Saturday, November 3
Greenville, N.C.
12:00 P.M.
East Carolina University
2-6 , 0-5
41
vs
59
Memphis
5-4 , 2-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Memphis
10
14
14
21
59
ECU
14
3
17
7
41
Memphis Outscores ECU In AAC Shootout
November 03, 2018 | Football
Final Stats (PDF) l ECU Notes (PDF) l Quotes (PDF)
GREENVILLE, N.C. – A turnover, a couple of big plays by the Memphis offense and too much Darrell Henderson was too overpowering for ECU on Saturday as the Pirates fell 59-41 to the Tigers on Bagwell Field inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
ECU dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-5 in the American Athletic Conference entering a next Saturday's matchup at Tulane. Memphis improved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the American as it took its second in a row in the series.
"Down the stretch they big-played us and ran the ball," ECU Head Coach Scottie Montgomery said. "Our No. 1 goal coming in was to stop the run, and we didn't do that. We'll go back to the drawing board. We don't like to have a defensive performance like we did. We've worked really hard on defense the majority of the year. We just had some plays that got us."
Henderson, who entered the game with more than 1,000 yards rushing for the season and averaging 10.1 yards per carry, rushed 21 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns to go with three catches for 72 yards and another score. And when Henderson wasn't hurting the Pirates on the ground, Tony Pollard (9 rushes, 89 yards) and Patrick Taylor Jr. (16-59) were.
"It's always frustrating when we know what they're doing and we can't really stop it," said defensive back Devon Sutton, who was one of the team leaders with 11 tackles, including two solo. "Today it was a matter of everybody had to do their job. There was some miscommunication and some misfits, but we're going to get better."
Henderson offset big days from ECU's Holton Ahlers and Trevon Brown. Ahlers, a true freshman making his second career start, completed 34 of 62 passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns and led the Pirates with 57 yards rushing on 17 carries. Brown caught 10 of those passes for 193 yards and two scores.
"I believe in the guys, I believe in the coaches, and we're going to get this thing turned around," Ahlers said. "Eventually it'll all click, and it's coming soon."
After ECU tied the game at 31 with 8:45 left in the third quarter on a 31-yard pass from Ahlers to Brown, Memphis had more left in the tank as it pulled away. The Tigers finished with decided edges in rushing yards (277-107), and Memphis quarterback Brady White also was efficient as he completed 21 of 30 for 362 yards and three touchdowns.
Damonte Coxie had 10 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns as Memphis held an overall edge in offense of 639-556.
The Tigers didn't allow the game to be tied for long. They scored on their next possession on a 1-yard run by Taylor to go up 38-31 with 4:42 left in the third quarter.
ECU came right back and narrowed it to 38-34 on a 48-yard field goal by Jake Verity. The highlight of the drive was a 44-yard pass from Ahlers to Brown to the Memphis 23. But the possession stalled out with a pair of incompletions sandwiched around a 7-yard sack of Ahlers by Jonathan Wilson.
Memphis stretched it to 45-34 on a 20-yard scoring run by Henderson to cap its next possession, then the Pirates went three-and-out. The Tigers gained more cushion as Henderson had a 39-yard touchdown run with 7:31 remaining to make it 52-34, all but sealing their victory.
ECU did close to 52-41 as Ahlers tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to freshman Tyler Snead on fourth-and-goal with 4:59 left, but the ensuing onside kick failed. Memphis closed the scoring with a 1-yard run by Pollard with 3:02 left.
"I'm really happy with the way that Holton put together his second game," Montgomery said. "This was a big test for us because we did remember the game last year against Memphis (70-13 loss). I thought there were some huge differences in our team and in their team. We're closing the gap, but almost is one of the saddest words in the world. Almost doesn't matter. It was a much tighter game than what the scoreboard showed.
"There in the third quarter there were a couple of drives that we just didn't start well. We had a mental error on a third-down snap and we also had a mental error on a route that was critical. Those are the things that we can't do if we're going to be successful and beat a team like Memphis or a team in our conference."
To be so close yet unable to capitalize after having the momentum after Brown's touchdown tied it at 31 was tough for the Pirates to take.
