‘| BELIEVE” [zaT mE ap a Rae ‘ajdand ut 30}-0}-peay yno paxpep spamA[MaN ‘afourutas e Sys ‘ayellg e say {jesiig euuar], 2p Aef{ :alay} aSellieul PaxTU aUO jsea] Je MES jayeyS uMmo sno ur Aeyd aM Sura} dy} JO BWIOS ayI] SNOIxouqo you *** Assep> are suey SJ ey} YUTYY am,, ‘Aes hau} ,/ajdoad ayejg epliopy dU} aX] aq 0} JURM 9MJ,, “BeSSEYRTEL, 0} aulod Aay} uayM payear} o1Aay} em ay} axl] SULT Tay} ‘aIOUr Sey jose sieak CI-0L sem aje}g eprops aIdYM are 3M YUTY} 0} OI] 9M, “‘PIeoY J JaAO PUR JOAC “pa}oxe are suey TOU], ‘soures adUarayuoOd y8no} om} usaMjeq SsopT[ng ay} Yyoyed Aay], ‘suayY UT euro yysru ysl 7 ynq ‘UOsvas STU} dasseYeT[e], Ul BUI0d 0} Ajayy you say ‘eke oyqnd ey} ur way} ynd pue Aypiqrper urerZo1d ay} aarZ [TEM yeu} aure8 auo *** UIM eyseIgeN UMO Jay} 10F SuPjoo az Aa], ‘Arsuny ai Adu, *(68, Ul [-G-¢) prodez Sutaoid -wI ue pue (sIMay [[ig) yoroo Asseyp ‘te—ndod e aaey Ady} MON ‘S0Z, Apree ay} Ul aduUelIadxe Mo ay] ‘Plely au} uo sau] Ysnol awos pey sey euTjoreD yseq ‘aw} Ul MOpUIM ke YsnoIY} suey UMO INO ye YR BuUIyOO] aI] ysoumye sem 3] “Noy, uapmog Aqqog imo ay] Yonur AraA “NO, Say VoD Alsy} jo wed sem } ‘eyURTY Ul UOTUNy tuUINTe ue puaye 0} ow payAUI euUToIeD yseq ye wediayunod Aw sJeuruns sty} jo Sutuutseq ay} yy ‘dnord auo YyIM sey WH MOUX J ‘SN YPM YoN}s sey uorjejnda yey} Je} YUTYY 0} ay] PJ jeyseigeN YyM aiaM aM se sn YM passarduml se aq 0} siayj}O payuREM aM,, ‘shes ay ,/suey seyseiqeN yl] aq 0} payuEM ay, “WIIPe}s INO 0} suLy syuauoddo aurosjam 0} weiso01d jeu -1OJ & payeytur ‘aTAuOsyDe{ WOT sate} -uasaiday ayeys & MoU ‘BUTI WI “SOF JaysNyUIOD ay} JO Sseulssep, ay} Sursteid 1aded ujooury] ay} 0} Js}9] & 3]01M uapmog Aqqog 3eu} passezdut alam sueyseigean “wumnipeys [jeqdure I] yeoq ut a1aydsowye jo puly oues || ay} ayeardaI 0} pouTUTJa}ap sasseYeTe], 0} yoeq awed drysiepee] 1ajsoog ay} pue suey asoy} yey} jORF UT SUOIs OS ‘gue ay} pepuaye OYM sUej UMO INO uO payje BuoIs e pey suey SPYseIqaN jo dirysueuis}iods ayy, ‘uoneyndai jeuoyeu e Zurystiqeysa premo} days ys S Sq Useq aaey Aeut 3] ‘ABM auo ueY} aIOUI UT puke ‘UIM JURITFIUSIS & SEM ;paatze, pey wiers01d mo yey} aouep -IAd SB PYSPIGAN JaAO AIOWIA uOSeaS repnai e payeiqeao am O8e sieak Udy, U]JOIUT] UI Aeq snot1io]*s) auO "$1ajS00g ajoulluas VIS vpUo]y ayy sof sajjazsmau AyyyuoU ay} sof qutadas v si ‘Siajsoog ajouluas ayy fo 40;Ia11p aa1jndaxa ‘sausDg alj4vYyD fq uayum ‘umnjoo suimopof ayy ©GRAPHICS 31,ING. 1990 tee 1991 EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE ORDERING FOOTBALL TICKETS Season Ticket Prices Reserved ECU Faculty/Staff Economy Plan (Block of 5 tickets) DATE OPPONENT TIME Aug. at Illinois (ESPN) ...... 4:08 p.m. Sept. MEMPHIS STATE...... 7:00 p.m. (Parents’ Weekend) ILLINOIS Sept. 21 at Central Florida ...... 7:00 p.m. Sept. 28 SOUTH CAROLINA... .1:30 p.m. (Pirate Club Weekend) Aug. 31/Champaign, lll. Oct. 5 AKRON oe 2:00 p.m. Akron (HC) sshpsiceniahethiitlngs Pittsburgh Head Coach: John Mackovic Colors: Grange and Bie iii Sel Nickname: Fighting Illini (Chamber of Commerce Weekend) Conference: Big Ten ee 2 TAME. es se. 1:30 p.m. 1990 Record: 8-4 (Hall of Fame Weekend) Primary Offense: Pro-Set Nov. 9 at Southern Mississippi 2:00 p.m. Primary Defense: 4-3 . Nov. 16 at Virginia Tech........ 1:00 p.m. Starters Returning: Offense: 6 oom st Mt CRnEEe Defense: 9 Individual Game Memphis State South Carolina A\ZINNING _ DIFFERENCE No matter what the endeavor, at Wachovia Bank we believe that to consistently outperform the competition, _ you cai never settle for anything less than your best. To Order Your Tickets... 4 All Seats Reserved ‘a { THE WACHOVIA WAY “Its more than what we do. Its how we do it.” Call: 1-800-DIAL ECU Toll Free in N.C. or (919) 757-4500 Write ECU Athletic Ticket Office TIMES ARE EASTERN AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE or Minges Coliseum HEAD COACH: BILL LEWIS Visit: Greenville, NC 27858-4353 ON THE COVER: Senior David Daniels was one of 34 Or: Stop by any Wachovia Bank finalists in 1990 for the Doak Walker National Running Office in eastern North Carolina Back Award HOME GAMES IN ALL CAPS Series vs. ECU: Illinois leads, 1-0 First Meeting: =X Oy 210) BIN Y-WAOIN AVA pte) Ain a 1991 FOOTBALL Sept. 19, 1987 in Champaign (UL, 20-10) SOUTH CAROLINA AKRON Sept. 28/ Greenville, NC Head Coach: Sparky Woods Colors: Garnet and Black Nickname: Gamecocks Conference: Independent (SEC in 1992) 1990 Record: 6-5 Primary Offense: Multiple Primary Defense: Multiple Starters Returning: Offense: 6 Defense: 6 Series vs. ECU: USC leads, 8-0 Oct. 5/Greenville, NC Head Coach: Gerry Faust Colors: Blue and Gold Nickname: Zips Conference: Independent 1990 Record: 3-7-1 Primary Offense: Multiple 1 Primary Defense: Multiple 50 Starters Returning: Offense: 3 Defense: 7 Series vs. ECU: First meeting beginning July 22. TULANE SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI Nov. 2/ Greenville, NC Head Coach: Greg Davis Colors: Green and Blue Nickname: Green Wave Conference: Independent 1990 Record: 4-7 Primary Offense: Pro Style Primary Defense: 4-3 Starters Returning: Offense: 5 Defense: 5 Series vs. ECU: First Meeting Tulane Green Wave Nov. 9/ Hattiesburg, Miss. Head Coach: Jeff Blower Colors: Black and Gold Nickname: Golden Eagles Conference: Independent 1990 Record: 8-4 Primary Offense: Pro-I Primary Defense: 50 with variation Starters Returning: Offense: 7 Defense: 7 Series vs. ECU: . USM leads, 13-3 For Tickets Call: MEMPHIS STATE CENTRAL FLORIDA Sept. 14/Greenville NC Head Coach: Chuck Stobart Colors: Blue and Gray Nickname: Tigers Conference: Independent 1990 Record: 4-6-1 Primary Offense: Pro Set Primary Defense: 50 Starters Returning: Offense: 9 Defense: 5 Series vs. ECU: ECU leads 1-0 First Meeting: Nov. 3, 1990 at Memphis (ECU, 24-17) Sept. 21/ Orlando, Fla. Head Coach: Gene McDowell Colors: Black and Gold Nickname: Knights Conference: Independent (Div. I-AA) 1990 Record: 10-4 Primary Offense: Multiple/ Pro-Set Primary Defense: Multiple Starters Returning: Offense: 2 Defense: 6 Series vs. ECU: First Meeting SPORTS SYRACUSE PITTSBURGH Oct. 12/Syracuse, NY Head Coach: Paul Pasqualoni Colors: Orange Nickname: Orangemen Conference: Big East 1990 Record: 7-4-2 Primary Offense: Pro-Option Primary Defense: 3-4, Multiple, 4-3 Starters Returning: Offense: 5 Defense: 6 Series vs. ECU: Syracuse leads, 2-0 Oct. 26/ Greenville, NC Head Coach: Paul Hackett Colors: Blue and Gold Nickname: Panthers Conference: Big East 1990 Record: 3-7-1 Primary Offense: Multiple Pro Primary Defense: Multiple 3-4 Base Starters Returning: Offense: 10 Defense: 5 Series vs. ECU: Pitt leads, 2-0 Last Meeting: Nov. 18, 1989 Pitt, 17-10 VIRGINIA TECH CINCINNATI Nov. 16/ Blacksburg, Va. Head Coach: Frank Beamer Colors: Maroon and Orange Nickname: Hokies Conference: Big East 1990 Record: 6-5 Primary Offense: Multiple Primary Defense: Wide-Iackle-Six Starters Returning: Offense: 7 Defense: 8 Series vs. ECU: Virginia Tech leads, 3-2 Last Meeting: Sept. 15, 1990 VPI, 24-23 Nov. 23/ Cincinnati, OH Head Coach: Tim Murphy Colors: Red and Black Nickname: Bearcats Conference: Independent 1990 Record: 1-10 Primary Offense: Multiple Primary Defense: Multiple 50 Starters Returning: Offense: 10 Defense: 8 Series vs. ECU: ECU leads, 5-0 Last Meeting: Oct. 20, 1990 ECU, 56-32 The 1991 football season holds a lot of promise for East Carolina University. First, Coach Bill Lewis’ squad returns 30 lettermen, of which 14 are starters. Eight starters return on the offensive side of the ball including every skill position except one wide receiver. ' Second, the Pirates will open up the 1991 season on ESPN against Illinois. The Aug. 31 national televised game is ECU’s first since a TBS contest against Miami (Fla.) in 1986. Third, ECU sports its first pre-season All-America with linebacker Robert Jones. The senior from Blackstone, Va. is a top candidate for the Butkus Award, given an- nually to the nation’s top linebacker. He is the leading returning tackler in the nation with 167 stops last season. ci ee Re For every positive, there comes some negatives. And that gives Lewis and his staff some worries entering the 1991 season. First, with a lot of the starters returning, there are none in the secondary. Only Derrick Fields has some starting experience in the secondary and he has been fighting injury problems for the last 12 months. The Pirates signed two junior college defensive backs in hopes they can fill the void. Football Coaching Staff Head Coach: Bill Lewis (East Stroudsburg State, ‘63) Assistant Coaches: Steve Logan (Tulsa, ‘75) Quarterbacks/Offensive Coordinator Steve Shankweiler (Davidson, ’75) Offensive Line/Offensive Coordinator Mike Cassity (Kentucky, ‘75) Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Cary Godette (East Carolina, ‘77) Defensive Line Dave Huxtable (Eastern Illinois, ’78) Inside Linebackers / Special Teams Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski (Wisconsin-Whitewater, 85) Tight Ends « Greg Nord (Kentucky, ’79) Runningbacks Bob Slowik (Delaware, ’76) Outside Linebackers Dale Steele (South Carolina, ’76) Wide Receivers / Recruiting Coordinator Director of Strength and Conditioning: Jeff Connors (Salem College, ’80) Director of Sports Medicine: Rod Compton (Ohio University, ‘69) Equipment Manager: Fred Sponhaltz (Anderson College, 51) Date Opponent ; Aug. % at Illinois (ESPN) Sept. 14 MEMPHIS STATE — (Parent’s Weekend) Sept. 2 at Central Florida Sept SOUTH CAROLINA (Pirate Club Weekend) etre AKRON (Homecoming) Oct. at Syracuse Oct. 26 “PITTSBURGH Nov. 2 ° TULANE (Hall of Fame Weekend) Nov. 9 at Southern Mississippi Nov. 16 at Virginia Tech Nov. 23 at Cincinnati All Times Eastern Greg Grandison will see a lot of time at strong safety after transferring from Pearl River Junior College. He began his col- legiate career at the University of Florida, where he started four games as a redshirt freshman. Aaron Harvey will also see plenty of playing time, probably at free safety. He comes to ECU from Garden City Com- munity College. Second, the schedule is another tough one. The Pirates open against Illinois and also play South Carolina, Syracuse, Pitts- burgh, Southern Mississippi and Virginia Tech. The Pirates close the season with three straight road games against Southern Miss, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati. Kw ok A solid cast of talent takes the field to handle the tough opposition. On offense, quarterback Jeff Blake returns after a banner junior season, where he broke the school record for total offensive yardage. “Jeff is still learning the position,” said Lewis, “and that is kind of scary when you think of his talents. He has put himself in (Chamber of Commerce Weekend) a position to have an outstanding senior season.” Blake is surrounded by outstanding skill players. David Daniels and Michael Rhett return at fullback while Cedric Van Buren and newcomer Charles Miles will see the bulk of the duty at tailback. Daniels was a top 35 finalist for the Doak Walker National Running Back Award and Rhett is a tough blocker and hard-nosed runner. Van Buren had an outstanding spring and has picked up a step or two. Miles is a junior college transfer who quickly became one of the Pirates’ fastest players. Luke Fisher is one of the premier tight ends in the country. His 35 catches for 534 yards demonstrate his effectiveness as a re- ceiving threat. He is also an outstanding blocker, at the line of scrimmage and downfield. He has become an important figure in the offense. If the Pirates are to succeed this season, Fisher will have to figure prominently in the offense. Dion Johnson is now a full-time wide receiver after splitting time between that spot and running back last season. Johnson SS TES EE EI SS PR LEE TSE is another burner who has deep threat potential. Hunter Gallimore will start at the other receiver spot. He is a textbook possession receiver who has great hands. Ko RE The offensive line returns four starters including Tom Scott, a 6-7, 338 pound tackle, who has the potential to be ECU’s best ever. Scott, only a junior, was a pre-season All-Independent choice by College & Pro Football Newsweekly. Keith Arnold, Nick Wilson and Mike McCalop give the Pirates plenty of ex- perience on the offensive line and sophomore Jerry Keller has a ton of poten- tial at a guard spot. % KOR One player stands out on the defensive side of the ball. For three years, Robert Jones has been a mainstay and this season, should be no different. He has made vir- tually everyone's pre-season All-America team. Jones had his best spring and should be even better than last season’s 167 tackles. Ken Burnette will start alongside Jones at inside linebacker while Tony Davis and Ernie Lewis will see plenty of playing time. Another junior college transfer, Mike Bystol, should start at one defensive tackle spot. The College of DuPage transfer quick- ly became ECU’s strongest player and that should make a big factor on the defensive front. Derek Taylor will return again at noseguard and Greg Gardill sees another season at a tackle spot. The defensive end spot is deep with Jerry Dillon and Bernard Carter getting the starting nods. Both have outstanding athlete talent and should give the Pirates a big-play defender on both sides of the ball. Stephen Braddy and Marc Washington will also see plenty of playing time at the defensive end spots. a Oe The secondary is Young. Gone are Ed Brogdon, Ernest Tynes and Richard Wright—three starters from last season. JUCO transfers Greg Grandison and Aaron Harvey will help out returning starter Chris Hall and redshirt freshman Fred Walker and Anthony Freeman will also see plenty of playing time. Other young players like Greg Floyd (Soph.), Garrett Beasley (Soph.) and Tim Marshmon (jr.) will each get a crack at starting positions. Floyd played running back last season while Beasley and Marshmon have seen limited playing time. rh taketh: canbe The special teams look as solid as any time under Lewis’ tenure. John Jett returns for his senior season. He's a solid punter who has a knack for hitting the coffin corner. His average has suffered due to his accuracy. Anthony Brenner redshirted last year, but kicked four of six field goals during his freshman season in 1989. Dion Johnson and Hunter Gallimore give ECU a threat in the kickoff and punt return department. Last season, Johnson was ninth in the nation in kickoff returns and 10th in all-purpose rushing. Against Temple, Johnson returned a kickoff and punt for touchdowns. 2 ee x The one thing that the Pirates can't af- ford to have happen is what happened last season — injuries. This is still a young team and the second and third units do not have a lot of experience. Lewis and the coaching staff would rather wait until the 1992 season to put some of his younger players in key roles. Urive . ts "Jack." armbar & [ % ” ‘TheDaily Reflector i bec oer - Sunday, September 1, 1991 By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR . CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A little celebrating too early may have cost East Carolina a chance to celebrate later. And head coach Bill Lewis would like a clear explanation. ‘‘They said we were celebrating in their bench area,” said Lewis. explaining a 15-yard unsport- smanlike penalty that helped thwart a stirring comeback that ended in a 38-31 loss to Illinois in the season-opener for both teams Saturday afternoon. “I’ve got to get an interpretation on that.” _ A new rule in college football this season, generically tabbed the “Miami Rule,” penalizes teams for taunting and overzealous celebrating. But, Lewis queried, where do you draw the line? “The nature of where that ball was recovered — I’ve never heard of people drawing lines of where you could celebrate,’ he said. “I’m not saying the officials were wrong by any means. ‘Natural exuberance and cele- brations are permitted. If a guy intercepts a ball and goes out of bounds, you’re telling me he can’t come up out of bounds and cele- brate. He could very well be in the bench area. “That’s what happened. We took possession of the ball and got Klingler sets NCAA mark in 73-3 win THE ASSOCIATED PRESS po “You play first-and-10 a heck of a lot different than you play first-and-25. Although we had used our time-outs, we still had enough clock time to do what we wanted to do.”’ Knocked out of bounds with it ... I’m going to have to look at it on the film. There could be more to it. Our kids could have been guilty of verbal taunting. I’ll look for that.” Here was the situation: East Carolina, trailing once by as much as 38-10, had just scored on an 80-yard pass from Jeff Blake to Dion Johnson to get within 38-31 with 1:56 left. —Bill Lewis The Pirates had one time-out remaining. Recovering an on-side kick was their only hope. Sophomore Anthony Brenner sent a wobbly kick toward the II- -linois bench. The ball ricocheted off the hands of two players and was grabbed by ECU’s Clayton Driver. Pirate players reacted. A penal- ty was called, backing ECU from S comeback against Illi e NFL the Illini 46 to its 41 and setting up a first-and-25. After one incompletion, Blake was dropped for a 4-yard loss. Passes of 7 yards to Driver and 8 yards to tight end Luke Fisher followed, but the Bucs were 14 yards shy of a first down. Illinois took over and killed the clock. “You play first-and-10 a heck of a lot different than you play first- and-25,” Lewis said. ‘‘Although we had used our time-outs, we still had enough clock time to do what we wanted to do.”’ Before that, Illini junior quarterback Jason Verduzco and Blake staged an incredible aerial show for a national television au- dience and a Memorial Stadium ¢ College Football — ¢ Major League Baseball , @ ‘” ; turnout of 46,313. Verduzco, with ample time to stand in the pocket and pick his receivers, threw for 352 yards — six shy of a career high. Blake, of- ten forced to scramble and sacked six times, was one yard better with 353 yards — a new ECU school record. Verduzco completed 25-of-36 passes. Three were for touchdowns. He was not in- tercepted. Blake hit on 21-of-42. He also had three for TDs. He was intercepted once. “I think it was a pretty good display of two quarterbacks throwing that thing around pretty (See PIRATES, C-12) Haarhuis upsets limping Becker Connors advances to fourth round __ By Melissa Isaacson TQ %, bd First Quarter ECU: Jeff Blake 1 run (Anthony Brenner kick), 11:30. Scoring Drive: 10 plays, 83 yards after kickoff. Time Elapsed: 3:30. Key Plays: Jeff Blake pass to Luke Fisher for 19 yards on third-and-five from the ECU 23, Blake 16 pass to Fisher, Cedric Van Buren 17 run. Score: ECU 7, II- linois 0. Illinois: Chris Richardson 32 field goal, 9:42. Scoring Drive: 5 plays, 48 yards after kickoff. Time Elapsed: 1:48. Key plays: Jason Verduzco 15-yard pass to Kameno Bell, Verduzco 31-yard pass to Gus Palma. Score: ECU 7, Illinois 3. Illinois: Elbert Turner 4 pass from Verduzco (Richardson kick), 6:27. Scoring Drive: 5 plays, 20 yards after Fimel Johnson interception. Time Elapsed: 2:50. Key Plays: Scott Turner 9-yard run on reverse, Verduzco 4-yard pass to Elbert Turner on third-and-goal from the 4 yard-line. Score: Illinois 10, ECU 3. Illinois: Ken Dilger 8 pass from Verduzco (Richardson kick), :20. Scoring Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards after punt. Time Elapsed: 2:54. Key plays: Verduzco passes of 17 and 11 yards to Elbert Turner, Verduzco 8-yard pass to Dilger for TD. Score: Illinois 17, ECU 7. Second Quarter ECU: Brenner 50-yard field goal, 10:50. Scoring Drive: 12 plays, 47 yards after kickoff. Time Elapsed: 4:30. Key Plays: Blake 12-yard pass to Clayton Driver, Blake 10-yard pass to Fisher, Blake 6-yard run on third-and-1. Score: Illinois 17, ECU 10. Illinois: Kameno Bell 55 run (Richardson kick), 2:21. Scoring Drive: 2 plays, 55 yards after punt. Time Elapsed: :20. Key Play: Bell’s 55-yard run. Score: Illinois 24, ECU 10. Third Quarter Illinois: Bell 13 run (Richardson kick), 10:41. Scoring Drive: 10 plays 66 yards after kickoff. Time Elapsed: 4:19. Key Plays: Verduzco 7-yard pass to Bell on third-and-6, 19-vard pass to Steve Feagin, 11-yard pass to Bell, 21-yard pass to John Wright, Bell’s 13-yard run. Score: Illinois 31, ECU 10. Illinois: Palma 21 pass from Verduzco (Richardson kick), 4:22. Seor- ing Drive: 5 plays, 61 yards after punt. Time Elapsed: 2:00. Key Plays: Verduzco 37-yard and 21-yard passes to Palma. Score: Illinois 38, ECU 10. ECU: Dion Johnson 40 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 3:16. Scoring Drive: 4 plays, 67 yards after kickoff. Time Elapsed: 1:06. Key Plays: 15-yard pass interference penalty, Blake’s pass to Johnson. Score: II- linois 38, ECU 17. Fourth Quarter ECU: Clayton Driver 16 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 14:48. Scor- ing Drive: 8 plays. 65 yards atter fumble recovery by Bernard Carter. Time elapsed: 1:32. Key Plavs: Blake 17-yard pass to Fisher. Junior Smith 11-yard run. Blake’s pass to Driver. Score: Illinois 38, ECU 24. ECU: Johnson 80 pass trom Blake (Brenner kick), 1:56. Scoring Drive: 1 play, 80 yards. Time Elapsed: :12 seconds, after punt. Key Play: Blake’s pass to Johnson. Score: Illinois 38, ECU 31. Pirat (Continued from C-1) effective early in the season,” Lewis said. The two teams — finding little resistance — combined to churn out 1,035 total yards. Illinois had the more effective running game, picking up 190 yards. A big chunk of that came from Kameno Bell, who rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Bell also caught five passes for 60. yards. Elbert Turner was Verduzco’s favorite target, hauling in seven passes for 78 yards and one TD. Gus Palma caught four passes for 114 yards. “Our offense made a lot of plays, especially early in the game,” Illinois head coach John Mackovic said. ‘Jason was pretty sharp and our offensive line did an excellent job.” Blake spread his passes to nine different receivers. Fisher had eight receptions for 95 yards and Johnson had five for 157. With the Illini loading up to stop the option, ECU resorted to the pass from the start. Blake went to the air the first six plays. Five were complete. “If people are going to line up and defend the option we are going to throw,” Lewis said. ‘‘They were well-prepared to stop option. The next thing we were going to go to was throwing the football.”’ But after an impressive 10-play, 83-yard drive after the opening kickoff. ECU sputtered. By then, Verduzco had_ the Fighting Illini up 38-10. Blake’s 40-yard pass to Johnson and Anthony Brenner’s PAT got the Pirates within 38-17 with 3:16 left in the third period. A fumble forced by Robert Jones and recov- The Associated Press Illinois’ Julyon Brown (60) and Dana Howard stop ECU’s Charles Miles behind the line of scrimmage . ered by Bernard Carter at the ECU 35 set up the next score — a 16-yard toss to Driver on a timing pattern in the back right corner of the end zone 12 seconds into the fourth period. The touchdown was a carbon copy of the previous play in which Hunter Gallimore was ruled out of the end zone. ECU missed two chances to inch closer when Brenner’s 37-yard field goal try was off the mark and Blake’s pass to Driver fell in- complete on a fourth-and-14 from nin i... eee the 24. ‘ But after a booming 67-yard punt by Forry Wells, Blake found Johnson on a crossing pattern near the ECU 40 and the 5-7 Speedster raced in untouched to complete an 80-yard play. After Brenner’s PAT made it 38-31, ECU recovered the on-side kick. The Fighting Illini were down 7-0 before their offense walked on the field, but scored on four ot their first five possessions in the first half to take a 24-10 lead. The Daily Reflector Sunday, September 15, 1991 Sports ‘The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis East Carolina’s Dion Johnson goes against Memphis State’s Dominic Calloway during first quarter action Johnson makes play of the game By Woody Peele THE DAILY REFLECTOR Karly in the fourth quarter, Memphis State kicked a 35-yard field goal to pull into a tie with East Carolina at 13-all. East Carolina had dominated the first quarter, but the Tigers had taken the momentum away. Over the second and third periods, Memphis State had rushed 36 times for 187 yards and connected on eight of 14 passes for 82 yards. At the same time, East Carolina had rushed just 11 times for 38 yards and hit on four of 10 passes for 114 yards, including a con- troversial 58-yarder from Jeff Blake to Hunter Gallimore at the end of the first half. But it came down to the final 12:43, and ECU needed to take command. It didn’t start out well, however: After Dion Johnson had returned the kickoff to the 37, the Pirates were hit with a five-yard pro- cedure penalty, but Johnson got that back on first down with a run. Then on second and 10 at the 39, came the play of the game. ‘It was X-19,’’ Johnson reported. “‘I switched places with Hunter and lined up on the line.”’ Jeff Blake took the snap and started to his right as if to run the option. ‘They had been jumping up on the option and their free safety had been filling an alley College Football hard (on that side). I just got it to Dion and he got the yards.” Johnson took the handoff, head- ed the other way, then got an outstanding block from tight end Luke Fisher. “I don’t know who it was, but I kind of looped on him and blind- sided him,”’ Fisher said. ‘‘He really decked him,’’ Coach Bill Lewis added. That sprang Johnson loose at the corner and he picked up blocking all the way to the Tiger 30, a 33- yard gainer. Blake later hit Johnson for 10 more for a first down at the six and a couple of plays later, Damon Wilson leaped over left tackle for the score with 7:29 left. After that, the Pirates were able to halt MSU and drive down for a field goal attempt that missed to the left with 30 seconds left. Two plays later an interception by Chris Hall ended any further hopes of the Tigers. Gallimore’s catch just before the end of the half was controver- sial. He appeared to pull the ball in while still in bounds, but juggl- ed it as he crossed the boundary. The official called it a good catch, putting the ball on the six despite MSU players’ attempts to indicate what had happened. “There’s no question it was a big play,” Lewis said. ‘I thought he got a foot down in bounds, but I didn’t know he juggled the ball.” ® College Football ¢ Major League Baseball © Outdoors Bucs follow Scott’s lead, whip Tigers By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR The reasons for East Carolina’s 20-13 college football win over Memphis State Saturday night are big and little. Big as in Tom Scott. Little as in Dion Johnson. The Pirates rode Scott, all 6-7 and 338 pounds of him, while per- sistently banging away at a vaunted Tiger defense that had given up just 20 points in two games. Then they gave the ball to Johnson, all 5-8 and 164 pounds of him, when they needed a big play. The result put a big smile on the face of head coach Bill Lewis. “I don’t know if you and our fans enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it, I really did,’ Lewis said in his postgame press conference. ‘‘That was fun to be out there coaching in that game because that to me is what football is all about.”’ What made it fun was being able to put together two long fourth- quarter drives — one to snap a 13-all tie and one to virtually run out the clock. Scott was a BIG reason for that. “Up until tonight I didn’t feel I had been as good a leader as I thought I could be,’ Scott said. (Offensive) Coach (Steve) Logan had told me we were going to pro- ve, Starting tonight, that if we want to run the ball on short yard- age that we can run behind me with confidence and get it. I wanted to prove something.” And he didn’t waste any time. When the Pirates wanted to establish something early, they went behind Scott. Four con- secutive plays on the opening possession netted 18 yards and a first down. Two passes followed. Both were incomplete. ECU punted. In the fourth period with the possession of the ball and time to kill, they went Scott’s way again. GAME 2: Memphis State at ECU aa 7 ECU pee rear Memphis st. E Yards rushing (Continued from C-1) 63-yard march. ner was able to convert again. end zone. : ! : 81, Smith 4-10, Rhett 2-6, Wilson 224 Time of possession ECU MSU a Team : fat Total first downs 20 22 Yards passing First downsrushing — 11 15 PASSING—Memphis State: 130 First downs passing © 8 «== 5s Benton 9-19-0-90, Cole 3-2-1-40; irst down p eal -12-(- Lad Thirddownefficiency 5-13 7-15 East Carolina: Blake 10-18-0-177, SEB ites Total net yards 371 354 O’Connell 1-0-0-0. Total plays 65 73 Ave. gain per play 5.7 4.8 RECEIVING—Memphis : Net yards rushing 194130 State: Bush 5-58, Jones 4-35, Kickoff return yards First downs Rushes : 46 0 Gebyciz, Bynum 1-27, Porter 63 oe me feaath eal i 177 130 1-3; East Carolina: Fisher 2-40, cae ce by Completed-attempted 10-19 12-23 Johnson 4-40, Gallimore 2-66, ea te Up eial Yards per pass play 9.3 Sit Driver 2-31. at 2 HM Sacked-yards lost 3-20 108 = 0 Had intercepted 0 : INTERCEPTIONS—Memphis Sisal Saat es hp A a tt Total plays Punts-avg. os a State: None; East Carolina: Total return yards 57 115 Hall 1-0 0 3 Punts-return yds 6 52 0 BF Kickoffs-return yds 51 63 Total return yards wif completed | | ae yds ve Ac OFFICIALS—Referee: David ee 1 10 The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis Fumbles-lost 10 3-0 Small; Line Judge, John hee P ttempted ; ‘ Time of possession 28.37 31:23 McGrath; Field Judge, Bill Et al Seal 53 eee Clayton Driver lunges to grab a Jeff Blake pass for a_ touchdown late in the first half of Saturday’s game Lange; Back Judge, Paul F119 Individual Jones; Umpire, Tommy Rose; i sist Linesman, Jay David; Side 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total @ e » e ® statis sical Judge, Grady Ray. his Stat 3 7 3 3 ] U a alns ] ers RUSHING—Memphis State: Memphis State 0 1 : Benton 12-33, Crawford 5-27, East Carolina | 3 celeron armel meen 9 rll Porter 16-86, Bosby 14-74, Jones TIME—2:50. Team stats 2. Carolina: Blake 6-9, Johnson 8- And again. And again. They drained all but 30 seconds of the 6:18 that remained when they took over. A missed field goal by Anthony Brenner kept Mem- phis State’s faint hopes alive, but Chris Hall came up with an in- terception with 16 seconds left to seal it. ‘With the way they were struc- tured defensively, there was soft spot,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘To be able to get the benefit of Tom’s big body moving at that soft spot was what we wanted. He was able to go out and get movement. We just stayed behind him.”’ If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, in other words. Johnson, seeing time both in the backfield and at wide receiver, rushed for 64 yards on eight car- ries and caught four passes for 40 yards. His 33-yard run on a reverse proved the crucial play in the winning drive. “The coaches decided they wanted to get the ball in my hands so they just utilized me in the backfield as well,’ Johnson said. Cedric Van Buren led ECU with 81 yards on 18 carries. “I thought the key was Cedric’s ability — and Michael Rhett was in there some — to find a soft spot in the defense and not just slam up in there into a bunch of bodies,” Lewis said. ‘‘We got some move- ment at the line of scrimmage.”’ A Ficklen Stadium turnout of 32,382 saw these two teams scoff at this age of high-tech offense, turn back the clock and play a lit- tle grind-it out football. Memphis State (1-2) ran the ball 50 times for 224 yards. ECU (1-1) ran it 46 times for 194 yards. The two teams combined to throw just 42 passes. ECU quarterback Jeff Blake alone threw 42 in the season-opener against Illinois. ‘“You’ve got to take the moment (See PIRATES, C-4) 64, Daniels 6-23, Van Buren 18- 3, Robinson 1-1; East ATTENDANCE—32,382. HOW THEY SCORED ECU — Brenner 29 field goal, 6:14, Ist. Scoring Drive: 1v plays, 44 yards. Time Elapsed: 4:33. Key Plays: Blake passes of 11 and 17 to Johnson. Score: ECU 3, MSU 0. _ MSU — Allison 26 field goal, 1:41, 2nd. Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards. Time Elapsed: 2:08. Key Plays: Benton 26-yard keeper. Score: ECU 3, MSU 3. ECU — Driver 19 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), :30, 2nd. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 75 yards. Time Elapsed: 1:11. Key Play: Blake 58 pass to Gallimore. Score: ECU 10, MSU 3. MSU — Bosby 3 run (Allison kick), 7:57, 3rd. Scoring Drive: 15 plays, 86 yards. Time Elapsed: 7:03. Key Plays: Benton passes of 27 to Bynum and 15 to Bush, Porter 4- yard run on fourth-and-1 from the ECU 49. Score: ECU 10, MSU 10. ECU — Brenner 39 field goal, 4:00, 3rd. Scoring Drive — 9 plays, 58 yards. Time Elapsed: 3:57. Key Plays: Blake passes of 13 yards to Driver and 25 yards to Fisher. Score: ECU 13, MSU 10. MSU — Allison 35 field goal, 12:43, 4th. Scoring Drive: 14 plays, 52 yards. Time Elapsed: 6:17. Key Play: Cole pas of 12 to Jones on third-and-9. Score: ECU 13, MSU 13. ECU — Wilson 1 run (Brenner kick), 7:49, 4th. Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards. Time Elapsed: 4:54. Key Play: Johnson 33-yard run on reverse. Score: ECU 20, Memphis State 13. and be able to adjust to it,’’ Lewis said. “I don’t know if you can say what you prefer, but as an old defensive coach you like to see a game like tonight. I love to coach in that kind of football game. “That to me is what football is all about. It came down to a jaw- to-jaw confrontation in the second half.”’ The final two quarters were a game of keep-away. The Tigers, mixing the running of Leon Bosby, Xavier Crawford and Larry Porter with just enough passes from quarterback Keith Benton to keep ECU honest, hogged the ball for 11 minutes, three seconds in the third quarter. The Pirates kept the ball more than 11 minutes in the final period. ECU was able to piece together what proved to be the winning drive in the fourth period after Memphis State tied it at 13-all with 12:45 to go. And it had to over- come two penalties in the process. Johnson’s 33-yard dash, made possible by a jarring block by Luke Fisher, keyed the 9-play, Van Buren contributed a 10-yard run and Blake connected for 10 yards to Johnson and eight yards to Hunter Gallimore. The 10-yard toss to Johnson gave ECU a first down at the six. Three plays later, Damon Wilson — on his only carry of the night — hurdled in from the one. A fumble on a reverse foiled the Tigers’ attempt to strike back. After they punted, ECU followed Scott’s lead. In a first half dominated by defense and some timely punts by ECU’s John Jett (back-to-back 55-yarders) and Memphis State’s Jeff Buffaloe (two punts inside the five), ECU broke on top on Bren- ner’s 33-yard field goal with 6:11 left in the first period. An illegal procedure penalty wiped out a 29- yarder the play before, but Bren- Memphis State tied at 3-all with just 1:41 left in the half when Joe Allison capped a 9-play, 58-yard drive with a 26-yard field goal. Allison had missed a 23-yarder on the Tigers’ previous possession. ECU drove 75 yards in just six plays to take a 10-3 lead into halftime. Blake uncorked a_58- yard