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Game
Day Slants
Saturday, October 19, 2013
By Denny O'Brien |
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Inglorious series finale
By
Denny O'Brien
©2013 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
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View box score and statistics on ecupirates.com
Read game recap on ecupirates.com
Read game recap on southernmiss.com
GREENVILLE – The football programs at
East Carolina and Southern Miss will forever be linked to one another.
Given their similarities and the
frequency that they played, the Pirates and Golden Eagles are permanently
woven into each other’s fabric. Though geographically separated by
considerable distance, the series between the schools is as close to an
annual rivalry either has had.
Surely ECU’s 55-14 win Saturday won’t go
down as the most memorable in the 39 games the teams have played, but you
can earmark this one as the most significant. With the Pirates set to join
the American Athletic Conference next season, this realistically could be
the last time these two meet.
Despite how easily the Pirates disposed
of the wounded Golden Eagles, it’s unfortunate the series came to a
screeching halt Saturday.
“Southern Miss, Hattiesburg, they love
their program like Pirates love our program,” Pirates Coach Ruffin McNeill
said. “We are so similar in nature. There was a real competitive nature
about us when we played, but there also was a mutual respect. I respect the
Southern Miss program.”
There have certainly been some classics
over the years, with East Carolina’s 36-34 win in 1995 in Hattiesburg
immediately coming to mind.
The fake field goal that drew pass
interference and pushed the Pirates within closer range cemented then-coach
Steve Logan’s riverboat gambler legacy and essentially propelled ECU into
the Liberty Bowl.
ECU’s 25-20 win in Greenville to close
out the 2009 season and secure the Conference USA East crown had the biggest
stakes. It also had the drama of a heavyweight bout.
The Pirates’ blowout victory Saturday
delivered nothing of the sort.
East Carolina methodically picked the
Golden Eagles apart the way a scavenger devours roadkill. It was almost as
if ECU was delivering a parting shot to a program that, until recently, had
dominated the series.
For the two-plus quarters that Pirates
quarterback Shane Carden played, he was as proficient as ever. He connected
on 30 of his 37 attempts for 308 yards, three touchdowns and another one
rushing.
Star receiver Justin Hardy snagged ten
passes for 126 yards, scored a touchdown, and added 105 more yards on punt
returns. Like Carden, he did that while spending most of the second half on
the sideline.
The ECU defense repeatedly forced three
and outs, delivered numerous neck-jarring hits and made the Southern Miss
offense look mostly helpless.
“It was very gratifying,” Carden said of
the Pirates’ performance. “It was a big emphasis for us this week, finishing
drives and getting touchdowns instead of field goals. It always feels better
when you get touchdowns instead of just leaving the kicker out there to get
field goals.
"It feels great to just get back on
track.”
As much as the Pirates needed to get back
in gear and erase the sting from last week’s loss to Tulane, there is a
somewhat sad element to the thoroughness with which they beat Southern Miss.
The Golden Eagles, now losers of 18 straight, have a history of being a
proud program that shared the same “anytime, anywhere” scheduling mantra as
ECU.
It’s one of the many ties that have bound
the Pirates and Golden Eagles.
East Carolina and Southern Miss have
cycled through coaching staffs and recruiting classes. The offensive
philosophies have undergone dramatic shifts, and both have expanded their
facilities well beyond their humble beginnings.
The one constant for both within the
ever-changing climate of college football has been the presence of the other
on the schedule.
That changes next year. Thanks to the
constant shifting within college athletics, ECU and Southern Miss
essentially said their farewells Saturday.
View box score and statistics on ecupirates.com
Read game recap on ecupirates.com
Read game recap on southernmiss.com
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10/20/2013 01:50:49 AM |
