GREENVILLE — East Carolina’s advantages in terms of strength, speed, depth and talent were apparent throughout a 56-3 win over Campbell at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday night.
The Pirates (1-1) had a 535-151 lead in total yards.
ECU plays on the Football Bowl Subdivision level with 85 scholarships. The Camels, members of the Football Championship Subdivision, are allotted 63 grants.
The Pirates made the disparity obvious early with touchdowns on their first two possessions.
ECU won the toss and elected to receive, scoring on an 8-play drive that covered 75 yards with an 18-yard pass from Katin Houser to Desirrio Riles with 12:32 left in the first quarter.
London Montgomery scored from one yard out with 6:21 left in the first to finish a 10-play series that went 73 yards for a 14-0 lead.
“Our focus all week was just coming out and starting fast,” said Pirates coach Blake Harrell on the ECU radio network. ” ,,, We wanted to start fast and put our foot on the gas. Certainly think we did that.
“There was some sloppiness in there, but I thought we kept attacking it for the most part.”
The Camels marched 85 yards for a 28-yard field goal by Alex Crabb with 12:58 left in the second quarter.
The Pirates added three TDs in the second period for a 35-3 command at the break.
Brock Spalding hauled in a pass from Houser for a 55-yard score. Houston transfer Parker Jenkins got into the end zone on a 17-yard run and Marlon Gunn Jr. had a 4-yard TD carry.
Houser completed 25 of 35 for 314 yards with two scores and no interceptions. He had completion to 15 different receivers, including six to Anthony Smith for 39 yards and five to Yannick Smith for 67 yards.
T.J. Engleman Jr. was the leading rusher for the Pirates with five carries for 36 yards. ECU had 173 yards on the ground, up from a net of 30 in a season-opening 24-17 loss at N.C. State.
Houser’s back-ups were among a multitude of reserves who got playing time. Mike Wright Jr, completed three of five for 13 yards.
Freshman Chaston Ditta connected on three of four tosses for 36 yards with an 11-yard pass to Dillon Lorick for the last touchdown with 2:45 remaining.
Also scoring in the second half were Montgomery on a 2-yard run with 10:44 left in the third and DeJuan Lacy on a 4-yard tote with three minutes to go in the third.
Andrew Conrad was 6-for-6 on conversions and Noah Perez was 2-for-2. Tomas O’Halloran punted three times for an average of 43.7 yards with a longest of 52 yards.
Kieran Davis was in on six tackles to lead ECU defensively.
“We had some ups and downs last week in Raleigh,” said defensive lineman Preston Carr, who recovered one of two lost fumbles for the visitors. “This week, we had the mindset, it’s us vs. us. We went out there and we competed. We came out fast and that’s how we wanted to start.”
The Pirates visit Coastal Carolina (1-1) on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The Chanticleers defeated visiting Charleston Southern, 13-0, in Week 2.
Congratulations to the Pirates. They dotted most of the i’s and crossed most of the t’s in the win over the Camels. You would expect a lopsided score, and the Pirates didn’t disappoint.
Perhaps the best accomplishment by the Pirates was maintaining their focus for most of the game. Some sloppiness early by the defense, and a few stupid penalties by the offense. Of concern going forward, the O-line, in my opinion, still has some work to do.
Good to see so many reserves get some playing time!! I feel bad for Jeter. By all accounts he is a good young man. Doesn’t look like much playing time will come his way as a qb.
What happened to Jeter?
Nothing terrible, as far as I know, but, if Jeter can’t get playing time in front of Chaston Ditta, then chances are he’s just occupying space in the qb room. JDB is playing his younger players, not someone who, unfortunately, is a holdover from “Donny” ball.
Also, Jeter doesn’t have a lot of time remaining at ECU. He’s in his Jr year. I would’ve liked to have seen him get a chance to run the offense during the fourth quarter. Loyalty should count for something. Not sure the Pirates will get many chances to play that many reserves, going forward. Of course, there is always the possibility the staff is doing him a favor by keeping him in uniform.