ECU’s football team improved to 2-2 ahead of its off week with a 42-9 victory over North Carolina Central on Saturday.
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Photo and story by ECU Sports Information
East Carolina’s home date with N.C. Central on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon officially served as Family Weekend. But on the field, the Pirates used it as “Get Right Day.”
Before heading into an open date followed by the American Conference opener, ECU set out to establish an identity both offensively and defensively against an FCS opponent. For a half, the Pirates accomplished that mission and steamrolled to a 42-9 victory to improve to 2-2 on the season. Now it’s back to work to tighten up a few more areas before Rice comes to town.
“Always good to get a W, always good to get back in that column,” ECU head coach Blake Harrell said. “I told our guys like last time we were out in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (against Appalachian State), nobody’s happy about that, but I thought we responded in the right way.”
ECU treated a turnout 43,772 to an electric first half with a creative, field-stretching offense that scored on five of seven possessions and mixed in a defensive score to match the 42 points it put up in the first half against Florida Atlantic last season. After allowing a field goal on the Eagles’ first possession, ECU quickly responded with a touchdown then erupted for 35 second-quarter points. That explosion was more than enough as the ECU defense suffocated the Eagles offense for much of the day.
“I thought, you know, regardless of our opponent, our biggest focus was on us, and I thought we made the right steps in the first half to go play the game the right way,” Harrell said. “Both sides of the football and special teams, I thought we did a good job.”
Harrell’s objectives were many coming into the final non-conference test, but none bigger than solidifying the quarterback position. Miami transfer Emory Williams, who had seen only spot duty behind Mitch Griffis, moved into the starting role and made the most of his opportunity, completing 25 of 36 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns, spreading the ball to 11 different receivers. Williams, who had two starts at Miami in 2023, especially burned the Eagles in the first half by connecting on 18 of 22 attempts for 264 yards. His only blemishes were at pair of fumbles – one at the goal line as he was diving in for a score – and an interception.
Williams said he found out Thursday morning that he would get his first ECU start.
“Having that time to mentally prepare was nice,” Williams said. “You can kind of mentally foresee and prepare of what it’s going to be like to have that first game starting. And so, I was grateful for the opportunity and glad we got a win.”
He also cherished having former Miami teammate Ray Ray Joseph Jr. in the lineup. With Brock Spalding and Jeremiah Melvin sidelined with injuries, Joseph emerged as the go-to guy early and had six catches for 111 yards by halftime. He finished with 10 catches for 141 yards.
“Ray Ray is a guy I’ve played a lot of football with,” Williams said. “Any quarterback can vouch that, you know, having a guy that you can trust out there at all times, it’s a comforting factor. Ray Ray is an excellent player, so I’m happy we were able to connect several times tonight.”
Joseph did not find the end zone, but four of his teammates did. Running back T.J. Engleman Jr., starting in place of injured Ashton Gray, followed up his 99-yard effort against Old Dominion last week with a career-best 129 yards on just 10 carries, highlighted by an 88-yard burst up the gut for the second of ECU’s five second-quarter TDs. He also scored on a 5-yard run and an 8-yard reception.
“We got the run game and the pass game going today, so I’m happy to see it coming together a little bit,” Engleman said. “In the second half, you know, we got to improve that a little more, but I’m happy to see us moving in the right direction.”
Running back Michael Allen, a Greenville native, and tight end Kaden Hamlett joined the scoring parade with touchdown catches. Allen caught 6-yard toss from Williams on the first play of the second period, and Hamlett hauled in a 22-yard pass on a double-reverse flea flicker. Ayden Duncanson capped the half with a 20-yard interception return, marking his second pick-six in two games and ECU’s ninth defensive score since 2023.
“Ayden Duncanson got the box again, so that’s always good to see,” Harrell said. “Like it’s hard. To get two picks in a season sometimes can be difficult, and he’s done a great job of just coming down there and reading that and then going and putting all those things into points has been huge.”
ECU finished with 489 total yards, compiling 396 of those by halftime. After converting just 5 of 25 third downs in the first three games, the Pirates picked up 4 of 5 in the first half and finished 7 of 12.
“We did a way better job today,” Engleman said. “Hopefully we can keep that going, you know, and get like a better percentage.”
The Eagles, meanwhile, managed to convert just 1 of their first 13 third downs before picking up three on a final touchdown drive. ECU’s defense, which welcomed back lineman J.D. Lampley after a court injunction, registered eight sacks, 18 tackles for loss and forced three turnovers. Miles Pollard and Angelo Ross joined Duncanson with interceptions.
N.C. Central hovered around 0 rushing yards much of the game before finishing with 35. The Eagles had 208 total yards and punted nine times.
“I talked to the defensive coaches about that, like our confidence, our momentum, our vibe, our juice has to be contagious on both sides of the football,” Harrell said. “Right now, I think we’re a little still young offensively. We’ve got 11 new starters out there. I think sometimes we look side of that, there’s 11 guys out there that are playing together.
“It’s a game four, but a new quarterback today, so defensively we have to pick up. We have to set the tempo for both sides of the football, and I thought our coaches on that side of the ball did a really good job of that in the first half. You know me. I always want it better defensively. I want the shutouts and zero yards. But I think we’re getting there. We’re getting to be a defense that if we’ll play the game the right way, we can be pretty stingy.”