bomb to Gallimore to move the ball to the six. Gallimore, sprinting down the left sideline, adjusted to the ball coming over his outside shoulder and made a spectacular grab — perhaps out of bounds but ruled good nonetheless. After being backed up 13 yards on an 8-yard sack of Blake and a penalty, ECU struck when Blake found Clayton Driver on a fade pattern in the right corner of the Driver got inside defender Chris Mitchell and fully extended to make the grab. Trailing 10-3, Memphis State took the second-half kickoff and put together an impressive 15- play, 86-yard drive — consuming 7:03 — to tie it at 10-all. Keeping the Tigers alive were a 4-yard run by Larry Porter on fourth-and-1 from the ECU 49 and a 27-yard pass from Benton to Jeff Bynum on third-and-10 from the 45. Bosby darted through a gaping hole and went in untouched from the three. Allison’s kick tied it. But ECU answered with a 58- yard drive which ended with Brenner’s 39-yard field goal. Allison hit a 35-yarder with 12:45 left in the fourth period to tie it. Blake leads big ECU win over Knights Pirates take advantage of Central Florida turnovers By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ORLANDO, Fla. — A few gifts fell in the hands of East Carolina’s football team Saturday night. And the Pirates will take them all. ““Absolutley,”” head coach Bill Lewis said after a 47-25 win over Central Florida before a turnout of 20,049 in the Florida Citrus Bowl. “During the course of the season you’ve got to take everything that comes to you.”’ What came East Carolina’s way were seven UCF turnovers. Now you know how you can give up 497 _total yards and still breathe easy. “We were able to sit back and relax and watch the game,”’ said ECU quarterback Jeff Blake, a native of nearby Samford who passed for 265 yards and two touchdowns before leaving late in the third period. The two offenses rolled up 991 total yards. Three ECU quarter- backs combined to complete 15 of 28 passes for 349 yards. The Divi- sion I-AA Knights used four quarterbacks. They completed 22 of 40 passes for 335 yards. The difference? Turnovers. UCF (2-2) gave the ball away seven times — five in the first half. ECU (2-1) had two turnovers. “It was a game of big plays,”’ Lewis said. “There were a lot of. big plays on. both sides of the ball.” ECU’s big plays came in droves: 31 yards — a pass from Blake to tight end .Luke Fisher for a touchdown. 44 yards — a pass from Michael Anderson to Hunter Gallimore. 46 yards — a run by David Daniels for a touchdown. 57 yards — a pass from Blake to Dion Johnson. 74 yards — a pass from Blake to Cedric Van Buren for a touchdown. 93 yards — a fumble return for a touchdown by Greg Floyd. Floyd’s return of a bobbled pitch to tailback Willie English made it 34-7 with 5:29 left in the half and put the Knights to rest. “It was my job to make sure they didn’t get outside,’ Floyd said. ‘‘When I saw the pitch com- ing, I tried to get in his face as soon as possible to make him turn in. “T saw the ball in the air ... it just fell in my hands and I ran as ~ hard.as I-could,”’ Floyd’s play was big. But stan- ding tallest for the ECU defense was junior free safety Greg Gran- dison. Grandison, a native of Pen-. sacola, Fla., forced three of the Knights’ five first-half turnovers. Four of the five turnovers resulted in Pirate touchdowns. The Knights started a marathon _ 28-point first quarter with a seven-play, 63-yard drive, Capped , by Ron Johnson’s 22-yard pass to Bret Cooper. Franco Grilla’s kick made it 7-0. | But ECU struck for three touchdowns before the end of the quarter and scored on five of seven first-half possessions to grab a commanding 34-7 lead. Fach of the first-quarter drives covered at least 60 yards and took less than two minutes. First, Blake tossed to Van Buren on a third-and-8 from the ECU 26. Van Buren cradled the pass around the 40. Behind him were 11 black shirts, in front of him green grass. The foot race was no con- test. Anthony Brenner’s kick tied it. Grandison came up with his first interception at the ECU 38 on UCF’s third play of the next. series. Five plays later, Daniels roared through the middle on a draw play and rambled untouched 46 yards. Brenner’s kick made it 14-7 with 8:53 still left in the first — : period. Another Grandison pickoff, followed by a 19-yard return, silenced UCF’s bid to pull even. A (See PIRATES, C-4) HOW THEY SCORED First Quarter UCF: Cooper 22 pass from Johnson (Grilla kick), 11:32. — 7 plays, 3 yards. Time Elapsed — 3:28. Key Pla Scoring Drive ys — Johnson passes of 23 to Rhodes and 14 to Alexander. Score — UCF 7, ECU 0. ECU: Van Buren 74 pass from Blake (Brenn Drive — 3 plays, 76 yards. Time Elapsed — 1:0]. Score — ECU 7, UCF’7. ECU: Daniels 46 run (Brenner kick), 8:53. Scorin yards. Time Elapsed — : 47. Key Plays — Blake 1 ECU 14, UCF 7, ECU: Daniels 5 run (Brenner kick), 4:25. Scorin Key Playa =p Gallimore, pass interference penalty on UCF on t third-and-6, Daniels’ run. Score — yards. Time Elapsed — 1 741. Score — ECU 21, UCF 7. er kick), 10:31, Scoring Key Play — see above. & Drive — 5 plays, 60 0-yard pass to Fisher on g Drive — 6 plays, 61 lake 23-yard pass to hird-and-4 from the 20. Second Quarter ECU: Fisher 31 pass from Blake (kick failed). Scorin 81 yards. Time Elapsed — 2:14. Key Plays: Blake to Fisher, 13 to Gallimore. Score — ECU 27 , UCF 7. . ra Floyd 93 fumble return (Brenner kick), 5:23. Score — ECU 34, (g: g Drive — 6 plays, passes of 18, 20 and 31 hird Quarter T ECU: Brenner 36 field goal, 12:35. Scorin Time Elapsed — 2:95. Key Play — Blak — ECU 37, UCF 7. & Drive — 7 plays, 61 yards. | € 57-yard pass to Johnson. Score Pirates win big ECU: Brenner 25 field goal, 7:12. Scoring Drive — Time Elapsed — 3:03. Key Plays — Blake 19 pass ECU 40, UCF 7. UCF — Cooper 41 pass from Johnson (Grilla kick), 4 — 10 plays, 79 yards. Time Elapsed — 3:09. Key Plays to Dickinson. Score — ECU 40, UCF 14. Fourth Quarter UCF: Grilla 40 field goal, 10:58. Scoring Drive — 7 Time Elapsed — 3:18. Key Play — English 15-yard run. UCF 17. 9 plays, 33 yards. to Johnson. Score — :08. Scoring Drive — Johnson 22 pass plays, 18 yards. Score — ECU 47, 7 (Continued from C-1) 23-yard pass from Blake to Gallimore moved the Bucs to the 26. After a third-down pass inter- ference penalty put the ball at the five, Daniels took an inside han- doff and found a seam over left | tackle. Brenner’s kick made it 21- “The Bucs pushed the lead to 28-7 | after Grandison stripped the ball from David Rhodes at the ECU 19. Six plays later, Blake hit Luke Fisher on a 31-yard scoring pass. A bad snap foiled the PAT kick at- | tempt. Brena knocked through field goals of 36 and 25 yards in the third period to extend the lead to 40-7. After two halfback passes failed, Ron Johnson hit Cooper with a 41-yard touchdown pass to get UCF within 40-14. Redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Anderson, whose first col- legiate pass was intercepted, came back on the following series to direct a 7-play, 65-yard drive. A 44-yard strike to Gallimore moved: the ball to the nine. Damon Wilson took it in from the one. © The Knights capped the scoring on a 40-yard field goal by Grilla and a 4-yard pass from Darin Hin- shaw to Cooper. UCF: Cooper 4 pass from Hinshaw (Grilla run), plays, 48 yards. Time Elapsed — 1:43. Key Pla 56. Scoring Drive — 9 yS — Hinshaw 16-yard passes to Dickinson and Cooper. Score — ECU 47, UCF 25. Team statistics Wilson 2-6, Johnson 2-5, Daniels 5. o7, Van Buren 11-40, Smith 2-29 Team ECU CFU Rhett 2-5 Total first downs 20 29 First downs rushing 5) 14 First downs passing 12 13 First down penalties 3 2 Third down efficiency 7-12 8-15 Total net yards 497 Total plays 87 Ave. gain per play , 5.8 Net yards rushing 162 Rushes 47 Net yards passing 335 Completed-attempted 19-28 40-32 Sacked-yards lost 0-0. 