Spring Football Notebook No. 11

March 17, 2018 | Football

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GREENVILLE, N.C. - Third-year head coach Scottie Montgomery emphasized a heavy dose of situational work during ECU's first spring scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Despite the unique approach that included possession origins deep on both sides of the field, the Pirates' 75-play outing did feature some big plays and plenty of balance.

"It was situational football, every part of it," Montgomery said. "We had strike zone 45 going in, redzone 19 going in, -35 drive work and -9 coming out - every situation you could think to be in a game today outside of goal line.

"We are way ahead of where we have been, we are much better. That said, we still have a long way to go on offense, defense and special teams, but they are excited right now because they are seeing their hard work finally hit the field and be a better football team."

Quarterbacks Reid Herring, Holton Ahlers and Kingsley Ifedi accounted for a combined 26-of-44, 319-yard passing day, each recording one scoring toss. ECU's rushing attack, led by senior Anthony Scott's 84 yards, collectively averaged nearly five yards per carry.

The Pirate defense also applied plenty of pressure, racking up a total of eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage, which included sacks by Davondre Robinson, Michael Swift and Chandon Hickerson. Linebacker Delvontae Harris also helped his unit tally a score by picking off Ifedi during the redzone segment and returning it 85 yards.

Herring topped all passers with an 11-of-18, 165-yard performance, which included a 17-yard TD strike to Trevon Brown. Ahlers, who at one point during the action enjoyed a run of eight-straight completions, finished his first collegiate scrimmage with 97 yards on 10-of-18 passing. He found former high school teammate Duce Fuller on a 21-yard scoring toss to close out the contest.

"We saw a long drive by Holton and Reid manages the game and is so accurate," Montgomery added. "The chemistry that he and Trevon Brown have right now is as good as we have seen in a long time.

"What I was the most pleased about was Coach (Don) Mahoney and the offensive line. They went at a much better tempo and we were able to run the football for the first time in a scrimmage since I've been here, so kudos to him and those guys up front. The pressure the defense was able hit us with would have been very problematic in a game. Coach (David) Blackwell has a lot of things coached up and he got to the offense at times today. We can't give up that many sacks, but when you have that many snaps, you know that you are going to give up some."

ECU will return to the practice facility Monday afternoon to begin its final week of spring work.

ECU'S 2018 SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Next Workout: Monday, March 19 (4:30-6:15 p.m.)
Remaining Workouts: March 21, March 23, March 24 (Purple-Gold Game, 1:00 p.m.)

SPRING SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
RUSHING: Anthony Scott (9-84, 1 TD), Holton Ahlers (8-48), Hussein Howe (5-14, 1 TD), Keyshawn Canady (4-7), Kingsley Ifedi (1<-5>), Reid Herring (3-<-10>). Totals –– 30-138 (4.6 ypr), 2 TD.

PASSING: Reid Herring (18-11-0, 165 yards, 1 TD), Holton Ahlers (18-10-0, 97 yards, 1 TD), Kingsley Ifedi (8-5-1, 57 yards, 1 TD). Totals –– 44-26-1, 319 yards, 3 TD.

RECEIVING: Duce Fuller (6-68, 1 TD), Anthony Watley (4-74), Trevon Brown (4-70, 1 TD), Jonathan Johnson (4-50, 1 TD), Terrell Green (2-29), Mydreon Vines (2-20), Keyshawn Canady (2-5), Cam Marshmon (1-5), Deondre Farrier (1-<-2).>Totals –– 26-319, 3 TD

TACKLES: Devon Sutton 6 (TFL/-2), Nate Harvey 5 (2 TFL/-3), Bruce Bivens 3 (TFL/-1), Colby Gore 3 (PD), Davondre Robinson 3 (TFL, sack/-7), Michael Swift 3 (TFL, sack/-3), Delvontae Harris 2 (INT), Chandon Hickerson 2 (TFL, sack/-1), Marcus Holton, Jr. 2 (TFL/-2, 2 PD), Rowe Mellott 2 (PD), Jalen Price 2, Aaron Ramseur 2, Kenyon Taylor 2, Michael Witherspoon 2 (PD), Da'Andre Beverly 1, Dedrick Hawkins 1, Chance Purvis 1, Raequan Purvis 1, Warren Saba 1 (PD), Nolan Johnson (PD)

TOTAL OFFENSE/TOTAL DEFENSE: 74-457 (6.2 ypp)

FUMBLES/LOST: 4/0

INTERCEPTIONS 1 (Delvontae Harris /85-yard TD return)

PENALTIES: 2 (1/OFFENSE – 1 holding; 1/DEFENSE – 1 pass interference)

SCORING:
TD – 6 (5 offense, 1 defense)
Anthony Scott 14-yard run (Jake Verity PAT)
Jonathan Johnson 45-yard pass from Kingsley Ifedi (Caleb Pratt PAT)
Trevon Brown 17-yard pass from Reid Herring (no PAT)
Hussein Howe 4-yard run (no PAT)
Delvontae Harris 85-yard interception return (no PAT)
Duce Fuller 21-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (no PAT)
italics indicates scoring occurred during redzone segment

FG – 2-of-2
Jake Verity 29-yarder
Caleb Pratt 38-yarder