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News Nuggets, 04.01.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

J.P., air game in high gear in ECU scrimmage

No. 1 quarterback James Pinkney was among those receiving high praise from East Carolina coach Skip Holtz after a Friday night scrimmage in which the Pirate offense produced a 406-yard, two-touchdown passing performance, the school's athletics media relations office reported.

The ECU defensive unit also had its moments, forcing five turnovers while allowing less than three yards per carry during the team's second full intra-squad scrimmage at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

"It was a long scrimmage but a good day," head coach Skip Holtz said. "We had about 125 to 130 plays scripted and we really focused on the 1s and 2s. I was really pleased with the hitting, aggressiveness and overall team attitude."

With Pinkney, a senior, engineering ECU's top unit, the offense accounted for an early pair of long sustained drives which resulted in short touchdown runs by sophomore Dominique Lindsay and senior Brandon Fractious.

"James Pinkney has taken himself to another level with his play," Holtz said. "He is really understanding the weapons that he has and has a chance to be great."

Redshirt freshman QB Brett Clay led the second unit to two more passing scores during the second half.

"There was some good balance out there between both the offense and defense," Holtz added. "Yet, we really have to eliminate the small plays that get our offense off the field and our running game needs to really improve in an overall sense."

In all, the offense completed 35 of 64 passes and churned out 569 total yards — including 163 on the ground — an average of 4.7 yards per snap. The unit was intercepted four times.

Pinkney finished the contest with 10 completions in 22 attempts for 146 yards. Clay topped all quarterbacks with 148 yards on 15-of-21 passing, including 24-yard and 11-yard TD tosses to redshirt freshman Alex Taylor and Fractious, respectively.

Sophomore Patrick Pinkney connected on 7 of 13 throws for 81 yards and redshirt freshman Rob Kass was 3 of 8 for 31 yards in a limited role.

Lindsay rushed for a game-high 68 yards on 14 carries, which included a one-yard TD run and a 20-yard jaunt late during the scrimmage. Fractious picked up 48 yards on 15 carries and scored on a 4-yard run, while James Pinkney added 24 yards on just four attempts.

Senior Derehl Staton led all receivers with six catches for 68 yards while Taylor added 61 yards on five catches. Junior Steven Rogers logged a pair of grabs for 57 yards, including a game-high 49-yarder from James Pinkney late during the first half.

Defensively, junior linebacker Fred Wilson and redshirt freshman safety Chris Mattocks were credited with 10 stops each while junior lineman Nweike Osemene added nine hits and junior linebacker Danny Muhwezi contributed eight tackles.

Senior safety Jamar Flournoy picked off a Patrick Pinkney pass in the redzone and returned it 20 yards and junior cornerback Travis Williams stepped in front of a Clay attempt at the one-yard line.

The defense recorded a total of eight tackles for loss and five sacks.

"The safeties became involved in the running game which is something we do not want to happen very often," Holtz closed.

In addition to its four interceptions, the defenders also recovered a fumble and limited the offense to just six of 23 third-down conversions.

The Pirates will complete their spring drills next week, working Monday and Wednesday afternoon before playing the annual Purple-Gold Game on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Jury awards no dough in suit against Petrino

A Jefferson Circuit Court jury didn't take long to decide in favor of University of Louisville football coach Bobby Petrino on Thursday in a suit brought against him by former player Ryan Holifield, according to a Louisville Courier-Journal report.

The 12-member jury deliberated for just an hour before awarding no damages to Holifield, who was seeking about $123,000 for a football scholarship he said Petrino promised but did not deliver.

Redick reaps AP player of the year honor

J.J. Redick, whose 3-point shooting led Duke to a No. 1 ranking for most of the season, was selected the national player of the year by the Associated Press on Friday.

The senior guard was second in the nation in scoring this season, capping a career that saw him finish as the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-time leading scorer and Division I's most prolific 3-point shooter.

Redick is the record sixth Duke player to win the award, with five winners coming since 1992. The award was first presented in 1961, according to the ACC's web site.

On Tuesday, the United States Basketball Writers Association designated Redick and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison as co-recipients of player of the year honors.

Lightning strikes Tigers twice

For the second-consecutive season, Missouri dropped a game at Southeast Missouri State on a walk-off home run.

Last year it was Ernie Bracamonte's homer in the 10th inning that gave SEMO the win. On Wednesday, Daniel Schuh connected for a one-out home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Redhawks the 3-2 victory.

The loss was the first road defeat of the season for the Tigers, who entered the game 7-0 when playing away from home. On the season, Mizzou fell to 15-9 on the season, while Southeast improved to 7-14, according to ncaa.com.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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