GREENVILLE — After jumping out to a 16-0 lead, East Carolina appeared to be in position to end a 2-game losing streak to Appalachian State on Saturday.
The reality of the situation for the Pirates was a series of missed opportunities and mistakes that turned into a 21-19 win for the Mountaineers at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium.
“Tough to lose that one the way that we did,” said ECU coach Mike Houston. “Lot of the credit goes to Appalachian State. They made the plays there late in the game and we didn’t.”
Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance was on hand for the early portion of the contest, which drew a crowd on 46, 117.
The outcome put both teams at 2-1.
The Pirates went up, 7-0, on the third snap of the game as Jake Garcia hit Winston Wright Jr. for a 65-yard touchdown just 31 seconds into the nonconference matchup.
Pass interference on the Mountaineers gave ECU a first down at its 30-yard line on its second possession. Rajhai Harris ran for a pair of first downs to put ECU at the App 48.
A targeting foul on Nate Johnson of the visitors moved ECU to the App 33. The series concluded with a 48-yard field goal from Andrew Conrad for a 10-0 lead with 6:33 left in the first quarter.
A 50-yard pick six by Shevon Revel extended the margin to 16-0 with 4:55 left in the first. Conrad’s conversion attempt was no good after caroming off an upright. Omar Rogers pressured ASU quarterback Joey Aguilar before the interception.
The Mountaineers closed the gap to 16-14 at the half on a 6-yard scoring pass from Aguilar to tight end Eli Wilsom, who also snared the conversion pass, as well as field goals of 28 and 35 yards by Michael Hughes, the latter coming with nine seconds in the half.
Aguilar gave the Mountaineers the lead, 21-16, with a 36-yard scoring pass to Makai Jackson with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
After missing a 36-yard attempt in the third quarter, Conrad connected from 43 yards with 12:39 remaining to draw the Pirates within, 21-19.
Garcia reduced his interceptions to just one after throwing seven in a 2-0 start, but the lone pick was pivotal.
Zakye Barker forced an App fumble at the ECU 13 that was recovered by Ryheem Craig with 5:11 to go.
A 6-yard run by Javious Bond and a completion to Yannick for 29 yards put the Pirates at their 48. But Garcia was intercepted by App corner Seth Robertson at the ASU 31. Robertson made a 21-yard return and the Mountaineers picked up three first downs to run out the clock.
The visitors finished with some dominant numbers, including 505-324 in total yards and 39:00 to 21:00 in possession time.
Aguilar completed 32 of 47 for 424 yards with two TDs and two picks — by Gavin Gibson and Revel. Kaedin Robinson had 10 catches for 129 yards in the win.
Garcia completed 18 of 28 for 226 yards.
“We started fast,” Garcia said. “We have to figure out how to continue the momentum.”
Anthony Smith had five catches for 56 yards and Wright had three receptions for 72 yards.
Rahjai Harris of the Pirates was the game’s leading rusher with 18 carries for 87 yards.
“We’ve got to get over this fast,” Harris said.
The Pirates visit Liberty on Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Flames are coming off a 13-1 season that culminated with a 45-6 loss to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
Better competition exposed the Pirates mistakes, resulting in an all too familiar, “could of won that one” lament. Credit App State with not panicking, making great adjustments on defense, and exposing the weaknesses of the Pirates defensive schemes. The Pirates defense was on the field for 39 minutes. Unless the Pirates are scoring buckets of points with their 21 minutes, we will see the same result again.
This game had a familiarly eerie feeling. Last year’s Pirates were experts at finding a way to lose. I think the 2024 Pirates are much improved. However, if your gunslinging offense has no room in the playbook for a little bit of ball control, you risk hanging the defense out to dry.
Given the complete rebuild of the offense, there is more to like than not. The Pirate mission remains the same, eliminate mistakes. Don’t beat yourself. It’s a necessary step in the journey back to success.
I generally agree with this assessment of a heartbreaking loss, though with maybe a minor quibble or two.
The trouble remains on the o side of the ball; the d is very good. Yes, they gave up a bunch of yards through the air, but Aguilar quite deservedly is nationally a very highly regarded q.
Harris had a decent game, and the Pirates had a way to control the ball vs Ap. I wouldn’t have an issue with a conservative throw under the late game circumstance that they were in to keep the Ap d honest against the run, but Garcia hasn’t proven to be a q who can be asked to throw downfield at a time when a mistake can’t be afforded, and that was all she wrote.
Yes, the o and the Pirates overall seem to be a good deal better than they were last year, but that’s a VERY low bar, cold comfort at this point; they need to win games vs. other than FCS and losing record opposition.