It wasn’t pretty but the ECU football team came away with a 20-17 victory at Old Dominion on Saturday.
Check out Pirate Radio
Website | Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
=====
Photo and story by ECU Sports Information
NORFOLK, Va. – After an 0-2 start, East Carolina and head coach Blake Harrell desperately needed a win in any fashion. So don’t expect an apology for a 20-17 victory over Old Dominion on Saturday night at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
After giving up 17 second-quarter points, the Pirates leaned on their defense to put a stranglehold on quarterback Quinn Henicle and the Monarchs to pitch a shutout in the final two quarters. ECU (1-2) forced a pair of turnovers, including a momentum-changing pick-six by Ayden Duncanson, and generated just enough offense to remain unbeaten in six meetings with its regional rival – four of which have been determined by six points or less.
“It’s a win baby, and that’s what matters,” said Harrell, now 15-7 as the Pirates’ head coach. “I don’t care if it’s an ugly win. You’ve got to learn how to win ugly before you can win pretty, and we did that tonight. Showed a lot of resilience there.”
Quarterback Mitch Griffis, replaced early by Emory Williams, returned after sitting out two series and finished 4 of 12 passing for 58 yards and rushed six times for 22 yards. T.J. Engelman Jr. emerged as the workhorse in the backfield and gained 99 yards on 16 attempts.
“The O-Line and the running backs carried us today,” Griffis said. “We didn’t throw the ball well, and that starts with me. I didn’t play my best game, that’s for sure. I don’t think it takes to see that, but running backs played their tails off, offensive line played their tails off, and that was a really, really tough, gritty win for the Pirates. Man, we love it to be a little cleaner, but it’s a win, so we’ll take it.”
With each team able to generate just one drive of 10 plays or more, scoring opportunities became scarce. That’s where trickery, defense and special teams stepped in.
ECU struck the first blow after ODU punter Ian Brandt mishandled a snap, handing the ball to the Pirates at the 28. Receiver Jason Dickerson, who caught a 61-yard touchdown pass last week against App State, responded with another big play by taking a backward pass from Williams, on his second play after replacing Griffis, and tossing a strike to Ja’Keith Hamilton for a 7-0 lead.
That lead evaporated in the second quarter in which ODU struck for 10 points in just 1:05 and reeled off 17-straight points. The Monarchs’ first break came when a roughing-the-passer penalty negated an interception by Ashton Levells-Mitchell, leading to a 38-yard field goal by Nathanial Eichner.
Two plays later, tight end Kanen Hamlett fumbled as he was wrestled to the turf, and Daevon Illes scooped it up and scooted 23 yards for a 10-7 lead.
A holding penalty stalled ECU’s next drive, erasing a 21-yard run by Ashton Gray, then Devin Roche, who rushed for 102 yards on 18 carries, returned a punt 38 yards to set another ODU score. Henicle, who has at least one rushing touchdown in all five of his starts, accounted for the final 18 yards on quarterback draw.
The Pirates benefited from a roughing penalty to get within 17-10 at the half on a 36-yard boot by Noab Perez, but ECU’s offense did not see the field for more than seven minutes to start the third period, thanks to Duncanson’s interception and 67-yard scamper. The pick was the first for the career reserve.
“As he was rolling out, I was just kind of staying on my zone, but I also didn’t want to abandon the back side,” Duncanson said. “As I was reading the quarterback I felt a guy coming to my left. As he threw the ball, I just trusted my eyes and my break. I broke on the ball and just did what I did from there.”
Harrell was glad to Duncanson get rewarded for his efforts.
“Shout out to Ayden,” Harrell said. “He’s a young man who’s been working his tail off for the last couple years. Keeps getting better every single day. Some things don’t go his way. He keeps working, and I just love seeing him and that smile on his face when he came back to the sideline. We needed that. That was huge to set the tempo for the second half, and defensively they were solid.”
ODU’s last serious threat ended when Roche coughed up the ball after a hit by Kieran Davis and Miles Parker recovered.
ECU took over at the 17 after a penalty and pieced together its best drive of the night, driving 77 yards in 12 plays while chewing up 7:07 off the clock. The biggest third-down conversion of the young season came when Griffis found Dillon Lorick over the middle for a 27-yard gain to the ODU 26. Perez knocked through his third field goal of the night, converting from 24 yards for a 20-17 lead with 9:39 to play.
ECU’s defense forced two more punts before Griffis and the offense ran out the clock with the aid of a pass interference penalty and a third-down conversion that sealed the season’s first win
“Our best football is ahead of us,” Harrell said. “We’ve got to keep playing, we’ve got to keep going at it, we’ve got to keep fighting our tails off and making improvements every single day and clean things up. Obviously, it’s game three. I don’t think we played good, clean football until about halfway through the season last year. But we’ll keep improving, we’ll keep getting better.”