BLACKSBURG, VA —
The late British poet laureate, Rudyard Kipling, probably would have
liked Shane Carden.
In the poem 'If' Kipling
says, "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two
impostors just the same ..."
The Captain, Carden, has
experienced both triumph and disaster in the span of two weeks on the
road against nationally-ranked teams as East Carolina quarterback.
His two interceptions in
the third quarter a week ago at South Carolina contributed to
a 33-23 loss.
Carden atoned by throwing
to Cam Worthy twice for 59 yards in gains before he ran the final yard
for the decisive touchdown with 16 seconds remaining in
a 28-21 win at No. 17 Virginia Tech
on Saturday.
Just like that, Carden went
from the outhouse to the penthouse.
"It's like Ruff (ECU coach
Ruffin McNeill) says, 'When you win, they want you to write a book,"
Carden said. "When you lose, they say you can't read one."
There were games within
games against the Hokies. Carden and ECU owned the first quarter. His
three touchdown passes staked the Pirates to a 21-0 lead.
Tight end Bryce Williams
provided a memorable moment before catching a 4-yard pass for ECU's
first score.
When a Carden bullet was
deflected skyward, Williams alertly tracked it down like an outfielder
and galloped for a 22-yard gain to the Hokies' five-yard line.
There was some deja vu for
Pirate fans who recalled that Williams had latched on to an early score
before the ECU offense went into hibernation in
a 15-10 loss to Virginia Tech in 2013.
It proved a foundless
worry. Ultimately, the Pirates were the ones who had packed their lunch
pails on Military Appreciation Day. The occasion prompted the hosts to
wear all white.
With the success the
Pirates have had in black, there was no objection.
McNeill, a movie buff, had
to like the reprise of "Men in Black."
Virginia Tech, coming off a
35-21 win at Ohio State that shocked the nation, didn't go quietly. The
Hokies pulled even at 21 with 1:20 to go on an 18-yard pass from Michael
Brewer to Cam Phillips, but they left ECU's Captain too much time.
Overtime appeared a likely
scenario for the crowd of 63,267 at Lane Stadium.
But ECU's offense shifted
its focus from running clock to heading north in a hurry on Worsham
Field.
"We figure we can move a
yard a second," McNeill said after his first win over a
nationally-ranked opponent.
When the Hokies kicked off
out of bounds after their last score, the Pirates even got a little
breathing room. With possession at its 35, ECU had 80 seconds to go 65
yards.
Catches by Worthy of 31 and
28 yards plus two substitution infractions on Virginia Tech set up a
one-yard keeper to the left side by Carden.
Much-acclaimed Virginia
Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster sought out Carden after he had
completed 23 of 47 passes for 427 yards with three touchdowns and no
interceptions.
Carden was sacked seven
times by Virginia Tech last season. He threw three interceptions.
He still had a turnover,
Carden pointed out, a fumble that Virginia Tech recovered at the
one-yard line in the second quarter after a 23-yard run following one of
two interceptions by Josh Hawkins.
"We left some points out
there," said ECU's senior passer.
McNeill embraced Carden at
the close. Foster extolled his leadership.
"I give them credit," said
the architect of the Hokies' defense. "Their quarterback played well.
We've beaten him up ... but he played a great football game today.
They've got a dynamic football team. They've got some skilled kids at
receiver and their quarterback is as good as we'll play all year. ...
The kid's a good player. ... We beat him up last year but he beat us up
today. The receivers did a great job of going up and getting the ball."
Carden was aware of
Foster's comments.
"It felt like they beat me
up again today," he said.
A sense of humor is a handy
thing for a guy whose public perception rides with the accuracy of his
right arm.
Virginia Tech, too, had to
deal with triumph and disaster.
"As good as we played last
week, we weren't very good in the back end today," Foster said.
It was a battle that
validated McNeill's belief in the Pirates' system.
"We've been talking about
commitment since day one," said the ECU alumnus. "To see it grow in
front of you is a beautiful thing to watch."
No ifs about that.
View W.A.
Myatt's
complete
gallery of
12 game day
images...
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill and
players Shane Carden,
Josh Hawkins, Cam Worthy
and Terry Williams spoke
with the press after the
Pirates defeated
Virginia Tech on
Saturday (recorded by
W.A. Myatt; file photo):
C.J.
Maybin has always like to
hit people on the football
field, even when it wasn’t
appropriate. “When I was
younger my Dad started me
off by signing me up for
flag football,’’ Maybin
recalled recently. “But it
wasn’t fun to me just
grabbing somebody’s flag. I
wanted to hit. So I
immediately started tackling
the other players. “The
other parents did not like
it. So they moved me up to
the tackle league.’’ ...
Cam
Worthy (6-3, 220)
provides the 2014
East Carolina
football offense
with a big, physical
weapon at the
outside wide
receiver position.
The Blair, SC,
native caught 19
passes for 295 yards
and two touchdowns
in the 2013 Pirate
campaign. Thus far
in his senior
season, Worthy has
five receptions for
78 yards including a
17-yard touchdown
catch last week at
South Carolina. ...
At
his weekly press conference,
ECU coach Ruffin McNeill
touched on his team's loss
at South Carolina and
discussed the Pirates'
planning and approach to
Saturday's game at Virginia
Tech (courtesy of Pirate
Radio 1250 via Brian
Bailey):
The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
East Carolina
outside linebackers
coach Duane Price
(right) and Mike
Steele: