News Nuggets, 12.26.03
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
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Compiled from staff reports
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Leach earns award in losing cause in Blue-Gray game
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
12.25.03: ECU
trio set for action in today's Blue-Gray Classic... ..
Houston seeks victory and esteem in paradise... .. Bowl
results/TV schedule for C-USA teams... ..
More... |
12.24.03: Cincinnati
looks to Buckeyes for new coach... .. Broncos' postseason
streak survives sans blue turf... .. Coach of disbanded
program gets Elon job... .. Swofford minimizes impact of
refs' mistakes... .. Bowl results/TV schedule for C-USA
teams... ..
More... |
12.23.03: Spectacular
performance punctuates Rivers' career... .. Suspensions rock
TCU on eve of bowl game... .. ACC refs botched FSU-Florida
football game... .. Bowl results/TV schedule for C-USA
teams... .. Associated Press basketball poll... ..
More... |
12.22.03: Women
Pirates hijack Wake Forest... .. ECU-bred coach's Mustangs
upend Purdue... .. Bowl results/TV schedule for C-USA
teams... .. Scholars label BCS formula unreliable... ..
More... |
12.21.03: AutoZone
replacing AXA as Liberty Bowl sponsor... .. Prominent agent
with Logan ties passes... .. Bowl results/TV schedule for
C-USA teams... .. UCLA honors its most famous coach... ..
More... |
12.20.03: NFL-bound
Roethlisberger plucks Cards in Mobile Bowl... .. New pact in
store for Houston coach... .. Bowl results/TV schedule for
C-USA teams... .. Peacock network wraps up Irish through
2010... ..
More... |
12.19.03: NFL-bound
Roethlisberger plucks Cards in Mobile Bowl... .. New pact in
store for Houston coach... .. Bowl results/TV schedule for
C-USA teams... .. Peacock network wraps up Irish through
2010... ..
More... |
12.18.03: Smith,
Berry team up again... .. Mobile matchup evokes ECU-Marshall
pairing... .. Bowl results/TV schedule for C-USA teams... ..
Pop Holtz takes charge of Gamecocks offense... ..
More... |
12.17.03: Memphis
bowl drought ends on victorious note... .. Bowl results/TV
schedule for C-USA teams... .. 2003 AP All-America football
team... ..
More... |
12.16.03: Clay
Aiken Bobble Head spices up 49ers-Pirates battle... .. Rouse
out of Herrion's doghouse... .. Bowl season kicks off with
Memphis vs. Mean Green... .. Bowl/TV schedule for C-USA
teams... .. AP basketball poll... ..
More... |
|
TROY, Ala Butchie Wallace
wrapped up his college career healthy and happy, good news for the
oft-injured and overshadowed Marshall running back.
Wallace rushed for two
fourth-quarter touchdowns, lifting the Blue squad to a 31-24 victory in the
Blue-Gray All-Star Classic on Thursday in the stadium where he broke his
right hand three months earlier.
``I'm just happy to come back
down here and get a win,'' said Wallace, injured late in Marshall's 33-24
loss at Troy State in September. ``All my bad memories here at least most
of them are wiped out. It's something I'm going to cherish forever.''
Long a Christmas Day
tradition, the Blue-Gray game was canceled last year because officials
couldn't line up a sponsor. It had been held 50 miles north in Montgomery
since 1938, matching college seniors from the North (Blue) against those
from the South (Gray).
Wallace, who played for Blue
offensive coach Bob Pruett at Marshall, was a late addition to the roster
and responded with touchdown runs of 3 and 17 yards in a 3:34 span of the
fourth quarter. His long list of injuries at Marshall included a sprained
ankle, concussion, pulled leg muscles and back problems.
The Blue squad broke a 17-all tie early in the fourth on Wallace's 3-yard
score. San Jose State quarterback Scott Rislov was 3-of-3 passing for 62
yards on the drive, including a 34-yarder to Penn State tight end Matt
Kranchik to the 3. Wallace rambled into the end zone again on the next
drive.
Rislov, who threw for 3,016
yards and only five interceptions this season, was equally efficient in the
All-Star game and earned overall MVP honors for the Blue. He was 16-of-24
for 195 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown to Nebraska-Omaha's Ryan Krause
in the second quarter.
Derrick Ward of Ottawa College
in Kansas was the Blue's offensive MVP with five catches for 59 yards and 38
yards on five rushes. Syracuse linebacker Rich Scanlon won defensive honors
with eight tackles.
The Gray's overall MVP was
Cody Spencer, a North Texas linebacker who had a game-high 13 tackles.
Defensive MVP was Alabama linebacker Derrick Pope (nine tackles), while East
Carolina's 253-pound running back, Vonta Leach, plowed in for two short
touchdowns to earn the offensive MVP award.
Leach's East Carolina teammates, defensive tackle Damane Duckett and wide
receiver Terrance Copper, also played in the game. Copper had three
receptions for 33 yards.
Blue-Gray scoring summary and
statistics
Team 1 2
3 3 Final
Blue 0 17 0 14
31
Gray 3 7 7 7
24
First Quarter:
Gray FG Scobee 37, :35.
Second Quarter:
Blue Krause 35 pass from Rislov (Azar
kick), 11:45.
Blue Croom 3 run (Azar kick), 7:20.
Blue FG Azar 28, 4:26.
Gray Leach 1 run (Scobee kick), 2:45.
Third Quarter:
Gray Leach 3 run (Scobee kick), 3:09.
Fourth Quarter:
Blue Wallace 3 run (Azar kick),
11:46.
Blue Wallace 17 run (Azar kick), 8:12.
