Survivor - WVU Outlasts East Carolina
September 24, 2005 03:53 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia showed its youth and inexperience Saturday against an East Carolina team it has owned in recent years. This game was dramatically different than the last three times the Mountaineers played the Pirates, running at will and beating them by scores of 37-17, 48-7 and 56-23.
On Saturday, West Virginia (4-0) had to hold on until the final play of the game to defeat an improving ECU team 20-15. West Virginia’s offense was ineffective the entire second half and if not for an early 20-3 lead, the Mountaineers could have easily wound up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
"It was a very uninspiring win to say the least," said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. "We did not play well and that is an understatement. As much as we preach to them about staying focused it just wasn't there. But kids will be kids and it's very frustrating to play that way in front of a great crowd."
An announced crowd of 57,295 watched the home team turn the ball over four times and commit some backbreaking penalties on offense that kept the Mountaineers from scoring in the second half. Backup quarterback Pat White tossed two interceptions and Adam Bednarik threw one and fumbled once before leaving the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. Bednarik managed to return at the start of the second half.
"The quarterbacks made mistakes as if it were their first game and this is their fourth game," Rodriguez said.
Like Syracuse in the season opener, the WVU defense was presented with the tough task of defending half the field for most of the game and wound up holding the Pirates to 287 yards of offense and one late touchdown.
"It wasn't our best defensive game; we missed some tackles and we didn't have much of a pass rush, but they were a resilient group," said Rodriguez. "That's good when they are backed up and face a lot of adversity -- they fight back.
"We put our defense in some tough situations."
At the outset it looked like the Mountaineers were on their way to another laugher when an early ECU turnover set up West Virginia’s first score. Backup linebacker Marc Magro forced a James Pinkney fumble that Jeff Noechel recovered at the Pirate 44.
Four straight Pernell Williams runs netted 27 yards and on second and eight, Adam Bednarik rolled to his left and found Darius Reynaud in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown.
But a Bednarik fumble resulted in three points for East Carolina (1-2) when he coughed up the ball on a quarterback draw and it was recovered by Zach Baker at the West Virginia five. Bednarik injured his left knee on the play and missed the entire second quarter.
On third and goal from the West Virginia three, Magro sacked Pinkney for a five-yard loss forcing Robert Lee’s 25-yard field.
Later in the second quarter, Antonio Lewis electrified the crowd by taking Ryan Dougherty’s punt at the West Virginia 23 and returning it 77 yards up the near sideline behind a convoy of Mountaineer blockers. It was West Virginia’s first punt return for a TD since Pac-Man Jones returned one 76 yards last year against the Pirates in the 2004 season opener.
White engineered a pretty scoring drive late in the second quarter to put WVU up by three scores. White did so by converting two third-down plays to keep the drive alive. On third and 10 at the WVU 40, White hit Brandon Myles for 22 yards to the ECU 38. On third and five at the Pirate 33, the freshman went to Myles again on a slip screen and Myles was able elude four East Carolina defenders to get eight yards. Four plays later, Myles was on the receiving end of a 10-yard White bullet in the back of the end zone. McAfee’s conversion failed to make it 20-3, West Virginia.
ECU coach Skip Holtz chose to take points off the board right before the end of the half when Lee’s 34-yard field goal was good, but on the play Myles was flagged for leaping over the pile on the kick gave the Pirates the ball at the Mountaineer eight. Pinkney’s first pass attempt was picked off by Mike Lorello in the end zone killing the drive.
"I told our players before the game it would be close, but unfortunately, we had some mistakes and couldn't pull it out," said Holtz.
Following the ECU turnover, West Virginia gave the ball right back to them when White’s pass down the seam to Reynaud sailed wide of its mark and was intercepted by Kasey Ross, setting up the Pirates at the WVU 36. East Carolina was able to get to the West Virginia six before Lee hit his second field goal of the game from 22 yards as the first half clock expired.
West Virginia’s fourth turnover and White's second interception at the start of the third quarter set East Carolina up for Lee’s third field goal from 35 yards to trim the Mountaineers’ lead to 11, 20-9.
WVU was ineffective moving the football in the third quarter and the Pirates were finally set up to capitalize midway through the fourth when Phil Brady’s 21-yard punt went out of bounds at the Pirate 48.
