Inside
Game Day
Saturday, September 6, 2014
By Al Myatt |
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Pirates move ball in loss
Al Myatt
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COLUMBIA, SC —
Regardless of the venue and caliber of opponent, East Carolina's goal was to
win a football game at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday night.
The fact that the Pirates topped
No. 21 South Carolina 453-441 in total yardage was little consolation in a
33-23 ECU loss.
Having to settle for field goals
early in the game, a couple of uncharacteristic turnovers by Pirates
quarterback Shane Carden in the third quarter and a run-heavy,
time-consuming drive by USC in the fourth quarter contributed to the
outcome.
There was an inclination to
wonder if settling for field goals on ECU's first two possessions might
ultimately be a factor.
"You always want to get seven,"
said Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill. "You always want to get points at the end
of a series and I was proud of (Warren) Harvey for converting."
For the first time in 26 games,
ECU did not receive the opening kickoff. The Gamecocks won the toss and
elected to take the ball, a bit of gamesmanship perhaps by South Carolina
coach Steve Spurrier.
The Pirates defense got the ball
soon enough, stopping Gamecocks quarterback Dylan Thompson for a one-yard
gain on third-and-five on the third play from scrimmage.
ECU drove from its 3-yard line
for first-and-goal at the USC 8.
Shane Carden completed his first
six passes. A 21-yard connection to Justin Hardy gave the Pirates a
first-and-goal opportunity but a first down pass off play action fell
incomplete. Carden was stopped for no gain on second down and threw
incomplete on third down.
Harvey's 26-yard field goal with
9:20 left in the first quarter gave ECU a 3-0 lead.
It was a much faster start than
in
a 48-10 loss in William-Brice
Stadium in 2012 when the Pirates' first points came on a 23-yard Harvey boot
with 1:44 left in the third quarter.
The progress was apparent but
that wasn't ECU's mission.
"I feel like we missed an
opportunity," Carden said.
Two plays after taking the lead,
Josh Hawkins intercepted at the South Carolina 43. That series ended with a
35-yard field goal by Harvey for a 6-0 lead with 6:35 left in the first
period.
"We've got to get touchdowns in
a game like this," Carden said. "We had good calls and it was right there.
We've just got execute a little sharper there in the red zone. We've got to
get better in the red zone. We do that and it's a different outcome
tonight."
A 36-yard scoring run by Mike
Davis, who sat out the Gamecocks' 52-28 loss to Texas A&M on Aug. 28,
allowed the hosts to go ahead 7-6 on a conversion kick by Elliott Fry with
1:56 to go in the first.
Carden had five completions for
68 yards on a 75-yard drive that enabled ECU to regain the upper hand on a
10-yard run by Chris Hairston with 13:35 to go in the half. Harvey's kick
provided a 13-7 Pirates advantage.
The Gamecocks had a pair of
field goals sandwiched around a touchdown to lead 20-13 before Carden moved
ECU from its 25 to the USC 22 for a 40-yard Harvey field goal to cut the
margin to 20-16 four seconds before the half.
ECU got the ball to start the
second half. The Pirates moved from their 25 to the South Carolina 37 when
Carden threw under pressure and was picked off at the USC 31.
"I give credit to the defense,"
McNeill said. "Shane was trying to throw it away on that one and got tackled
by the legs."
South Carolina's Sharrod
Golightly made an acrobatic effort to pick off the ball as he was going out
of bounds at the USC 31. Cedric Cooper of the Gamecocks was credited with
the pressure.
Thompson hit K.J. Brent for a
16-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession for a 27-16 Gamecocks lead.
T.J. Gurley snatched a Carden
pass over the middle on ECU's next possession, resulting in a 26-yard Fry
field goal for a 30-16 lead.
"Turnovers are on me," Carden
said. "I can't have that."
Pirate wide receiver Cam Worthy,
who hails from Blair, SC, one of eight ECU players from the Palmetto State,
was on the receiving end of a 17-yard touchdown pass from Carden that drew
ECU within 30-23 with 12:03 to go.
The final scoring drive of the
night for the Pirates covered 75 yards in 11 plays.
South Carolina (1-1) responded
with Brandon Wilds getting six rushes and Davis taking four handoffs on an
18-play drive that started from the Gamecocks 12. Faced with fourth-and-one
at the ECU 2, Spurrier opted for a 20-yard field goal and a two-possession
lead with 1:30 to go.
ECU moved from its 20 to the USC
40 before time expired.
Carden completed 32 of 46 passes
for 321 yards. Hardy had 11 catches for 133 yards. Isaiah Jones had eight
receptions for 46 yards.
Breon Allen led the ground game
with 58 yards on four carries.
Worth Gregory's lone punt was a
52-yarder. Harvey kicked three field goals and had one blocked with 2:22
left in the first half.
The Pirates had to make
adjustments in their preparation. Thursday's practice was canceled due to
lightning. The team practiced Friday morning.
The schedule had to be changed
after the bus trip on Friday because of traffic in Columbia.
"Our kids handled it
wonderfully," McNeill said. " ... Proud of the team and we'll bounce back."
ECU plays on Saturday at noon at
Virginia Tech, which is 2-0 coming off a 35-21 Saturday night win at Ohio
State.
E-mail Al Myatt.
PAGE UPDATED
09/07/14 04:09 PM.
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