Gray Blizzard 14 pass from McCown (Scobee kick), :23.
A 10,252.
OVERALL STATISTICS
Team
Blue Gray
First downs
20 15
Rushes-yards 39-133
32-92
Passing
300 166
Comp-Att-Int 18-31-1 20-33-1
Return Yards 94
162
Punts-Avg. 4-43.8
7-43.3
Fumbles-Lost 0-0
3-0
Penalties-Yards 5-37
7-33
Time of Possession 31:59 28:01
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING Blue: Croom 15-48, Ward 5-38,
Wallace 7-33, McGrorty 7-20, Rislov 4-(minus 5), team 1-(minus 1); Gray:
Kincade 9-44, Leach 5-28, Green 6-15, King 3-10, McCown 7-10, Kent 2-(minus
15).
PASSING Blue: Rislov 16-24-0-195,
Mitchell 2-5-0-105, Ward 0-2-1-0; Gray: McCown 15-24-0-114, Kint 5-9-1-52.
RECEIVING Blue: Ward 5-59, Johnson
3-75, Kranchick 2-39, Ghent 2-10, McGrorty 2-1, Thurman 1-49, Krause 1-35,
Young 1-35, Wallace 1-(minus 3); Gray: King 4-(minus 6), Whittaker 3-68,
Cooper 3-33, Leach 3-27, Kincade 2-5, Blizzard 1-14, Fulghum 1-8, Green 1-7,
Fletcher 1-6, Owens 1-4.:
Fisticuffs mar spine-tingling finish in Honolulu
HONOLULU Michael Brewster's 8-yard
touchdown run in the third overtime sent Hawaii to a 54-48 victory over
Houston in a Hawaii Bowl game that ended with an ugly fight at midfield
Thursday night.
Shortly after Hawaii stopped the Cougars on
fourth down in the third OT, several scuffles broke out with some players
swinging helmets at each other and throwing punches. Coaches and police
broke up the brawl after several minutes, and both teams finally headed to
their locker rooms.
It was a wild ending to a thrilling game.
Houston (7-6) took advantage of a major clock management mistake by Hawaii
(9-5) to tie it at 34 with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter. After the
Warriors blew a chance to run out the clock and missed a short field-goal
attempt, Houston's Vincent Marshall caught an 81-yard touchdown pass from
Kevin Kolb to tie it.
In the first overtime, Hawaii's Timmy Chang
completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Britton Komine, and Houston tied it
on Anthony Evans' 6-yard run.
Houston went up 48-41 in the second
overtime on a 4-yard run by Jackie Battle, but Hawaii answered with an
18-yard pass from Chang to Jason Rivers.
The Cougars nearly got the victory when
they partially blocked Hawaii's extra point, but the ball still went through
the uprights.
It was the fifth straight bowl loss for the
Cougars. Houston, making its first bowl appearance since 1996, hasn't won in
the postseason since defeating Navy in the 1980 Garden State Bowl.
Chang, selected the game's MVP, was
26-of-42 passing for 475 yards and five touchdowns after coming off the
bench. The junior moved into third place on the NCAA career passing list
with 12,814 yards.
Rivers had seven receptions for 143 yards
and three touchdowns for the Warriors. Jeremiah Cockheran added five catches
for 162 yards.
Hawaii scored 17 straight points and took a
27-20 lead on a 7-yard pass from Chang to Rivers. Chang entered early in the
second quarter when starter Jason Whieldon was shaken up on a 5-yard run. On
his first play, Chang tossed a 48-yard scoring pass to Herbert to tie it at
10.
Hawaii coach June Jones did not name his
starting quarterback until gametime, then opted for Whieldon. Chang started
11 regular-season games and threw for 3,724 yards and 24 TDs, but was
benched late in the season for ineffectiveness.
The Cougars jumped out to a 10-0 lead
before Hawaii got a first down. Kolb found Chad McCullar streaking down the
right sideline for a 34-yard touchdown on Houston's opening drive. Four
plays later, McCullar returned Hawaii's punt 60 yards, setting up Dustin
Bell's 21-yard field goal.
Houston drove 88 yards in nine plays and
scored on Jackie Battle's 2-yard plunge over the pile that gave the Cougars
a 17-10 first-half lead. The Cougars went up by 10 on their next possession
on a 35-yard field goal by Bell. Houston had a 20-13 lead at halftime.
Chang threw passes of 12 and 64 yards to
Cockheran to set up Brewster's 1-yard scoring run that tied it at 20 on the
opening series of the third quarter. The 5-play, 80-yard drive took just
1:37.
The Cougars had six sacks. The Warriors
didn't allow a sack in their last three regular-season games.
The game was played on a balmy 80-degree
Christmas Day in front of 25,551 fans, the smallest crowd at Aloha Stadium
this season.
It was the third bowl appearance in five
years for the Warriors. Hawaii lost to Tulane 36-28 last year in the
inaugural Hawaii Bowl.
Bowl results/TV schedule for C-USA teams
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16
New Orleans Bowl
Memphis 27, North Texas (Sun Belt) 17
(ESPN 2) 7:00 pm
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18
GMAC Bowl
(14) Miami (OH) (MAC) 49,
Louisville 28
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23
PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl
(16) Boise State (WAC) 34,
(19) Texas Christian 31
(ESPN) 7:30 pm
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii (WAC) 54, Houston 48 (3 OT)
(ESPN) 8:00 pm
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31
AXA Liberty Bowl
Southern Miss vs. (25) Utah (MWC)
(ESPN) 3:30 pm
All times Eastern.
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools, and from Associated Press and
other reports. Copyright 2003
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