PURPLE! Home Game Edition 2, 2012

ISSUE NO. 2

home game edition east carolina

vs

UTEP

Storm Rigging The Marching Pirates perform their pregame show suited up in ECU ponchos to stay dry. Halftime was shortened because of the storm delay, forcing the band to play their Beatles tribute show from the stands. photo by jay clark

on the cover Quarterback Shane Carden on an 8-yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter. photo by jay clark

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game 2 - ECU vs. UTEP 2012

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flow with the go Emily Mead sprints across the endzone with her flag, celebrating a touchdown by ECU quarterback Shane Carden in the first quarter. photo by jay clark

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game 2 - ECU vs. UTEP 2012

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pirates Weather the

storm ecu downs miners, 28-18 STORY BY CRAIG BARNES JR. PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAY CLARK

Several Pirates had career-best performances as they weathered an 80-minute rain delay as ECU (3-2, 2-0 C-USA) defeated the UTEP Miners (1-4, 0-1 C-USA) 2818 Saturday night in ECU’s first night game this season at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

“Tay (Vintavious) Cooper did a great job of running the ball for us,” said ECU head football coach Ruffin McNeill after the game.

Cooper’s career game consisted of 151 yards rushing and 52 yards receiving. Cooper, a junior college transfer, played quarterback before making the transition to running back for the Pirates.

“It wasn’t that big a transition to make,” said Cooper at the postgame press conference. “The biggest thing I had to work on was pass blocking. Running the ball wasn’t really an issue, because I ran the ball a lot in junior college—sometimes 20 to 25 times a game.”

A 39-yard scamper by Cooper in the first quarter proved to be an example of how slippery and elusive Cooper would be in the open field. Seeming all bottle up, Cooper somehow slipped away from a would be tackler to scurry up the sideline before being forced out of bounds at the 6-yard line.

“He had my leg somehow,” said Cooper. “I got loose and I jumped out of there, but they ran me down.”

That rushing outburst marked the first time a Pirate running back has reached the century mark this season. Cooper also added a touchdown in the fourth quarter providing the first rushing touchdown for a running back on the season.

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RB #21 vintavius cooper purple! OFfensive player of the game Starting running back Reggie Bullock went down on the opening kickoff with a head injury and the coaching staff called on Vintavious Cooper. Cooper did not disappoint Saturday night as he finished the game with 203 all-purpose yards. Cooper, who proved that he could provide a change of pace and bring a spark to the offense last week against Chapel Hill, received his opportunity Saturday night. He had a key 39-yard rush to set up the first touchdown and also was the longest run of his career. For the second straight week, Cooper has broke for a 35-yard or more run. He has proven to be a consistent option out of the backfield in the passing game as well as adding four catches for 52 yards.

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UTEP quarterback Nick Lamaison fumbled the ball in the third quarter, and #58 Lee Pegues was there to pick it up for the Pirates.

ECU is undefeated this season when outrushing its opponents. The Pirates rushed for 217 yards against the Miners, marking the first time since 2009 they have rushed for more than 200 yards in a game.

The offense seemed to be in sync Saturday night as quarterback Shane Carden also turned in a career night.

“We fed off each other and that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to do that next week and the rest of the season,” said Shane Carden.

Consistency out of the quarterback position has been something that the Pirates have struggled with this season, but the chemistry between Carden and receiver Justin Hardy seemed to be second nature. Hardy 8 PURPLE!

“

We fed off each other and that’s what we’ve got to do. we’ve got to do that next week and the rest of the season.

”

- SHane carden

led the team in receptions tallying 11 catches for 95 yards.

Carden finished the game 28 for 40 with 258 passing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Even with the interceptions Carden managed the game well, staying resilient when faced with adversity.

Carden totaled 321 yards of offense on the night, which was the first time since Nov. 26, 2011, that 300 or more yards of total offense has been accomplished by an ECU player.

The defensive unit also turned out a great performance. UTEP only converted two of 13 third down conversion opportunities for the game. The secondary, which is often the subject of criticism, showed game 2 - ECU vs. UTEP 2012

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great resolve. Safety Chip Thompson and cornerback Adonis Armstrong both recorded interceptions that helped the defense stop UTEP offense on several occasions.

Damon Magazu, a safety, led the team in tackles on Saturday and cornerback Joshua Hawkins also had several key pass deflections. The first interception for Thompson, who recorded two interceptions on the night, occurred when UTEP was on ECU’s 18-yard line on a potential scoring drive. Thompson intercepted quarterback Nick Lamaison with 11:16 remaining in the game before his second interception came at the 4:54 mark setting up the game-securing touchdown.

“We had been catching interceptions all week in practice and I just wanted to transfer that over to the field,” said Thompson.

Thompson became the first player since Van Eskridge to record two interceptions in one game. Eskridge recorded two interceptions in the 2009 Conference USA championship game.

With the win, the Pirates are now 2-0 in league play for the third time in the last four years and it also marks the fourth time in the last five years that the Pirates have posted a winning record after five games.

The victory raised ECU’s overall record to 3-1 against UTEP. PURPLE! Play of the game

photo by doug smith

Justin Hardy Touchdown

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Every time ECU needs a big play, Justin Hardy is their go-to guy. With the game still in the balance, Shane Carden connects with Hardy on a 3-yard back shoulder fade for the score that would give the Pirates the momentum for the remainder of the game. Hardy managed to gain possession inbounds with the Miners defensive back hovering over him.

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SS #1 chip thompson purple! DEfensive player of the game Starting safety Chip Thompson turned in a conference-player-of-the-week-caliber performance Saturday night as he recorded two interceptions and eight tackles. After having a quiet performance against Chapel Hill, Thompson showed great ball skills and accomplished something no other Pirate had done since Van Eskridge in 2009.

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u cf k nig hts oc t. 4 , 2 012 After a comfortable victory against the Miners, the Pirates look to turn around a short week and travel down to Orlando on Thursday to face conference foe University of Central Florida (2-2, 0-0 C-USA). The Knights open up conference play against the Pirates.

ECU looks to improve on their 9-2 edge against UCF in the series. The Pirates defeated the Knights last season by a 38-31 score in Greenville. ECU is 4-3 in the last seven Thursday games, and they look to have another good game from both the offense and defense to gain another conference road victory. With a win, the Pirates will remain undefeated in the conference and will gain sole advantage of the East Division.

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fan-cam Pirate fans had on their foul-weather gear during the game against UTEP on Saturday, Sept. 29.

Lightning in the area forced a 90-minute game delay in the second quarter, and fans were evacuated from DowdyFicklen Stadium and asked to seek shelter in their vehicles, under the stadium and in Minges Arena.

photo by jay clark 12 PURPLE!

game 1 - ECU vs. south carolina - 2011