Fractious Leads Rushing Attack In Win Over Virginia

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) - East Carolina ran the ball, avoided mistakes and gained confidence from taking an early lead despite playing without two key starters.

It added up to one of the biggest wins in Skip Holtz's short tenure here.

Brandon Fractious had 102 yards and one of the team's four rushing touchdowns to lead the Pirates past Virginia 31-21 on Saturday night, earning a relatively easy win against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

Brandon Simmons and James Pinkney also ran for scores for the Pirates (2-3), who dominated the first half and coasted the rest of the way despite playing without starting wide receiver Aundrae Allison and running back Chris Johnson.

It was a needed win for the Pirates, who lost a pair of five-point games to Navy and UAB before falling 27-10 against West Virginia two weeks ago.

"We needed it from a momentum standpoint," said Holtz, who won his seventh game in two seasons here. "We needed it from a confidence standpoint, because after you lose three close games like we did, it's tough to keep coming back week after week."

For a half, the Pirates - a Conference USA school located in the shadows of the ACC - completely outplayed the Cavaliers (2-4) to lead 24-7 at the break. They didn't do much in the second half. But against the offensively challenged Cavaliers - who got no closer than 10 points after the break - it hardly mattered.

East Carolina finished with 432 total yards against one of the nation's stingier defenses, including 208 on the ground after spending its bye week focusing on improving a rushing attack that averaged just 98 yards per game.

The Pirates committed no turnovers and had only two penalties for 20 yards. Their biggest mistakes were two missed field goals by Robert Lee and a blocked punt that set up a Virginia touchdown early in the third quarter.

The Pirates even got a 2-yard rushing score from punter Ryan Dougherty on a fake field goal for a 31-14 lead with 2:17 left, capping a 9-minute drive that sealed the win.

"They out-kicked us, out-coached us, out-defended us, outran us so we got the result we got," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "They were very physical. They ran the ball with authority and it just took us too long to get started on defense."

All that came despite missing Allison and Johnson. Holtz ruled Allison out Saturday morning due to an ankle injury he suffered against West Virginia, while Johnson had been limited with a toe injury all week.

But Fractious and Simmons carried the load for Johnson, while Bobby Good finished with five catches for 102 yards to make up for the absences. Holtz even juggled his offensive line to boost the ground game, with true freshman Cory Dowless making his first start at guard while Matt Butler moved from guard to center.

The results were almost immediate against a defense that came in ranked 20th nationally by allowing 263 yards per outing. Pinkney ran for 42 yards and threw for 224, while Simmons ran for 57 yards.

"I think the sky's the limit with us," Fractious said. "I think we can produce way better and do way more."

The Cavaliers didn't have the same kind of success, finishing with 298 total yards. Jason Snelling ran for 103 yards and a touchdown, while freshman Jameel Sewell made his third start at quarterback and went 15-for-31 for 123 yards and a meaningless TD with 18 seconds left.

Simmons got the Pirates on the board with his 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, while Fractious scored on a 12-yard run late in the second for a 17-7 lead.

Then Pinkney made his biggest play on a terrific individual effort just before halftime.

With the Pirates lined up in the shotgun at Virginia's 5, the snap came in fast and high and the ball bounced off Pinkney's fingers and into the air. Pinkney turned around to catch it, then tucked the ball away and dove into the end zone for the 24-7 lead with 1:46 left in the half.

The Cavaliers got a spark when Ben Parziale blocked a punt from Dougherty to give Virginia the ball at East Carolina's 17 early in the third. Sewell then connected with Tom Santi on a 16-yard pass to set up Snelling's short TD run that made it 24-14 with 13:02 left in the quarter.

But that was as good as it would get.

"We've talked about being a young team all year long but that's not the issue," said Deyon Williams, who had a touchdown catch off a pass from receiver Emmanuel Byers. "It is time to step up and act like mature veteran players. We need to make more plays and have more heart."