East Carolina University
4-4 , 2-2
Temple
7-0 , 4-0
East Carolina Falls 24-14 to No. 22 Temple
October 22, 2015 | Football
Game Book 
l ECU Notes l ECU Quotes l Temple Quotes l 
Game Highlights
By Mike Grizzard,
ECUPirates.com
GREENVILLE, N.C. - For much of Thursday night's "blackout" game against nationally ranked and undefeated Temple, East Carolina's defense played lights out.
But the Pirates never quite extinguished the Owls' flickering hope of getting out of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium with a victory and their best start in school history. And in a span of 1:13 late in the fourth quarter, that flicker caught fire and Temple scored a pair of touchdowns and left town with a 24-14 win and control of the American Athletic Conference East Division.
"We expected to win the game," said junior quarterback Blake Kemp, who passed for 272 yards and a touchdown but was sacked four times and intercepted once. "It's frustrating to see the game end like that."
The Pirates (4-4, 2-2 in the AAC) can point to a number of culprits in the disappointing outcome before a turnout of 39,417 mostly black-shirted fans, ending a string of 13 consecutive games drawing a crowd of at least 40,000. Perhaps none loomed larger than nine penalties for 99 yards, including three early personal fouls. But there also was a late blocked punt and one lost fumble.
"We stopped ourselves with the penalties," sixth-year head coach Ruffin McNeil said. "We can't have (nine) penalties, turnovers and the blocked punt."
Temple (7-0, 4-0 AAC) not only won its seventh-straight game to start a season for the first time, but halted several ECU streaks. The Pirates, shut out in the second half after leading 14-10, had won 26 in a row when taking an advantage to intermission. ECU also had won 12 consecutive home conference games played in October and had two consecutive wins versus nationally ranked opponents.
One trend that stayed intact was failing to win for the 15th time in a row when scoring fewer than 20 points. Thursday night also has not been kind to the Pirates - ECU is now 6-11 in Thursday night games and 18-22 overall on non-Saturday dates.
"Temple did a lot of good things tonight, and we didn't," McNeill said. "We didn't do the things we know we've got to do to win the game."
But for a while the Pirates did.
Temple came in averaging 161.8 yards on the ground and finished with just 72 on 25 carries. Elusive running back Jahad Thomas, averaging 126 yards per game, was limited to 66 yards on 20 carries.
ECU's defense also stiffened after the offense turned it over, keeping Temple off the board and protecting the lead.
Through three quarters, Temple managed just 148 total yards, but was always just one big play away with only a four-point deficit.
"No margin for error," McNeill said. "I thought the defense played outstanding. I told them to keep putting their will on them; they held them."
Until the final four minutes.
Temple, tripped up by its own penalty problems (12 for 114 yards) and two missed field goals, took over with 5:59 to go and pieced together what proved to be the winning drive. The big blow was a 51-yard pass from quarterback P.J. Walker to Robby Anderson that moved the Owls to the ECU 34. Anderson, who finished with eight catches for 126 yards, also was on the receiving end of the touchdown pass, elevating to snare a 23-yard pass near the goal line then lunging in.
The Owls defense then applied the clamp and didn't allow the Pirates even a hint of a comeback. Kemp was called for intentional grounding on first down, then two passes resulted in a loss of a yard.
Worth Gregory, whose previous punt was partially blocked by Sharif Finch, could not avoid the big hand of Finch, who came up with the Owls' fifth blocked kick this year. Temple took over at the 15 and needed just two plays to score with Thomas going the final 14 yards.
Suddenly it was 24-14, and the Pirates' hopes dashed.
"I told them it was the best win I had ever been a part of," said Temple head coach Matt Rhule, whose team opened the season with a win over Penn State and hosts Notre Dame next Saturday. "I told the East Carolina kids as they left that in many ways they outplayed us, and they probably deserved to win the game. That's what college football is; it's coming in and finding ways to win games like this."
McNeill gave the Owls credit.
"I thought they won up front," he said. "On the back end they made plays. They made competitive plays. "
That seemed difficult for both teams early when blackout night turned into a flag fest.
A personal foul penalty aided Temple's opening series, but the Pirates held after the Owls pushed inside the 10, forcing a 28-yard field goal by Austin Jones.
Two more penalties - another personal foul and a holding call - on the next series thwarted ECU after crossing midfield.
Kemp entered in place of starter James Summers on the Pirates' third series, and Chris Hairston immediately ripped off a 39-yard run. The Pirates reached the 16 before Kemp was sacked a 7-yard loss. Davis Plowman then missed on a 40-yard field goal attempt - ending a string of 19-consecutive red zone trips with a score (15 touchdowns, four field goals).
ECU took its first lead with an impressive 14-play, 80-yard bridging the first and second quarters. Twice the Pirates converted on third down, getting a 6-yard pass from Kemp to Bryce Williams and a pass interference call on the Owls, then kept the drive alive on an 8-yard pass from Kemp to Trevon Brown. A 14-yard strike to Isaiah Jones, who has caught a pass in 31 consecutive games, move the ball to the 1.
Hairston then punched it in for a 7-3 lead.
Temple answered with a long, methodical drive of its own, moving 75 yards in 12 plays and consuming 6:03 of the second period. The Owls converted a third-and-9 with a 20-yard pass from Walker to Adonis Jennings and a fourth-and-1 on a 2-yard run by Thomas. A pass interference penalty set up Temple at the 2, and Thomas finished it off with a sprint around right end. Austin's kick made it 10-7.
But Kemp and the Pirates were not done for the half, marching 75 yards for a 14-10 lead just 18 seconds before intermission. Kemp completed 6 of 9 passes on the drive, including a 30-yarder to Brown on third-and-13 and a 21-yarder to Williams on fourth-and-10 from the Temple 37. Quay Johnson got in the end zone for the first time in his ECU career, snaring a pass from Kemp on a 7-yard slant.
But the Pirates' offense blacked out the second half.
"We were moving the ball down the field, and we just beat ourselves with penalties and turnovers," Hairston said.
Now ECU must regroup for another non-Saturday game, facing Connecticut next Friday at 7 p.m.
"We've got a lot of season left," McNeill said. "We've got to get away from it for two days, then get ready for UConn and go from there.
"The season is not going to stop because we were not successful tonight."
Team Stats
TEM 3, ECU 0
TEM - JONES,Austin 28 yd field goal 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 4:24
TEM 3, ECU 7
ECU - HAIRSTON, Chris 1 yd run (PLOWMAN, Davis kick), 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:13
TEM 10, ECU 7
TEM - THOMAS,Jahad 2 yd run (JONES,Austin kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:03
TEM 10, ECU 14
ECU - JOHNSON, Quay 7 yd pass from KEMP, Blake (PLOWMAN, Davis kick) 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:41
TEM 17, ECU 14
TEM - ANDERSON,Robby 23 yd pass from WALKER,P.J. (JONES,Austin kick) 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 2:28
TEM 24, ECU 14
TEM - THOMAS,Jahad 14 yd run (JONES,Austin kick), 2 plays, 15 yards, TOP 0:10
