Pirates Bowl Over Marshall, 33-20

Saturday, November 11

Greenville, N.C.

1:00 PM

East Carolina University

6-4 , 5-2

Marshall (MA/SD)

4-6 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Marshall

East Carolina

November 11, 2006 | Football

Box Score Stats

Nov. 11, 2006

Box Score | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2

Box Score (PDF) l ECU Post-Game Notes (PDF) l Post-Game Quotes (PDF)

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GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) - James Pinkney passed for more than 200 yards for the 22nd time in his career and East Carolina's defense allowed only 35 rushing yards as the Pirates beat Marshall 33-20 on Saturday.

East Carolina (6-4, 5-2 Conference USA) won its fourth straight game for the first time since 2001 and stayed atop the East Division.

The Pirates held their third opponent in four games to under 100 rushing yards.

Marshall (4-6, 3-3) had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Pinkney was 21 of 27 for 270 yards and a touchdown in his final home game. He provided most of the offense as the Pirates only gained 74 rushing yards.

Marshall running back Ahmad Bradshaw, C-USA's leading rusher, was held to a season-low 26 yards on 10 carries, though he did score a pair of touchdowns on short runs. Bradshaw's lowest output had been 55 yards on nine carries against Kansas State.

Marshall quarterback Jimmy Skinner was 24 of 45 for 285 yards. His favorite target was Cody Slate, who made nine catches for 140 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown reception.

East Carolina took advantage of a blocked punt and a fumble to build a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on a one-yard run by Brandon Fractious and 21-yard field goal by Robert Lee.

Lee added a 22-yard field goal with 9:30 left in the second quarter to give ECU a 13-0 lead.

Marshall got on the scoreboard after Albert McClellan sacked Pinkney and forced him to fumble at the Pirate 5, which Juan Underwood recovered for the Thundering Herd. Ahmad Bradshaw rumbled into the end zone on the next play for Marshall to make it 13-7 with about four minutes left in the first half.

But East Carolina responded on its next possession with its own touchdown drive to make it 20-7 just before the break. The Pirates went 79 yards on seven plays, capped by a 29-yard scoring reception by Phillip Henry, his second touchdown reception of the season.

Henry finished with five receptions for 96 yards.

East Carolina put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter with a trick play. Aundrae Allison, coming on an end-around, threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Steven Rogers, who got behind a Marshall defense that had committed to stopping Allison's run.

Lee finished ECU's scoring with a career-high fourth field goal in a game when he hit from 42 yards with 6:32 left in the final quarter.

Before the game, East Carolina unveiled a plaque near the visitor entrance of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium honoring Marshall's 1970 team, which died in a plane crash returning from playing the Pirates 36 years ago.