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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, October 20, 2008
By Brian Bailey |
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A touchdown to
remember
By
Brian Bailey
©2009 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Rob Kass |
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(Photo: ECU SID) |
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Perhaps now Rob Kass has
come full circle.
Kass caught the first
touchdown pass of his
career in East
Carolina's 49-13
Homecoming roast of Rice
on Saturday.
The same guy that didn’t
get that start against
Virginia Tech two years
ago because of his DUI
is enjoying his senior
season. The same guy,
who for the most part
was relegated to the
bench last year, wanted
to play.
Play he has.
He has blocked on most
plays. Every once in a
while he gets in the mix
for Patrick Pinkney.
Saturday, he finally got
the touchdown.
The catch resulted in
much more than just
points.
“It meant a lot to me,”
said Kass with a huge
smile on his face. “But
it also meant a lot to
me when I had the lead
block on G’s (Giavanni
Ruffin’s) touchdown
run.”
Pirate coach Skip Holtz
agreed.
“Rob Kass's touchdown
catch meant a lot more
than seven points,” said
Holtz. “When he made
that catch, my heart
went out to him because
of the commitment,
sacrifices and impact he
has made on this program
during his four years
here.
"For him to jump in
there and make that
catch was great to see.”
The sideline absolutely
erupted on the play. Rob
has earned this entire
team’s respect with his
unselfishness in just
wanting to get on the
football field.
“He made a great read on
the play,” said Pinkney.
“The safety thought he
was going to keep going.
Rob just settled in and
found a spot, and I was
happy that I was able to
get him the football.”
Kass enjoyed talking
about the moment.
“I looked up and saw
that the play clock was
winding down,” said Kass.
“I just thought that Pat
had better hurry up and
get the snap. He did and
I was able to get open.
He made a nice pass.”
Odd schedule presents
test
The Pirates are off this
Saturday. In fact, the
Pirates won’t play on a
Saturday again until
November 21, when East
Carolina hosts UAB.
The Pirates will next
play on Tuesday, Oct.
27, in Memphis. Then,
it’s Virginia Tech on a
Thursday night (Nov. 5)
in Greenville before a
Sunday, Nov. 15, tilt at
Tulsa.
All three games will be
on national television.
The exposure for the
program, like the
MasterCard commercial,
is priceless.
Exposure the hard way
Skip Holtz loves to be
on a certain schedule.
Now, Coach Holtz will
never really know what
day it is. Oh, he’ll
know it’s a day, but it
won’t be the same one
that you and I are
working.
Holtz should probably
call the days of his
week as numbers, like
day 1 or day 2. ECU will
travel to Memphis on
Monday, which is Holtz’s
Friday. Game day is
Tuesday, which is
Saturday.
Still, Holtz likes the
trade-off he gets for
playing on the odd days.
"I love the exposure,”
said Holtz. “I know I
enjoy going home on
Tuesday night, eating
dinner and watching the
second half on TV. Now
that I have to go be
part of it, though, I
don't think I'm as
excited about it. I
don't like getting home
at 4 a.m. after a
Tuesday night game with
classes on Wednesday.
"There are a lot of
logistical situations it
creates for you as a
team."
It’s a challenge unlike
any other. But it’s the
price programs pay for
the national exposure
that television offers.
BB
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