East Carolina got off to a slow start, finally got things rolling and then held off a furious Charleston Southern rally to earn a 31-28 victory Saturday night in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
ECU scored through the air, on the ground and on defense with a Ja’Quan interception for a touchdown. In doing so, the Pirates evened their record at 2-2 on the season.
Mike Houston cautioned the media earlier in the week that Charleston Southern(1-2) was no joke and a program in which he has great familiarity. His words proved prophetic on game night in Greenville.
“They couldn’t get that tempo going last week and we had not seen them go that fast the first two ballgames. They played very well against the Citadel in week one. They did not play well last week but then played lights out tonight,” Houston told PirateIllustrated.com, "I think it’s a deal that when they’re firing on all cylinders, they’re a pretty potent offense and the quarterback made a lot of plays tonight.”
“That ended up being an exciting one. We certainly don’t want to start the game the way we did in the first quarter. I’m proud of the guys the way the battled back in the second quarter and got the lead at halftime,” said Houston who was glad to get the victory but he knows there is a fine line between winning and losing in college football.
All told, Charleston Southern generated 536 yards of total offense including 402 yards of passing from quarterback Jack Chambers. Holton Ahlers threw for 238 yards and a touchdown for ECU and was only sacked once on the evening while Keaton Mitchell rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown to lead the Pirate ground game.
While Houston wasn’t altogether elated, he has a greater appreciation for finding way to get the win under less than perfect circumstances.
“I’m a little frustrated with some things, but a veteran coach once told me don’t ever forget to celebrate a win so I’m glad to get the win. Hats off to Charleston Southern for playing a great ballgame,” said the third year ECU head coach, “They have a heck of a quarterback. I asked him and the coach where was that last week? Very impressed with the way they played tonight. If they build on that, they have a chance to have a heck of a year.”
The Pirates yielded a pair of early Charleston Southern touchdowns on a six-yard J.D. Moore run and a 38-yard Jack Chambers to Kale Anderson touchdown strike that put the Buccaneers up by two touchdowns in the first period and put the Pirates behind the eight ball.
ECU then got in the act with on a 74-yard Keaton Mitchell touchdown jaunt before a 33-yard Owen Daffer field goal cut the lead to 14-10.
“It was clear daylight. Once I see daylight, it’s over with,” said Mitchell, “I’ve been wanting to break one in this stadium for a while, but it felt great hearing them scream.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re going to be keying on me (heading into conference play), but the O-line has just got to keep going,” Mitchell told PI afterward, “It starts with them. Every time they give me a little hole like that, then it’s over with from there.”
After an apparent Tyler Snead touchdown was ruled out of bounds at the three-yard line, Mason Garcia came in, Ahlers shifted to receiver and it confused the Buccaneer defense. Garcia then ran it in for a three yard touchdown in the opposite direction to give the Pirates their first lead of the game at 17-14 with five minutes left in the half.
An ECU defensive stop then led to a 60-yard Holton Ahlers to C.J .Johnson touchdown strike that suddenly found ECU up 24-14 late in the second quarter.
The two teams combined for nearly 600 yards of total offense in the first two periods. Holton Ahlers passed for 181 along with 75 yards of rushing from Keaton Mitchell. Jack Chambers passed for 203 yards and a touchdown and JD Moore had 47 yards on the ground at the half.
Ja’Quan McMillian’s 23-yard interception for touchdown four minutes into the second half was his third pick of the season and gave East Carolina a commanding 31-14 lead. McMillian also led ECU with ten tackles on the day along with six each from Bruce Bivins, Immanuel Hickman and Jireh Wilson.
“It was definitely a great feeling, but I owe it all to my team. Without my team nothing really happens. You see me making a play but those guys up front, getting to the quarterback forces bad throws so I owe it to my team,” said McMillian.
Back to back wins haven’t been that frequent in the past few years, so finding a way to win two games heading into the first conference game of the season next week with Tulane could prove valuable with eight games to go.
“It’s great for us. That momentum, once you get that ball rolling, you get that snowball effect,” McMillian told PI, “Once it piles up we’re on the road and it’s a good feeling to go into conference play with two wins in a row.”
Charleston Southern trimmed the ECU lead to ten with twelve minutes to go on a Jack Chambers eight-yard touchdown run and the Buccaneers just wouldn’t go away.
The Buccaneers managed to score after a pass interference penalty placed the football on the ECU two-yard line. That led to a 2-yard Geoffrey Wall touchdown catch that pulled Charleston Southern to within three at 31-28 with just 1:50 to play before the Pirates were able to close it out for their second straight win.
ECU now heads into next week’s first American Athletic Conference game against Tulane. Game time is set for 3:30 pm. Stay tuned to PirateIllustrated.com for the very latest as coverage of Pirate football continues.
