THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 17, 1995 TAG: 9509170182
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENVILLE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
East Carolina still has far to go, coach Steve Logan acknowledges, before it sits comfortably among the best in Division I-A football.
``We're still building,'' he said.
But Logan said the Pirates took a couple of steps in the right direction Saturday.
First, the Pirates spanked Central Michigan, 30-17, and did so comfortably. ECU (2-1) led 30-3 late in the third quarter when Logan inserted his subs and stuck with them through two Central Michigan touchdowns.
In recent years, the Pirates have stumbled or nearly stumbled against no-name teams such as Central Florida, especially a week after playing a big-time team. But on Saturday, a week after upsetting nationally-ranked Syracuse, the Pirates weren't caught napping.
``This is the best we've played against an unheralded opponent since I've been here,'' Logan said. ``When you're building a program, a big piece of the that is not playing down to your opponent's level.''
Another piece comes in the stands, he said. A near-capacity crowd of 33,021 braved a driving rainstorm to watch ECU's home opener, and most stayed until the end or near it.
``I've been trying for years to convince ECU football fans that they won't melt when it rains,'' he said. ``Well, they got into the stadium and it rained and I didn't see any rescue squads.
``Our fans were great.''
As was tailback Jarris McPhail. The 6-foot, 198-pound junior from Clinton, N.C., rushed for a career-high 178 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown as the usually pass-happy Pirates ran over Central Michigan (1-1).
McPhail got off to a poor start, fumbling on the Central Michigan 4 on ECU's first possession after the Pirates had driven 80 yards.
However, with ECU leading, 13-3, McPhail opened the second half with a 70-yard touchdown run on a simple trap play up the middle. ``My line blew open a big hole,'' he said. ``All I saw were the goal posts.''
Four minutes later, McPhail broke free for a 35-yard run that gave the Pirates a first down on the Central Michigan 17. Three plays later, Mitchell Galloway swept the left end for three yards and a touchdown.
After Chad Holcomb made it 30-3 on a 30-yard field goal with 1:06 left in the quarter, Logan began substituting liberally. With the Pirate starters squirming on the bench, Central Michigan scored twice, including a 30-yard Jamell Jefferson interception return with 4:05 left.
Though Logan's subs kept the score relatively close, so did numerous mistakes by the starters. Three long punt returns and a long kick return were nullified by penalties, most of them illegal blocks.
Holcomb missed a field goal and the Pirates failed to score on a fake field goal. And two potential touchdown passes were nullified when wide open receivers were forced out of bounds by errant passes.
``As soon as we can teach the freshman that they can't hit in the back, our punt returns will start to count,'' Logan said in frustration.
``I'm the guy who put in the second team. It drives my assistant coaches crazy. But I have a vision of being able to put in our second team defense and have them play properly.''
That's just another step in building his program. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
East Carolina running back Scott Harley cuts ahead of Central
Michigan's Jason Gold in front of 33,021 rain-soaked fans at
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Saturday. Unlike in previous seasons, Pirates
fans stuck out most of the game, despite the weather.
``I've been trying for years to convince ECU football fans that they
won't melt when it rains,'' coach Steve Logan said. ``Well, they got
into the stadium and it rained and I didn't see any rescue squads.
Our fans were great.''
by CNB