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News Nuggets, 04.09.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Holtz laments spring game deficiencies

Senior quarterback James Pinkney hooked up with an ex-understudy for an aerial score while sophomore running back Dominique Lindsay and senior kicker Robert Lee gave solid efforts in the running and special teams games, respectively, to help propel "East Carolina" to a 23-15 win over the "Pirates" in the annual spring football game Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Pinkney completed 13-of-23 passes for 154 yards and connected with redshirt sophomore quarterback-turned-tight end Davon Drew on a nine-yard touchdown pass to open the game's scoring.

Lindsay rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown and senior kicker Robert Lee added three field goals that accounted for the final margin in the game-like scrimmage that saw both teams produce similar statistics.

The scrimmage's positives were not enough to divert attention from the negatives for second-year head coach Skip Holtz, who expressed dissatisfaction with several aspects of the performance and indicated the team has much to work on before the 2006 season.

"I think we're a long way away from where we need to be to be able to compete next year," Holtz said. "I think it's hard when you don't have all the pieces to the puzzle to be able to put it together yet but I was disappointed in a lot of things today.

"We had over 100 scrimmage reps a week ago and didn't have a bad snap and we come out here today and we throw the ball over the quarterback's head three times and probably lost 80 yards. I didn't think our quarterbacks played very well. I didn't think they were focused on their reads very well. I think across the board, youth and inexperience showed up today."

Holtz divided the team into "East Carolina" and "Pirates" squads in lieu of the traditional Purple-Gold lineups in order to foster a competitive matchup. The East Carolina unit featured the program's first offensive unit and the non-first-stringers on defense, while their opponents, the Pirates, fielded the top defensive unit and the backup players from the offensive depth chart.

The teams played to a virtual statistical draw as East Carolina picked up 261 yards and a pair of TD's while the Pirates produced 260 yards and two scores.

East Carolina used 33-, 22- and 35-yard field goals by Lee to secure the victory.

Lindsey aided Pinkney's effort by picking up 100 yards on 19 carries, an average of 5.3 yards per attempt. His two-yard scoring run with 7:29 to play in the fourth quarter extended East Carolina's existing five-point lead to 20-8. Redshirt freshman Rob Kass added an 18-yard passing performance by completing 4-of-9 throws.

Pirates redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Clay was 7-of-19 through the air and finished with 81 yards, but was picked off twice by sophomore cornerback J.J. Milbrook. Sophomore Patrick Pinkney added 10-of-17 passing for 72 yards while senior running back Brandon Fractious gained 73 yards on the ground and scored on a pair of fourth-quarter TD's of four yards and one yard.

The squads combined for four turnovers, two of which led directly to touchdowns. James Pinkney's TD toss to Drew capped a 16-play, 96-yard drive after Milbrook stepped in front of a Clay pass at the ECU four-yard line with 4:21 to play in the first quarter. Senior safety Kyle Chase picked off a James Pinkney pass at the Pirate 40-yard line early in the fourth quarter which set up Fractious's four-yard TD run which closed trimmed the deficit to 13-8 at the 11:37 mark.

The teams were whistled a combined 13 times for 114 yards.

Trailing 13-0, the Pirates tallied their first points of the afternoon on a safety when junior tackle Mark Robinson sacked James Pinkney in the end zone on a third-and-19 play at the ECU nine-yard line. After Fractious added his first score of the day to narrow the margin to five at 13-8, Lindsey ended a 10-play, 75-yard march with a two-yard scoring run to push the lead to 20-8. Fractious contributed a one-yard scoring plunge with just 5:00 left to pull the Pirates to within five again but Lee closed out the scoring and secure the victory with his longest field goal of the day, a 35-yarder, with 1:11 remaining.

The squads combined for 521 yards on 139 plays, an average of 3.7 yards per snap.

Drew posted a team-best four catches (26 yards) for East Carolina while senior Will Bland logged four catches (33 yards) to lead the Pirates.

Defensively, the junior linebacker Durwin Lamb topped all Pirates tacklers with 11 stops while senior safety Jamar Flournoy turned in nine. Junior transfer linebacker Orlando Farrow finished with a team-high nine tackles, two for lost yardage, to lead East Carolina. Sophomore defensive end Zach Slate came up with six stops and recorded the game's only fumble recovery.

"I was disappointed watching it from a fan's standpoint above, but I'm sure I'll find a lot of great individual efforts and positives out there when I watch the film," Holtz said. "Just looking at the big picture, I was hopeful that we were farther along than we are right now but maybe I put too many high hopes on players that haven't played yet for us and that's my fault. Again, we've got a long way to go and we're going to have to learn from this if we are going to play the schedule we have in the fall."