"I'm not going to lie, it's pretty frustrating, but at the end of the day it's not going to stop how we operate day-in and day-out," offensive lineman Garrett McGhin said. "You can't live with negative thoughts in your head, you've got to be positive. You've got to work every single day to get better. If you're in a negative, droopy mood every day, you're going to mess with your mental well-being and it's not going to help anything. Nobody feels sorry for you, nobody cares that you're losing games. It's up to you to change that. We've got to have the mental aspect and mental toughness to do that."
A high-octane first quarter ended with the teams combining for 387 yards of offense and the Pirates holding 14-10 lead. But Memphis, which accounted for 223 of those offensive yards, took a 17-14 advantage on the first play of the second quarter as Pollard scored on a 6-yard run. It was the final play of a drive that started at the Memphis 23 and took nine plays.
The Tigers then went up 24-14 later in the second quarter by taking advantage of the only turnover of the first half. ECU forced Memphis to punt from its own 36, but Brown fumbled the catch, and it was recovered by Curtis Akins of the Tigers. Three plays later, White tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Coxie with 7:21 left in the half.
"We had just gotten a great stop and were about to get the ball back," Montgomery said. "You're looking at at-least a seven-point swing, potentially 10 or 14. We talk about it all the time, four or five plays can make the difference in a game."
ECU inched within 24-17 at halftime on the strong leg of Verity, who tied a career-long with a 52-yard field goal 1:02 left in the second quarter. The Pirates had driven as close as the Memphis 23, at which point Brown took a lateral and completed a pass to Deondre Farrier inside the 5, but the play was negated by a chop-block penalty, pushing ECU back to the 38.
Memphis scored the first touchdown of the second half on the first play of the second half, a 75-yard pass from White to Coxie. ECU got within a touchdown on the next possession as Pinnix scored on a 2-yard run, making it 31-24 and setting the stage for Brown's tying touchdown.
"This team last year put up 70 points on us," Brown said. "Today, it felt like we had it, and it hurt my soul because I know how hard we worked. "
The Pirates started the game strong, using a trio of trick plays on their first drive to stake themselves to a 7-0 lead. On the scoring play, Ahlers lined up to the left, with Darius Pinnix at quarterback and Xavier Smith joining him in the backfield. Pinnix took the snap on second-and-goal at the 1 and ran it in for the score.
"It might've been effective, but we didn't do enough to win the game," said Pinnix, who had two touchdowns on the day. "Wins are more important than individual stats. I'd rather win."
Earlier on the drive, a double-reverse flea-flicker went incomplete, and a pass from Brown to Ahlers in the end zone also went incomplete, but Memphis was called for pass interference.
The Tigers answered quickly with their first score, a 71-yard pass from White to Henderson on their second play.
Memphis took a 10-7 lead on its second possession on a 22-yard field goal by Riley Patterson, but ECU re-took the lead at 14-10 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ahlers to Brown with 2:38 left in the first quarter.
Other defensive leaders for the Pirates were Davondre Robinson (12 tackles, 6 solo), Cannon Gibbs (7 tackles, 5 solo, 1 sack, 1.5 tackles for loss), Corey Seargent (6 tackles, 4 solo) and Chandon Hickerson (6 tackles, 2 solo).
"We're getting better," Montgomery said. "We've got to fix a few things on offense and defense and on special teams, but we can do that down the stretch."
- Joe Corley
GREENVILLE, N.C. – A turnover, a couple of big plays by the Memphis offense and too much Darrell Henderson was too overpowering for ECU on Saturday as the Pirates fell 59-41 to the Tigers on Bagwell Field inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
ECU dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-5 in the American Athletic Conference entering a next Saturday's matchup at Tulane. Memphis improved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the American as it took its second in a row in the series.
"Down the stretch they big-played us and ran the ball," ECU Head Coach Scottie Montgomery said. "Our No. 1 goal coming in was to stop the run, and we didn't do that. We'll go back to the drawing board. We don't like to have a defensive performance like we did. We've worked really hard on defense the majority of the year. We just had some plays that got us."
Henderson, who entered the game with more than 1,000 yards rushing for the season and averaging 10.1 yards per carry, rushed 21 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns to go with three catches for 72 yards and another score. And when Henderson wasn't hurting the Pirates on the ground, Tony Pollard (9 rushes, 89 yards) and Patrick Taylor Jr. (16-59) were.
"It's always frustrating when we know what they're doing and we can't really stop it," said defensive back Devon Sutton, who was one of the team leaders with 11 tackles, including two solo. "Today it was a matter of everybody had to do their job. There was some miscommunication and some misfits, but we're going to get better."
