|
BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
-----
|
From the Anchor Desk
Monday, October 17, 2006
-----
By Brian Bailey |
 |
Injuries are Pirates'
biggest concern
Key season objectives are
still in sight as Homecoming game with SMU approaches.
©2006 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
|
THE BRIAN
BAILEY SHOW |
|
|
 Tune
in on the radio or catch the live Internet feed
of The Brian Bailey Show with WNCT-TV 9
Sports Director Brian Bailey, each Monday
night from 7-8 p.m. |
|
Select Live Stream |
TALK 1070 INSTANT REPLAY:
Catch past Brian
Bailey Shows,
including
Monday night's program previewing the high
school football playoffs, with a guest lineup of
prominent area coaches, including:
-- Greg Thomas
-- Ken Whitehurst
-- Kemp Ewing
-- Dixon Sauls
-- Raymond Cobb |
|
Select Archive Clip |
|
Bonesville Bytes
SKIP HOLTZ PRESS CONFERENCE:
 Replay
Coach Skip Holtz' remarks from his Monday
media luncheon. (Recorded by Brian Bailey) ... |
|
Select Archive Clip |
|
|
Bobby Good may have played his
last game as an East Carolina Pirate. If so, he played that final game with
a broken foot.
Good injured the foot in
pre-game warm-ups on Saturday. He had finished his stretches, had gone back
inside to put his shoulder pads on, and was running a couple of routes
before the game.
That’s when he felt a sharp
pain in his foot. He had no idea what the problem was. He got a shot for the
pain and told the coaches he was fine.
Good knew the Pirates were
already without the likes of Aundrae Allison and Jamar Bryant. He knew his
teammates and coaches were counting on him, both on offense and in special
teams.
Good fought through the pain
and played an outstanding game. He had seven catches for 48 tough yards. He
even threw a 23-yard completion on a trick play. He did it all with a broken
foot.
“It’ll take a while before I
get over this one,” said Pirate coach Skip Holtz when asked about Good’s
injury. “He played the entire game with a broken foot. He battled. We’ll
certainly miss him, more so for his work ethic and attitude then anything
else. Bobby Good is a warrior.”
Good even attended the post
game press conference. No one asked about his foot because none of us knew
anything about the injury.
Good's warrior spirit was
still intact last night, when he told he told me his goal is to return to
action in four weeks.
I’ve enjoyed watching Bobby
Good over the last couple of years. Here’s hoping that foot makes a quick
recovery, and maybe Good can get back on the field.
Season goals still in reach
Tulsa’s 31-10 win over East
Carolina was certainly a setback, at least temporarily, for the Pirate
program.
Still, goals of a winning
season and a bowl bid are realistic aspirations.
It all starts this Homecoming
weekend, with Southern Methodist coming to town. Last year in Dallas, the
Pirates picked up a nice road win against the Mustangs. This year, SMU is a
big hurdle in ECU's path to a winning football season.
“This is a taller order task
then some of the other teams we’ve played out of conference,” said Holtz.
“I’ve been very impressed with SMU both on offense and defense. They have a
good freshman at quarterback and a junior and senior dominated defense.”
“As far as schemes go, it’s
kind of like looking in a mirror with our own team," Holtz observed. "We do
a lot of the same things on both sides of the football. I think they are
very, very talented.”
Homecoming should provide the
Pirates with a great crowd this week, especially with the students back from
fall break.
Despite several promotions,
less then 35,000 gathered to watch the defending Conference USA champs
against the Pirates last week. There was much more excitement surrounding
the West Virginia and Virginia games, despite the fact that those were
non-conference games.
It’s just going to take time
before Pirate fans understand the importance of league games. Maybe it will
take a trip or two to the C-USA title game, or maybe a new address in a
different league. Somehow, someway, everyone needs to get on board as far as
the conference goes.
Holtz said his team may have
come out flat. He knows the importance of a great 12th man with the home
field advantage.
“I think it all starts with
our student body, and I appreciate all of the students that stayed in town
this past week for the Tulsa game,” said Holtz. “It’s just unfortunate when
a home game falls during the fall break.”
The students should be back
out in force this week as the Pirates try to lasso the Mustangs. For Holtz
and Company, it’s yet another very difficult assignment.
Five straight home games over
a six-week period is almost unheard of in college football. A win over SMU
gives the Pirates a winning home stand.
A victory also moves ECU that
much closer to six wins and a possible postseason berth.
Send an e-mail message to
Brian Bailey.
Click here to dig into Brian Bailey's Bonesville
archives.
04/21/2008 07:04:36 PM |
