Classic Rewind: ECU Tops Duke In Home Opener (1999)
June 20, 2020 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. – After a sluggish start, the East Carolina football team recovered quickly with a solid offensive and defensive effort to defeat visiting Duke, 27-9. The game between the Pirates and the Blue Devils, who were making their first-ever trip to Greenville, was played in front of a then-record Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium crowd of 42,052.
The extend of the Duke scoring came from three Sims Lenhardt field goals in the first half. The Blue Devils' first three-pointer was set up by a Pirate fumble deep in their own territory. East Carolina scored its first touchdown on a four-yard pass from QB David Garrard to flanker LaMont Chappell early in the second quarter. Kevin Miller's 38-yard field goal with only 36 seconds remaining gave the Pirates a 10-9 lead at halftime.
The second half was a complete turn of events as the Duke offense had a difficult time moving the ball against defensive coordinator Tim Rose's defense. After registering 202 yards of offense in the opening half, the Blue Devils manages only 107 after intermission. Thy were successful on six-of-11 third down conversions in the first 30 minutes but were zero-of-seven in the second half.
The Pirates extended their lead to 17-9 late in the third quarter when Jamie Wilson scored from six yards out, giving the junior from Greenville a string of at least one TD in five of his past six games.
A Garrard-to-Chappell completion of 44 yards helped set up another ECU score on the Pirates' next possession. Miller booted a 38-yard field goal with 12:45 to play in the fourth quarter to give East Carolina a 20-9 advantage.
Duke provided the Pirates with another scoring opportunity midway through the period when DT Norris McCleary recovered a Spencer Romine fumble at the Duke 27. After a holding penalty against ECU, Garrard hit TE Rashon Burns who broke several tackles on his way to a 36-yard touchdown, the first of his career.
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| Duke | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| East Carolina | 0 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
DU - Lenhart, 31-yard FG
Second Quarter
ECU - Chappell, 4-yard pass from Garrard (Miller kick)
DU - Lenhart, 49-yard FG
DU - Lenhart, 42-yard FG
ECU - Miller, 38-yard FG
Third Quarter
ECU - Wilson, 6-yard run (Miller kick)
Fourth Quarter
ECU - Miller, 38-yard FG
ECU - Burns, 36-yard pass from Garrard (Miller kick)
| Team Statistics | Duke | ECU |
| First Downs | 15 | 21 |
| Rushing Yardage | 32 | 193 |
| Passing Yardage | 277 | 268 |
| Total Offense | 309 | 461 |
| Passes (Comp-Att-Int) | 23-49-3 | 22-36-1 |
| Return Yardage | 23 | 67 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-2 | 4-2 |
| Punts-Avg | 6-40.8 | 5-38.6 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-69 | 8-87 |
Individual Leaders Rushing: DU - Epperson 8-24. ECU - Wilson 16-77 1 TD.
Receiving: DU - Montgomery 7-97. ECU - Chappell 4-78 1 TD.
Passing: DU - Romine 19-40-3, 231. ECU - Garrard 22-34-1, 268, 2 TDs.
