West Virginia Downs ECU

--See end of article for a slideshow of ECU's first home game--

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Rasheed Marshall threw a career-high four touchdown passes and Quincy Wilson rushed for 147 yards Saturday night as West Virginia beat East Carolina 48-7.

Sophomore Chris Henry had two touchdown catches for the Mountaineers (1-1), who beat the Pirates (0-2) for the 13th time in 15 meetings. Junior college transfer Kay-Jay Harris and redshirt freshman Jason Colson added rushing touchdowns for the Mountaineers.

Last year, the Mountaineers rushed for 536 yards -- the most ever allowed by the Pirates -- in a 37-17 win in Morgantown, W.Va. Wilson rushed for 198 yards in that game, but West Virginia finished with 33 passing yards.

On Saturday night, the Mountaineers attacked the Pirates through the air and on the ground. West Virginia rushed for 361 yards and finished with 555 total yards, scoring the game's first 48 points.

"I knew they'd be fired up. They were talking the whole game, even when we were up 48," Wilson said of the Pirates. "This is the kind of game you like to play in, when teams are fired up and ready to come at you."

East Carolina, meanwhile, lost three fumbles and committed five turnovers. West Virginia scored touchdowns on each of the ensuing possessions.

"We created a few turnovers. I thought that was the key," West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "We got some turnovers and when we got them it seemed we scored on them."

The Pirates didn't reach the end zone until Vonta Leach's 1-yard touchdown run with 10:35 left. It was the Pirates' first touchdown of the season. They lost 40-3 at Cincinnati on Monday.

For the second straight game, Terrance Copper was the lone bright spot for the Pirates. After an 11-catch, 106-yard effort against the Bearcats, Copper had 12 catches for 140 yards against the Mountaineers.

Things won't get any easier for East Carolina. The Pirates travel to Miami next week.

"This is something that none of us have been through," first-year Pirates coach John Thompson said. "This is something we will get through. We're going to get this right."

West Virginia took a 7-0 lead on Marshall's 37-yard TD toss to Henry late in the first quarter, and put the game out of reach with 20 second-quarter points for a 27-0 halftime lead.

Wilson rushed 16 times for 119 yards in the first half as the Mountaineers had 322 total yards. Marshall completed 10 of 16 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns.

Starting quarterback Desmond Robinson had trouble holding onto the football, fumbling three times in the first half -- including a fumbled snap on the Pirates' first offensive play. East Carolina recovered all three loose balls, but Robinson was replaced by Paul Troth with the Pirates trailing 14-0 midway through the second quarter.

Troth's first pass was tipped and intercepted by Adam Lehnortt deep in ECU territory. That set up Marshall's 17-yard scoring strike to Aaron Neal for a 21-0 lead with 5:28 left in the half.

After holding East Carolina to a three-and-out, West Virginia pushed the lead to 27 on Marshall's 30-yard TD pass to Miquelle Henderson with 2:12 left before halftime.

Robinson returned in the second half and was 21-for-26 for 194 yards and an interception for the Pirates. His completion percentage of 80.8 percent set a single-game school record.

To view the slideshow of last Saturday's game, click the link below.

 ECU Falls to West Virginia