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Miscue malady scuttles Pirates again
From Associated Press
and staff reports
WINSTON-SALEM — Wake
Forest lost the statistical battle Saturday night but
inherited five East Carolina giveaways to easily win the
the scoreboard war, saddling the Pirates with their
worst start in 17 years.
Cory Randolph threw a
79-yard touchdown pass to Jason Anderson to highlight the 3-1 Demon
Deacons' 34-16 victory.
Chris Barclay, D'Angelo
Bryant and Willie Idlette ran for one touchdown each and Ryan Plackemeir
kicked a pair of field goals to help Wake bounce back from its first
loss of the season. The Deacs, who lost 16-10 to Purdue last week to
drop out of the Top 25, weren't spectacular but capitalized on almost
every East Carolina mistake.
ECU, which has consistently been turnover-prone in beginning its season
0-4 for the first time since 1986, was bitten by errors from the start,
giving up three interceptions and losing two of six fumbles.
Wake seized the
opportunities to score two touchdowns in a span of 1:33 in the third
quarter. It ruined what could have been a solid statistical day for East
Carolina, which beat Wake Forest in total offense (391 yards) and time
of possession (31:24).
The Pirates even pulled off a trick play, scoring on a fake field goal
to keep the game close late in the third quarter. Trailing 17-3, they
lined up to attempt the field goal but holder Ryan Dougherty instead
took the snap and scrambled 9 yards up in the middle for East Carolina's
first touchdown of the game.
It cut Wake Forest's lead to 17-10 with 2:22 to play in the third, but
the fake definitely got Wake Forest's attention.
On the first play of the next possession, Randolph found Anderson wide
open along the left sideline for the third-longest play in school
history.
Then East Carolina unraveled.
East Carolina quarterback Desmond Robinson threw his third interception
of the game and Marcus McGruder returned it 35 yards to the Pirates 10.
Two play later, Barclay scored on a 4-yard run that made it 31-10.
There was no recovering for the Pirates, who lost a fumble on the next
possession to put Wake Forest at the East Carolina 35. The Deacons
turned it into a 34-10 lead on Plackemeir's 28-yard field goal.
A week after struggling to just 65 yards rushing in the loss to Purdue,
the Deacons set out early to move the ball on the ground against the
worst run defense in Division I-A.
Wake started the game with a handoff to Barclay and continued it eight
more times on its opening drive before Idlette scored on a 5-yard
reverse to give the Deacons a 7-0 lead.
By the time Bryant scored on a 2-yard run with 18 seconds left in the
half - putting Wake up 17-3 - the Deacons had doubled their rushing
title from a week ago by churning out 131 yards in the first half.
Wake Forest finished with 193 yards rushing and Barclay led the charge
with 55 yards on 17 carries. In four losses this season, East Carolina
has allowed 1,138 yards rushing.
Randolph finished 7-for-14 for 131 yards and Anderson had three catches
for 95 yards.
If not for the three interceptions and a fumble, Robinson would not have
had a bad night. He finished 22-for-32 for 190 yards. Terrance Cooper
was his favorite target with eight catches for 61 yards.
02/23/2007 10:52 AM
Copyright 2003 The
Associated Press. Bonesville.net contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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