ECU 30, Memphis 10
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The East Carolina University Pirates defeated the Memphis Tigers 30-10 on a rainy Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
The win pulls the Pirates out of a three game losing streak, giving them a 4-3 record.
The team is 2-1 in Conference USA standings, trailing Marshall by a half game for first place in the Eastern Division.
ECU coach Skip Holtz replaced starting quaterback Patrick Pinkney with Rob Kass after the in the first quarter, and Kass helped lead the Pirates with two third-quarter touchdown passes.
Trailing 10-7, Kass (9 of 17, 167 yards) hit Brandon Simmons for a 42-yard touchdown on the Pirates' first second-half series for a 13-10 lead. He then found Dwayne Harris on a 28-yard scoring strike late in the quarter for a 20-10 advantage.
East Carolina (4-3, 2-1 Conference USA) has outscored its opponents 61-29 in the third quarter.
"I thought he did a good job of managing the team," said Holtz, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak. "We were going to switch quarterbacks on the third series regardless of what happened. Now it will be like last year, where we went with the hot hand."
Kass said it's been difficult sitting on the bench, but he knew he had to be ready to play.
"Good things come to those who wait," said Kass, who alternated with Pinkney last year. "It's like riding a bike. You have to go out and make the plays when you get the chance."
Memphis (3-5, 1-3) lost its top two quarterbacks in the first 11 minutes.
Arkelton Hall lasted six plays before breaking his right thumb.
He was replaced by Will Hudgens, who also lasted just six plays before he was hit on his right knee by East Carolina's Darryl Reynolds and was carried off the field.
That left Brett Toney (11 of 15, 65 yards), who hadn't attempted a pass and played on special teams his previous 20 games. Freshman Tyler Bass finished the game.
"We will take some X-rays on (Hall) Monday and see if it requires surgery," coach Tommy West said. "Hudgens has an MCL injury at best. We have to get back to it this coming week. When you are down to your fourth guy at quarterback, it makes it tough to win. I can sit here and yell and scream but that won't help anything. We have to line up this week and find an offense as well as a defense."
Curtis Steele scored on a 4-yard run to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
East Carolina tied the game midway through the second quarter on Jonathan Williams' career-long 68-yard touchdown run. Williams had 108 yards on 15 carries for his first career 100-yard game.
Memphis then went on a 16-play, 58-yard scoring drive to close out the half. Vinny Zaccario kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 10-7 halftime lead.
Rob Hartman added a 22-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and Norman Whitley added a 12-yard scoring run with five minutes remaining for the Pirates.
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