ignorance.
Suggest removalACC Fan
11/06/2009 10:28:23 AM
"To PP: Did you just use "democrat" as a slur?"
Suggest removalWell, if PP is an eastern NC Republican, then it is probably DEFINITELy a slur. They just can't stand to think that someone else may have another opinion of anything. It is just the way those people are...
...
11/06/2009 10:24:05 AM
To PP: Did you just use "democrat" as a slur?
Suggest removalACC fan
11/06/2009 10:20:27 AM
"(Can't win if you can't score no matter how well the defense plays)!"
Suggest removalDid ECU's defense really play that well? I do recall VT fumbling out of the end zone which should have been another 7 points scored against the purple pirates. The "GREAT" ECU defense last night allowed VT almost 400 yards of offense. Doesn't sound like they did a very good job to me.
ACC fan
11/06/2009 10:20:27 AM
"(Can't win if you can't score no matter how well the defense plays)!"
Suggest removalDid ECU's defense really play that well? I do recall VT fumbling out of the end zone which should have been another 7 points scored against the purple pirates. The "GREAT" ECU defense last night allowed VT almost 400 yards of offense. Doesn't sound like they did a very good job to me.
DP
11/06/2009 10:17:18 AM
Seems we're changing everything but the QB! I liked the idea of putting 17 behind center. That was the only way we could get the ball in his hands last night.
Suggest removalperplexed pirate
11/06/2009 10:13:52 AM
Hey ACC FAN, I think is was YOUR mediocre Tarholes that switched to Navy Blue against the Hokies. Trying to change your baby blue pansy reputation and it worked... you Finally beat them this year. Your 15 minutes are up democrat, crawl back in your baby blue hole.
Suggest removalcj
11/06/2009 10:10:28 AM
good job defense! too bad you couldn't score a few yourselves. the offense should be embarrassed by their performance. changes need to be made.
Suggest removalgod my throat hurts this morning.
buc
11/06/2009 10:06:18 AM
why not give Jordan a chance. if you don't have any production at qb search until you find someone that can throw the football. this kid has been practicing for two years and waiting for a chance, give him one. it shows no willingness to give another an opportunity. does this remind you of a coach named Fox for the Panthers.
Suggest removalPost a Comment
Comments that include profanity, personal attacks or any other inappropriate material are prohibited. By using our site you agree to our ground rules and our terms of use. There could be a delay of up to 5 minutes before your comment appears.