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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
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By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9 |
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Warm welcome
not expected in Morgantown
©2002 Bonesville.net
The only thing that might be warm this weekend in Morgantown is the weather.
East Carolina Offensive Tackle Brian Rimpf describes it as one of the more
interesting venues in which he’s played.
The Pirates travel to Mountaineer Field this week to take on West Virginia.
Rimpf knows the crowd will be hostile, but it’s an environment that usually
gets this team fired up.
Rimpf well remembers his first visit.
“They talk to us a lot on the bench
and in warm-ups,” Rimpf explained. "They would say some very funny stuff to
try and get us rattled. But they are great fans for their team.”
Pirate quarterback Paul Troth will face his toughest road assignment to
date. While it remains to be seen if West Virginia is better then Wake
Forest, there’s no question as to which team has the more hyperactive fans.
“I’ve heard it is very hostile territory,” said Troth. “I’ve heard stories
of guys getting beer thrown at them, and other things. But really, it’s
exciting to go somewhere that will be so intense.”
The Pirates have won at all of the other premier sites in the Big East Conference.
They have won at Syracuse, at Miami, at Virginia Tech. But they have yet to
find victory at West Virginia. The games have been close for the most part,
but the Pirates have always come up empty in Morgantown.
“West Virginia is a football culture school,” said Pirate Coach Steve Logan.
“The sport means so much to everyone in the state. Don Nehlen was a great
coach and someone that I really looked up to. He accomplished great things
there, but things are much different there now.”
NOT your father’s West Virginia
This is not the type of football team that many have become accustomed to at
West Virginia.
Like East Carolina, this is a team built for speed. Gone are the days of
three yards and a cloud of dust for the Mountaineers.
“We're going to entertain a West Virginia football team that is different
from anything we
have entertained over the years with Coach Don Nehlen," said
Logan. “Rich Rodriguez has come in and installed new schemes and
really, on both sides of the football, ...they look a lot like us."
Gone are the days of what coaches call “running downhill” and simply
bullying over the opposition. This team is built for speed.
"They have a nice bunch of athletes... Avon Cobourne is
still running the football up there and we have been trying to tackle him
for the last 15 years, I think," remarked Logan. "Rasheed Marshall is the
quarterback that is built along the lines of Shaun King and Woodrow
Dantzler. Rich Rodriguez is trying to recreate those two quarterbacks that
he's had a lot of success with and this young man is really good."
Wake P.C. invitation extended
Michael Darrow with the Wake County Pirate Club wants to invite everyone out
for the Basketball Tip Off at Chico’s in Cary on Thursday at 7:00. Pirate
Coach Bill Herrion and several others from the Pirate athletic staff will be
on hand for the event.
Several items will be up for auction with all proceeds going to the Pirate
Club. A bat signed by the baseball team and a couple of autographed
footballs will be auctioned off.
“We just want to give the folks here in Raleigh a chance to hear Coach
Herrion, to get fired up for basketball season,” said Darrow, president of
the Wake County Pirate Club.
It should be an outstanding event, and once again it is free for Pirate
fans!
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Brian Bailey.
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02/23/2007 01:23:18 AM
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