|
BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
-----
|
From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
-----
By Brian Bailey |
 |
Coaches disappointed with
spring outing
©2006 Bonesville.net
If a picture is worth a
thousand words, then the expression on Coach Skip Holtz’s face on Saturday
spoke volumes. He had that frustrating snarl working overtime after
East Carolina's
annual spring football game.
|
|
 |
 |
|
Replay the archive
of Monday night's Brian Bailey Show, with guest
Skip Holtz analyzing last Saturday's Purple-
Gold football game. |
|
Select clip |
|
|
“From more or less a fan’s
standpoint, from up above, I was disappointed,” Holtz told the media as a
steady rain continued. “I’m sure there were a lot of great individual
efforts, and I’m sure there are a lot of very positive things that will come
out of the film.
"Just looking at the big
picture, I was just hoping that we were further along then we are right
now.”
Holtz has said all along that
the stakes are higher in year two. This team has to be much better in 2006,
playing a schedule that includes eight bowl teams, seven of which were bowl
champions.
“Maybe I put too many high
hopes on guys that haven’t played yet for us, and maybe that’s my fault, but
we have a way to,” Holtz continued. “We’re going to have to improve from
this if we’re going to compete with the schedule we have this fall.”
Holtz and offensive
coordinator Steve Shankweiler knew that the offensive line was a question
mark going into the spring. Several bad snaps out of the shotgun added to
the staff’s frustrations.
“We’ve got a pair of rookie
centers,” said Shankweiler. “This time last year we had a similar problem
and we got it fixed. We’ll get this one fixed as well.”
Shank’s offensive line is a
work in progress. However, that group paved the way for Dominique Lindsay to
rush for 100 yards. Brandon Fractious added 73 yards on the ground.
On the defensive side of the
football, cornerback J.J. Millbrook had a huge day. Millbrook had two
interceptions and five tackles.
The Pirate defense also
captured quarterback James Pinkney in the end zone for a safety.
Much was made this spring
about the linebacker position. Durwin Lamb led the way with 11 tackles,
while junior college transfer Orlando Farrow recorded nine stops.
A steady rain hampered play at
times, but with storms all around, the Pirate staff felt fortunate to get
the entire game in. The start time for the game was moved up by 15 minutes
to try and beat the bad weather.
Holtz was upset, but that
disappointment could pay dividends. Not that anyone would have been
satisfied with a stellar spring game, but the fact that things didn’t go all
that well magnify the importance of this team improving because the schedule
is much more difficult come September.
Pirates recover in Orlando
Credit Billy Godwin for two
huge East Carolina wins over Central Florida in Orlando this weekend. After
a tough 8-0 loss on Friday, the Diamond Bucs bounced back to take the final
two games of the series.
Godwin had his players forget
the Friday performance, realizing that wins on Saturday and Sunday would
save the weekend.
On Saturday, ECU banged out 14
hits in beating the Golden Knights 6-3. Jamie Ray and Ryan Wood both went
3-5 in the victory.
On Sunday, lefty Brody Taylor
was again dominating. Taylor won Conference USA Player of the Week honors
last week and he may again be a candidate after giving up just one run on
seven hits in eight innings.
Taylor went the distance last
Sunday in a win over Houston, but gave way to Kevin Rhodes to pitch the
ninth this time out.
The Pirates still have plenty
of work to do if they’re going to continue that streak of NCAA tournament
appearances. ECU has another key non-conference game this Wednesday at home,
hosting North Carolina State.
The Pirates had a chance to
take the first game against N.C. State, but the Wolfpack came from behind
for the victory.
Wednesday’s game time is 7:00.
The jungle should be in rare form. It’s shaping up to be another memorable
night at the ballpark at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Send an e-mail message to
Brian Bailey.
Click here to dig into Brian Bailey's Bonesville
archives.
02/23/2007 01:33:39 AM |
