Pirates Complete First Scrimmage
August 15, 2009 | Football
Aug. 15, 2009
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Senior Patrick Pinkney completed six-of-nine passes for 113 yards and sophomore Brandon Jackson rushed for 50 yards to spearhead the offensive effort, while a surging defensive front tallied six tackles for lost yardage on the other side of the ball to highlight East Carolina's first intra-squad scrimmage of preseason camp Saturday afternoon at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium.
The controlled contest, which was played in pleasant conditions with the temperatures in the mid-80's, consisted of approximately 100 plays that included all levels of the program's preseason depth chart, but mostly featured the Pirates' No. 2 and No. 3 units.
"There were a couple of things we were looking for out of today," fifth-year ECU Head Coach Skip Holtz said. "First, we wanted to see where we were as an offensive and defensive football team. The primary thing we were trying to do was see how far away our number ones are from being game ready.
"The second thing we wanted to do was try and build a depth chart. We have to come out of this scrimmage with a depth chart so that when we work on Monday, we can come out and really start to put this football team together. Finally, we wanted to make up the depth chart for the special teams."
The lone touchdown of the game came in the first half when Pinkney hooked up with senior Jamar Bryant on a 57-yard pass play during the second possession of the afternoon. While Bryant topped all receivers in yardage with his one reception, sophomore Darryl Freeney (37 yards), junior Dwayne Harris (18) and senior Alex Taylor (16) each netted two catches each.
True freshman Matt Milner led a defensive effort with seven stops including a sack, while fellow rookie Michael Brooks and sophomore Cliff Perryman recorded six tackles each. Junior Darryl Reynolds and redshirt freshman Justin Venable's interceptions accounted for the only two turnovers of the contest and Brooks led the unit with a team-best two sacks.
Sophomore Ben Ryan and senior Matt Dodge rotated on kicking assignments and both connected on 43-yard field goals to cap the scoring in the first half.
The Pirates will take a day off from the field Sunday before returning to Hight Field inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex Monday for their second two-a-day schedule of camp. ECU will conduct the pair of workouts beginning at 8:35 a.m. and 8 p.m.
