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Pinkney recharges East Carolina
GREENVILLE (AP) � East
Carolina needed a confidence boost and James Pinkney delivered it,
passing for three touchdowns and running for another Saturday as the
Pirates broke a three-game losing streak.
Pinkney completed 22 of 34
passes for a career-high 355 yards in the Pirates' 41-28 victory over
Rice.
East Carolina (2-3, 1-1
Conference USA) scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the
highlight coming on an 81-yard touchdown reception by Chris Johnson that
sealed the win.
``We needed something good
to happen to us,'' East Carolina coach Skip Holtz said. ``These players
have worked so hard, they've been so persistent, they've pushed so hard
and just haven't been able to close the door. You get tired of saying,
'You're close.' ''
East Carolina's Aundrae
Allison caught seven passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. He set a
school record with his fourth 100-yard receiving game this season.
Joel Armstrong and Quinton
Smith rushed for two touchdowns apiece for the Owls (0-4, 0-2), whose
10th consecutive defeat tied them with Army for the longest losing
streak in the nation.
Rice took a 28-24 lead
when Smith, who gained 125 yards, went over the left side for a 19-yard
touchdown with 13:18 left.
On the next possession,
East Carolina's Robert Tillman had a 36-yard reception and scored his
first career touchdown on a 1-yard run to put East Carolina ahead for
good.
After a punt by the Owls
pinned the Pirates at their own 3-yard line, Pinkney lofted a third-down
pass over the middle that Johnson tracked down and carried another 50
yards into the end zone with 6:51 left. Johnson finished with 129 yards
on six receptions.
Robert Lee added a 32-yard
field goal with less than two minutes to go.
``He really threw the ball
on the money,'' Rice coach Ken Hatfield said of Pinkney.
Pinkney's 6-yard touchdown
run with 5:16 to go in the third quarter gave East Carolina a 24-14
lead.
Armstrong followed with
his second fourth-down touchdown run, taking it in from 17 yards to pull
the Owls within 24-21 going into the fourth quarter.
In a play that marked a
major shift in the game's plot, Allison scored on a 40-yard touchdown
reception 6 seconds before halftime, giving East Carolina a 17-14 lead.
02/23/2007 10:54 AM
Copyright 2005 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not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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