Offense Shines Again In Situational Scrimmage
August 21, 2004 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. ?? ECU's new offensive air attack showcased itself once again as it tallied over 400 yards passing during the Pirates' second situational scrimmage of the preseason Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Quarterback Desmond Robinson was nearly perfect throwing the football, passing for 249 yards with three touchdowns on 15-of-19 throwing. James Pinkney completed 9-of-19 passes for 134 yards and two scores.
Fifteen Pirate receivers caught a pass with 10 of them recording multiple receptions. Brian Howard was the top pass catcher with three receptions for 142 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown catch. Two of Howard's three receptions went for over 50 yards.
Tight ends Sean Harmon and Shawn Levesque, a pair of junior college transfers, each recorded a five-yard touchdown reception.
"Our offense threw the ball and caught the ball as well as we've done since we've been here," said head coach John Thompson. "We made a lot of big plays in critical situations. Situationally the offense did very, very good. They got it in on the goal line, inside the red zone, and played well during the two-minute drill."
On the ground, freshman Chris Johnson totaled the most yards and carries. Johnson toted the ball 11 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Art Brown and Marvin Townes posted similar numbers with Brown gaining 48 yards on seven carries with three scores, while Townes reached the end zone twice tallying 48 yards on nine rushes.
Defensive end Richard Koonce topped the defense with eight tackles and a sack. Linebacker Eric Butler recorded seven tackles, while fellow linebackers Chris Moore and Patrick Dickerson each intercepted a pass.
ECU will take Sunday off before returning to practice Monday morning for its final two-a-day installment. The Pirates will hold their final preseason scrimmage on Tuesday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium at 2:30 p.m. The first 300 ECU students to pass through the gates will receive a free ECU football "S.W.A.R.M." T-shirt.
ECU Scrimmage Stats
Passing Leaders
Robinson 19-15-0 249; J. Pinkney 19-9-1 134; P. Pinkney 4-2-1 30.
Rushing Leaders
Johnson 3-59; Brown 7-48; Townes 9-48; Burke 5-32.
Receiving Leaders
B. Howard 3-142; Bowling 4-57; Johnson 3-42; Levesque 2-31;
Defensive Leaders
Tackles: Koonce 8; E. Butler 7; Ross 6; MacDonagh 4; Lamb 4.