From an ECU Athletics release and staff reports

Camels announce return to the gridiron

After more than a five-decade absence, Campbell University plans to once again field a varsity football program in 2008. The Fighting Camels will compete on the NCAA Division I-AA (non-scholarship) level, according to the university's web site, gocamels.com.

University President Dr. Jerry M. Wallace made the announcement Friday afternoon in a campus-wide gathering at Turner Auditorium. Fred Taylor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Bob Barker, Chairman of Executive Committee of Board of Trustees were also present at the announcement.

“Throughout the years, a continuing request from students, alumni, and university friends has been to consider the return of football to the athletic program of the university,” said Dr. Wallace, an East Carolina alumnus. “After a very careful feasibility study, which included faculty, students, alumni, trustees, and athletic staff, the trustees have approved the addition of football to Campbell’s athletic program. Therefore, I am delighted to announce the Fighting Camels will be back on the gridiron in the fall of 2008.”

A member of the NCAA Division I ranks since 1977 and of the Atlantic Sun Conference since 1994, Campbell will compete against similar non-scholarship programs on the Division I and non-I levels. Home games will be played at a yet to be constructed on-campus site.

“This is a very exciting day to be a Fighting Camel with the return of football after an over 50-year absence,” said Director of Athletics Stan Williamson, who has been heavily involved with football programs at Georgia Southern, Houston and Nicholls State. “College football is one of the most exciting events in our country. The atmosphere that on-campus intercollegiate football brings to a campus is exhilarating. The addition of football at Campbell will certainly enhance the student life aspect of Buies Creek. Most of my professional career has included college football and I am thrilled that we have the chance to bring that excitement to Campbell University.”

According to Williamson, the decision to compete as a Division I-AA non-scholarship program allows Campbell to enjoy campus life enhancements without the financial burden tied to providing scholarships to be competitive at the scholarship level. Fellow Atlantic Sun Conference member Jacksonville University added non-scholarship football in 1998 and competes in the Pioneer Football League along with Davidson, Butler, Dayton, Drake, Morehead State, San Diego and Valparaiso. Other Division I-AA programs with similar non-scholarship philosophies are Duquesne, Iona, Marist, La Salle and St. Peter’s.

“We believe Campbell will develop a competitive non-scholarship football program and we hope to be able to compete in the Pioneer Football League as early as the 2008 football season,” said Williamson.

The search for a head football coach will begin immediately.

“We will be seeking an individual with strong leadership abilities, who will be a good fit for the mission and purpose of Campbell University. This individual will need to have a good understanding of NCAA Division I-AA non-scholarship football and a vision of bringing this football program to a solid competitive level,” Williamson said.

The school indicated it will add competitive practice and other football-related facilities on campus over the next two years.

Gonzalez to lead Pirates basketball

Bobby Gonzalez has been named the 18th head coach in Seton Hall basketball history, it was announced on Friday by Director of Athletics Joe Quinlan.

Gonzalez, 42, comes to the Pirates after a tremendous seven-year run as the head coach at Manhattan College. He led the Jaspers to four 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournaments in seven years, including finishing .500 or above in the league in each season. His record at Manhattan was 129-77, and his team won the MAAC regular season championship three times and the tournament title twice, according to shupirates.com.

“We are very excited to add Bobby Gonzalez as our head coach to an already storied basketball tradition at Seton Hall,” Quinlan said. “Our search process was very thorough and we talked with extremely talented candidates, but in the end we felt Bobby stood out as the best coach to represent the university and lead our student-athletes. He has an established presence in the metropolitan area and his teams have been perennial winners on the court. His passion and determination to succeed will generate excitement among our alumni, fans and students and give the Seton Hall community a source of great pride.”

Gonzalez is widely viewed as one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the NCAA, an intense competitor, outstanding game coach and tireless recruiter.

Manhattan went 20-11 this past year and Gonzalez was named the MAAC Coach of the Year.

The Citadel selects Conroy

The Citadel Athletics has announced that Ed Conroy will be its new head basketball coach.

Conroy, a 1989 Citadel graduate, recently completed his first season as an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina University under Buzz Peterson. He joined Coastal after spending four years on Peterson's staff at Tennessee, the last two as an assistant. Prior to being named an assistant coach, Conroy served as the director of basketball operations for the Volunteers during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons after holding the same position on Peterson's staff at Tulsa in 2000-01.

"We are very proud to announce Ed Conroy as our basketball coach at The Citadel," athletic director Les Robinson said. "Having known Ed for more than 20 years, I can attest to the fact that he represents the model of what we want our graduates to become.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:46 PM