CONWAY, SC — There was a blackout at Brooks Stadium on Saturday night, but a 38-0 East Carolina win just left Coastal Carolina fans feeling blue.
Actually, many of those among a black-clad crowd of 21,634 just left as the Pirates took advantage of the Chanticleers’ offensive ineptitude to score 28 points in the second half.
Most of the ECU faithful remained on hand until a sweet victory was official and the chants of “Purple … Gold” reverberated through the Chanticleers’ stadium.
The Pirates, in all-white uniforms, provided an interesting juxtaposition to the background.
“How ’bout that team effort out there,” said Coach Blake Harrell on the Pirate radio network. “At halftime, we were all a little disappointed. … Came out the second half and thought we played really, really well.”
As dominant as the Pirates were on the scoreboard, there were some missed opportunities in the red zone before ECU took control.
Coastal ended ECU’s baseball season in the adjacent facility in the Conway regional several months ago but the Pirates improved to 71-67-2 in overall sports competition between the two institutions, according to an ESPN graphic. A 3-game baseball series is scheduled for this spring at Coastal.
The Pirates are 2-0 all-time against the Chants in football with a 53-29 win in the Birmingham Bowl in 2022.
ECU opened the scoring Saturday night with a 5-yard pass from Katin Houser to Yannick Smith with 7:26 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead on Nick Mazzie’s extra point.
Mazzie’s 36-yard field goal with 1:44 left in the first closed the scoring for the opening 30 minutes. Two trips to the red zone in the second period resulted in a turnover on downs at the Coastal 19 and a blocked 26-yard field goal attempt.
The Pirates (2-1) had plenty of defensive moments of their own with six sacks and five takeaways.
A 27-yard pass to Anthony Smith set up a 4-yard TD run by Parker Jenkins for a 17-0 lead with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter.
A Coastal turnover on downs late in the third quarter led to a Houser’s second scoring pass to Yannick Smith early in the fourth quarter.
The Chants (1-2) may have been pressing with a 24-0 deficit and the Pirates may have been playing looser with the commanding lead. The next two possession for the hosts ended with an interception by Rasheed Reason and a fumble recovery by Kieran Davis.
The Pirates capitalized with an 18-yard scoring keeper by Mike Wright Jr. after the pick and a 1-yard TD carry by T.J. Engleman Jr. after the recovery.
Houser completed 28 of 37 for 293 yards with two TDs and one interception, ECU’s first turnover of the season.
Anothny Smith had 11 catches for 136 yards. London Montgomery had 15 carries for 59 yards.
ECU finished with a 497-239 lead in total yards.
The last road shutout for the Pirates was in 2000, a 38-0 win at Duke.
Next up for the Pirates is a home game with Brigham Young (2-0), which did not play in Week 3.
Congratulations to the Pirates on a convincing win over Coastal. While CC shot themselves in the foot more than once, it was clear ECU had the better team. Certainly, the Pirates still have some rough spots to smooth out. I hope JDB and BH have a come-to-Jesus moment on the offensive play-calling. I don’t believe the o-line performance will allow a “run first” approach to the offense, going forward. Yes, there was success later in the game when the Coastal defense was exhausted. BYU, and most of the remaining schedule, have defenses who won’t collapse. Still, the Pirates showed demonstrable improvement going into a tough matchup with BYU. The disappointment of the NC State game can be wiped away if the Pirates can pass the test with BYU.
Progress is always good and the offense and defense both took steps in the right direction. Still, far to many penalties and missed opportunities to score to beat really good teams. ECU must fix these issues for this tough 3 game stretch coming up. Run blocking is the key issue we need to fix.
Solid win, very happy to see that. My comment is in appreciation for how “NICE” Dowdy Fick and our game day environment is!! What a contrast. Not a fan of the teal field at all. And the noise maker disguised as a sound system, too much. Just turn it down please. The bright lights on the field goal attempt, bush league at best. CC needs to come to us from here forward!!
Looking forward to being back in GVegas next week. Let’s pack it out!!! Go Pirates!!!