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FFFF000000060001000F77AA00000000005E000000001000F1-7FFF670004800480323C20Á-2‚0Â32153C21DAFFFF0‚‚142564E340‚321300010000007C00000002050D40840‚‚32151B21DA50403CC0001A2151B2B250DC4340840‚‚1B2153C21DA735038E0003B2153C21500020000051300000000 50D,ECU offense finally gets rolling
By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — There’s a chalkboard inside one of East Carolina’s meeting rooms that lists every offensive goal that the Pirates have for a contest.
Amass 400 yards of total offense. Rush for more than 185 yards. Convert 45 percent of their third down attempts. Control time of possession. Score 35 points per game. Score on all red-zone attempts. Make at least eight “big” plays.
The Pirates usually accomplish two or three of the goals per game.
Friday, they accomplished every one of them.
ECU, which entered the game averaging 12 points per game over the last month, scored on nine of its 10 offensive possessions and scored a season-high 53 points in a 32-point victory over UTEP at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Friday.
“It’s great to get back on track,” wide receiver Alex Taylor said. “We knew we had the ability to score points, and we came out today and did it. This is a huge confidence booster for us.”
The Pirates know they’ll face an electric offense in next weekend’s Conference USA Championship game.
They won’t know until later today whether it’s Houston, Tulsa or Rice, but on Friday, East Carolina spent the afternoon fine tuning its own offense in preparation for what looks like a conference championship shootout.
00020000073C0000050D 736,The Pirates racked up a season-best 475 yards of total offense — their previous best (387 yards) came in a 19-16 win over Marshall — as they scored more than 30 points for the first time all year.
“We’d been struggling lately and we wanted to come out and get on a roll today,” said quarterback Patrick Pinkney, who threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns. “Nobody wants to get this (offense) turned around more than us. We know we’re going to have to score some points, no matter who we play next week, so it was important that we came out today and executed and showed people what our offense is capable of doing.”
Behind a career day from senior running back Brandon Simmons (111 yards on 27 carries with three rushing touchdowns, along with one touchdown reception) the Pirates rushed for 231 yards. It was just the third time this season that East Carolina had rushed for more than 200 yards in a contest.
“With our line, we felt pretty confident that we could come out and run the ball effectively,” Simmons said. “We have struggled to run the ball the last couple games, so it felt really good to come out and play the way we did.”
East Carolina moved the ball at will against UTEP, converting 12-of-18 third down attempts, and controlling the ball for 38 minutes and 46 seconds as ECU kept UTEP’s high-octane offense on the sideline for most of the afternoon.
The Pirates offense was so efficient, that for the first time in more than 25 years, East Carolina did not have to punt the football. The last time ECU accomplished that feat was on Sept. 3, 1983 against Florida State.
“Everything was clicking today,” said wide receiver Darryl Freeney, who hauled in five catches for a career-best 106 yards and a touchdown. “Hopefully this will get us going, and give us the confidence we’re going to need to win the conference championship.”
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Amass 400 yards of total offense. Rush for more than 185 yards. Convert 45 percent of their third down attempts. Control time of possession. Score 35 points per game. Score on all red-zone attempts. Make at least eight “big” plays.
The Pirates usually accomplish two or three of the goals per game.
Friday, they accomplished every one of them.
ECU, which entered the game averaging 12 points per game over the last month, scored on nine of its 10 offensive possessions and scored a season-high 53 points in a 32-point victory over UTEP at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Friday.
“It’s great to get back on track,” wide receiver Alex Taylor said. “We knew we had the ability to score points, and we came out today and did it. This is a huge confidence booster for us.”
The Pirates know they’ll face an electric offense in next weekend’s Conference USA Championship game.
They won’t know until later today whether it’s Houston, Tulsa or Rice, but on Friday, East Carolina spent the afternoon fine tuning its own offense in preparation for what looks like a conference championship shootout.
00020000073C0000050D 736,The Pirates racked up a season-best 475 yards of total offense — their previous best (387 yards) came in a 19-16 win over Marshall — as they scored more than 30 points for the first time all year.
“We’d been struggling lately and we wanted to come out and get on a roll today,” said quarterback Patrick Pinkney, who threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns. “Nobody wants to get this (offense) turned around more than us. We know we’re going to have to score some points, no matter who we play next week, so it was important that we came out today and executed and showed people what our offense is capable of doing.”
Behind a career day from senior running back Brandon Simmons (111 yards on 27 carries with three rushing touchdowns, along with one touchdown reception) the Pirates rushed for 231 yards. It was just the third time this season that East Carolina had rushed for more than 200 yards in a contest.
“With our line, we felt pretty confident that we could come out and run the ball effectively,” Simmons said. “We have struggled to run the ball the last couple games, so it felt really good to come out and play the way we did.”
East Carolina moved the ball at will against UTEP, converting 12-of-18 third down attempts, and controlling the ball for 38 minutes and 46 seconds as ECU kept UTEP’s high-octane offense on the sideline for most of the afternoon.
The Pirates offense was so efficient, that for the first time in more than 25 years, East Carolina did not have to punt the football. The last time ECU accomplished that feat was on Sept. 3, 1983 against Florida State.
“Everything was clicking today,” said wide receiver Darryl Freeney, who hauled in five catches for a career-best 106 yards and a touchdown. “Hopefully this will get us going, and give us the confidence we’re going to need to win the conference championship.”
00040000000A000000020C45000050000000A000000020C45000060000002D000000010ÁC30‚‚ÁFFFF0‚C00000Â 30ÂÁ ‚000700000065000000010Â133330Â 10Â24 40,No Style 10000080000009700000001 40,Geneva 40, 4030Â
1000090000001D0000000232131071DA32131071DA000A0000001D0000000232153C21DA32153C21DA000B00000005000000020Â000C0000001500000001200‚3B160CB‚0000F0000001000000000500Â 10Â 00130000005E00000000D791F8CE1C1D1E1F7F1B0 24,- . - ' ° - … . FFFF0FFFF046700000002800000000 d $ $ $ 46710000015000000000
