ANNAPOLIS, Md. â Senior Rahjai Harris put an emphatic stamp on both his career and a memorable season as East Carolina celebrated another dramatic bowl victory over in-state rival NC State.
Harris rumbled 86 yards for a touchdown with 1:33 to go â ECU’s longest play of the season – and Dontavius Nash scooped up a clinching interception as the Pirates captured an emotional 26-21 win on Saturday in the Go Bowling Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
After seeing a 20-7 lead evaporate, ECU landed the last blow in a topsy-turvy fourth quarter to beat the Wolfpack nearly 23 years after a 37-34 comeback victory in the 1992 Peach Bowl in Atlanta that finished off the Pirates’ best season in history.
For head coach Blake Harrell, the victory on a cold, rainy evening punctuated winning five of the last six games after taking over for Mike Houston and sealed an 8-5 overall record. ECU not only evened its record in bowl games at 11-11 but sent NC State to its fifth straight bowl loss and a 6-7 finish.
“We’ve been talking all the last three months about, hey, playing together, playing with effort, playing with energy,” Harrell said. “Nobody plays harder than the Pirates, and that’s what we wanted to do today.”
Nobody played harder than Harris, who repeatedly responded with big plays to fuel ECU’s turn-around after a 3-4 start. The 5-11, 214-pounder from Duncan, S.C., earned Military Bowl MVP honors by setting American Athletic Conference bowl and personal records with 220 rushing yards, averaging 12.9 yards on 17 carries.
The exclamation came on a third-and-10 play in the final two minutes with ECU backed up to its 14 and trailing 21-20. Harris took a handoff from quarterback Katin Houser, squirted through a seam on the left side and sprinted untouched to put ECU in front for good.
“I told (offensive coordinator) John David (Baker), I said, ‘Hey, it’s third down. You’ve got four downs here so don’t be scared to run the football,’ and by God, Rahjai made it happen,” Harrell said.
Harris finishes his career with 3,096 rushing yards, second in school history just ahead of Leonard Henry (3,089), and 29 touchdowns on the ground. He topped 1,000 yards for the season on Saturday, finishing the year with 1,166 yards on 206 carries and 11 touchdowns.
As he did against the Wolfpack, Harris delivered during late-season surge when the Pirates needed a big play. His seven-yard run at North Texas clinched a 40-28 win and he scored on runs of 23 and 24 yards to spark a 38-31 win at Tulsa.
“We can hand the ball off in any situation in the game, and he’s going to go make plays, especially in that two-minute drive,” Houser said. “We have so much trust in him. He’s a great player.”
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Houser added a career-high 84 rushing yards on 13 carries and scored a personal-best two touchdowns, repeatedly catching the Wolfpack defense off guard. The Pirates piled up 326 yards on the ground, surpassing 200 rushing yards for the fifth time in their final six games.
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“It was kind a part of the game plan this week,” Houser said. “I really haven’t shown a lot of running on a consistent basis throughout the year. We thought today would be a perfect game to pull it out, and I was able to go run the ball.”
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Both offenses clicked with efficiency in a first half that featured just six possessions â three by each team that all logged at least 10 plays â and played turnover-free until a frantic final period marred by three interceptions.
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The Pirates, with Houser dissecting NC State’s defense with both his accurate right arm and legs, cashed in all three of its first-half opportunities with a touchdown and a pair of Noah Perez field goals to lead 13-7.
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Houser completed 13 of 17 passes for 108 yards and gained 55 yards on five carries in the first half, including a 19-yard scoring run to cap off ECU’s first series. He finished 18-of-29 for 147 yards.
Four Houser keepers played a vital role in the Pirates converting seven of eight third downs in the opening half. ECU wound up converting 12 of 16 overall.
NC State true freshman C.J. Bailey effectively directed the Wolfpack offense, completing 19 of 26 for 230 yards and three touchdowns. But like it has much of the season, missed opportunities doomed the Wolfpack.
NC State, outscored 112-51 in the first quarter this season, amassed 137 yards on 19 plays in its first two drives but came up empty on the scoreboard. An opening 10-play drive reached the ECU 24 before Hollywood Smothers was smothered for a 1-yard loss on a fourth-and 1 run.
The Wolfpack’s second drive penetrated as far as the Pirates’ 17 before a bad snap foiled Kanoah Vinesett’s 34-yard field goal attempt.
ECU seemed in control after Houser’s four-yard run put ECU in front 20-7 on the first series of the third period.
But momentum suddenly shifted late in the third quarter, and the Wolfpack scrapped back. After Noah Perez missed a 46-yard field goal attempt, NC State’s Sean Brown picked up four yards and first down on a fake punt.
Bailey’s 15-yard toss to Justin Joly on fourth down closed the gap to 20-14.
NC State took the lead at 21-20 with 9:49 to play after Smothers followed up a 23-yard run with a 33-yard catch and run on a flea flicker.
NC State then seized two chances to seal the win after a pair of interceptions by Tamarcus Cooley, the last of which came with 3:49 to play at the NC State 42.
The Wolfpack opted to play conservative with there consecutive running plays and punted, turning the ball over with 1:59 to play. After two incompletions, ECU put the ball in the hands of Harris, and he sent the Pirate fans into a frenzy.
NC State still had time and a chance and reached the ECU 38 before a second-down pass tipped off the hands of Smothers and into the diving grasp of Nash.
“I’m so excited to be a Pirate,” Harrell said. “I’m so excited for our seniors, our fans. They showed out tonight, they packed the stadium, brought the energy, and that really set the tempo from the get-go as well.”