East Carolina University
3-4 , 1-2
Houston
6-1 , 4-0
Cougars Outlast Pirates In OT, 31-24
October 24, 2021 | Football
Game Book | ECU Notes
HOUSTON, Texas – Despite a stellar defensive effort, a long day in Houston turned into heartbreak for East Carolina.
Alton McCaskill scored on a 25-yard run on the first play of overtime, then JoVanni Stewart recovered a Ryan Jones fumble two plays later as the Cougars escaped with a 31-24 win in a defense-dominated, penalty-filled American Athletic Conference game delayed by five hours, 20 minutes by lightning at TDECU Stadium
The Pirates (3-4, 1-2 AAC) pitched a second-half shutout after falling behind 24-10, then saw McCaskill rip off the Cougars' biggest run of the night. ECU limited the Cougars to 256 total yards – just the second time Houston has been held under 375 yards this season -- and finished with season highs of five sacks and 14 tackles for loss.
A vaunted Houston defense that came in ranked fourth in the nation in total defense, allowing just 16.6 points per game, stymied the Pirates until a late-game surge. ECU finished 360 total yards, but managed only 82 on the ground, and converted only 1 of 12 third downs.
Quarterback Holton Ahlers completed 23 of 37 passes for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also scored on a 1-yard run that tied the game at 24-24. He now has 700 career completions, moving him ahead of James Pinkney into third place on the school's all-time list and just 27 behind No. 2 Dominique Davis.
Tyler Snead collected a team-high seven catches for 114 yards, giving him a catch in 28 straight games and moving him ahead of Troy Smith into fifth place on the career list for receiving yards with 1,995.
Snead came up with a pair of big catches to help ignite another stunning fourth-quarter comeback, mirroring a rally from 17 down to a win at Marshall.
After Dalton Witherspoon missed a 46-yard field goal that would have vaulted Houston (6-1, 3-0 AAC) to a 17-point lead, Snead snared a 36-yard pass from Ahlers then caught a 20-yarder to the 1. Ahlers then barreled in to get the Pirates within 24-17 with 6:59 to go.
The Pirates were primed to pull even two plays later when Suirad Ware recovered a fumble by tight end Christian Trahan at the Houston 16 – the first fumble the Cougars have lost this season. Disaster nearly struck on the next play when Ahlers fumbled, but Fernando Frye retained possession for the Pirates.
Ahlers then tossed a 13-yard pass to Audie Omotosho for the score, and Owen Dapper's kick tied it.
Witherspoon, who has 41 field goals in his career but is 6 of 12 this season, pushed a 49-yard attempt to the right with 2:21 to play, and neither team could mount a threat the rest of regulation.
The Pirates found an offensive rhythm early and scored 10 points against a Houston defense that had allowed just seven first-quarter points this season but trailed 17-10 due to three momentum-changing plays.
Marcus Jones delivered the first, quickly answering a 40-yard Ahlers touchdown pass to Jsi Hatfield with a 98-yard kickoff return.
David Anenih then forced a fumble as he sacked Ahlers, and Houston cashed it in with a 2-yard pass from Clayton Tune to Trahan. The score came one play after a pass interference penalty erased what would have been Ja'Quan McMillan's 12th career interception.
A fumble by Snead that was returned to the ECU 13 by Deontay Anderson set up another Houston score.
The Cougars, who have won six straight, increased their lead to 24-10 with 3:12 left in the half on Tune's 14-yard pass to Nathaniel Dell.
Team Stats
ECU 3, HOU 0
ECU - Daffer,Owen 33 yd field goal 9 plays, 60 yards, TOP 03:21
ECU 3, HOU 3
HOU - Witherspoon,Dalton 21 yd field goal 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 04:37
ECU 10, HOU 3
ECU - Hatfield,Jsi 40 yd pass from Ahlers,Holton (Daffer,Owen kick) 3 plays, 78 yards, TOP 01:05
ECU 10, HOU 10
HOU - Jones,Marcus 98 yd kickoff return (Witherspoon,Dalton kick)
ECU 10, HOU 17
HOU - Trahan,Christian 2 yd pass from Tune,Clayton (Witherspoon,Dalton kick) 5 plays, 26 yards, TOP 02:47
ECU 10, HOU 24
HOU - Dell,Nathaniel 14 yd pass from Tune,Clayton (Witherspoon,Dalton kick) 2 plays, 13 yards, TOP 00:22
ECU 17, HOU 24
ECU - Ahlers,Holton 1 yd run (Daffer,Owen kick), 6 plays, 71 yards, TOP 02:40
ECU 24, HOU 24
ECU - Omotosho,Audie 13 yd pass from Ahlers,Holton (Daffer,Owen kick) 2 plays, 16 yards, TOP 01:01
ECU 24, HOU 31
HOU - McCaskill,Alton 25 yd run (Witherspoon,Dalton kick), 1 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
