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Audio: Ruff Presser |
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  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
addressed members of
the media on Monday
in his weekly press
conference.
(Audio courtesy of
Pirate Radio 1250; file photo
by Al Myatt):
Select audio clip... |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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DE Futrell stays
close to home |
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 Rangy
Greenville (NC)
South Central
defensive end Kendal
Futrell will follow
in the path of
former teammate
Shawn Furlow and
play his college
football at East Carolina.
Futrell was also
being courted by
Clemson, N.C. State,
North Carolina, Old
Dominion and Purdue. ...
Thumbnail sketches... |
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Towson tests Pirates in opener |
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GREENVILLE � East Carolina coach
Ruffin McNeill tells his players
not to apologize for wins. The
Pirates were challenged Saturday
night in a 28-20 win over Towson
at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium but
that might have been just what
ECU needed. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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Ruff & players post-game
audio |
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  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
Saturday night after the
Pirates defeated Towson
(recorded by W.A.
Myatt):
Select audio clip... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Kevin's Keys to the Game |
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 East
Carolina will host the
Towson Tigers on Saturday
night to open the 2015
season. The Pirates went 8-5
in 2014 after starting the
season 6-1, then losing 4 of
their last 6 contests.
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More from Kevin Monroe... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Did Riley leave parting gift? |
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 Lincoln
Riley got busy when two quarterbacks
who had committed to East Carolina
for the 2014 recruiting class went
elsewhere. "When they get fidgety, I
get fidgety," Pirates coach Ruffin
McNeill said of the sequence of
events ...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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By
Brian Bailey
�2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
If East Carolina's game plan for Saturday night was to get out with a
win and head to Gainesville, then I would say, �Mission accomplished.�
The Pirates got their first look at a revamped offense and highly touted
defense in
the 28-20 win over Towson, and
reviews were mixed.
The ECU offense was workman-like all night long. New quarterback Blake
Kemp dinked and dunked his way to a very solid first outing. Senior
running back Chris Hairston rushed for a career best 154 yards and 4
touchdowns to lead the Pirate offense.
The Pirate defense struggled with the Towson offense, especially running
back Darius Victor, whom ECU coach Ruffin McNeill described as a bowling
ball with knives. Victor almost made the Tigers just that, the victor,
as he rushed for 137 yards on 28 carries.
�He�s a load,� said coach McNeill. �But, I thought we ran to the ball
extremely well. They tackled well for our first game. We had two
turnovers and we stopped them three times on fourth down, which in my
mind, that�s five turnovers. I was proud of that.�
That last stop certainly had the crowd buzzing. Towson was on the move,
needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game late. On
fourth down the Tigers went over the middle to their big tight end.
That�s when Pirate strong safety Terrell Richardson came up big.
Richardson put a huge hit on Towson�s Sam Gallahan, jarring the football
loose and preserving in the Pirate victory.
�It was the biggest hit of my career,� said Richardson smiling. �I knew
it was legal, but I was worried because I saw the officials huddling on
the side. I�m just glad we were able to win the game.�
Twos were certainly wild in the Pirates' opening night win. Both Chris
Hairston and Terrell Richardson wear No. 22 for East Carolina. Both can
wear the same number, by rule, as long as they are not on the field at
the same time. It made me want to head to the store and play 2-2-2 on
the pick three.
Story
continues after the following ad...
The Pirates were big favorites and didn�t turn the football over in game
one.
Towson played East Carolina tough, and Tigers coach Rob Ambrose said his
team took away many positives from the loss.
�You play a perennial bowl team in one of the hardest places to play in
America,� said Ambrose. �You stick with them and have a chance to win
the game in the fourth quarter. That says a lot about what these kids
can do. Now we just have to build on what we did here, get over the
loss, and keep moving forward."
The Pirates also look to move forward, heading south this week to take
on Florida down at the Swamp. Gainesville is another tough place to
play.
�I hope we can have the same type of atmosphere this week,� said first
year Gators coach Jim McElwain. �We�ve got a good team (East Carolina)
coming in here.�
�We know we�re going to play a very talented football team, the
University of Florida, with a lot of tradition,� said Coach Ruff at his
weekly news conference on Monday. �Mac�s (Jim McElwain) a good coach.
I�ve known Mac a long time. He�s got a great staff with Randy Shannon
and those guys. Then you�re playing in The Swamp.
"We�re looking forward to
preparing, knowing we�re facing a really talented football team.�
The Pirates head to Gainesville as an early 19-point underdog.
Teams usually show the most improvement from week one to week two. The
Pirates will have to be better on defense and more versatile on offense
to win this week.
The challenge is a big one, but one this Pirate team has looked forward
to since
falling to the Gators in the bowl game
back in January.
BB
The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
ECU running backs &
special teams coach Kirk Doll (right):
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guest this week was ECU
defensive coordinator Rick Smith
(right):
