East Carolinian

Issue date: 9/23/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: AP

Media Credit: AP

For a second consecutive season, ECU (3-1) failed to live up to expectations in its most important rivalry.

In front of a sold-out Carter-Finley Stadium this past Saturday, Greenville native Andre Brown powered his way past defenders and over the ECU goal line for a 10-yard touchdown-giving N.C. State (2-2) a 30-24 overtime victory over the 15th-ranked Pirates.

The Pirates had a chance to take the lead in overtime, but Wolfpack defensive end Shea McKeen forced a fumble. He nailed Patrick Pinkney from behind as the ECU quarterback rolled out of the pocket in search of an open man.

"We knew that every game was critical and that every game would be a dogfight," said Pinkney. "Today was a dogfight, and the best team won."

N.C. State needed a field goal, but stomped into the end zone in just three plays behind 26 yards from Brown.

"The real credit goes to N.C. State right now," said ECU coach Skip Holtz. "They had to make the plays going down the stretch. … I think they are an extremely talented football team and how they got to 1-2, I don't know, because I think they're a very talented football team."

The Wolfpack didn't lead until the end, and trailed 24-17 late in the fourth quarter after a Ben Hartman field goal extended the Pirates' lead.

With just over a minute to play, N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson found redshirt freshman George Bryan in the end zone for a short, 5-yard touchdown tying the game at 24. The catch was originally called incomplete, but officials reversed the call after taking a closer look.

"We had our chances to win the game on defense," said ECU safety Van Eskridge. "We had our chances to get those guys stopped. They kept fighting.

"They made the plays when they had to and we didn't make the plays."

One of those playmakers for N.C. State was Wilson, whose athleticism kept Eskridge and the ECU defense off-balance all afternoon. The speedy signal caller finished the day 21-of-31 for 210 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 42 yards on the ground.

"I was really impressed with Wilson," Holtz said. "I thought he did a great job. I think he did an excellent job as a quarterback. I think he's going to be a good one for a lot of years here."

While ECU's defense struggled to contain Wilson, the Wolfpack defense came up with timely stops to weather the Pirates' drives.

Starting the fourth quarter up 21-17, ECU failed to score despite having first-and-goal from the Wolfpack 4-yard-line. After tailbacks Brandon Simmons and Jonathan Williams were denied on the first three tries, Holtz elected to send Williams out again rather than take three points.

Williams never made it out of the backfield as N.C. State safety J.C. Neal and linebacker Robbie Leonard easily broke through the Pirate offensive line, forcing a 3-yard loss.

Later in the fourth quarter, ECU made it back to the N.C. State 4-yard-line, searching for the decisive touchdown. A third-down pass from Pinkey sailed by the hands of ECU receivers Alex Taylor and Jamar Bryant and ECU was forced to kick a field goal, squandering another end zone opportunity.

With the defeat, ECU fell to a 10-16 all-time record against the Wolfpack.

More importantly, the dream of an undefeated season has been crushed, along with a possible BCS bowl berth.

But Holtz isn't worried about that.

"If we do what we've got to do, then we'll let the chips fall where they do at the end of the year," he said. "We haven't talked BCS bowl with this team to this point. The people outside have. We haven't said a word about it."

The victory was the first for the Wolfpack over a Division I-A team this season, with its previous win against William and Mary. N.C. State out-gained ECU by one yard on total offense, with 257 yards in the air.

"I'm certainly not going to hang my head, pout or go hide because we lost to them," Holtz said. "I'm proud of these players. I think they went up there and competed their tail off-not bad for a bunch of guys that weren't good enough to play in an ACC conference."

Running back Norman Whitley had a breakout game for the Pirates, rushing for 83 yards and one touchdown. Whitley exploded for a 42-yard score down the left sideline, giving ECU a 21-14 lead in the third quarter.

Eskridge opened the scoring when he intercepted N.C. State quarterback Harrison Beck's pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown.

After the Wolfpack answered to tie the score at seven, Pinkney hooked up with tight end Davon Drew for a 39-yard touchdown down the middle of the field, giving the Pirates a 14-7 lead at halftime.



This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.

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