GREENVILLE — Gardner Minshew, who has emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate at Washington State, may have seen the handwriting on the wall before leaving East Carolina after the 2017 season.
The script that prompted Minshew’s departure may have read, ‘Holton Ahlers.’
Ahlers strengthened his status as ECU’s quarterback of the present and future in a 55-21 Senior Night win over Connecticut on Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The left-handed true freshman completed 22 of 31 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Ahlers had 12 keepers for 130 yards and a score.
The Pirates (3-7, 1-6 AAC) rushed for 415 yards against the struggling Huskies (1-10, 0-7) and had 657 yards in total offense.
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Ahlers answered as UConn took leads of 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14.
He had first half scoring tosses to walk-on classmate Tyler Snead of six and 24 yards for the Pirates’ first two TDs. Ahlers had a 2-yard run in the second quarter for ECU’s third score, getting helicoptered by a defender on his leaping entrance to the end zone.
Ahlers and the Pirates played with a sense of urgency for their older teammates.
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“Being a Pirate, whenever your back’s against the wall, you’re not going to back down,” Ahlers said. “We knew that coming into the game that there would be moments when we were down. We’ve just got to punch back. We definitely did that tonight.”
Coach Scottie Montgomery ran down a list of youthful contributors.
“They’re not freshmen in my book anymore,” Montgomery said. “Xavier Smith (tight end), Tyler Snead, Holton Ahlers, Peyton Winstead (center). The redshirt freshmen, Blake Proehl (receiver). We’ve got a lot of young guys. We’ve recruited well over the last few years. You’re starting to see some of those guys come on.”
Redshirt freshman Trace Christian had 13 carries for 102 yards as the Pirates had two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since 2004.
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Montgomery continues to counsel Ahlers about the appropriate level of aggressiveness for a quarterback.
“He’s got the Superman in him,” Montgomery said. “Sometimes he pulls that cape out and I’d like to see it a lot less. … Just keep him healthy.”
Seniors Nate Harvey and Trevon Brown had milestone performances on their special night.
Harvey, a converted running back, broke the AAC tackle for loss season record set by Ed Oliver of Houston in 2016. Montgomery indicated that ECU will seek another season of eligibility for Harvey. Brown went over 1,000 yards in receptions for the second straight season with four catches for 31 yards and a score.
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Harvey had a sack and forced a fumble from his defensive end position that he recovered in the second quarter. The Pirates also got interceptions by Colby Gore and Damel Hickman, another true freshman. ECU was plus-3 for the night in turnover margin.
“That was great to see,” Montgomery said.
Another senior, Anthony Scott, put the Pirates ahead to stay, 28-21, with a 5-yard scoring run with 2:03 left in the first half. Jake Verity added field goals of 26 and 39 yards to give ECU a 34-21 lead at the break.
Snead and Brown had scoring receptions in the third quarter. Christian’s 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter accounted for the final TD.
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“The game was really won on the offensive line,” Montgomery said.
Smith, a converted linebacker, was credited with some key blocks at tight end.
“He brought a lot,” Ahlers said of Smith, “When the ball’s in his hands, he’s electric.”
Offensive lineman Garrett McGhin enjoyed singing the ECU alma mater for the last time as a player in Greenville.
‘That was kind of surreal,” McGhin said. “You think of all the places you’ve sang it. You’ve sang it here at Dowdy. You’ve sang it at Virginia Tech. You’ve sang it at all kinds of different places. Any true Pirate would probably say that means the most. You’re not only singing for your win but you’re singing for all the people who came before you and all the people who will come after you.”
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Minshew must have sung the fight song, too. He has refrained from commenting on his decision to leave ECU. Minshew threw for seven touchdowns Saturday night in a 69-28 win over Arizona.
For one night at least, Minshew’s departure and Ahlers’ emergence appeared to be working for both programs.
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