East Carolina University
3-1
North Carolina (HOF)
2-1
East Carolina Cruises To 70-41 Win Over UNC
September 20, 2014 | Football
l ECU Notes l Quotes
Final Stats | Photo Gallery II 
Mike Grizzard
ECUPirates.com
GREENVILLE, N.C. - A record-breaking crowd. A record-setting performance. Nothing could be finer for East Carolina than the way Saturday's game against rival North Carolina turned out.
By the time an "Our State" chant rained down on Bagwell Field with about two minutes left, the crowd of 51,082 - the most to ever see a game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium - already was well into celebration mode of a 70-41 thrashing of the Tar Heels in an action-packed game that took four hours to play.
The fourth consecutive win over an ACC opponent and second-straight over UNC will be something to savor going into a bye week, then opening up the first year in the American Athletic Conference.
"I'm very excited about the win," head coach Ruffin McNeill said. "I keep talking about our team and our ability to focus. That was evident again. I keep asking the players to improve in those two aspects. I thought we did a good job of relying on our team intangibles and team chemistry. When we work as one breath, one mind, one heartbeat, one spirit and one Pirate, well be OK."
The Pirates' offensive output against UNC - showing last year's 55-31 win in Chapel Hill was no aberration - was nothing short of staggering. And the contributions were many.
As a team, the Pirates amassed a whopping 789 total yards, easily surpassing the school record of 690 (Nov. 8, 1975, at Virginia) and the Dowdy-Ficklen mark of 625 (Nov. 16, 2013, vs. UAB). Only nine teams have ever gained 600-plus yards against UNC, and the Pirates have done it in consecutive years.
The Pirates had a 400-yard passer (Shane Carden, 438 yards), 200-yard rusher (Breon Allen, 211 yards) and 100-yard receiver (Trevon Brown, five for 117, and Isaiah Jones six for 116) for the first time in school history.
The 446 passing yards ranked as the fourth-most in school history and the third-most by the Pirates in a home game.
The ground game chewed up 343 yards on 46 carries and accounted for five touchdowns. It marked the first time the Pirates have rushed for 300-plus yards in a game since defeating Boise State in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl in 2007.
ECU's 70 points rank second all-time, falling just shy of the 74 against Newport News on Nov. 14, 1959, a span of 612 games. The scoring set a Dowdy-Ficklen record for ECU, topping the 65 points scored against Marshall on Nov. 23, 2012. And the Pirates missed one field goal and had another blocked.
The Pirates ran 97 offensive plays, averaging 8.1 yards per snap, and picked up 39 first downs, and were 12-of-17 on third-down conversions.
The individual numbers were just as impressive.
Carden, who already holds school records for pass completions and touchdown passes, completed 30-of-48 passes for 438 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 67 TD passes for his career. He also rushed for a pair of scores, giving him a combined 12 touchdowns against the Tar Heels in two years (seven passing, five rushing). The 400-plus passing game was the fifth of his career.
Senior receiver Justin Hardy was steady as usual, making six catches for 92 yards. He has at least two catches in all 40 games he has suited up for the Pirates.
Allen, whose career-high game had been 92 yards, obliterated that mark with an 18-carry, 211-yard effort that included an 84-yard dash and two touchdowns. He also had 22 receiving yards for 233 all-purpose yards. Allen's rushing total was the most for an ECU back since Chris Johnson's 223 in the Hawai'i Bowl.
"I was very proud of Breon," McNeill said. "I'll bet Breon would be the first to give credit to the offensive line."
Brown, stepping up big in the absence of suspended Cam Worthy, compiled 210 all-purpose yards (117 receiving, 93 kickoff return), highlighted by a 55-yard touchdown grab on the third play from scrimmage.
"Trevon is doing a great job of learning his way and learning the skills," McNeill said. "I attribute that to Shane. Trevon keeps working at his game, and he believes in watching film. I love to see him catch, but I love to see him block downfield. I'm proud of his contributions to the team."
On defense, no one was bigger than Zeek Bigger. The junior linebacker from Gastonia had a career-high 17 tackles - his fourth game this year with double-digit stops - and took his second career interception back for 46 yards for a third-quarter touchdown.
"He has earned his leadership role," McNeill said. "He's a really fine football player. Tonight, seeing him pick one off and take it back was big for us. His play on the field, he'll attribute to the play of the defensive line."
As dominant as the outcome was, the Pirates found themselves staring at a deficit in the first half much in part to some Tar Heel trickery.
After Carden's 55-yard strike to Brown just 56 seconds into the game, UNC marched 61 yards in 10 plays before settling for a 21-yard field goal to trail 7-3.