Henderson offset big days from ECU's Holton Ahlers and Trevon Brown. Ahlers, a true freshman making his second career start, completed 34 of 62 passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns and led the Pirates with 57 yards rushing on 17 carries. Brown caught 10 of those passes for 193 yards and two scores.
"I believe in the guys, I believe in the coaches, and we're going to get this thing turned around," Ahlers said. "Eventually it'll all click, and it's coming soon."
After ECU tied the game at 31 with 8:45 left in the third quarter on a 31-yard pass from Ahlers to Brown, Memphis had more left in the tank as it pulled away. The Tigers finished with decided edges in rushing yards (277-107), and Memphis quarterback Brady White also was efficient as he completed 21 of 30 for 362 yards and three touchdowns.
Damonte Coxie had 10 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns as Memphis held an overall edge in offense of 639-556.
The Tigers didn't allow the game to be tied for long. They scored on their next possession on a 1-yard run by Taylor to go up 38-31 with 4:42 left in the third quarter.
ECU came right back and narrowed it to 38-34 on a 48-yard field goal by Jake Verity. The highlight of the drive was a 44-yard pass from Ahlers to Brown to the Memphis 23. But the possession stalled out with a pair of incompletions sandwiched around a 7-yard sack of Ahlers by Jonathan Wilson.
Memphis stretched it to 45-34 on a 20-yard scoring run by Henderson to cap its next possession, then the Pirates went three-and-out. The Tigers gained more cushion as Henderson had a 39-yard touchdown run with 7:31 remaining to make it 52-34, all but sealing their victory.
ECU did close to 52-41 as Ahlers tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to freshman Tyler Snead on fourth-and-goal with 4:59 left, but the ensuing onside kick failed. Memphis closed the scoring with a 1-yard run by Pollard with 3:02 left.
"I'm really happy with the way that Holton put together his second game," Montgomery said. "This was a big test for us because we did remember the game last year against Memphis (70-13 loss). I thought there were some huge differences in our team and in their team. We're closing the gap, but almost is one of the saddest words in the world. Almost doesn't matter. It was a much tighter game than what the scoreboard showed.
"There in the third quarter there were a couple of drives that we just didn't start well. We had a mental error on a third-down snap and we also had a mental error on a route that was critical. Those are the things that we can't do if we're going to be successful and beat a team like Memphis or a team in our conference."
To be so close yet unable to capitalize after having the momentum after Brown's touchdown tied it at 31 was tough for the Pirates to take.
"I'm not going to lie, it's pretty frustrating, but at the end of the day it's not going to stop how we operate day-in and day-out," offensive lineman Garrett McGhin said. "You can't live with negative thoughts in your head, you've got to be positive. You've got to work every single day to get better. If you're in a negative, droopy mood every day, you're going to mess with your mental well-being and it's not going to help anything. Nobody feels sorry for you, nobody cares that you're losing games. It's up to you to change that. We've got to have the mental aspect and mental toughness to do that."
A high-octane first quarter ended with the teams combining for 387 yards of offense and the Pirates holding 14-10 lead. But Memphis, which accounted for 223 of those offensive yards, took a 17-14 advantage on the first play of the second quarter as Pollard scored on a 6-yard run. It was the final play of a drive that started at the Memphis 23 and took nine plays.
The Tigers then went up 24-14 later in the second quarter by taking advantage of the only turnover of the first half. ECU forced Memphis to punt from its own 36, but Brown fumbled the catch, and it was recovered by Curtis Akins of the Tigers. Three plays later, White tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Coxie with 7:21 left in the half.
"We had just gotten a great stop and were about to get the ball back," Montgomery said. "You're looking at at-least a seven-point swing, potentially 10 or 14. We talk about it all the time, four or five plays can make the difference in a game."
ECU inched within 24-17 at halftime on the strong leg of Verity, who tied a career-long with a 52-yard field goal 1:02 left in the second quarter. The Pirates had driven as close as the Memphis 23, at which point Brown took a lateral and completed a pass to Deondre Farrier inside the 5, but the play was negated by a chop-block penalty, pushing ECU back to the 38.
Memphis scored the first touchdown of the second half on the first play of the second half, a 75-yard pass from White to Coxie. ECU got within a touchdown on the next possession as Pinnix scored on a 2-yard run, making it 31-24 and setting the stage for Brown's tying touchdown.
