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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate Notebook
No. 6
Monday, September 10, 2001
By Denny O'Brien |
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©2001 Bonesville.net
Townes Earns Wings and Flies High
Marvin Townes experienced his first-ever plane ride this weekend when
East Carolina flew down to New Orleans to face Tulane in the C-USA opener.
The redshirt freshman from Warrenton did more than earn his wings on
Saturday, as he jetted his way to a record-breaking performance, returning
four kicks for 176 yards. The 44-yard average broke the ECU single-game
record of 34.5 yards per return, formerly held by Anthony Collins.
Townes' performance ignited the Pirates (1-1, 1-0), who erased the bitter
memories of a first-week loss and got a leg up on their quest for a C-USA
title.
But Townes didn't do it alone.
"The blocking was there," he said. "It's like everything was perfect. I
just ran hard - tried to get my team in good field position so that it would
be an easy drive."
Townes had the end zone on his mind during his last return, but was
shoved out of bounds following a 62-yard effort, his best of the afternoon.
"He had an angle on me," Townes said, referring to kicker Seth Marler,
who made the touchdown-saving tackle. "I was going to cut it back, but I saw
another guy in the corner of my eye."
Townes has become an instant fan favorite in Greenville due to his
flamboyance on the field. But as for his strategy, Townes takes a simplistic
approach.
"The first hole I see, it's explode – get up
field," Townes explained. "That's all my coach expresses to me like everyday
in practice. See a hole –
explode."
Judging by the way he danced around Green Wave defenders on Saturday,
there's certainly no need to complicate things.
Pirates Get Multiple
Offensive coordinator Doug Martin pulled out all the stops on Saturday,
showcasing a little bit of everything from his comprehensive playbook.
First, the Pirates gave the Green Wave a decent helping of option
football. Then, they threw it deep off play-action. After that,
quarterback-turned H-back Richard Alston got into the mix, showcasing both
his running and throwing skills on the reverse.
Just when Tulane thought it had the Pirate offense figured out, Martin
went back to the basics, calling the number of Leonard Henry, who surfed the
Wave to a 218-yard rushing day.
The Pirate offense seemingly took on a new identity with each drive,
keeping the Green Wave defense playing the guessing game for much of the
day.
"Our offense is so comprehensive – we have so
much that we're able to jump into different systems within the system,"
Martin said. "That keeps us healthy because it keeps people from keying in
on one aspect."
"Being multiple is the key to success nowadays. When you approach a
season, it's really like you have 11 one-game seasons. You need to be
different in game one than you are in game four."
There was certainly a noticeable difference in the ECU offense from game
one to game two.
60-Minute Man
So, is he a linebacker or a running back? Concerning Christshawn Gilliam,
the answer would be both.
Gilliam, who started at outside linebacker for the injured John
Williamson, was all over the place on Saturday, first scoring on a 30-yard
interception return and later paving the way for a one-yard touchdown run by
Henry.
For Logan, having a player with Gilliam's versatility is invaluable.
"Christshawn Gilliam is one of the very finest football players I've had
the chance to ever coach," he said. "He has the most innate, intuitive
understanding of any young man I've ever been around."
"He can go play outside linebacker, inside linebacker, running back. It's
absolutely incredible how quickly he can learn."
At the rate he's going, don't be surprised if the Lewiston native adds a
few more positions to his list.
"He will do what's best for the football team," Logan added.
Let's just hope he doesn't have to line up under center.
Pirates Must Stay in the Process
Logan believes in keeping an even keel.
"It's very important to stay in the process," Logan said. "I can't get
too high, and I can't get too low. "The process is where we stay. I preach
it. I believe it. I live it. That's kind of the way I approach it with the
players."
The Pirates put that theory into practice this week, overcoming a
heartbreaking loss to Wake Forest and throttling a very good offensive
Tulane team. ECU showed no after-effects from the Wake disppointment and was
clearly focused on getting that first conference win.
Now, the Pirates must deal with the other end of the spectrum
– playing after an emotional win.
Familiar Team, Somewhat Familiar Setting
Few, if any, of ECU's players were present the last time the Pirates
traveled to Syracuse - a 56-0 drubbing by the Orangemen. And though none of
East Carolina's current players are familiar with the setting of this week's
game - the Carrier Dome – they will no doubt be
reminded about the Pirates' last visit.
What the Pirates won't need, however, is an orientation on the Orangemen,
who bowed to ECU 34-17 last season in a driving rainstorm in Greenville.
The weather will be much nicer in the dome, however, and the Pirates have
grown quite accustomed to playing indoors. Excluding this season's
home opener against Wake Forest, the Syracuse game will mark the third
straight road game in a dome for the Pirates, a stretch that began with last
December's Houston Astrodome victory over Texas Tech in the
GalleryFurniture.com Bowl.
Though the Pirates have a good idea as to what to expect from Paul
Pasqualoni's team, Logan knows that winning in the Carrier Dome will be
tough.
"We've done Syracuse before," Logan said, referring to his team's
familiarity with the Orangemen. "We've certainly been beaten by Syracuse,
and we've beaten Syracuse.
"We've won in the Carrier Dome before. Is it easy? No. It's an incredible
feat to go to the Carrier Dome and win, but we've done it before."
The Pirates last win in the Carrier Dome came in 1995, when Marcus
Crandell led a second half charge to beat the Orangemen 27-24.
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02/23/2007 01:41:17 AM
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