ECU rallies past North Texas for 40-28 victory

by | Nov 24, 2024

By ECUPirates.com

DENTON, Texas – East Carolina showed up late to an anticipated shootout between two prolific, quick-striking offenses on Saturday at DATCU Stadium, but the Pirates made an emphatic statement once they arrived.

After a sluggish start marred by turnovers and penalties, ECU scored on six consecutive possessions bridging the two halves to storm back from a 21-0 deficit for a 40-28 win over North Texas. The Pirates, down 21-7 at the half, found their rhythm on offense while cranking up the pressure on defense in reeling off 24 third-quarter points – their fourth quarter of at least 20 points this season — on the way to their fourth-straight win under interim head coach Blake Harrell.


An offense spearheaded by senior running back Rahjai Harris, sophomore quarterback Kaitin Houser and the Smith boys (Yannick and Anthony) eclipsed 500 total yards for the fourth-straight game, finishing with 553.

The defense, meanwhile, created a momentum-shifting fumble on the opening series of the third quarter, blocked a field goal, held North Texas to 188 yards in the second half and did not allow the Mean Green to convert a third down (0-for-7) or fourth down (0-for-3) in the final two quarters.

The result: a guaranteed third winning season in the last four years. ECU heads into its regular-season finale at home against Navy with a 7-4 overall record and 5-2 in the American Athletic Conference.

North Texas (5-6, 2-5 AAC) dropped its fifth consecutive game and saw its string of four straight Senior Day victories come to an end.

“I’m just super proud of our young men and super proud of the guys,” Harrell said after ECU rallied from a deficit of at least 20 points to win for the first time since 2010. “I just told them, ‘Hey, keep fighting, keep swinging. Stay together, and we’ve got this thing.’ They certainly did, and they believed. It’s great to get win number seven.”

That possibility looked bleak on a sunny and breezy Saturday afternoon after ECU came up empty on its first five possessions and trailed 21-0 with 3:01 left before halftime. But ECU pieced together a 14-play, 67-yard drive with Harris plunging in from the one for the first of his career-high three touchdowns.

A renewed energy fueled a run of 24 consecutive points in the third quarter and vaulted the Pirates in front 31-21. A staggered North Texas, which came in ranked third nationally in total offense, did not have an answer.

“That’s four weeks in a row we scored before the half,” Harrell said. “Three times a touchdown, and last week was a field goal. All those have been huge going into the half for momentum.”

Zakye Barker, who sat out the first half due to a targeting penalty in last week’s win at Tulsa, delivered the first jolt to spark the second half, slamming into receiver DT Sheffield and forcing a fumble on a third-down completion. Chad Stephens recovered.

Barker also teamed with Gavin Gibson on the next possession to stuff North Texas on a fourth-and-1 run from its 46.

“Zakye Barker came back in the second half and kind of brought that juice and brought that energy back to the defense,” Harrell said.

Harris, whose two touchdowns in the fourth quarter last week rescued the Pirates, brought the juice to the offense once again. The determined senior ground out 128 yards on 24 carries to register his the fourth 100-yard game of the season and ninth of his career, but the highlight came when he emerged from a mass of players and sprinted for a 39-yard score to get ECU within 21-14.

“Shout out to those big guys,” said Harris, who capped the day with a seven-yard TD run with 1:38 to play. “They pulled me out of the pile, and I saw the end zone, and the rest is history.”

Despite being limited to 58 yards in the first half, ECU surpassed 220 yards rushing for the fourth consecutive game and finished with 255. Penn State transfer London Montgomery contributed 65 yards on 15 carries, and Marlon Gunn Jr. added 42 yards on nine attempts.

“We’ve really got a three-headed monster back there with London, Marlon and Rahjai just going at it and the O-line keeps pushing,” Harrell said.

Houser, making his fifth start, overcame a slow beginning to the contest in which he completed six of 12 passes with his seventh interception by connecting on 10 his last 11 throws for 298 yards, finishing just shy of a third straight 300-yard game. NC State transfer Anthony Smith, who had four catches for a career-high 121 yards, and freshman Yannick Smith, who set career bests with seven catches for 112 yards, each had a touchdown catch and gave ECU a pair of 100-yard receivers for the second game this year.

Anthony Smith, who coughed up a fumble at the five after a 44-yard catch on ECU’s third play, found the end zone on a 50-yard strike from Houser to put ECU up 24-21 following Andrew Conrad’s 31-yard field goal.

Yannick Smith snagged a 28-yard toss from Houser for his second touchdown of the year and a 31-21 lead.

Freshman Makenzie McGill accounted for the Mean Green’s only second-half score with a seven-yard run to make it 31-28 with four seconds left in the third quarter. But ECU’s defense and a bevy of dropped passes kept junior quarterback Chandler Morris from generating a comeback.

Morris, who entered with four games of at least 400 yards passing and 27 touchdowns, threw for three first-half scores and finished 32-of-48 for 266 yards. He completed just 13 of 23 passes in the second half for 122 yards.

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