"This team last year put up 70 points on us," Brown said. "Today, it felt like we had it, and it hurt my soul because I know how hard we worked. "
The Pirates started the game strong, using a trio of trick plays on their first drive to stake themselves to a 7-0 lead. On the scoring play, Ahlers lined up to the left, with Darius Pinnix at quarterback and Xavier Smith joining him in the backfield. Pinnix took the snap on second-and-goal at the 1 and ran it in for the score.
"It might've been effective, but we didn't do enough to win the game," said Pinnix, who had two touchdowns on the day. "Wins are more important than individual stats. I'd rather win."
Earlier on the drive, a double-reverse flea-flicker went incomplete, and a pass from Brown to Ahlers in the end zone also went incomplete, but Memphis was called for pass interference.
The Tigers answered quickly with their first score, a 71-yard pass from White to Henderson on their second play.
Memphis took a 10-7 lead on its second possession on a 22-yard field goal by Riley Patterson, but ECU re-took the lead at 14-10 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ahlers to Brown with 2:38 left in the first quarter.
Other defensive leaders for the Pirates were Davondre Robinson (12 tackles, 6 solo), Cannon Gibbs (7 tackles, 5 solo, 1 sack, 1.5 tackles for loss), Corey Seargent (6 tackles, 4 solo) and Chandon Hickerson (6 tackles, 2 solo).
"We're getting better," Montgomery said. "We've got to fix a few things on offense and defense and on special teams, but we can do that down the stretch."
- Joe Corley
Team Stats
MEM
ECU
Total Yards
639
556
Pass Yards
362
449
Rushing Yards
277
107
Penalty Yards
56
45
1st Downs
26
29
3rd Downs
5
6
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
29:50
30:10
1st Quarter
MEM 0, ECU 7
ECU - PINNIX, Darius 1 yd run (VERITY, Jake kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:58
MEM 7, ECU 7
MEM - HENDERSON, D. 71 yd pass from WHITE, Brady (PATTERSON, R. kick) 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:43
MEM 10, ECU 7
MEM - PATTERSON, R. 22 yd field goal 11 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:17
MEM 10, ECU 14
ECU - BROWN, Trevon 10 yd pass from AHLERS, Holton (VERITY, Jake kick) 6 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:03
2nd Quarter
MEM 17, ECU 14
MEM - POLLARD, Tony 6 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 9 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:43
MEM 24, ECU 14
MEM - COXIE, Damonte 20 yd pass from WHITE, Brady (PATTERSON, R. kick) 3 plays, 23 yards, TOP 0:38
MEM 24, ECU 17
ECU - VERITY, Jake 52 yd field goal 12 plays, 46 yards, TOP 4:21
3rd Quarter
MEM 31, ECU 17
MEM - COXIE, Damonte 75 yd pass from WHITE, Brady (PATTERSON, R. kick) 1 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:11
MEM 31, ECU 24
ECU - PINNIX, Darius 2 yd run (VERITY, Jake kick), 10 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:58
MEM 31, ECU 31
ECU - BROWN, Trevon 31 yd pass from AHLERS, Holton (VERITY, Jake kick) 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 1:55
MEM 38, ECU 31
MEM - TAYLOR, Patrick 1 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:03
MEM 38, ECU 34
ECU - VERITY, Jake 47 yd field goal 10 plays, 53 yards, TOP 3:16
4th Quarter
MEM 45, ECU 34
MEM - HENDERSON, D. 20 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:43
MEM 52, ECU 34
MEM - HENDERSON, D. 39 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:59
MEM 52, ECU 41
ECU - SNEAD, Tyler 13 yd pass from AHLERS, Holton (VERITY, Jake kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:37
MEM 59, ECU 41
MEM - POLLARD, Tony 1 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:52
Game Leaders
CMP
34
TD
3
YDS
449
INT
0
Players Mentioned
Quarterback
/ Football
Wide Receiver
/ Football
Wide Receiver
/ Football
Linebacker
/ Football
Defensive End
/ Football
Offensive Line
/ Football
Running Back
/ Football
Defensive Back
/ Football
Defensive Back
/ Football
Linebacker
/ Football
Wide Receiver
/ Football
Defensive Back
/ Football
Placekicker/Punter
/ Football11/18/25 Inside Pirate Athletics
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