The pads popped a little louder Saturday morning inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

East Carolina closed the second week of fall camp with its first intra-squad scrimmage, a two-and-a-half-hour session that mixed individual work, special teams and nearly 120 snaps of offense-versus-defense football.

It was Practice No. 10, and for the first time this preseason the Pirates got to go to the ground in their own stadium.

“It’s good to be in Dowdy. When we step into Dowdy, it turns up. It’s different, and it needs to be different because of how special this place is.”

The offense found the end zone multiple times. Ashton Gray punched in scores from 3 and 15 yards. T.J. Engleman Jr. added a pair of his own, including a 25-yard burst. Greenville native and Marshall graduate transfer Michael Allen ripped off the longest run of the day, a 60-plus-yarder in the second half.

All five quarterbacks saw action with Mitch Griffis, Emory Williams and Trey Burke each guiding scoring drives.

The defense answered with takeaways. David Coleman Jr. hauled in two interceptions. Angelo Ross, Terande Spencer and Alex Moye each added one. Cade Law recorded a sack, and the front seven forced a fumble while repeatedly disrupting plays in the backfield.

On special teams, Andrew Conrad stayed perfect on extra points and drilled field goals from 37, 42 and 47 yards. Noah Perez converted his lone PAT and a 37-yard three-pointer, while Everett Scott knocked through a 40-yard attempt.

Harrell liked the early energy and effort but noted the sharpness fell off toward the end.

“We were playing the game the right way with effort and with energy,” he said. “Now we have to keep sharpening up that execution piece. Later in the scrimmage we kind of faded a little bit. … We played about 120 snaps today. A game would be about 150. So we’re getting there. We’re getting closer.”

Harrell saw progress from the previous Saturday but noted plenty of work remains in communication, discipline and cutting down penalties — expected, he said, with officials on the field for the first time.

After an off day Sunday, the Pirates practice Monday through Wednesday, rest Thursday, then prep Friday for their second scrimmage next Saturday inside Dowdy-Ficklen. Media Day follows that session.

Season tickets for the six-game home slate remain available starting at $75. The 2026 campaign opens Sept. 5 at Alabama, a noon kickoff on ABC.

An ECU Athletics news release contributed to this report.