CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — East Carolina rallied in the second half, but it wasn't enough.
Virginia added a touchdown in the fourth to seal a 35-20 victory, sending the Pirates to their third straight loss.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, won their second straight. It took them a while to warm up, but once they did, they knocked the Pirates back.
East Carolina got off to a solid start, jumping to a 6-0 lead before the Cavs warmed up.
As time expired in the first quarter, Cedric Peerman got to the corner, tight-roped down the sidelines and sprinted 79 yards to give the Cavs a 7-6 lead.
Until that home-run play, East Carolina had stolen the ball and stolen the show.
The Pirates took a 6-0 lead on two Ben Hartman field goals covering 45 and 35-yards.
Sandwiched around those two boots was a missed 51-yarder, Hartman's first failure of the year.
Jerek Hewitt's interception of a deflected pass set up the first score and J.J. Millbrook's pick near midfield gave ECU possession at Virginia's 34-yard line.
In the second, it's was all about Virginia. About five minutes into the period, Peerman struck again.
This time, the fleet back took it down the left sidelines for a 60-yard touchdown run, jacking the Cavaliers' lead to 14-6.
Building momentum and gaining confidence by the moment, Virginia scored again for a 21-6 advantage with just under six minutes left in the half when Mikell Simpson stepped into the end zone from five yards out.
Verica, sharpening his throwing accuracy, completed three straight passes on the march that was aided by a face-mask penalty against the Pirates Khalif Mitchell.
UVa wasn't finished.
With 1:27 left before the break, Verica spiraled a perfect fast to quick-striding Kevin Ogletree for a 30-yard TD pass, enabling the Cavs to gain a commanding 28-6 halftime advantage.
But East Carolina showed new life at the start of the second half, quickly notching its first TD.
It all began when Dwayne Harris retured the kickoff 59 yards to the
Virginia 41. Patrick Pinkney then marshaled a solid, 10-play drive
culminated by Jonathan Williams' TD on a on-yard option play run.
That cut UVa's lead to 28-13, but still left the Pirates doing the chasing.
Comments
Went to EC as a freshman in
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 21:26 — vegas pirate (not verified)Went to EC as a freshman in 74, graduated in 78, Pirate club member since 1979, lived outside NC since 1980,but still follow and pull for my Pirates. All I can say is, "It's hard to be a Pirate".
We seem to go out of our way to choke.
Is UVa rising?
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 20:21 — UNCAlumnusIf so, get ready because the Heels are rolling. It's been a long time since 1981, and I think the Heels are ready to right a wrong. That is all.
skip
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 19:58 — george32reminds me of daddy lou at sc. some early season success then defensive coordinators solve his schemes and it is back to mediocrity. at least he doesn't always talk about a national championship won with leftover recruits and forgets how he left notre dame in shambles. a lot of hat, just a few cattle.
????
Sun, 10/12/2008 - 10:49 — melvinfurd"a lot of hat, just a few cattle."
Yikes! What does THAT mean?
I forgot
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 19:11 — morgannyyWhich BCS bowl was it again?
arrrrrg!!
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 16:02 — Anonymous (not verified)arrrrrg!!
anybody think skip needs
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 18:26 — Anonymous (not verified)anybody think skip needs anymore raises????
Sheesh...what a joke. To
Sat, 10/11/2008 - 23:15 — BrokePirateFaninRaleigh (not verified)Sheesh...what a joke. To make matters even more funnier,I got a letter in the mail from the local Wake County chapter of the Pirate Club asking for more money to be given to help financially keep the coaches financially happy..(of coarse,after I read of his new whopping contract). Heck, Skip probably makes more now than if you added up the total income of every fan in the seats at Dowdy- Ficklin on a given Saturday. Oh yes, and what about those game parking fees going up from $10 to $20/game. Come on folks.....my wife and I pay enough to send our kid there already. Maybe the setbacks of late will level-set the minds of the Pirate-Powers-To-Be, a dose of reality so to speak, and keep everyone from the spoils of success that has already soured what would have been a great season of football. The Pirates I see play now, play with no heart,the thing it takes most to win games.