By
Denny O'Brien
©2007 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
When Skip Holtz arrived at
East Carolina, the Pirates hadn’t beaten a Division I-A non-conference
opponent since their victory over Texas Tech in the 2000
GalleryFurniture.com Bowl.
And you have to rewind to
that year’s season opening victory over Duke to find an ECU win against
an ACC foe.
In less than three
seasons, there has been a reversal of fortune Down East. After ECU’s
thrilling 34-31 victory over North Carolina, Holtz now owns a 4-2 record
against the ACC.
“We keep using the term,
'We want to play big-time football in Greenville,' ” Holtz said. “I told
them after the Virginia Tech game, that was a big-time environment and
they belonged in that type of environment.
“They came out here
(Saturday) in a very similar type of environment. We just talk about
wanting to play-big football… and they played it.”
The climb began in Holtz’s
debut against Duke. Though it was only a 24-21 win over a hapless
program — seriously, beating the Devils is hardly a big-time achievement
— it at least was a nice statement considering the depths to which ECU’s
program had plunged.
Virginia and N.C. State
were a different story. Though neither the Wahoos nor the Wolfpack had
standout seasons when the Pirates beat them in 2006, both had the more
established coaching staffs and had experienced recent postseason
success.
East Carolina’s victory
over the Tar Heels further validated the Pirates as a regional football
presence.
“We’re growing,” Holtz
said. “I think that’s a little bit better than before we got here, but I
think we’re growing. I think we’re moving in the right direction.
"We still have a long way
to go, but I couldn’t be more pleased with the attitude, the way these
players are working, and the commitment that they have.”
More wins like Saturday
should only increase those commitments — and add a few more along the
recruiting trail.
“Hart” breaker
Regardless of the outcome,
Ben Hartman wouldn’t forget the night ECU hosted North Carolina.
As the Pirates’ kicker
lined up for the game winner, he carried the burden of a community and
the memory of three missed field goal attempts heavily on his shoulders.
Two seconds separated Hartman from the distinction of either an instant
hero, or potential goat.
“One of them looked like a
pass,” Holtz said of Hartman’s previous kicks. “His first one, it was so
bad. The second one hit the upright and then the third one wasn’t
close.”
“So I told him, I said,
‘You’re going to have a chance to come back and hit the game winner.'
It’s a 31-all game and there’s not a lot of time left. Everybody’s going
to have my head examined if I say this, but Ben’s a really good kicker.
The kid just missed three of them.”
It was a surprising outing indeed. Hartman has been fairly accurate
during his brief career, so much so that last season he seized some of
the kicking duties from Lou Groza candidate Robert Lee.
But at no point during the
2006 season did Hartman face the type of pressure he did with all of his
kicks Saturday. Though some might have panicked given the scenario
against the Heels, Hartman’s teammates witnessed a calming presence.
“I felt like he was
relaxed,” defensive end Khalif Mitchell said. “I felt like he was
relaxed for all of his kicks. I just think that he didn’t have his
focus. When he got his focus and got his mind in check, everything
worked out great.
"I’m even glad Carolina
took the timeout because it made him even more confident. He was over
there smiling for everybody.”
When his kick sailed
through the uprights, that smile was joined by 40,000 more.
Unique perspective
It’s not uncommon for
in-state rivals to have amiable relationships that bridge the sidelines.
Several on the ECU and UNC-Chapel Hill rosters played either together or
against each other on the North Carolina prep circuit.
But few could offer the
same perspective on the Pirates-Heels rivalry than Mitchell. After
playing two seasons at Carolina and now in his second year in the ECU
program, he understands both viewpoints.
“Coach read us an article
where Carolina had said that this is not a rivalry,” Mitchell said.
”This is just something that ‘Eastern’ Carolina wants to have. Whether
or not (UNC-CH) wins, it’s not that big of a deal. Well, we won.”
Mitchell was very
outspoken during the week, joining a handful of North Carolina players
who ran some good-natured smack to the media. Only it was Mitchell who
proved prophetic, predicting earlier in the week that parties would
continue in the tailgate fields well into Saturday night.
“It’s an in-state rival,”
Mitchell said. “They were talking very downward towards us. It’s a good
win not necessarily just for us, but this whole area… this whole
Greenville area.
“East Carolina, we’re
coming up. This game was important for our community. This feels good
for all those people who had to wait 30-something years and had to watch
that last loss (ECU) had against them.”