Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of East Carolina

News & Features from ECU, the AAC and Beyond

  • Home
  • News & Features
  • Recruiting
  • Photos
  • Audio
  • Roundup
  • Comments
  • Legacy Archives

• ECU 2022 Football Schedule
• ECU 2022-23 Hoops Schedule
• ECU 2023 Baseball Schedule

— Recruiting Thumbnails —
Football: 2023 • Hoops: 2023-24

From the Anchor Desk: Pirates get a new jolt of energy

November 1, 2016 By Brian Bailey Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Homecoming games are always special and this year was no exception.

After losing five straight games, East Carolina bounced back with a great effort on offense, defense and special teams. The squad’s problems in the red zone evaporated on a gorgeous football afternoon in Greenville. The Pirates even pressured the opposing quarterback.

The stars all lined up on a sunny Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium as ECU overwhelmed Connecticut 41-3.

“We had three phases of good football,” said first-year head coach Scottie Montgomery. “We have to continue to play well together defensively. Most every down people did their job and pressure was created by every position group. I thought our linebackers tackled, our defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage and our DBs covered really, really well putting them in a lot of pressure situations. . . . Offensively, I thought creativity and the plan married to execution by great players had a direct connect to our points per game being different than they have in the past.”

Football games aren’t known for tender moments, but we had one for Homecoming. Phillip Nelson hit Zay Jones on a three-yard corner route for a touchdown. Zay ran right to his parents in the corner of the end zone and the three had a great moment. They shared a celebratory hug with a moment frozen in time.

“After I caught it I had my Mom and Dad standing there and I thought it was only fitting to hug the ones that got me to this point,” said Jones after the victory. “It was just a magical moment for me and for my Mom as well, to see her in the end zone. That stuff, man, you can’t dream about that. You just have to live in the moment and embrace it.”

Another thing Zay Jones probably never dreamed of was the possibility of setting the NCAA career mark for receptions. Jones is now second all-time, just behind his former teammate Justin Hardy.

Hardy finished his career with 387 receptions. Jones now has 355 with four regular season games to go. He’ll have to average just over 8 catches per game to set the mark. In his last six games Jones has 97 catches for 841 yards. That’s an average of 16.2 catches and 140.2 yards per game.

Jones has played at a high level all season. This week his teammates followed suit.

“We had a players-only meeting,” said Jones. “It was kind of like instead of your parents getting on you, it would be your sibling. We got a lot accomplished with that meeting and I think it showed today.”

Montgomery hopes the win parlays itself into a strong finish in his first year.

“Yeah, that [Sunday] was the best defensive practice I’ve seen, maybe since we’ve been here or any place I’ve been the day after a game,” said Montgomery. “It was as clean and energetic with guys talking and holding guys accountable. It made me feel good because I know what went on Saturday night, but Sunday, we were ready to go. We knew the defensive energy was coming from something. It was connected to the win.”

Winning this week at Tulsa won’t be easy. The Golden Hurricane is riding high in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference with just one loss.

“We have to now win a big time game under the lights,” Montgomery said. “That’s going to be our theme. At this point in time our team feels we’re 1-0 and we’ve got one to go.”

The one to go this week is at Tulsa. There’s still time for this season, and Homecoming gave Pirate fans hope for a big finish.

BB

Related

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: News & Features

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent News & Features

ECU Recruiting News
Towering lineman Neolian still honing skills (updated)

Basketball News
Pirates top SMU, 77-72

VIEW FROM THE EAST: NORTH TEXAS
The new American

Basketball News
ECU rally falls short

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

Basketball News
Porter leads Shockers past Pirates

VIEW FROM THE EAST: FAU
The new American

Basketball News
Pirates rally past Tulsa to snap losing streak

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

VIEW FROM THE EAST: CHARLOTTE
The new American

More News & Features

ECU Schedules

  • ECU 2021 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2020-21 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2021 Baseball Schedule

ECU Recruiting

  • Football Recruiting Class of 2021
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2020
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2019
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2018
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2017
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2021-22
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2020-21
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2019-20
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2018-19
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2017-18
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2016-17

Past Football Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2014 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2013 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2012 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2011 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2010 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2009 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2008 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2007 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2006 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2005 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2004 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2003 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2002 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2001 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2000 Football Schedule
  • Historical Schedules

Past Basketball Schedules

  • ECU 2019-20 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2018-19 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2017-18 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2016-17 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2000-2015 Basketball Archives

Past Baseball Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2001-2014 Baseball Archives

Recruiting Class Profiles

ECU Recruiting News
Towering lineman Neolian still honing skills (updated)

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review (UPDATED)
Pirates tap transfer portal for more talent

AAC Early Signing Review
New members dive into AAC recruiting wars

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review
First wave of recruits just the beginning

ECU Recruiting News
Brown finds way to ECU through portal

ECU Recruiting News
Transfer safety McDaniel destined for ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates land coveted Spartanburg quarterback

ECU Recruiting News
Swift ECU recruit ‘in a class of his own’

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates win out for Georgia prep linebacker

ECU Recruiting News
Linebacker with pedigree charts path to ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates find a gem in Palmetto State receiver

ECU Recruiting News
Official visit swayed North Mecklenburg star

ECU Recruiting News
Physical Georgia receiver poses tough matchup

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates project lineman Durant as center

ECU Recruiting News
ECU spotted potential in Conley lineman

ECU Recruiting News
ECU lands fleet-footed Georgia defensive back

ECU Recruiting News
‘Football town’ helps draw Short to Pirates

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets edge rushers

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates aim high for interior line talent

ECU Recruiting News
Well stocked Pirates enter fray for O-linemen

ECU Recruiting News
ECU faces uphill battle in hunt for tight ends

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates cast wide net for wide receivers

ECU Recruiting News
Loaded Pirates still courting running backs

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, February 8, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, February 6, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, February 5, 2023

Writer Archives

  • Bonesville Staff
  • Brian Bailey
  • Sammy Batten
  • Bethany Bradsher
  • Brett Friedlander
  • Al Myatt
  • NFF
  • Greg Vacek
  • Danny Whitford

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, February 8, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, February 6, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, February 5, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, February 4, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, February 3, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, February 2, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

More Web Roundups

Copyright © 2023 Bonesville.net · Website by Seaport Webworks. · Log in · Privacy Policy