East Carolina football coach Mike Houston spoke with the news media via Zoom after the Pirates capped off preseason camp with a scrimmage on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. Houston said the  scrimmage was not scripted and was conducted as a full-pads game simulation governed by an experienced officiating crew that included six American Athletic Conference officials.

The scrimmage consisted of 77 offensive plays and about a dozen special teams plays before lightning in the area brought a halt to the action, said Houston. The coach noted that there were “some big plays for both sides and some busts for both sides.”

Houston indicated he was pleased with the progress of the defense since the last scrimmage. The defense recorded 13 tackles for loss and freshman linebacker Eric Doctor provided a highlight when he intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.

Regarding the performance of the offense, Houston praised the receivers and said “all of our quarterbacks played decent.” Junior Holton Ahlers started and played three series. Redshirt freshman Alex Flinn and true freshman Mason Garcia combined to direct the final ten drives. The offense piled up 427 total yards on the day.

In the closing moments of the press conference, Houston made it clear the team’s focus will now turn to preparations for the Sept. 26 season opener with Central Florida at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. “Looking forward to two weeks from tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll actually be talking about games.”

University officials announced earlier this month that the opener will be closed to the public due to COVID-19 concerns. (AUDIO ONLY).

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