East Carolina Greenville, NC – East Carolina quarterback David Garrard completed 20 of 25 passes for 268 yards, including a 45-yard scoring strike to Richard Alston early in the fourth quarter, as the Pirates posted a 32-11 win over Memphis. T h e touchdown pass to Alston was a backbreaker for Memphis. Garrard stumbled back Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium into the pocket Greenville, NC but kept his composure and lofted Oct. 20, 2001 a deep pass which Att. 38,120 Alston hauled in eight yards deep into the end zone.
7 Game
Antoine Harden would block the extra point but East Carolina’s lead was 25-3 with 14:00 to
play. A block in the back on the ensuing return against Memphis would give the Tigers their worse field position of the game at the U of M six. Memphis would manage just three yards on its next three plays before a 45-yard James Gaither punt which ECU's Marvin Townes would return 12 yards to the Tiger 42. It would take the Pirates just six plays to cover 42 yards and score again. Garrard would again connect with Alston for a 23-yard pick up to the Memphis 18 on the drive. Alston would catch six passes for 105 yards on the day. Four plays later, Garrard would score when he scrambled right and dove into the end zone for a 4-yard scoring run to give ECU a 32-3 lead with 9:22 to play. Memphis would add a late touchdown in the quarter. U of M redshirt freshman quarterback Danny Wimprine would tie a Memphis freshman record when he tossed his fifth touchdown pass of the season, a 12-yarder to Bunkie Perkins. Wimprine also completed a pass to Ryan Johnson for the two-point conversion as the Tigers cut ECU’s lead to 32-11 with 3:30 to play. Wimprine, who completed 16 of 27 passes for 159 yards, would connect with Antoine Harden for a 40-yard completion to the ECU 12 on the drive. Memphis managed just 72 rushing yards and 231 yards of total offense. The Pirates’ offense accounted for 473 yards
– 205 rushing and 268 passing. East Carolina was able to quickly jump out to a 7-0 lead after Memphis punter James Gaither went to a knee fielding a low punt. Gaither was called down at the U of M 21. ECU running back Leonard Henry rolled off a 17-yard run on first down and after runs of 1 and 2 yards, Garrard would score from 1-yard out and the Pirates were out in front with 11:56 to play in the first quarter. The score marked just the second time this season Memphis had given up a firstquarter touchdown. Later in the quarter, the Pirates would drive from its own 36 to the Memphis 18 before settling for a 35-yard Miller field goal. ECU’s drive started with a 10-yard pass from Garrard to Art Brown and the tandem would team up for an 8-yard pick up on third-and-1 from the Memphis 45. Memphis’s first three series were all three-and-out with the Tigers totaling 13 yards. Following Gaither’s punt attempt which his knee hit the turf, Wimprine would get off a 51-yard quick kick with Memphis facing fourth-and-six from the U of M 42. The rookie would have two, 51-yard quick kicks in the first half. The Tigers finally picked up first-down yards but unusual circumstances surround the Tiger’s first moving of the chains. Wimprine had the ball batted away from his intended receiver but tight end Jeff Cameron would haul the ball in and pick up seven yards. It was Wimprine’s first completion for positive yards. East Carolina added a pair of second-quarter field goals to lead 16-0 at halftime. On their first, third-quarter series the Pirates drove from their own 13 to the Memphis 10. Garrard completed an 11-yard pass to Marcus White with ECU facing third-and-five then completed a 15-yarder to Arnie Powell. Henry would pick up 15 yards on one carry during the series. A personal foul penalty on the Tigers moved the ball inside the U of M 20. Facing third-and-six from the 10, Memphis linebacker Coot Terry would tackle Garrard for no gain and ECU would settle for a 26-yard Miller field goal to give the Pirates a 130 lead with 7:19 to play in the half. East Carolina moved the ball 46 yards on seven plays before settling for a 35-yard field goal by Miller with four seconds to play in the half. Garrard completed a 15-yard pass to Eric Collier on third-and-10 then the pair would team up for a 16 yard pick up to the Memphis 21. After a three-yard run by Henry, the Pirates burned their final timeout of the half and would tack on the field goal. Henry had 26 carries for 132 yards. At halftime ECU had 17 first downs and rolled up 258 yards of total offense – 133 rushing and 125 passing. Memphis had just 97 total yards of offense and picked up just five first downs in the half. Defensively for Memphis, Shaka Hill had a career day, accounting for 10 tackles including one for a four-yard loss. Greg Harper also had 10 stops while Tony Brown registered a sack and had nine tackles.
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MEMPHIS SCORING SUMMARY Memphis 0 East Carolina 10
0 6
3 8 3 13
- 11 - 32
ECU (11:56 re 1st) Garrard 1 run (Miller kick) ECU (1:04 re 1st) Miller 35 FG ECU (7:19 re 2nd) Miller 26 FG ECU (:04 re 2nd) Miller 35 FG UM (9:53 re 3rd) White 31 FG ECU (4:32 re 3rd) Miller 26 FG ECU (14:00 re 4th) Alston 45 pass from Garrard (kick blocked) ECU (9:22 re 4th) Garrard 4 run (Miller kick) UM (3:30 re 4th) Perkins 12 pass from Wimprine (White kick) TEAM STATS
MEM
ECU
First Downs Rushes-Yds Passes Passing Yds KO Return Yds Punts-Avg Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yds Time of Poss. Sacks by
11 31-72 16-27-0 159 87 7-45.9 1-0 7-64 23:23 3-16
28 57-205 20-26-0 268 43 5-44.2 2-0 5-43 36:37 2-18
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing: MEM-Brown 19-70-0. ECU-Henry 26-132-0, Brown 9-33-0, Townes 6-26-0, Garrard 1411-2. Passing: MEM-Wimprine 16-27-0-159-1. ECUGarrard 20-25-0-268-1, Troth 0-1-0-0-0. Receiving: MEM-Perkins 7-50-1, Harden 247-0, Garcia 2-28-0. ECU-Alston 6-105-1, Brown 556, Collier 2-31-0, White 2-27-0. Interceptions: MEM-none. ECU-none. A-38,120 (Weather: Mostly Sunny, Winds: Calm, 79 Degrees)
NOTES ◆ Senior kicker Ryan White became the school's second all-time leading scorer with his field goal against East Carolina. White scored his 223 career point and surpassed John butler (214) and Dave Casinelli (218). ◆ Junior tailback Dante Brown led the Tigers in rushing with 70 yards but failed to score a touchdown since the opening game of the 2001 season. ◆ Junior safety Glenn Sumter led the team in tackles with 14. ◆ East Carolina's 473 yards of total offense were the most given up by the Tiger defense this season. ◆ Quarterback Danny Wimprine had two quick kicks in the East Carolina game and averaged 51.0 yards per punt.