Inside Game Day Saturday, September 26, 2015 By Al Myatt

Pirates have an ace in the hole

Al Myatt
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

GREENVILLE — East Carolina played its hole card on Saturday and completed a straight.

After turnovers helped Virginia Tech to an early 14-0 lead and quarterback Blake Kemp brought ECU level at 14, James Summers took over the offense and led the Pirates to a 35-28 win on a soggy Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

If you went to the refrigerator during the first half of the Florida game, you might have missed Summers' only previous appearance since transferring from Hinds Community College in Mississippi. It was easy to see why North Carolina and N.C. State sought him when he led Greensboro Page to a 4-AA championship in 2011.

Summers ran 21 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed 5 of 8 passes for 110 yards with a score.

"He ran better than we tackled," said Hokies coach Frank Beamer. "He's got ability. When you put him with the throwing guy (Kemp), it's a tough thing to prepare for. We had him several times then missed a tackle."

You have to go back to option operative Leander Green, a teammate of ECU coach Ruffin McNeill in 1979, to find a Pirates quarterback who ran for more yards. Green galloped for 179 against Richmond in a 52-10 ECU win in the last season of the Pat Dye coaching era.

The ground game had been missing in action in a 31-24 setback at Florida in week two when the Gators held ECU to minus-13 yards. The rushing effort showed only a faint pulse last week when it accounted for 80 yards in a 45-21 loss at Navy.

Kemp kept some on the read option early on and ran three yards for a score that completed a 61-yard drive for ECU's first touchdown. That started a decisive string of 28 unanswered points for the Pirates.

ECU, which improved to 2-2, also had a 28-0 spree against North Carolina in a 70-41 win in the fourth game of the 2014 season.

The win was the Pirates' fifth straight against Atlantic Coast Conference teams, a source of pride for the 50,514 on hand as the Hokies failed to get some payback for a 28-21 loss to ECU in Blacksburg a year ago.

The "Gold Out" for the day was mostly in the form of yellow ponchos by the end of the game. Showers were relatively heavy in the second quarter.

The Pirates themselves were back in black with gold trim, including some bright socks.

Receiver Trevon Brown made his first appearance of the season as he returned from a university suspension to make four catches for 44 yards. Brown caught the tying 11-yard TD from Kemp, which stood up under video review with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.

"It was a lot of fun," said Kemp, who completed 9 of 12 for 118 yards after throwing a pick and losing a fumble on the first two series. "At the same time, we totally expected to do it. ... They came out and ran something a little different from what we were expecting. We had to make a few adjustments and you saw what happened after that."

Kemp and Summers roomed together the first semester of summer school.

"We have different skill sets and whatever it takes for this team to win is what we're going to use," Kemp said. " ... This win is big for momentum and team confidence going into (American Athletic) conference play next week. Our goal is still the same, win the conference."

The Pirates travel to play Southern Methodist at 4 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

Summers drove the Pirates 77 yards early in the second quarter for the go-ahead score, running it in from five yards out with 10:02 left in the half as ECU took a 21-14 lead.

"We had a game plan for me to get in," Summers said. "When Blake got us going, we just felt we could hit them a different way. Our offensive line was blocking good and we thought our game plan could work."

Summers knew the Hokies hadn't seen him much on tape.

"You've just got to plant your feet and keep going forward," Summers said about running so effectively despite the conditions.

Coach McNeill said the Pirates prepared by practicing with wet footballs on Wednesday and Thursday.

Isaiah Jones made a one-handed grab on a 26-yard TD from Summers that put ECU ahead 28-14 early in the third quarter after a three and out by the Pirate defense.

Jones also had a 29-yard reception on the series.

A 41-yard keeper by Summers for a score gave ECU a 35-21 lead with 3:43 left in the third.

The Hokies (2-2) had two possessions in the final minutes after pulling within one score. The first ended on downs and the second ended as time expired with Virginia Tech throwing deep and incomplete from their 41. Pirate fans were hoping they wouldn't see deja vu from last year's Hail Mary that resulted in a 32-30 loss to Central Florida.

"I didn't stop holding my breath until the clock went to zeroes," McNeill said.

The ECU coach kept the dual quarterback situation within the team context.

"I like the way Blake bounced back," McNeill said. "He had two tough series and came back and led us. ... James comes in and adds a little momentum to our team. I thought both of them helped win the game.

"I thought both of them, like their team, stayed dedicated to our mission and our vision and our team concept. I'm proud of both of them."

E-mail Al Myatt.

PAGE UPDATED 09/27/15 02:25 PM.