ECU moves within a victory of defending C-USA title

It is often said that the numbers don't lie, but in the case of ECU's 37-21 win over Conference USA East Division opponent UAB on Saturday - they did.

The Pirates (7-4, 6-1 C-USA) were outdone by the Blazers in the big categories: total offense (520-325), first downs and time of possession. But ECU won the turnover battle and cashed in on the all-important statistic: the score.

"It was the ultimate bend don't break," ECU head coach Skip Holtz said after the game. "When you look at the stat sheet, you say how in the world do you win that football game? But when you look at what this team did, they did the things you have to do to win."

ECU put the game away on the arm of sixth-year senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney as he sealed, stamped and delivered a 59-yard touchdown pass to Darryl Freeney late in the third quarter to give the Pirates a 30-6 lead.

"Patrick Pinkney's deep ball to Darryl Freeney was huge," Holtz said. "It was a close football game at that point. It was very important."

Pinkney had possibly his best game of the season as he completed 20 of his 25 passes for 250 yards, including three touchdowns and no interceptions.

In his last two games, Pinkney has silenced his critics as he has thrown a combined five touchdown passes without an interception.

On Saturday, Pirate fans also witnessed the reemergence of playmaker Dwayne Harris, who punched his ticket to the end zone three times during the course of the contest.

Harris popped the top on the tilt as he connected with Pinkney on a 23-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the game.

The junior wideout added a 59-yard touchdown reception and turned a midfield sideline pass into a score. On the play, Freeney made two cut blocks on UAB defenders to allow Harris to head to the house.

"The corner was coming up so hard and I took him out and I realized I had some balance left so I dove and prayed I'd catch a leg or something," Freeney said. "Dwayne turned the sideline and used his speed to turn it in for six."

To top it all off, Harris answered the Blazers first touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter with a 99-yard kickoff return.

All together, Harris put together 254 all-purpose yards in ECU's victory over UAB.

"He's a special player (Dwayne Harris). We keep saying that and we got to get the ball in his hands," Holtz said. "Having Freeney step up and emerge is really helping Dwayne."

The Blazers (5-6, 4-3 C-USA) committed to stopping the running game, which proved successful as they held Pirates to only 75 yards on the ground.

Unfortunately, UAB's focus on the run allowed ECU to provide an air raid of three touchdown passes.

Offensively, UAB quarterback Joe Webb put on a show, executing his duel threat ability combining for 247 passing yards and 132 rushing.

However, Webb was unable to solely carry the Blazers to victory as the Pirates' defense kept their balance against UAB's two-pronged attack.

"They (UAB) did a great job of moving the ball on us," ECU senior free safety Van Eskridge said. "I'm proud of the guys on D for the way we just hung in there, kept on grinding and fighting."

Eskridge himself helped contain the Blazers as he nearly returned a interception for a touchdown as he picked off Webb's pass at the Pirates two-yard line and returned it 90 yards to set up a field goal for ECU just before halftime.

"I got a good break on the ball," Eskridge said. "I wish I could of got it in the end zone but I kind of ran out of gas there at the end."

The Pirates' defense truly applied the "bend don't break" mentality as they did allow 520 yards of total offense for the Blazers but forced two turnovers and held UAB to 21 points.

ECU's wounded front seven managed to apply ample pressure on Webb throughout the contest as they dropped him for four sacks during the bout.

Junior defensive lineman Josh Smith, who just returned from injury, stuck Webb twice for a loss of 12 yards.

With the victory on Saturday, the Pirates withstood the first of two final bombardments by East Division teams that look to knock ECU off the top.

"This was a single-elimination tournament and we got by round one," Holtz said. "Now we have to get ready for round two."

In second round, ECU will square off against Southern Miss (7-4, 5-2 C-USA) this Saturday in Greenville at 1:30 p.m.

The winner will move on to play for the C-USA title.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.