East Carolina University
6-3 , 3-2
Cincinnati
6-3 , 4-1
East Carolina Drops Shootout At Cincinnati, 54-46
November 13, 2014 | Football
By Bill Woodward
ECUPirates.com
Final Stats 
l ECU Notes l ECU Quotes
CINCINNATI, Ohio - An amazing comeback attempt by East Carolina's football team came up 62 seconds short Thursday night.
The Pirates, down 38-20 early in the second half, took a 46-45 lead over Cincinnati on a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Shane Carden with 1:02 left in the pivotal American Athletic Conference game.
ECU went for the 2-point conversion in an attempt to take a 3-point but Carden's pass fell incomplete.
With a tie for first place in the conference on the line, the Pirates needed one more stop on defense. It didn't happen - the Bearcats scored nine points in the final minute to win 54-46 and hand East Carolina its second-straight loss.
After ECU went up by a point, Cincinnati (6-3, 4-1 American) returned the ensuing kickoff to the 35.
Bearcats quarterback Gunner Kiel (29-for-44 passing for 436 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions) completed a 15-yard pass to midfield. Then on 2nd-and-8 from the Pirates' 48, he found his favorite target Mekale McKay for 18 yards to the ECU 30.
That was close enough for redshirt freshman kicker Andrew Gantz, whose career-long field was 46 yards. Gantz split the uprights from 47 yards out to give the Bearcats a 48-46 lead with 15 seconds left.
"We knew if he got within the 30 (he would be in his range)," East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill said. "Thirty-five was the number. It was one of those games where you have to make plays and that was a big kick by that young man."
The Pirates (6-3, 3-2) tried the hook-and-lateral play on the game's final play and a long lateral across the field was recovered by the Bearcats and returned for a 20-yard touchdown that pushed the final score to 54-46.
"I was proud of our kids," McNeill said. "They never gave up on each other and kept fighting to the bitter end. On the road and facing a very good team like Cincinnati, we knew we would have to make plays. They made more plays than we did tonight."
The loss overshadowed a huge game by ECU senior receiver Justin Hardy, who caught 15 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown and had the first rushing touchdown of his career. Hardy moved within four catches of becoming the career receptions leader in FBS history, a mark which is currently held by Ryan Broyles (349/2008-2011).
"Justin has played that way for a long time for us," McNeill said. "I was proud of him. He rose to the occasion. They had double (coverage) on him all night long. He made play after play. He did a good job of being a leader for us.
"But that is what Justin does."
The tone for the game was set early, with both teams moving the ball and scoring. By halftime, there were 51 points on the scoreboard - with Cincinnati up 31-20.
The Bearcats scored the first time they had the ball in the second half to take a 38-20 lead.
East Carolina answered with a crucial touchdown behind the running of Breon Allen (12 carries, 129 yards). Allen had all 81 yards in a five-play TD drive, running for 41 yards to the Bearcats' 40 and then, two plays later, going down the right sideline for 40 yards and the score to cut the margin to 38-27.
The Pirates defense, which had been unable to contain the Bearcats' offense to that point, suddenly stiffened. On the next three UC possessions, the Pirates forced the Bearcats to punt twice and intercepted a pass.
After the interception by Lamar Ivey, the Pirates covered the 31 yards to the end zone in six plays, with Carden hitting Hardy on an 18-yard pass for the touchdown to pull ECU within 38-34.
"The defense did a great job of three-and-outs there," McNeill said.
Cincinnati went up 45-34 when Kiel hooked up with McKay for a 36-yard touchdown with 4:47 remaining.
The Pirates refused to give up.
Carden (35-for-61 passing for 425 yards and two touchdowns) and company went 71 yards in just 57 seconds to pull within 45-40 with 3:44 remaining. With a chance to cut the deficit to three points, the Pirates went for two but could not convert when Carden's pass was incomplete.
Cincinnati gave the Pirates a gift on its next possession when the Bearcats tried some trickery on a fourth-and-2 play from their own 32.
Kiel lined up in punt formation, then stepped up into the shotgun and tried unsuccessfully to draw the Pirates offside. After a timeout, the Bearcats lined up the same way. This time, when Kiel stepped up into shotgun, the ball was snapped to him and the Bearcats' QB ran an option play to the left. His pitch under pressure was wide of the running back and ECU's Ivey recovered the ball.
Ivey finished with eight tackles and a pair of interceptions to go with his fumble recovery.
East Carolina took over on offense with 2:03 remaining. Two pass interference penalties on the Bearcats helped the Pirates get into the end zone, with Carden carrying it in from the two-yard line with 1:02 remaining.
The Pirates were up 46-45 after a 2-point pass attempt was incomplete. It was a gritty, determined comeback. The celebration was short-lived, however, as the Bearcats made all the plays in the final minute.
"We were in a deep hole going into halftime," McNeill said. "We went in and said let's take each play and don't look past it. We did that. It was evenly matched statistically.
"We knew on the road against a talented team like Cincinnati that both teams would have to make plays. They just made a little bit more than we did."
Team Stats
ECU 0, CIN 7
CIN - MCKAY, Mekale 55 yd pass from KIEL, Gunner (GANTZ, Andrew kick) 3 plays, 83 yards, TOP 0:52
ECU 3, CIN 7
ECU - HARVEY, Warren 31 yd field goal 10 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:13
ECU 6, CIN 7
ECU - HARVEY, Warren 23 yd field goal 5 plays, 18 yards, TOP 1:19
ECU 6, CIN 14
CIN - MORRISON, Max 17 yd pass from KIEL, Gunner (GANTZ, Andrew kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:14
ECU 6, CIN 17
CIN - GANTZ, Andrew 33 yd field goal 8 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:55
ECU 13, CIN 17
ECU - GRAYSON, Mrquez 11 yd run (HARVEY, Warren kick), 9 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:30
ECU 20, CIN 17
ECU - HARDY, Justin 7 yd run (HARVEY, Warren kick), 4 plays, 35 yards, TOP 0:40
ECU 20, CIN 24
CIN - MOORE, Chris 66 yd pass from KIEL, Gunner (GANTZ, Andrew kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:09
ECU 20, CIN 31
CIN - MOORE, Rod 2 yd run (GANTZ, Andrew kick), 8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:46
ECU 20, CIN 38
CIN - BOONE, Mike 3 yd run (GANTZ, Andrew kick), 8 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:11
ECU 27, CIN 38
ECU - ALLEN, Breon 40 yd run (HARVEY, Warren kick), 5 plays, 81 yards, TOP 0:44
ECU 34, CIN 38
ECU - HARDY, Justin 18 yd pass from CARDEN, Shane (HARVEY, Warren kick) 6 plays, 31 yards, TOP 2:34
ECU 34, CIN 45
CIN - MCKAY, Mekale 36 yd pass from KIEL, Gunner (GANTZ, Andrew kick) 12 plays, 92 yards, TOP 5:24
ECU 40, CIN 45
ECU - WORTHY, Cam 7 yd pass from CARDEN, Shane (CARDEN, Shane passfailed) 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 0:57
ECU 46, CIN 45
ECU - CARDEN, Shane 2 yd run (CARDEN, Shane passfailed), 6 plays, 27 yards, TOP 1:01
ECU 46, CIN 48
CIN - GANTZ, Andrew 47 yd field goal 7 plays, 35 yards, TOP 0:42
ECU 46, CIN 54
CIN - HARTSFIELD, T. 27 yd fumble recovery ()