A rare mistake by Carden on the next possession resulted in an interception by Brian Walker, who returned 23 yards to ECU's 35. On the next play, the Tar Heels scored on a double pass, with wide receiver Ryan Switzer connecting with T.J. Thorpe, making it 10-7 with 9:43 still to play in the quarter.
Carden was nearly picked off again on the next possession, and after a punt, UNC drove to the five before kicking a 22-yard field goal for a 13-7 lead.
The Pirates added to the first-quarter fireworks, scoring in just 57 seconds with Allen running the final 11 yards for a 14-13 lead.
The Tar Heels took what would be their last lead at 20-14 with 12:15 left in the half, setting up for a field goal and then perfectly executing a fake with holder Tommy Hibbard tossing 29 yards to Eric Albright for the score.
But then the Pirates seized control, finishing the half with a 21-point flurry and never giving the Heels hope to recover.
Carden's 26-yard pass to Brown put ECU up 21-20 with 10:01 to go in the half. Allen made it 28-20 with a 44-yard jaunt on third-and-28 with 3:48 in the half. Brandon Bishop's first career catch for a 19-yard score capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive and a 35-20 lead just eight seconds before halftime.
Bigger's 46-yard interception return on the Tar Heels' fourth play of the second half put ECU firmly in control at 42-20.
UNC answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to make it 42-27, then got the ball back after Warren Harvey missed a 49-yard field goal. But the Pirates held after giving up one first down and quickly struck back. After a six-yard screen pass, Allen sprinted up the middle for 84 yards before being dragged down at the UNC 2. Carden took care of the final two yards on a keeper, giving the Pirates aa 49-27 lead.
Carden's 25-strike to Jones on the next possession put ECU 56-27 with 1:46 left in the third quarter.
ECU tacked on two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Carden muscled in on a 1-yard sneak for a 63-27 lead. After the Heels scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass, backup quarterback Kurt Benkert carried the Pirates to the 70-point marked with a 4-yard run with still 7:30 to go.
A 74-yard kickoff return by T.J. Logan set up UNC's final touchdown, a 14-yard run by Romar Morris.
The Pirates were then content to run out the clock as the Dowdy-Ficklen crowd soaked in the moment.
"We were outplayed and outcoached," UNC head coach Larry Fedora said. ""I take full responsibility for it."
Team Stats
NC 0, ECU 7
ECU - BROWN, Trevon 55 yd pass from CARDEN, Shane (HARVEY, Warren kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:56
NC 3, ECU 7
NC - Weiler, N 21 yd field goal 10 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:06
NC 10, ECU 7
NC - Thorpe, T 35 yd pass from Switzer, R (Weiler, N kick) 1 plays, 35 yards, TOP 0:08
NC 13, ECU 7
NC - Weiler, N 22 yd field goal 13 plays, 43 yards, TOP 3:42
NC 13, ECU 14
ECU - ALLEN, Breon 11 yd run (HARVEY, Warren kick), 4 plays, 56 yards, TOP 0:57
NC 20, ECU 14
NC - Albright, E 29 yd pass from Hibbard, T (Weiler, N kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:32
NC 20, ECU 21
ECU - BROWN, Trevon 26 yd pass from CARDEN, Shane (HARVEY, Warren kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:14
NC 20, ECU 28
ECU - ALLEN, Breon 44 yd run (HARVEY, Warren kick), 5 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:11
NC 20, ECU 35
ECU - BISHOP, Brandon 19 yd pass from CARDEN, Shane (HARVEY, Warren kick) 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:46
NC 20, ECU 42
ECU - BIGGER, Zeek 46 yd interception (HARVEY, Warren kick)
NC 27, ECU 42
NC - Morris, R 7 yd run (Weiler, N kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:31
NC 27, ECU 49
ECU - CARDEN, Shane 2 yd run (HARVEY, Warren kick), 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:43
NC 27, ECU 56
ECU - JONES, Isaiah 25 yd pass from CARDEN, Shane (HARVEY, Warren kick) 5 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:02
NC 27, ECU 63
ECU - CARDEN, Shane 1 yd run (HARVEY, Warren kick), 12 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:14
NC 34, ECU 63
NC - Tabb, J 10 yd pass from Trubisky, M (Weiler, N kick) 6 plays, 66 yards, TOP 1:39
NC 34, ECU 70
ECU - BENKERT, Kurt 4 yd run (HARVEY, Warren kick), 4 plays, 61 yards, TOP 1:58
NC 41, ECU 70
NC - Morris, R 14 yd run (Weiler, N kick), 2 plays, 14 yards, TOP 0:21
