On to the Swamp

By Brian Bailey
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If East Carolina's game plan for Saturday night was to get out with a win and head to Gainesville, then I would say, ‘Mission accomplished.’

The Pirates got their first look at a revamped offense and highly touted defense in the 28-20 win over Towson, and reviews were mixed.

The ECU offense was workman-like all night long. New quarterback Blake Kemp dinked and dunked his way to a very solid first outing. Senior running back Chris Hairston rushed for a career best 154 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead the Pirate offense.

The Pirate defense struggled with the Towson offense, especially running back Darius Victor, whom ECU coach Ruffin McNeill described as a bowling ball with knives. Victor almost made the Tigers just that, the victor, as he rushed for 137 yards on 28 carries.

“He’s a load,” said coach McNeill. “But, I thought we ran to the ball extremely well. They tackled well for our first game. We had two turnovers and we stopped them three times on fourth down, which in my mind, that’s five turnovers. I was proud of that.”

That last stop certainly had the crowd buzzing. Towson was on the move, needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game late. On fourth down the Tigers went over the middle to their big tight end.

That’s when Pirate strong safety Terrell Richardson came up big. Richardson put a huge hit on Towson’s Sam Gallahan, jarring the football loose and preserving in the Pirate victory.

“It was the biggest hit of my career,” said Richardson smiling. “I knew it was legal, but I was worried because I saw the officials huddling on the side. I’m just glad we were able to win the game.”

Twos were certainly wild in the Pirates' opening night win. Both Chris Hairston and Terrell Richardson wear No. 22 for East Carolina. Both can wear the same number, by rule, as long as they are not on the field at the same time. It made me want to head to the store and play 2-2-2 on the pick three.

The Pirates were big favorites and didn’t turn the football over in game one.

Towson played East Carolina tough, and Tigers coach Rob Ambrose said his team took away many positives from the loss.

“You play a perennial bowl team in one of the hardest places to play in America,” said Ambrose. “You stick with them and have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter. That says a lot about what these kids can do. Now we just have to build on what we did here, get over the loss, and keep moving forward."

The Pirates also look to move forward, heading south this week to take on Florida down at the Swamp. Gainesville is another tough place to play.

“I hope we can have the same type of atmosphere this week,” said first year Gators coach Jim McElwain. “We’ve got a good team (East Carolina) coming in here.”

“We know we’re going to play a very talented football team, the University of Florida, with a lot of tradition,” said Coach Ruff at his weekly news conference on Monday. “Mac’s (Jim McElwain) a good coach. I’ve known Mac a long time. He’s got a great staff with Randy Shannon and those guys. Then you’re playing in The Swamp.

"We’re looking forward to preparing, knowing we’re facing a really talented football team.”

The Pirates head to Gainesville as an early 19-point underdog.

Teams usually show the most improvement from week one to week two. The Pirates will have to be better on defense and more versatile on offense to win this week.

The challenge is a big one, but one this Pirate team has looked forward to since falling to the Gators in the bowl game back in January.

BB

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