Defense & Offense Split Halves = Tie

April 09, 2022 | Football

GREENVILLE, N.C. - In a tale of two halves, East Carolina's defense controlled the opening 30 minutes before the Pirates offense rallied in the third and fourth quarters to produce a 40-40 deadlock in the annual Purple-Gold Spring Game on Bagwell Field inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The controlled scrimmage, which implemented a modified scoring system, formally marked the end of ECU's spring practice schedule as the Pirates will now eye preseason camp in August and the opener against NC State on Sept. 3.

The Purple defense marched out to a 25-12 halftime lead, earning points for things such as forced punts, tackles for loss, pass breakups, three-and-outs, sacks and fourth-down stops. In addition to scoring via traditional means with a one-yard Rahjai Harris run and a 19-yard field goal by Carson Smith, the offense also was awarded tallies for first downs, crossing midfield, runs over 15 yards and passes over 25 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Mason Garcia helped the offense outscore the defense 28-15 in the second half by completing 16-of-25 passes for 178 yards in the final two quarters before finishing the contest with an overall 23-of-35, 239-yard effort. He also engineered both of Pirates scoring drives and experienced the majority of the action during the afternoon by leading seven of 14 overall possessions. Senior starter Holton Ahlers was 10-of-16 for 115 yards in the first half before sitting out the remainder of the contest.

After being stuffed to -1 yard on its first 15 carries of the day, East Carolina's ground game found a little more running room in the last two quarters, picking up 57 yards on 29 attempts. Redshirt freshman Joseph McKay turned in a team-high 39 yards on 13 carries, while in addition to his one-yard scoring plunge, sophomore Harris contributed 20 yards on five totes.

True freshman Brock Spalding (42 yards) and sophomore Taji Hudson (26) topped all receivers with four receptions each. Sophomore tight end Shane Calhoun, who hauled in the day's longest grab with a 38-yarder from Ahlers, had three catches for 68 yards.

The defense, which forced only one turnover - an interception by junior safety Jireh Wilson - did account for nine tackles for lost yardage and four "touch" sacks. It got big days from junior cornerback Damel Hickman, junior outside linebacker Jack Powers and junior safety Julius Wood who each accounted for six stops and a pass breakup.

GOLD (O) 4 8 14 14 -- 40
PURPLE (D) 11 14 10 5 -- 40

PURPLE-GOLD GAME STATISTICS
RUSHING: Joseph McKay (13-39), Rahjai Harris (5-20, 1 TD), Keaton Mitchell (5-8), Alex Flinn (2-7), K'Daron Redfearn (1-3), Ryan Stubblefield (1-<-2>), Holton Ahlers (2-<-5>), Mason Garcia (6-<-14>). Totals –– 35-56, 1 TD (1.6 ypr).

PASSING: Mason Garcia (23-35-0, 239 yards), Holton Ahlers (10-16-0, 115 yards), Alex Flinn (2-4-0, 10 yards), Ryan Stubblefield (1-4-1, 4 yards), TEAM (0-2-0, 0 yards). Totals –– 36-61-1, 368 yards, 0 TD.

RECEIVING: Brock Spalding (4-42), Taji Hudson (4-26), Shane Calhoun (3-68), Josh Murphy (3-36), Kerry King (3-35), Andre Pegues (3-21), Joseph McKay (3-12), Jhari Patterson (2-30), Tyree Saunders (2-24), Troy Lewis (2-10), Rahjai Harris (2-4), Aaron Jarman (1-25), Jsi Hatfield (1-15), Tyler Savage (1-9), Keaton Mitchell (1-6), Terrance Copper Jr. (1-5). Totals –– 36-368, 0 TD.

TACKLES: Damel Hickman (6, 0.5 TFL/-1, 1 PBU), Jack Powers (6, 1 PBU), Julius Wood (6, 1 PBU), Teylor Jackson (5, 2 TFL/-14, 2 sacks/-14), Devon King (5), Teagan Wilk (4, 0.5 TFL/-1, 1 PBU), Xavier Smith (4, 2.5 TFL/-10, 2 sacks/9), Jacoby Simpson (4, 1 TFL/-1), Myles Berry (4), Elijah Robinson (4, 1 TFL/-2), Malik Fleming (3, 1 PBU), Demetrius Mauney (3), Gerard Stringer (3), Immanuel Hickman (3, 0.5 TFL/-1), Jeremy Lewis (3), Jayden Chalmers (3), Shawn Dourseau (3, 1 PBU), Daren Perry (3), Jireh Wilson (2, 1 INT), Isaiah Brown-Murray (2), Jonathan Coleman II (2), Chad Stephens (2), G'Mone Wilson (2), D'Anta Johnson (2), Sean Tucker (1), Cruz Temple (1), Rick D'Abreu (1), Ty Moss (1), Samuel Dankah (1), Eric Doctor (1, 1 TFL/-5, 1 PBU), Trevon Hayes (1), Elijah Morris (1, 1 PBU), Shaundre Mims (1), J.D. Lampley (1), J'Vian McCray (1).

PUNTING: Sully Hardin (1-48, 48.0 ypp), Andrew Conrad (1-43, 43.0 ypp), Luke Larsen (3-121, 40.3), David Chapeau (2-68, 34.0 ypp).

TOTAL OFFENSE/TOTAL DEFENSE: 96-424 (4.4 ypp)

QUARTERBACK FIRST DOWN/SCORING CHART
Holton Ahlers - 5 first downs (punt, punt, punt, missed FG)
Mason Garcia - 15 first downs, 1 TD, 1 FG (punt, missed FG, punt, TD, downs, FG, downs)
Ryan Stubblefield – 1 first down (interception, punt)
Alex Flinn - 1 first down (punt)

FUMBLES/LOST: 2/0

INTERCEPTIONS: 1 (Jireh Wilson/no return)

PENALTIES: 4 (4/offense, 0/defense)

TRADITIONAL SCORING (1 TD, 1 FG):
3rd QTR (8:50) – Rahjai Harris 1 run (Carson Smith kick)
4th QTR (4:53) – Smith 19 field goal