Nothing can derail a season faster than losing a key player for the entire year just before or after the opening game. East Carolina fans are only too aware of that painful fact thanks to the preseason injury that ended Kurt Benkert’s tenure as the Pirates’ starting quarterback only days before it was scheduled to begin last year. Wednesday, for the second season in a … [Read more...]
Game Day Slants: Defense nipped adversity in the bud
GREENVILLE — The offense stole the show in East Carolina’s opening night 52-7 drubbing of Western Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday. And yet, the most decisive play of the night was one turned in by the Pirates’ defense. It’s safe to say, given the lopsided final margin, that coach Scottie Montgomery’s debut in purple and gold would still have been a happy one … [Read more...]
Insights from Brett: Pirates made a case worth making
I have something of a ritual any time the PowerBall jackpot balloons above a certain three-digit threshold. As soon as I wake up on the morning after the drawing, I immediately head downstairs to check my numbers in hopes that I’ve got the winning ticket — or as I like to call it, cashing in on my retirement plan — knowing full well that there’s literally no chance that I … [Read more...]
Insights from Brett: A Pirate finds peace in Charlottesville
Ruffin McNeill was, is and always will be a Pirate. That’s why his dismissal as ECU’s football coach last December was such an emotional event for so many people in and outside the program. But as much as McNeill loves and misses his alma mater, he’s found both a new home and peace as an assistant to first-year Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall. His official title is … [Read more...]
Insights from Brett: Summers has eyes on a different prize
What aspiring young football star wouldn’t want to follow in the footsteps of Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback who led the Carolina Panthers to a Super Bowl and is rapidly becoming the face of the NFL? James Summers, for one. Don’t misunderstand. The ECU senior does have aspirations of playing professionally, just like most of his Pirates teammates. It’s … [Read more...]