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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
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By Brian Bailey |
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Roller coaster ending tough
to stomach
©2006 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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SKIP HOLTZ PRESS CONFERENCE:
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I’ve seen the replay dozens of
times, and my heart still aches for Phillip Henry.
Sure, it’s just a game and
maybe there are those of us who simply take the games too seriously.
Fate played a terrible trick
on the Pirates on Saturday night. East Carolina was poised to pull one out
of the fire, when James Pinkney connected with Henry over the UAB secondary.
Henry ran towards the goal
line, hoping to score the game-winning touchdown. He was the hero to be,
until the ball came free just inside the five-yard line.
Henry fumbled. UAB recovered.
In a matter of seconds, the Pirates had gone from losers, to winners, to
losers again.
“I saw the safety leaving the
middle and heading over toward Aundrae Allison,” said ECU coach Skip Holtz
on Monday. “I thought James made a phenomenal throw, over the head of the
safety. Phillip Henry really made a nice catch. When Phillip turned to start
running, I saw a couple of guys chasing him. My first thought was that he
was inside the five, so what do we do to go ahead and punch it in the end
zone.
"Then I thought he was going
to get in, and then I saw the ball pop out.”
The play reminded many of us
of the North Carolina game back in 2001, when Art Brown fumbled through the
end zone after a long kick-off return. This one was perhaps even more
devastating, because it directly cost the Pirates a victory.
Now, the psyche of this team
has to be in question. Coach Holtz likes to say that last year’s team was
three plays away from an eight-win season. But none of those three plays
compares with the fumble at UAB.
“We lost a game at South
Carolina against Georgia one time,” said Holtz. “We were going for the win
on a two-point conversion. We pitched the ball, and our back had an easy
walk into the end zone, but he dropped the ball, and we lost.”
The Pirates certainly didn’t
play well enough to beat UAB on Saturday night, but they almost stole one
anyway. That’s what it comes down to each season. Good teams find a way to
win, regardless of how the team is playing.
The Pirates are still very
much a work-in-progress, a team trying to learn how to win and how to have
success. Saturday’s loss at UAB was certainly a bitter pill to swallow.
I think we’ll all look back to
see how this team handles the loss over the next couple of weeks.
Pirates finally at home
The lights at Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium will be shining brightly on Saturday night, as East Carolina hosts
Memphis in the home opener.
East Carolina is actually a
one-point favorite for the 7 p.m. kickoff.
D’Angelo Williams is now a
Panther, so that should help the Pirate cause somewhat. Memphis is 1-1 on
the season.
Despite the 0-2 record, there
seems to be a buzz around town for the first home game of the year.
“We’re very excited about
coming home and playing in front of the Pirate Nation,” said Holtz. “We have
a lot of guys who have never played in this stadium on game day, and I know
that they are certainly looking forward to it this week.”
Holtz looks forward to the
home game, but he warns that Memphis is another tough assignment on the
Pirate schedule.
“Memphis is much more balanced
then they were a year ago,” said Holtz. “Last year they were more of the
‘D’Angelo Williams Show’. They are similar to us in that they have
experience at quarterback and with their receivers, but they are young up
front. This will be another tremendous challenge for this football team.”
There’s nothing like a day of
tailgating at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Look for the Pirates to turn
the season around with a win over Memphis this week!
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04/21/2008 07:01:29 PM |
