Pirates Notch First Win of Season, 38-32 Over Army

Pirates Notch First Win of Season, 38-32 Over Army

10/18/2003

Final stats and play-by-play

Postgame notes

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) -- Marvin Townes ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns as East Carolina beat Army 38-32 on Saturday for its first victory of the season.

Desmond Robinson completed 17 of 23 passes for 163 yards and ran for a touchdown to help the Pirates (1-6, 0-3 Conference USA) snap an eight-game losing streak dating to last season.

Army (0-7, 0-5) extended its losing streak to nine games in John Mumford's first game as interim head coach. Mumford was promoted following the dismissal of Todd Berry earlier in the week.

Army scored on its first play from scrimmage, with Zac Dahman hitting Aaron Alexander with a 28-yard pass. The pass was set up by William White's 67-yard kickoff return.

Army marched 88 yards to the ECU 11 two possessions later, but Dahman's pass was intercepted by Erode Jean.

ECU got the ball at the Army 15 with 1:47 left in the quarter after Kort Shankweiler recovered Ray Stith's fumble on a punt return. Townes scored three plays later on a 4-yard run.

The Pirates took a 14-7 lead on Townes' 2-yard plunge with 9:13 left in the second quarter. The run capped a nine-play, 90-yard drive.

ECU added another touchdown with 5:28 left in the half on a 10-yard run by Robinson.

Army got back in the game when linebacker Greg Washington intercepted Robinson's pass at the Army 48, returned the ball 20 yards and pitched the ball to Ryan Kent, who carried it to the 12. Carlton Jones scored on a 2-yard run two plays later to make it 21-14.

East Carolina opened the third quarter with Cameron Broadwell's 43-yard field goal and Townes added his third TD on a 2-yard run with 3 seconds left in the quarter.

Richard Moton returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give ECU a 38-14 lead.

Army's Jones scored his second touchdown and Zurisko added a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. An 80-yard drive capped by Lamar Mason's TD run cut ECU's lead to six with less than three minutes to play.

East Carolina Postgame Notes

Today's game captains for the Pirates were LB Kent Nealy, C Doug White, and WR Richard Hourigan.

ECU first-year head coach John Thompson recorded his first win as a collegiate head coach.

Wide receiver Terrance Copper has now caught at least one pass in 14 straight games. In addition, his first catch of today's game was the 100th of his career.

Senior offensive tackle Brian Rimpf made his 32nd consecutive start.

Erode Jean recorded his first career interception in the first quarter and returned it 22 yards. It was the true freshman's third defense return this season as he had previously recovered and returned two fumbles.

Desmond Robinson's 47-yard pass completion to Richard Hourigan in the second quarter was the longest completion of the season for the Pirates.

Marvin Townes became the first Pirate to scored more than one rushing touchdown in a game this season.

The Pirates' 90-yard drive, culminated by Townes' second TD run of the day, in the second quarter was the longest scoring drive by ECU this season.

Townes' 28-yard run in the second quarter equaled the team's longest rush of the season.

Bobby Good's five-yard reception of a Desmond Robinson pass in the second quarter was the first of his collegiate career.

Linebacker Eric Johnson made his first career start today in place of Dashaun Stephens, who did not make the trip for personal reasons. Johnson is the fifth true freshman to make a start for the Pirates this season.

Army's second quarter interception of a Robinson pass was returned to the ECU 12 and led to the Black Knights' second touchdown of the day. It was the 14th ECU turnover that has led directly to a touchdown for the opposing team this season.

Marvin Townes recorded his third straight 100-yard rushing game. His 184 rushing yards today are a career-high. He also surpassed 1,000 career yards as his game total moved his career yardage figure to 1,053.

Terrance Copper's 53 receiving yards moved him into 10th place on the ECU career receiving yardage chart. He now has 1,291 career yards.

Richard Moton recorded the first interception of his ECU career when he picked off a Zac Dahman pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Richard Hourigan's 76 receiving yards (on four catches) are a career high.

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