ECU Defeats BYU On Homecoming, 33-17

Saturday, October 21

Greenville, N.C.

7:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

2-6

BYU

1-7

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

BYU

ECU

October 22, 2017 | Football

Box Score

Game Book l ECU Notes l BYU Notes l Quotes l Gallery

By Joe Corley
ECUPirates.com

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU pulled away in the second half and beat BYU 33-17 on Saturday before a homecoming crowd at Bagwell Field inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

With the game tied 10-10 at halftime, the Pirates scored the first four times they had the ball in the second half as they built a 16-point lead, then put the game away with 6:25 left on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew to Quay Johnson, two plays after Cannon Gibbs intercepted BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum at the BYU 37 and returned it to the 12.

"I challenged the guys at halftime," said ECU Head Coach Scottie Montgomery, whose team improved to 2-6. "I said if we go out and score, stop and score, we would dominate the third and fourth quarter. That's exactly what our guys did. They went out and scored, stopped, scored, stopped again, another score. But the real dagger and the confidence-boost our guys got was the interception, touchdown. Whenever that happens to a team, that brings the team together more than anything."

Minshew was playing in relief of starter Thomas Sirk, who left late in the third quarter with what Montgomery described as a "bruise or contusion on his (throwing) elbow." He's hopeful to have Sirk back for ECU's next game, Nov. 4 at Houston.

Minshew inherited a 16-10 lead right after a missed 46-yard field-goal attempt by BYU's Rhett Almond. He immediately made his presence felt with a 36-yard completion to Davon Grayson, which resulted in a net gain of 51 after a personal foul after the play. The Pirates had to settle for another field goal, the fourth of the night by Jake Verity, as the drive stalled at the 16.

Verity's four field goals tied a school record reached nine times previously, most recently by Warren Harvey against Tulane in 2013. One of his field goals caromed in off the top of the left upright, and one wobbled low but through.

"I'm always on my toes when I get out there" Verity said. "To be a good kicker, you've just got to be as calm as you can."

ECU scored quickly the next time it had the ball. Minshew hit Grayson for 28 yards to the BYU 39 on the first play, Johnson in the left flat for a gain of 13 on the next play, and then Trevon Brown from 26 yards for a touchdown on the third play to stretch the lead to 26-10 with 13:47 remaining. Brown caught the ball one-handed as the defender appeared to have his left hand.

"I just wanted to go out and help the team win any way I could," Minshew said. "Guys made plays for me. Davon, Quay, Trevon all stepped up and did some nice things."

The defense gave up a season-low 421 yards and came up with big plays and stops when it needed to do so. In the second half, BYU went three-and-out, missed a field goal, went three-and-out again, and then turned the ball over on downs when it failed on fourth-and-goal from the ECU 4. Shaun James broke up Mangum's attempted pass on the final play of the possession.

"Overall it was a great performance by the offense, defense and special teams and how they connect with each other," Montgomery said. "I'm really proud of all these guys. I'm looking forward to getting to an open date with some momentum, some confidence, and getting to the latter part of the year playing some good football."

It was another huge game for Grayson, who had 10 catches for 164 yards.

"It feels great to win," said Grayson who now has 47 receptions for 795 yards for the season. "We worked so hard, and it feels good to see all that hard work, all the hours we put in, start to show itself. This year we haven't really put that one big game together, and I still don't think we have, there's still so much we can improve on, but I'm proud of how my team came out and fought."

BYU dropped to 1-7, and now has lost seven in a row for the first time since 1968

ECU held a struggling BYU offense in check for most of the first half and had a 42-yard edge (195 to 153) in total offense, but went to the locker room with a 10-10 tie. The Cougars evened the score on a 22-yard field goal by Almond as the half ended, completing a drive that covered 70 yards. It was their longest sustained drive of the half and accounted for nearly half of their offensive output.

The Pirates fell behind 7-0 after their only miscue of the half. On their second play from scrimmage, Sirk hit Johnson for 14 yards to the ECU 28, but BYU's Zayne Anderson forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Adam Pulsipher. Five plays later, Mangum connected with Micah Simon on a 12-yard touchdown pass.

The lead didn't last long as ECU immediately retaliated. Sirk scored on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 as he faked an end-around handoff to Johnson and dove in. The big play on the 10-play drive was a 41-yard pass to Brown to the BYU 21. Initially it was ruled a fumble at the 1, but the replay showed Brown had stepped out on the right sideline shortly after catching the ball.

"Thank goodness for instant replay," Montgomery said. "But the biggest deal was, that was a kid giving everything he had to get into the end zone. There's no way I'm going to coach any different than that. I want that ball secured a little tighter, but the fight after the contact, man I was impressed by that."

After a week off, ECU will play at Houston on Saturday, Nov. 4. The Pirates lead the series with the Cougars, 7-5. ECU won the last meeting 48-28 in 2012.

Houston dropped to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the American Athletic Conference with a 42-38 loss to No. 25 Memphis on Thursday. The Cougars led 17-0 at halftime before the Tigers stormed back. Memphis, which ECU will visit in the regular-season final Nov. 25, improved to 6-1 and 3-1.