Owls Top Pirates 34-10 In AAC Action

Saturday, October 7

Greenville, N.C.

12:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

1-5 , 1-2

Temple

3-3 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Temple

ECU

October 07, 2017 | Football

Box Score

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By Joe Corley
ECUPirates.com

GREENVILLE, N.C. – A 21-point halftime deficit proved to be too much for the ECU football team to overcome on Saturday at Bagwell Field inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

The Pirates cut into that deficit with a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half, but that was as close as they got in what turned out to be a 34-10 loss to Temple. ECU dropped to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Owls improved to 3-3 and 1-2.

Third-down conversions and penalties were the biggest problems for ECU. The Pirates converted on only three of 14 third-down opportunities, and allowed Temple to be successful on 14 of 20.

"The biggest thing you can look at is how we performed on third downs, inside of the game," head coach Scottie Montgomery said. "Outside of the game, the one thing I'm most disappointed about is our discipline. When I talk about the foundation of this program, it's discipline and conditioning, and we didn't have that today."

ECU was penalized eight times for 96 yards — it managed just 34 yards rushing on 22 carries.

"Anytime you look at a stat sheet and see more penalty yards than rushing yards, you know you've got a major problem that you've got to get worked out," Montgomery said.

Quarterback Thomas Sirk, who had 18 carries for 87 yards a week earlier against USF, had no rushing yards against Temple. He completed 20 of 38 passes for 253 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also was sacked four times, and frequently was hurried to get rid of the ball. His interception came with the Pirates down seven points and driving near midfield in the first half.

"As a quarterback, I have to make great reads," Sirk said. "When I get pressure like I did on the one I threw today, I've got to hold myself accountable and I can't throw it up like that."

Temple had season-highs in points, total offense (523 yards), passing (344) and rushing (46 for 179 yards). Owls quarterback Logan Marchi completed 19 of 31 passes for 321 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It seemed like every time Temple needed a big play, it got one.

"They were giving us some things like single-coverage matchups, and with our receivers we have to take our chances," Temple Head Coach Geoff Collins said.

ECU trailed 24-3 at halftime and received the kickoff to start the second half. It moved efficiently downfield and covered 75 yards on nine plays, getting an 11-yard touchdown pass from Sirk to Quay Johnson to pull within 24-10. The Pirates had two of their three third-down conversions on the drive.

Temple went back up by 21 three possessions later on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Marchi to Isaiah Wright. On the ensuring drive, ECU went for it on fourth-and-3 from its own 32, but failed. The Owls then closed the scoring with a 39-yard field goal by Aaron Boumerhi on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The ECU defense held Temple in check on the Owls' first two possessions of the game, but Temple soon found its groove and scored on its next four as it took a 24-3 lead into halftime.

After the Owls missed a 52-yard field goal wide left on the game's opening possession, ECU embarked on its only scoring drive of the half. The Pirates took possession at their own 35 and went 57 yards on nine plays to set up Jake Verity's 25-yard field goal with 7:52 left in the first quarter. The drive was highlighted by a 20-yard pass from Sirk to Davon Grayson, moving the ball to the Temple 30.

The Owls were moving the ball on the ensuing possession until Aaron Ramseur intercepted Marchi at the ECU 2-yard line and returned it to the ECU 33. Kiante Anderson pressured Marchi into making the bad throw on the rollout to the right. Ramseur finished with a career-high 11 tackles, which tied Korrin Wiggins for the team lead.

"I thought the quarterback was sacked because Kiante was there," said Ramseur, who was making his first career start. "For some reason he threw it, and I happened to be there because I was making sure that the wide receiver was covered on the rollout. He threw it right into my hands, and the only thing I was thinking after that was to get as many yards as I could."

Sirk immediately hit Johnson for a 31-yard gain, but the drive stalled and Verity missed a 50-yard field goal attempt.

From there it was all Temple, as it evened it up with a 29-yard field goal by Boumerhi, then scored touchdowns on its next three possessions — a 5-yard pass from Marchi to Adonis Jennings, a 2-yard run by David Hood and a 2-yard run by Rob Ritrovato.

The Pirates, meanwhile, punted three times and Sirk was intercepted by Delvon Randall at midfield with ECU down 10-3 at the time.

Temple was 6-for-9 on third downs in the first half, and ECU was 0-for-5. That also enabled the Owls to hold the ball for 18:51. They held a 327-160 advantage in total offense. The Pirates were called for six penalties for 77 yards before halftime.

Jimmy Williams had five catches for 110 yards, marking the fifth-consecutive game a Pirates receiver has eclipsed the 100-yard mark. Darius Pinnix, making his first start, rushed seven times for 30 yards.

ECU will hit the road to play at No. 25 UCF at 7 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 14. The Golden Knights, who opened their AAC schedule with a 40-13 victory over Memphis on Sept. 30 to improve to 3-0 overall, won last year's meeting 47-29. ECU has won 10 of the 15 meetings between the schools.

"My biggest thing right now is I want to put our most disciplined football team on the field next week," Montgomery said. "When I look at the tape, I want to see guys perfectly aligned, I want to see guys not commit penalties. Those are the things I'm looking for."