The Slants of the Game Sunday, September 3, 2006 By Denny O'Brien

Pirates fumble golden opportunity

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ANNAPOLIS — One play shouldn't dictate the outcome of a game. But if you had to pick one in East Carolina's 28-23 loss to Navy, it occurred with 2:51 remaining in the first half.

At that stage, the Pirates were nursing a 14-7 advantage and appeared poised to extend it before intermission. But a fumble by Bobby Good not only prevented ECU from fluffing its scoreboard cushion, it put the Midshipmen behind the wheel and safely on course into port.

The result was a minimum 14-point swing and complete shift in momentum — not the ideal scenario against a Top 25 contender on the road.

"I thought the real key to this game was circled around two areas," Pirates coach Skip Holtz said. "One, when the score was 14-7 and we're trying to get in a two minute offense with three minutes to go in the half and drive down the field and at least get a field goal right before half and we fumble.

"Instead of going in at 17-7 or 14-7 at worse, we fumbled and went in at a tie game."

Against a team with an offense designed to limit possessions, the mental challenge is perhaps more overwhelming than the physical one. While the Pirates committed only one turnover, it proved to be the turning point in the game from which there was no return.

Not that East Carolina didn't have its chance to redirect the game's course. Twice the Pirates forced Navy fumbles and generated opportunities to reunite with Uncle Mo.

But by that point ECU's inexperience up front had the Pirates' fast forward offense firmly stuck on pause.

Meanwhile, Navy was finding its rhythm behind the nifty playmaking of quarterback Brian Hampton and the raw power of fullback Adam Ballard. Save for those third quarter snafus, the Middies' offense was met with little resistance for much of the night.

"Honestly, I don't know what all the stats say, but I thought our defense played pretty decent," Holtz said. "They nickeled and dimed us all day.

"They may have rushed for 9,000 yards today, but our defense gave up 21 points more or less. I would have loved to have had a field goal on that one stop, but we didn't give up many big plays. We kept the ball in front of us."

Holtz does have a point. In the end, East Carolina's defensive evaluation can't be isolated completely on statistics or the box score.

Yes, Navy rushed for 403 yards and at no time seemed winded against an ECU bunch that no doubt was more athletic. But my guess is that storyline will be a repetitive one as the season progresses.

The bigger concern in the aftermath isn't the what or the how. Instead it was the when that should emerge as the most discouraging.

Navy rushed for 118 yards in the fourth quarter, most of which occurred on a 16-play, 93-yard drive. With the emphasis East Carolina has placed on conditioning, along with the depth concerns that are attributed to youth, that isn't exactly an encouraging sign.

If East Carolina has any designs on competing for the Conference USA title and reaching a bowl, it simply must recapture the fourth quarter magic that propelled it to consecutive wins to close last year. It also can't allow a single play to dictate a game's flow.

One characteristic of a good team is its ability to respond favorably to adversity. East Carolina was presented with that opportunity against Navy, but did not take advantage.

Next week begins a pivotal two-game stretch in which the Pirates can both rebound from a disappointing loss and take a giant leap ahead of their C-USA East Division foes. Though still early, it's an opportunity ECU can't afford to fumble.

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02/23/2007 02:03:43 AM