Parker White’s 36-yard field goal with just three seconds to go lifted South Carolina to a 20-17 comeback win over East Carolina Saturday afternoon in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
It was the second field goal of the day for White to go along with a 39-yarder with 1:50 remaining in the game and ECU’s second loss of the young season. In the end, it was the Gamecock’s ability to make kicks down the stretch that was ultimately the difference in the outcome.
The Pirates got their share of the breaks and more than their fair share of calls and are getting closer to turning in some wins, but this loss proved to be a very emotional one for ECU(0-2) in what was a very winnable contest.
“It’s a tough locker room in there right now. The kids are hurting pretty good. Hats off to the kicker from South Carolina,” said ECU head coach Mike Houston afterward, “That’s a good job there. That’s a big time kick there at the end. The kids played their tails off. I’m very proud of the way we competed, very proud of the physicality and intensity. They give us a chance to win in the fourth quarter and I thought we had it. It just didn’t go our way.”
On a day where total offense wasn’t ECU’s strong suit with just 263 yards overall, Tyler Snead took a pitch from Holton Ahlers and then threw his second career touchdown on a 75-yard touchdown pass to Jai Hatfield on the first play of the game. That set the tone for a 7-0 lead. Hatfield ended up with 90 yards on five catches for the day along with six catches from Tyler Snead for 35 yards.
“They told me on Thursday that that was going to be the first call then we got the right spot on the first play,” said Snead, “I was really excited. We practiced it, so I was glad we executed the outcome. Those fans went crazy for it. After any loss it’s tough but especially when we thought we had the game the whole time. All you can do now is look back on the film and fix the mistakes.”
A three-yard Holton Ahlers touchdown run early in the second quarter after a D.J. Ford interception had the Pirates up by fourteen points.
“I was really just in the post there and breaking on the ball. I ran to the ball, Ford said, “My guys were tackling him and it just popped up and fell right into my hands and I just took off with it.”
But a 63-yard Damani Staley interception of Ahlers for a touchdown got South Carolina right back within seven points at 14-7 at halftime.
“It was a screen and they got through quick,” said Ahlers, “I’ve either got to ground it or get a garage there. I’ve just got to see it on film.”
Ford talked about the game overall for a fast maturing East Carolina’s defense.
“I think our defense responded well. We did exactly what the coaches asked of us,” said Ford, “We came out, we were flying around and we were physical. Nobody can doubt that. It was obvious in the way we played. This is definitely a disappointing loss. It’s never fun to lose. We had them up early so it felt like it slipped away a little bit, but we’re going to do what we need to do to be able to finish better and put teams away.”
“I don’t think there is or was a lack of confidence, but our confidence has taken a step up,” Ford stated, “Our guys realize that we can play with anyone. That was a big SEC line and we more than held our own.”
The Pirates held the Gamecocks to just 12 yards of net rushing and 122 yards of total offense in the first half but South Carolina kept themselves in the game with a pair of interceptions in the first thirty minutes of the game.
Ja’Quan McMillian’s ECU pass interference penalty of Vann in the end zone led to a 13-yard Zeb Nolan to Dakereon Joyner strike in the back on the end zone that tied the game at 14-14 with 46 seconds to go in the third period.
The Pirates reclaimed the lead on a 26-yard Owen Daffer field goal midway into the fourth quarter before a Parker White field goal tied the game again just two minutes later at 17-17.
In the end, the Pirates were unable to capitalize with the football in their hands down the stretch and it led to the team’s second straight loss.
“It’s real tough in that locker room. I think anyone in there would do just about anything to win that game,” said Ahlers, “We know where the program is headed. They are an SEC school no matter what their record is last year. They’re a good team. I think everybody knows that we should have won that game. We’ve just got to bounce back. The older guys in this locker room have to keep this team together because we know what we are.”
“I think they did a good job of scheming us up a little bit. When you go into third down throwing the ball, everybody knows you’re going to throw it. It’s a tough situation and they’re going to bring those blitzes,” Ahlers stated, “I thought we did a good job of picking it up. The times we did pick it up, we hit it and the times we didn’t pick it up, we didn't.”
There are positives to take into next week, but Ahlers, who suffered five sacks and went just 11-24 for 77 yards, placed the bulk of the blame on his own shoulders.
“The defense played as well as they’ve played since I’ve been here, so that’s a positive,” Ahlers told PirateIllustrated.com, “The offense did not play well at all and played very, very badly and that starts with me. I played very, very badly. We’ve just got to figure things out. It starts with us and it starts with me, so I’m going to work harder than anyone in this country to get things turned around because if the defense plays like that, we’ve got a really good team. We’ve just got to put the offense together.”
Rahjai Harris led the ECU running game with 70 yards on 14 carries to go along with 45 yards from Keaton Mitchell and 44 more from Ahlers who scored a touchdown against a South Carolina team that ended up with just 323 yards of total offense to get the win.
Linebacker Xavier Smith led the ECU defense with eight tackles to go along with six each from D.J. Ford, Myles Berry, Bruce Bivens and ever improving Jeremy Lewis. For Lewis is was a career high.
All told, quarterback Zeb Nolan went 13 for 24 through the air with one interception and one touchdown to lead the Gamecocks under center.
ECU heads to Huntington, West Virginia next Saturday to take on Marshall. Kickoff is set for 6 o’clock.
