Spring Break
ECU escapes New Orleans with a victory
Pirates remain undefeated
Issue date: 9/16/08 Section: Sports
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Trailing Tulane by a field goal with 1:41 remaining in the game this past Saturday, Patrick Pinkney pump-faked and then connected with receiver Jamar Bryant in traffic for a 24-yard touchdown to put the 15th-ranked Pirates ahead for good, 28-24.
Pinkney struggled to tame a physical Green Wave defense throughout the game, but came up big in the final drive, rushing for 21 yards and going three-for-four for 64 yards through the air.
"You have to give Tulane credit," said Pinkney. "They came out and played hard. We practice that two-minute drill everyday in practice. You just have to go out there and trust your [offensive] line and everybody just [to] do their job."
Tulane's attempt at an answer was cut short by linebacker Pierre Bell, who intercepted a pass from Green Wave quarterback Kevin Moore with less than a minute to play.
The win marked the first time ECU has started a season 3-0 since 1999, when David Garrard led the Pirates to a 9-3 season.
A severe knee injury to linebacker Quentin Cotton tempered the victory celebrations. Cotton, often noted for his leadership, is likely to miss the remainder of the season.
Cotton's fellow linebacker, Nick Johnson, will be counted upon heavily to fill in for the senior.
"That's someone you can't replace," said Johnson. "We love him. That's like losing our brother. Everyone has to pick up the slack--not just linebackers--but [defensive backs] and the [defensive line] has to get after it even more to replace someone like that."
Starting offensive tackle Stanley Bryant also went down with a knee injury, and is out indefinitely, adding to a growing list of wounded Pirates including Brandon Setzer, Dominique Lindsay and Ben Hartman.
"We've had three very physical games and we've had some injuries," said ECU head coach Skip Holtz. "Some young guys are going to have to step up and start to create some depth for this football team."
Before exiting the game in the second quarter, Cotton snagged an interception and scored on the recovery of a C.J. Wilson-blocked field goal.
Wilson got a hand on a Ross Thevenot field goal that would have given Tulane the first score of the game. Instead, Cotton scooped the ball up and raced to the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown.
"C.J. [Wilson] has had three big games," Holtz said. "He's really been playing well for us. He's got a great attitude and he's working hard-he brings an awful lot to this team."
The Pirates weren't the only team benefitting from big plays. The offense that looked so flawless against West Virginia came under fire against a scrappy Tulane front-seven.
With the game tied at 21 at the end of the third, tailback Brandon Simmons coughed the ball up in ECU territory.
The Pirate defense held strong, led by a big stop by senior safety J.J. Millbrook, which forced a field goal.
"We can't continue to make those mistakes if we expect to win," Holtz said of his team's four turnovers. "There are an awful lot of lessons to be learned from this game."
The Green Wave defense held ECU's backfield combo of Simmons and Jonathan Williams to a combined 41 yards rushing and one touchdown. Pinkney led the rushing attack with 42 yards of his own.
It was the third-string tailback, Norman Whitley, who broke loose on the Pirates' longest play from scrimmage this season, giving his team a 21-14 lead. Whitley caught a screen pass and ran the coattails of his blockers all the way to a 51-yard touchdown.
Tulane only out-rushed the Pirates by one yard, but it almost all came from the feet of bruising running back Andre Anderson, who ran for 92 of his team's 96 yards on the turf.
The Green Wave was also the first team of the young season to expose a potential ECU weakness: pass defense. Tulane wide out Jeremy Williams torched the Pirate secondary for 138 yards on eight catches, including a 47-yard score.
"They were a good, physical team," Johnson said of Tulane. "They brought it to us as much as we were trying to bring it to them. It was a hard-fought game. That was definitely one of the toughest games I've ever been in."
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
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