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ECU football coach happy with improvements
RYAN ROCKWELL, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE -- The East Carolina football team held its second scrimmage of the spring Saturday morning. Quarterback Paul Troth, running back Marvin Townes and wide receiver Terrance Copper were offensive leaders.
The Pirates ran nearly 150 situational plays, spending time on kickoffs, punting, field goals, goal-line offense and defense and two-minute drills.
Troth, a junior, who was much maligned a year ago, hit on his first nine passes and finished 16-of-24 for 144 yards. Troth threw for two TDs, both to Copper, and tossed one pick.
"Paul went out there and competed today," said head coach John Thompson. "Paul was hurt, had a bad hand, and he got pounded at the end of the scrimmage. But he kept standing in there and he converted some third downs. I was really proud of Paul today."
Marvin Townes led all rushers, carrying the ball for 88 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Art Brown, the leading rusher a year ago, had a pair of touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line. The fleet-of-foot Townes said he wanted to fire up the defense and barked at the defensive sideline after long carries.
"I think everything is going well," said Townes. "But as a whole team, we still haven't fully developed yet. We need to just keep playing hard and get better at everything. I think I'm doing okay. Last scrimmage, I fumbled the ball once and this one I didn't fumble the ball.
"I was just trying to get the team going. It seems like when the offense is up, the defense is down and when the defense is up, the offense is down. We've got to be excited the whole time. We just can't be excited when we make a play."
Senior Dominique Hatcher carried the ball 15 times for 50 yards for the second-team offense, while back-up quarterback Desmond Robinson hit on 5-of-13 passes for 62 yards, throwing one pick.
Copper, a senior from Washington, led all receivers, catching seven passes for 44 yards with two TDs.
The biggest offensive play of the day came from converted linebacker Vonta Leach, who now plays fullback. Leach broke a run up the middle and ran over a would-be tackler several yards up field. Leach barely broke stride and rumbled 40 yards for the score.
"The line gave me a good block and I ran a play designed to get about four yards, and I pushed the pile a little bit and got to the outside," said Leach, a junior. "I haven't been a running back since high school, so it was good to get back there again.
"It's good to come out here in the morning time and get the practice over with. It seemed like everybody had a lot of fun. A lot of guys made big plays."
The Pirate offense scored eight touchdowns on the day during situational play.
"We saw some real good things," said Thompson. "The good part of it is the offense makes a big play, the bad part of it is the defense gives up a big play. I think it went back and forth. I think our (first team offense and defense) had a good day on both sides. There's a lot we need to clean up. There was a lot of penalties. So we still have a lot to work on."
On the defensive side of the ball, the first-team defense played impressively, stopping the first-team offense on a first-and-goal from the four during a goal-line scenario.
An individual leader was converted wide receiver Mickey McCoy, who had a pick and a sack from his roverback position.
"It's really important to come out in spring ball and make an impression," said McCoy, who, like most of his teammates, is trying to play himself into a position. "Coming to the defensive side of the ball, I know I have to make a lot of big plays."
Sophomore linebacker Richard Koonce forced and recovered a fumble, while Eric Butler added an interception.
"I'm impressed with the effort and the enthusiasm," said Thompson. "We've had a hard two weeks of practice. It's been a physical spring. We hit every day. We hit yesterday. There was a lot of hitting. I don't think there was any softness going on out here. I'm impressed with our attitude and our effort."
The Pirates have another scrimmage scheduled for April 5, as they prepare for the Purple-Gold game on April 12 at 3 p.m.
GREENVILLE -- The East Carolina football team held its second scrimmage of the spring Saturday morning. Quarterback Paul Troth, running back Marvin Townes and wide receiver Terrance Copper were offensive leaders.
The Pirates ran nearly 150 situational plays, spending time on kickoffs, punting, field goals, goal-line offense and defense and two-minute drills.
Troth, a junior, who was much maligned a year ago, hit on his first nine passes and finished 16-of-24 for 144 yards. Troth threw for two TDs, both to Copper, and tossed one pick.
"Paul went out there and competed today," said head coach John Thompson. "Paul was hurt, had a bad hand, and he got pounded at the end of the scrimmage. But he kept standing in there and he converted some third downs. I was really proud of Paul today."
Marvin Townes led all rushers, carrying the ball for 88 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Art Brown, the leading rusher a year ago, had a pair of touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line. The fleet-of-foot Townes said he wanted to fire up the defense and barked at the defensive sideline after long carries.
"I think everything is going well," said Townes. "But as a whole team, we still haven't fully developed yet. We need to just keep playing hard and get better at everything. I think I'm doing okay. Last scrimmage, I fumbled the ball once and this one I didn't fumble the ball.
"I was just trying to get the team going. It seems like when the offense is up, the defense is down and when the defense is up, the offense is down. We've got to be excited the whole time. We just can't be excited when we make a play."
Senior Dominique Hatcher carried the ball 15 times for 50 yards for the second-team offense, while back-up quarterback Desmond Robinson hit on 5-of-13 passes for 62 yards, throwing one pick.
Copper, a senior from Washington, led all receivers, catching seven passes for 44 yards with two TDs.
The biggest offensive play of the day came from converted linebacker Vonta Leach, who now plays fullback. Leach broke a run up the middle and ran over a would-be tackler several yards up field. Leach barely broke stride and rumbled 40 yards for the score.
"The line gave me a good block and I ran a play designed to get about four yards, and I pushed the pile a little bit and got to the outside," said Leach, a junior. "I haven't been a running back since high school, so it was good to get back there again.
"It's good to come out here in the morning time and get the practice over with. It seemed like everybody had a lot of fun. A lot of guys made big plays."
The Pirate offense scored eight touchdowns on the day during situational play.
"We saw some real good things," said Thompson. "The good part of it is the offense makes a big play, the bad part of it is the defense gives up a big play. I think it went back and forth. I think our (first team offense and defense) had a good day on both sides. There's a lot we need to clean up. There was a lot of penalties. So we still have a lot to work on."
On the defensive side of the ball, the first-team defense played impressively, stopping the first-team offense on a first-and-goal from the four during a goal-line scenario.
An individual leader was converted wide receiver Mickey McCoy, who had a pick and a sack from his roverback position.
"It's really important to come out in spring ball and make an impression," said McCoy, who, like most of his teammates, is trying to play himself into a position. "Coming to the defensive side of the ball, I know I have to make a lot of big plays."
Sophomore linebacker Richard Koonce forced and recovered a fumble, while Eric Butler added an interception.
"I'm impressed with the effort and the enthusiasm," said Thompson. "We've had a hard two weeks of practice. It's been a physical spring. We hit every day. We hit yesterday. There was a lot of hitting. I don't think there was any softness going on out here. I'm impressed with our attitude and our effort."
The Pirates have another scrimmage scheduled for April 5, as they prepare for the Purple-Gold game on April 12 at 3 p.m.
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