Pass Offense, Rush Defense Rule Second East Carolina Scrimmage
March 31, 2006 | Football
March 31, 2006
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina offense turned in a 406-yard, two-touchdown passing performance while the defensive unit forced five turnovers and allowed less than three yards per carry during the Pirates' second full intra-squad scrimmage Friday night at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
In the opening half, each No. 1 unit faced off against the No. 2 squad across the line of scrimmage while the second period featured a more traditional matchup of equal levels of the depth chart.
"It was a long scrimmage but a good day," head coach Skip Holtz said. "We had about 125 to 130 plays scripted and we really focused on the 1s and 2s. I was really pleased with the hitting, aggressiveness and overall team attitude."
With senior James Pinkney engineering ECU's top unit, the offense accounted for an early pair of long sustaining drives which resulted in short touchdown runs by sophomore Dominique Lindsay and senior Brandon Fractious. Redshirt freshman Brett Clay enjoyed a strong outing guiding the second unit as the Pirates added two more passing scores during the second half before finishing the night with 569 yards of total offense on 120 plays - an average of 4.7 yards per snap.
"There was some good balance out there between both the offense and defense," Holtz added. "Yet, we really have to eliminate the small plays that get our offense off the field and our running game needs to really improve in an overall sense."
In all, East Carolina completed 35-of-64 passes for 406 yards while suffering four interceptions and contributed 163 rushing yards on 56 carries (2.9 ypp)
James Pinkney finished the contest completing 10-of-22 passes for 146 yards while Clay topped all quarterbacks with 148 yards on 15-of-21 passing, which included 24-yard and 11-yard TD tosses to redshirt freshman Alex Taylor and Fractious, respectively. Sophomore Patrick Pinkney connected on seven-of-13 throws for 81 yards while redshirt freshman Rob Kass was three-of-eight for 31 yards in a limited role.
"James Pinkney has taken himself to another level with his play," Holtz said. "He is really understanding the weapons that he has and has a chance to be great."
Lindsay rushed for a game-high 68 yards on 14 carries, which included a one-yard TD run and a 20-yard jaunt late during the scrimmage. In addition to a four-yard scoring rush, Fractious picked up 48 yards on 15 carries while James Pinkney added 24 yards on just four attempts.
Senior Derehl Staton led all receivers with six catches for 68 yards while Taylor added 61 yards on five catches. Junior Steven Rogers logged a pair of grabs for 57 yards, including a game-high 49-yarder from James Pinkney late during the first half, and junior Phillip Henry contributed three catches for 49 yards.
"The receivers are coming along nicely as Aundrae Allison continues to work through his injury," Holtz continued. "I look forward to having him back but we were able to see a lot of people out there today."
Defensively, junior linebacker Fred Wilson and redshirt freshman safety Chris Mattocks were credited with 10 stops each while junior lineman Nweike Osemene added nine hits and junior linebacker Danny Muhwezi contributed eight tackles.
The Pirates' defense did enjoy several highlights, using a pair of interceptions in the redzone to thwart possible touchdowns. Senior safety Jamar Flournoy picked off a Patrick Pinkney pass and returned it 20 yards before junior cornerback Travis Williams stepped in front of a Clay attempt at the one-yard line. Because of its pressured approach, ECU recorded a total of eight tackles for loss and five sacks.
"The safeties became involved in the running game which is something we do not want to happen very often," Holtz closed.
In addition to its four interceptions, the defensive unit also recovered a fumble and limited the offense to just six of 23 third-down conversions throughout the scrimmage.
The Pirates will complete their spring drills next week, working Monday and Wednesday afternoon before playing the annual Purple-Gold Game Saturday beginning at 3:00 p.m. at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
RUSHING: Dominique Lindsay (14-68, 1 TD), Brandon Fractious (15-48, 1 TD), James Pinkney (4-24), Kyle Johnson (1-18), Derehl Staton (1-11), Darnell Ballard (2-9), Jonathan Castillo (3-8), Patrick Dosh (2-7), Kort Shankweiler (2-3), Edwin Burke (7-2), Brett Clay (1-<-9>), Patrick Pinkney (2-<-13>), Rob Kass (2-<-13>). Totals -- 56-163 (2.9 ypr), 2 TD.
PASSING: Brett Clay (21-15-1, 148 yards, 2 TD), James Pinkney (22-10-1, 146 yards), Patrick Pinkney (13-7-2, 81 yards), Rob Kass (8-3-0, 31 yards). Totals -- 64-35-4, 406 yards, 2 TD.
RECEIVING: Derehl Staton (6-68), Alex Taylor (5-61, 1 TD), Steven Rogers (2-57), Phillip Henry (3-49), Bobby Good (3-23), Kevin Roach (2-23), Stanley Bryant (2-21), Dominique Lindsay (2-19), Patrick Dosh (2-18), Davon Drew (2-17), Juwon Crowell (1-17), Brandon Fractious (1-11, 1 TD), Lonzell Fogle (1-10), Edwin Burke (1-6), Kyle Johnson (1-4), Jay Sonnhalter (1-2). Totals -- 35-406, 2 TD
TACKLES: Fred Wilson (10), Chris Mattocks (10, INT), Nweike Osemene (9), Danny Muhwezi (8), Orlando Farrow (7), Herman Best (6, INT), Durwin Lamb (6), J.J. Millbrook (5), Zach Slate (5, sack), Wendell Chavis (4), Scotty Robinson (4, TFL, 2 sacks), James Graham (4, sack), Jeremy Chambliss (3), Quentin Cotton (3), Jamar Flournoy (3, INT), Johnnie McCoy (3), Pierre Parker (3), Stacy Walls (3), Van Eskeridge (2), Shauntae Hunt (2, TFL), Carl Marrow (2), Markeith McQueen (2), Dontre Brown (1), Craig Harper (1, sack), Peter Proukou (1), Kasey Ross (1), Brandon Setzer (1, TFL), Daniel Strong (1), Travis Williams (1, INT)
Total Offense: 120-569 (4.7 ypp); First Downs: 30; Third Down Conversions: 6/23; Fumbles/Lost: 3/1; Penalties: 12 (10 offense, 2 defense)
