East Carolina Defeats Army 28-6 In Conference Opener

Thursday, September 25

Greenville, N.C.

7:30 p.m.

East Carolina University

3-2 , 1-0

Army

1-3 , 0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Army West Point

East Carolina

September 26, 2025 | Football

Box Score Game Book ECU Postgame Notes ECU Postgame Interviews Photo Gallery

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina proved quick strikes pack a more lethal punch than a grind-it-out approach as it defeated Army 28-6 in a prime-time ESPN clash Thursday night at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Less than a week after the offense sputtered against BYU, the Pirates got off to a blazing start behind quarterback Katin Houser and scored on each of their three first-quarter possessions to take command in their American Conference opener. A scintillating touchdown run by Kyler Pearson on a fake field goal provided a fourth-quarter exclamation point as ECU notched their first home win over a service academy team since 2004.

Not only did the Pirates (3-2, 1-0) chalk up their ninth win in 10 meetings in the series, they dealt a serious blow to the defending conference champion Black Knights, who fell to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the league.

"We talked about this being a new season and no better way to start the conference than a victory against Army and start out 1-0," ECU head coach Blake Harrell said.

And there was no better way to start the game, played before a turnout of 32,497. The Pirates punched early, putting together three drives of at least 70 yards requiring less than three minutes each.

Explosion plays highlighted each drive. On the game's fourth play, Houser connected with senior wide receiver Anthony Smith on a 41-yard completion, then finished off the drive four-plays later with a 3-yard run.

Smith found the end zone on ECU's next possession, scoring on a 40-yard pass for his first touchdown of the year and 10th of his career.

"First one of the season; very excited," Smith said. "... I knew it was going to come and it did tonight."

Houser's 20-yard touchdown pass to Jayvontay Conner – set up by a 27-yarder to Yannick Smith – put the Pirates up 21-0 with 39 seconds left in the opening quarter. That hole proved too big for Army, which rallied from a 21-0 deficit against North Texas last week before falling 45-38 in overtime.

"Like we were talking about the whole week, we want to get that first, first down and get the offense rolling," Houser said. "We went down the field and scored that first drive and that led to two more in the first quarter. And the defense played really well too."

The defensive effort even impressed Harrell. Army entered averaging 301.3 yards on the ground per game with its ball-control offense but managed 241 on 53 carries against the Pirates. The Black Knights converted just 2 of 15 third downs and 4 of 9 fourth downs (they were 10-14 in the first three games).

Quarterbacks Dewayne Coleman and Cale Hellums combined to complete 6 of 12 passes for 49 yards, the lowest yardage total allowed by ECU since Gardner Webb passed for 30 yards in 2023. The Black Knights also managed just 12 first downs and ran just 65 plays after 82 offensive snaps in each of its first three games.

"Usually, I'm kind of the biggest critic of the defense, but this week I'm pretty proud of them," Harrell said. "I think with the history of option teams and being able to hold those guys to one score, it's pretty dang special."

Despite an offensive lull in the middle quarters, ECU still finished with 431 total yards, surpassing the 400-yard mark for the 10th time in 11 games under Harrell. Houser completed 15 of 22 passes for 251 yards, eclipsing 250 yards for the 10th time in 14 games (12 starts) at ECU.

With a secure lead, the Pirates leaned on its running game to churn out yardage and eat up time, finishing with 180 yards on 50 carries. London Montgomery handled the bulk of the work in the first half, rushing for 58 yards on 15 carries. A determined Marlon Gunn Jr. turned in a bullish effort in the second half, grinding out 53 yards on 10 attempts.

"He kept moving the chains, kept getting the first down and kept running hard," Harrell said of Gunn. "What Marlon Gunn is to this football team, it may not show up in the stat book, but the type of person he is, the way he goes to work every day, I just can't say enough about him. He's one of my favorites around."

ECU did let numerous opportunities slip away to build an even more substantial lead before landing a final blow. The Pirates turned the ball over twice deep in Army territory in the second quarter then failed on a pair of fourth-down tries in the third period.

The first turnover came when Stephen Nnadozie picked off a Houser pass at the Army 17, ending a promising drive that started at the ECU 12. Eric Ford forced the second turnover, blitzing off the left edge, deflecting an option pitch from Houser and then pouncing on the ball at the 18.

With the Pirates facing another fourth down in the fourth quarter, this time at the Army 32, Harrell sent out Nick Mazzie and the field goal unit. The kick never happened. Pearson took the snap, darted to his right and streaked to the end zone

"It was going to be about a 50-yard kick, which Nick can hit, but you're more worried about what if it gets blocked," Harrell said. "You're giving an easy score up to the opponent and they cut it to one score."

Harrell said it was gratifying to see Pearson respond after a fumble on a punt last week against BYU.

"We talked all week about one night doesn't define us, but how we respond to adversity does define us," Harrell said.