Pinkney was able to work the ball down field on passes of 15 yards to Aundrae Allison and 14 yards to running back Chris Johnson. Pinkney eventually went back to Allison in the corner of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown to pull ECU to within five, 20-15.
Pinkney’s two-point conversion pass was knocked down in the end zone by West Virginia's Antonio Lewis, keeping the Mountaineers more than a field goal ahead of the Pirates
West Virginia wasn't able to move the chains on their ensuing possession, but Phil Brady got off his best punt of the game -- a 52-yarder to the East Carolina four. The Pirates took over with two timeouts and 3:53 left on the clock. West Virginia’s defense forced two Pinkney incomplete passes and that led to a Pirate punt from its own 10.
West Virginia managed one first down on a nifty Bednarik eight-yard run to burn clock and both of East Carolina remaining timeouts, but the Mountaineers second try to move the chains on fourth and one at the Pirate 38 was repelled when Williams failed to reach line of scrimmage.
Rodriguez had the choice of either having Bednarik or Brady pooch kick the ball and pin the Pirates back deep with just 23 seconds left, but instead WVU gave East Carolina the ball at the 38. A short Pinkney pass over the middle presented the Pirates an opportunity for a desperation heave at midfield, but Keilen Dykes sacked Pinkney to end the game.
"It's a win," Rodriguez said. "That's the first thing I told them after the game. It's a lesson learned. They are pretty concientiuous; they point out mistakes before we do. We are 4-0 with a young team. And they know they didn't play well."
Brandon Myles was West Virginia’s most effective offensive weapon catching six passes for 81 yards. Williams was WVU’s top ball carrier netting 55 yards on 17 carries. WVU, the nation’s seventh-ranked rushing offense entering the game, managed just 127 yards on 46 tries. The Mountaineers had only 17 first downs.
Bednarik finished 10 of 12 for 116 yards and a touchdown. White was 5 of 8 for 64 yards and a score.
Pinkney completed 20 of 33 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown for East Carolina. ECU’s top receiver Allison caught 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Johnson carried 22 times for 92 yards.
In addition to the four turnovers and the untimely penalties, true freshman kicker Pat McAfee also had a rough afternoon missing a pair of field goals and an extra point.
The Mountaineer defense came up with six sacks and forced four fumbles, recovering one. Linebacker Kevin McLee was unofficially credited with 11 tackles, two tackles for losses and a sack. Mike Lorello had 10 tackles and an interception. Marc Magro, subbing for injured Jay Henry, collected nine tackles, two tackles for losses and a pair of sacks in his first-ever start.
West Virginia faces No. 4-ranked Virginia Tech next Saturday in Morgantown.
"I'd be very disappointed if the intensity level is not at an all-time high the next week coming up," Rodriguez said.
Scoring Summary
WV – Reynaud 15 pass from Bednarik (McAfee kick)
ECU – Lee 25 FG
WV – Lewis 77 punt return (McAfee kick)
WV – Myles 10 pass from White (Conversion failed)
ECU – Lee 22 FG
ECU – Lee 35 FG
ECU – Allison 11 pass from Pinkney (Conversion failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing: ECU -- Johnson 22-92, Fractius 4-9, Moore 1-4, Tillman 3-0, Pinkney 12-minus 24, Total 42-81; WV -- Williams 17-55, Bednarik 10-22, Reynaud 1-20, Gwaltney 6-11, Schmitt 4-11, White 3-5, Colson 5-3, Total 46-127.
Passing: ECU -- Pinkney 30-33-1-204-1, Shankweiler 1-1-0-2-0, Team 0-1-0-0-0, Total 21-35-1-206-1; WV -- Bednarik 10-12-1-116-1, White 5-8-2-64-1, Total 15-20-3-180-2.
Receiving: ECU -- Allison 10-123, Johnson 7-39, Levesque 1-16, Crowell 1-13, Tillman 1-9, Roach 1-6, Total 21-206; WV -- Myles 6-81, Colson 3-35, Bailey 1-32, Reynaud 1-15, Schmitt 1-8, Hunter 1-6, Bruce 1-3, Gwaltney 1-0, Total 15-180.
Attendance: 57,295