7-35 Had intercepted 2 6 Punts-avg. 3-43 9-39 Total return yards 124 16 Punts-return yds 0-0 1-8 Kickoffs-return yds 1-21 8-178 Interception-ret yds 6-124 8 Penalties-yds 9-41 10-88 Fumbles-lost 0-0 5-3 Time of possession 22:41 37:19 Individual Statistics . RUSHING— East Carolina: McConnell 1-2, Anderson 1-8, PASSING— East Carolina: Blake 9-17-0-265, McConnell] 4-7-]- 36, Anderson 2-4-1-4. RECEIVING— East Carolina: Johnson 2-76, Van Buren 2-79, Seekford 2-7, Gallimore 3-80, Zophy 2-28, F Isher 4-79. INTERCEPTIONS—East Carolina: Grandison 3-20, Beasley 2-11, Floyd 1-93, TACKLES: East Carolina: Fred Walker 8, Chris Hall 6, Robert Jones 6, Tony Davis 6, Greg Gran- dison 5, Garrett Beasley 5, Robert Tate 4, Ernie Lewis 3, . Derrick Fields 3. TIME—3:01, ATTENDANCE—20,049, The Daily . Reflector Sunday, September 29, 1991 East Carolina’s Fred Walker gets his hands on a pass Sports Breaking d } / Blake, Gallimore read Gamecocks like a book | By Mike Grizzard ', THE DAILY REFLECTOR ‘Jeff Blake and Hunter Gallimore were on the same page Saturday afternoon and helped East Carolina write a new chapter in what has been a_ one-sided series with South Carolina. Blake, after changing the play at the line of scrimmage, hit Gallimore with two four- th-quarter touchdowns passes to lead the Pirates toa GALLIMORE 31-20 win — the first for ECU in the nine-game Series. Blake completed 18-of-31 passes for 347 yards — just six shy.of' the school record he set against II- -jinois earlier this season —-and. matched a school record with four TD passes. He was particularly sharp in the second half, connec- ting on 10-of-14 passes for 225 yards. “Jeff kind of started out a little shaky early,’ ECU head coach Bill Lewis said. ‘‘The difference between this year and Jeff Blake last year is Jeff has learned that in a 60-minute football game, things don’t go your way all the time, even if you’re the quarter- back. He’s been able to handle that. “T’ve made a statement that people have kind of raised their eyebrows about, but there’s a dif- ference in just going out and play- _ing the quarterback position and being a quarterback. Jeff Blake is now being a quarterback. He’s do- _ing the things a quarterback has to do in big situations.” Like recognizing defenses and knowing how to adjust. Blake’s first TD pass to Gallimore came on a fade route on a second-and-6 from the South Carolina 24 and boosted the Pirates’ lead to 24-14 with 8:34 to go. A running play had been sent in from the sidelines, but Blake saw Gallimore matched one-on-one against Erik Anderson and chang- ed the play. Anderson, running stride-for- stride with Gallimore, maintained tight coverage until the goal line (See BLAKE, C-4) Re ee en or ee m u9 ¢ i { ues ee eee wae The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall intended for South Carolina’s Eddie Miller, but he couldn’t hold on for the interception The Daily Reflector /Michael Hall East Carolina senior quarterback Jeff Blake (2) eludes South Carolina linebacker Bobby Brown during Saturday’s game age nt = SOUTH CAROLINA SAT., SEPT. 28, 1991 — 1:30 PM GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE FICKLEN STADIUM NO UMBRELLAS NO CONTAINERS NO READMITTANCE NORTH 62 © Collége Football — e Major League Baseball e High School own the barriers 31-20 win ends ECU’s skid against Gamecocks By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR The goal. posts came tumbling down Saturday afternoon at Ficklen Stadium. The barriers surrounding the East Carolina football program may have gone with them. Driven by the craving for a win over a big-name opponent — and putting an end to an 0-for-8 skid against Southeastern Conference- bound South Carolina — the Pirates made a withdrawal from its bank of big plays and sent a sun-drenched turnout of 33,100 away with the sweet taste of a 31- 20 victory. Fans brought down the goalpost at the west end of the stadium shortly after head coach Bill Lewis got a victory ride on the shoulders of a few of his players. And they stayed awhile to cele- brate. “T’ve been in this game a long time and I don’t think I’ve ever been as proud of a group of players and coaches,” said Lewis, whose team is now 3-1. “‘I think we finally got to a point where we took a stand.” “This is an awfully big day for our university, our fans and cer- tainly for our, football program. I think we made history. We did something no other football team has done in the history of this school and that’s beat South Carolina.” The Gamecocks, now 1-2-1, had used the Pirates as a punching bag the last two years, rolling up 37-7 and 47-14 wins. The only other time South Carolina had waltzed into Ficklen was in 1985. By the end of that 52-10 shellacking, garnet and black was about all that was left in the stadium. With about three minutes left Saturday, they were heading for the exits. “It’s about time,’ said ECU junior defensive end Jerry Dillon, who forced one fumble and sent Gamecock quarterback Bobby Fuller for a spin on a crucial two- point conversion with the Pirates clinging to a 24-20 lead. ‘“‘We were 0-and-8 against South Carolina. Hey, I was part of three of those losses. I’m glad I was a part of this one.” So was senior All-America linebacker Robert Jones, who prowled the field like hungry tiger and finished with a season-high 19 tackles. “This game means a lot to me,”’ Jones said. ‘‘Last week when we beat Central Florida 47-25, I was happy we won but it wasn’t the same feeling after winning this game. “We wanted to go out today, play ’em hard and not let ’em get up. We had it in our minds that we could beat this bunch. Everybody (See PIRATES, C-4) Sunday, September 29, 1991 C-4 The Daily Reflector, Greenville, N.C. ECU vs SOUTH CAROLINA «Gamecocks Yards rushing Yards passing GAME 4: South Carolina atECU a | Pirates Time of possession + otal yards Kickoff return yards Punt return yards 21 Interception return yards 2 Total return yards 21 Es] 22 Penalty yards First downs aay Fay 19 Turnovers a Total plays Passes completed 30 p18 Passes attempted 47 31 South Carolina East Cares The Daily Reflector run. Score — USC 7, ECU 0. to Fisher. Score — USC 7, ECU 3. Fisher. Score — ECU 17, USC 14. 20. HOW THEY SCORED First Quarter USC: Miller 4 run (Simpson kick), 1:33. Scoring Drive — 3 plays, 10 yards after fumble recovery. Elapsed " Time — 1:19. Key Play — Miller’s Second ee ECU: Brenner 25 field goal, 12:09. Scoring Drive — 8 plays, 50 yards. Elapsed Time — 2:40. Key Plays: Van Buren ne-yard run, Blake 19-yard ECU: Driver 48 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 1:16. Scoring Drive — 2 plays, 80 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — :17. Key Plays — Daniels 32-yard run, Blake’s pass. Score — ECU 10, USC 7. Third Quarter USC: Bennett 1 run (Simpson kick), 11:28. Scoring Drive — 9 plays, 77 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 3:32. Key Plays — Blake 23-yard pass to Miller, Bennett runs of 11 and 16 yards. Score — USC 14, ECU 10. ECU: Fisher. 11 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 9:20. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 67 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 2:08. Key Plays — Johnson 13-yard run on reverse, Blake passes of 23 to Gallimore and 11 to Fourth Quarter . : ECU: Gallimore 24 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 8:34. Scoring Drive — 7 plays, 70 yards. Elapsed Time — 3:51. Key Plays — Johnson 15 yards on reverse, Williams 9 run on lateral. Score — ECU 24, USC 14. USC: Brooks 8 pass from Fuller (pass fails); 6:17. Scoring Drive — 9 plays, 62 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 2:17. Key Plays — Fuller 15-yard pass to Brooks, defensive holding penalty. Score — ECU 24, USC ECU: Gallimore 71 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 4:19. Scoring Drive — 5 plays, 98 yards. Elapsed Time — 1:58. Key Plays — Blake 11- yard pass to Williams. Score — ECU 31, South Carolina 20. Team statistics Total first downs 28 19 First downs mishing 10 6 First downs passing 14 13 First downs by penalty 4 0 3rd down conversions 8-18 2-12 Total net yards 473 501 Ave. gain per play 5.44 7.95 Net yards rushing 130 154 Rushes 40 32 Net yards passing 343 347 Completed-attempted 30-47 18-31 Sacked-yards lost . ‘3-19 0-0 Had intercepted Fe 0 Total return yards v5) 22 Intercept. ret. yds. ~- 2 Kickoff ret. yds. 74 81 Penalties-yds. 6-58 12-119 Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-1 Time of possession 35:10 24:50 Individual statistics RUSHING: USC _ Deboer 8-28, Willburn 4-26, Bennett 18-76, Fuller 5 (-9), Miller 2-7, 3-4; ECU _ Blake 6-18, Johnson 4-25, Daniels 5-38, Van Buren 11-53, Smith 4-10, Rhett 1-1, Williams 1-9. PASSING: USC _ Fuller 30-47-2, 343 yards; ECU _ Blake 18-31-0, 347 yards. USC ECU Total plays 87 63. Punts-avg. 5-37.0 8-40.0. Punt ret. yds. Ph 20 RECEIVING: USC _ Whitman 1-4 Campbell 3-35, Miller 1-23, Fuller 1-(-6), Haynes 1-9, Brooks 9-136, Pitchko 5-59, Jeter 7-75, Bennett 1-3, Deboer 1-5; ECU _ Gallimore 3-117, Johnson 3-66, Williams 4-31, Daniels 2-14, Fisher 5-71, Driver 1-48. PUNTING: USC _ Parker 5-185 (37 avg.); ECU _ Jett 8-320 (40.0 avg.). ’ FIELD GOALS: USC _ Simpson 0-2, (32, 21) ECU _ Brenner 1-1, (25). TOTAL TACKLES: USC _ Reaves 11, G. Dixon 9, Gibson 9, Watkins 6, Brown 5, Pettiford 5, Dye 1, Duke 2, Bembery 1, Brown 2, Turnipseed 1, Rumph 1, Landry 1, Cates 1, Walker 2, Greene 2, Inman 4, Anderson 3, Adams 3, Pender 3, Reid 1, Jeter 1; ECU _ Jones 19, Hall 12, Burnettee 11, Grandison 8, Gardill 7, Wright 6, Walker 6, Dillon 4, Braddy 4, Myers 1, Scott 2, Cooke 3, Carter 1, Washington 1, Lewis 2, Fields 2, Beasley 1, Floyd 2, Freeman 1, Van Buren 1, Marshmon 1, Howard 1, Harvey 1. TIME ELAPSED: 3:00 OFFICIALS: Referee David Small, line judge Joe Pipken, field judge Mike Safrit, back judge Paul Jones, umpire Andy Pressgrove, linesman Jay Davis, side judge Bill Lange ATTENDANCE: 33,100 (Continued on C-1) ; when Gallimore adjusted to the ball and made the grab. “We hadn’t run the fade all day,’ Blake said. ‘‘(Anderson) came up kind of close, about six or seven yards, so I gave Hunter the signal and he was ready.”’ “Jeff checked 0-5, which is just a fade route,’ Gallimore said. “Clayton (Driver) has caught all his touchdowns off that. I saw they were man-to-man. “T looked up and the ball was. coming. (Anderson) kept running and I had to kind of stop and go up for the ball. It was a great throw by Jeff.” Later in the period, after the Gamecocks had edged to within 24-20, the Pirates faced another second-and-6. But they were back- ed up to their 19 and trying to pro- _ tect the lead. Again a running play was ordered. But as Blake stepped behind center Keith Arnold, he saw Gallimore and Antonio Walker alone on the left side. Blake changed the play and the ECU coaches held their collective breath. ‘“‘When he raised those fingers up in the air we all said ‘Oh no,’ because we were in short yard- age,’ Lewis said. ‘“‘He made the proper check, ‘He had the confidence to make the change. He threw the ball out there and caught them in single coverage.” Gallimore ran a 6-yard hitch pattern that wound up going 71 yards for a touchdown. . “They lined up about eight or 10 yards off and Jeff checked to a pass play, which was a. 6-yard hitch,’ Gallimore said. “It was just one-on-one against the defen- sive back. I happened to get by him and then it was just a footrace.”’ After making the catch, Gallimore was able to dodge Walker then outrun Anderson. “‘T don’t know if I’ve ever seen him run that fast,’’ Lewis said. ““That’s just great communication between wide receiver and quarterback.” “T got by the first guy and I was really surprised,’’ Gallimore said. “Right then I thought I could make it to the goal line. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the free safety come over. I could see his shadow jumping and I was just hoping I could get by him. Gallimore was in a similar situ- ation two years ago in Columbia, S.C., in a game that the Gamecocks turned into a rout. He caught a 63-yarder from Darren Bynum on an end-around pass, but was dragged down at the one. This time he wasn’t going down. ‘Maybe that was in the back of my mind,” Gallimore said. “‘I didn’t want to get brought down again. I got ragged on that so long.”’ Blake also threw touchdown passes to Driver and Luke Fisher; giving him 10 touchdowns passes for the season. He has been in- tercepted just once. His 3,202 yards passing rank second on the school’s career passing list. The Daily Reflector/Michael Halll ECU’s Ronnie Williams turns the corner after one of his four catches in Saturday’s game (Continued from C-1) had the look in their eye that they wanted to go out. there and just totally destroy South Carolina.”’ It wasn’t exactly total destruc- tion. The Gamecock offense piled up — 473 totals yards. Fuller threw for 343 yards and had career highs for attempts (47) and completions (30); wide receiver Robert Brooks - had career highs for receptions (9) and reception yardage (135); and true freshman Brandon Bennett rushed for 85 yards. Plus, the Pirates repeatedly got caught for costly — and often senseless — penalties (12 for 119 yards). But ECU packed enough big plays for a season in one day. And that spelled doom for the Gamecocks. “They: played with a lot of en- thusiasm,”’ said inside linebacker Joe Reaves, who led South Carolina with 11 tackles. ‘“They are a big-play offense. They just had more big plays than we should have let them have.” Among the biggest was Jeff Blake’s 71-yard pass to Hunter Gallimore with 4:19 to go, capping ~a crucial 97-yard drive that essen- tially plucked away the Gamecocks’ final hopes. After South Carolina pulled within 24-20 on Fuller’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Brooks with 6:17 left, Dion Johnson crouched to catch the ensuing kickoff and made contact with the ground at the three. ECU was in a deep hole. Could another one slip away? Not this time. An 11-yard pass from Blake to Ronnie Williams picked up one first down. One play later, Blake hit Gallimore on a quick 6-yard hitch. Gallimore side-stepped one defender, then won a footrace to the end zone. TAKE HOME ANY SNAPPER PRODUCT TODAY AND DON'T PAY FOR IT UNTIL APRIL 1992. 10% down payment required. Subject to credit approval. If paid in full by April 1, 1992, your account will be credited for all finance and insurance charges which accrue on your purchase from date of purchase thru April 1, a inance charges will “That was crucial,’ Lewis said, ‘“‘when we were able to take the ball off of our goal line and drive it, then have our defense deny their offense on the follow-up possessions.”’ Gallimore, who had three cat- ches for 117 yards, put ECU up 24-14 earlier in the quarter when he got inside position on Erik Anderson and snared a 24-yard toss from Blake. The two tosses to Gallimore were part of a sensational second half by Blake, who threw for 347 yards and matched a school re- cord with four touchdown passes. After hitting 8-of-17 passes for 122 yards the first half, Blake con- nected on 10-of-14 passes the sec- ond half for 225 yards.., His other scoring strikes were to Clayton Driver (48 yards) and Luke Fisher (11 yards). ‘‘Their quarterback is an outstanding player,’’ South Pirates down Gamecocks: Carolina head coach spaiky? Woods said. ‘‘They gave us a dif-; ferent look than we had seen.”’ Two other momentum-shifters. came on South Carolina field goal attempts. The first came with five seconds. remaining in the first half. Marty, Simpson had a chance to pull the. Gamecocks even at 10-all, but his, 32-yard attempt was wide right. The second came late in the, third period with ECU, up 17-14; South Carolina had marched froxas its 32 to the ECU four, overcoming: third-and-8 and third- and- 21 situa-n tions, but Fred Walker darted_in. and swatted away Simpson’s ,21- yard attempt. “I thought the blocked field goal, took us out of it,’ Woods said. ‘Both teams had an opportunity to. win. “It was a ballgame determined, by big plays — the ones that they; made and the ones we wer en, fn able to make.”’ Pirate fans on the move The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall An excited East Carolina University football fan sits astride an overturned goal-line post Saturday after Pirate rooters rushed the field following a, 31-20 victory over South Carolina. It was the Pirates’ first victory over the Gamecocks in nine games. The game story is on C-1. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Big plays spell end for USC By Lisa Coston | THE DAILY REFLECTOR The scene under the northeast end» of the Ficklen Stadium bleachers late Saturday afternoon couldn’t have been more different than that taking place at the west end of the field. While East Carolina University players and fans celebrated a 31-20 victory, head coach Sparky Woods and his South Carolina Gamecocks Stood wondering what had gone wrong. ~The game was determined by big plays,’’ Woods said, his eyes barely visible under the rim of a baseball hat as he stared at a point in the distance. “Big plays that ‘they made and big plays that we didn’t make. I thought both teams, had an opportunity to win the football game.” The South Carolina coach noted the importance of turnovers. The Gamecocks, who had committed only three turnovers all season but none in their last two games, had two interceptions and one fumble Saturday. An ever bigger blow though, Woods said, came at 4:19 in the fourth quarter with the Pirates leading 24-20. The Gamecocks — having just scored and missed on the two-point conversion — pinned ECU at its 3-yard line. Five plays later, Jeff Blake found Hunter Gallimore for a 71-yard touchdown pass. “We discussed whether to go for the onsides kick or to kick it- deep,” Woods said. “We felt the chances of getting an onsides kick — well, we decided to go deep. We thought time-wise, we had a chance to stop them and get in there again.”’ The 71-yard Blake-to-Gallimore TD was on the mind of every Gamecock player. “It was all up to us,”’ said senior inside linebacker Joe Reaves, who led South Carolina with 11 tackles.“‘It was a matter of them executing and us not. That’s what defense is all about — getting someone with their backs against - the’ wall and seeing who’s toughest. The Daily Reflector, bby Fuller ECU’s Jeff Cooke (70) puts pressure on South Carolina quarterback Bo “You've got to have that at- titude, that pride, and we just didn’t do it.” Reaves’ eyes never left the ground as he talked about the meaning of the loss, which left South Carolina at 1-2-1. “It’s definitely disappointing, because it was a game we knew we had to win to have any chance to go to a ‘bowl, really,” he said. “AS a senior, it really, really hurts. We’re still making all the Same mistakes we made in the first game. “Tm very frustrated because I just don’t understand why we’re making so many mental errors.’ Senior quarterback Bobby Fuller, who passed for 343 yards, shifted from foot to foot as he ref- used to lay all the blame on the Gamecock defense. Last season, South Carolina ran up a_near- school record 626 yards in a 37-7 win over the Pirates. Two missed field goals, one of which was blocked .by Fred Walker, were a problem, he ac- knowledged. But the Gamecocks finished with 28 first downs to 19 for ECU. “We still had a chance, even after some of the big plays,”’ Fuller said in a low voice. ‘‘Our drives were stalling when we got down close and you just can’t do that.” Senior wide receiver Robert Brooks, who was listed as ques- tionable for the game earlier in the week with a strained ham- string, burned the Pirate defense for 136 yards on nine catches. He wasn’t especially happy about it. ‘‘T’d rather have the win and not catch a single ball,’”’ Brooks said. “I'd throw away 10 passes to get a win, ”’ Brooks said the key was South Carolina’s constant inability to take advantage of better field position. The Gamecocks got into ECU territory and left empty- handed four times. ‘I thought we had control of the ballgame (when we had them on the two),”’ he said. “I just can’t put my finger on it. I thought we were on track to win because we were moving the ball well. “We just can’t make the mental. mistakes, the penalties, the: turn- overs.” Brooks said he was frustrated because the offense performed fairly well. ‘‘All I can tell you is I’m part of the offense and the offense’s job is to score more points than the other team,’’ he said, shaking his head. “‘Wedidn’t doit.” Woods said there just wasn’t one problem to’ point to for South Carolina. ‘One problem is we’re not play- ing well enough defensively to de- velop any consistency offensively. The offense is seared not to score,” he said. He added all he can do is move on. “There are two directions we can go,’’ Woods said. ‘‘We can try to get better, or we can feel sorry for ourselves. Tonight we’re going to feel sorry for ourselves. but’ I hope next week we’re going to get better.’”- a The Daily Reflector, Greenville, N.C. Sunday, September 29, 1991 A homecoming | for Art Baker By Woody Peele THE DAILY REFLECTOR It was a homecoming for Art Baker Saturday afternoon in Ficklen Stadium and he saw the fruits of some of his labors for: his former team come to maturity against his present team. Baker, who was head foot-| — ball coach at | gi East Carolina from 1985 to 1988, is now the associate athletic director for marketing a and develop- KER ment and exec- utive director of the Gamecock Club for South Carolina. He was named to that position not long after his contract with ECU was not renewed and Bill Lewis was brought on as his successor. However, Baker helped recruit a number of the upperclassmen who helped bounce the Gamecocks, 31-20. Included in that group is quarterback. Jeff Blake, who and Miami. : Baker left after the season to join Bobby Bowden’s staff at: Florida State, then returned a, year later as head coach when ; Emory was fired. i But Baker was never able to! make the Pirate program turn the : corner and was released after four : years when his contract was not ; renewed. | va Now, he works mainly with the } South Carolina Gamecock Club, ! but he still spends Saturdays with : the football team — usually in the « coaches’ booth in the press box, : where he was this Saturday. “‘T help out with the coverages,”’ ; he said. ‘“That way I kind of get to ‘ keep with things. Mainly I just try ' to stay out of the way.”’ Baker admits that he still : misses coaching and, because of } that, he stays away from the prac- ; tice field most of the time. “You can’t just walk away after 34 years,” he said. “But it’s just : too painful to stay out there.”’ Still, Coach Sparky Woods; comes to him occasionally to; bounce an idea off him. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Associated Press Not this time: East Carolina’s Jeff Blake tries to urday. The Pirates, who had lost all eight previ- get around South Carolina’s Bobby Brown Sat- ous meetings with the Gamecocks, won 31-20. USC falls hard — with ECU goal posts | 7 East Carolina 31, South Carolina 20 r ; By STAN OLSON Staff Writer GREENVILLE, N.C. — For East Carolina, it was a game to be burned in brash bold letters into the Pirates’ football record book, a game to be remembered as long as_frater- nity boys hoist cold ones along Fifth Street and College Hill Drive. But for South Carolina, it was disaster, a crashing thud of Blake a loss to a team that had never beaten the Gamecocks before. And at the end of the Pirates’ 31-20 whipping of South Carolina Saturday. afternoon, ‘the fans swarmed over the goalposts in Ficklen Stadium’s west end zone and tore them down. East Carolina coach Bill Lewis probably thought that was justi- fied. “I don’t think there’s ever been as big a win at this football stadium as this one today,” he said. He might be right. East Carolina (3-1) had lost all eight previous meetings with the Gamecocks, and the only other time South Carolina came to Greenville, the Game- cocks prevailed 52-10. That was in 1985. But in this season, Lewis’s third as program-builder, East Carolina has become a good football team. Senior quarterback Jeff Blake picked South Carolina’s wounded secondary apart all day with his passes. And’ in the final minutes, with the game on the line, it was Blake who made the big plays to win it. South Carolina had just scored to make it 24-20 with six minutes 17 seconds to play. The Game- cocks appeared to get a break when kick returner Dion Johnson touched his knee to the ground while fielding the kickoff at the East Carolina 2. “We got a break,” said South Carolina linebacker Joe Reaves. “It’s a matter then of who’s tough- est, who wants it the most. You gotta have that pride and stop ’em then, and we just didn’t do it.” Instead, Blake, a superb scram- bler who was not sacked all day, completed two passes to push the Pirates out to the 29. Then came The stars: East Carolina quarter- back Jeff Blake completed 18 of 31 passes for 347 yards, four touch- downs and no interceptions. ECU wide receiver Hunter Gallimore had three receptions for 117 yards and two TDs. USC wide receiver Robert Brooks had nine catches for 136 yards, both career highs. The turning point: Blake's 71- yard scoring bomb to Gallimore to make it 31-20 with 4:17 left. The key stat: USC surrendered 501 yards of total offense, offsetting its 473-yard outburst. Quote: Brooks said, “It’s disap- pointing. We haven't gotten the job done.” Worth mentioning: South Caro- lina was without three starters in the secondary for most of the game. Strong safety Cedric Surratt (ankle sprain) was out, cornerback Jerry Inman.(broken finger) played spar- ingly and cornerback Toby Cates (strained foot) was hurt early. What’s next: South Carolina hosts East Tennessee State Satur- day; East Carolina hosts Akron. — Stan Olson South Carolina 7 0 7 6—20 East Carolina 0 0 7 #14—31 SC—Miller 4 run (Simpson kick) Drive: 3 plays, 10 yards. Key play: ECU’s Dion Johnson fumbled SC’s punt, SC’s Frank Adams recovered at the ECU 10. EC—FG Brenner 24 Drive: 8 plays, 50 yards. Key play: On third and 2 at the SC 33, Blake hit Fisher for 19 yards. EC—Driver 48 pass from Blake (Brenner kick) Drive: 2 plays, 80 yards. Key play: On first down from the ECU 20, Daniels swept right, broke 2 tackles and ripped off 32 yards. SC—Bennett 1 run (Simpson kick) Drive: 9 plays, 77 yards. Key play: On third and 8 from the SC 25, Fuller hit Miller over the middle for 23 yards. EC—Fisher 11 pass from Blake (Brenner kick) Drive: 5 plays, 67 yards. Key play: On second and 6 from SC 33, Blake hit Gallimore for 22 yards. EC—Gallimore 25 pass from Blake (Brenner kick) Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards. Key play: The touchdown. SC—Brooks 8 pass from Fuller (pass failed) Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards. Key play: On first and 10 from the ECU 38, Fuller hit Brooks for 15 yards. EC—Gallimore 71 pass from Blake (Brenner kick) Drive: 5 plays, 98 yards. Key play: On second and 9 from the ECU 3, Blake hit Williams for 12 yards. . Att.—33, 100 (at East Carolina). EC 19 32-154 Passing 347 Return yards 22 Comp-Att-int -47- 18-31-0 8-40 1-1 12-119 24:50 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—South Carolina: Bennett 18-76, DeBoer 8-28. East Carolina: Van Buren 11-53, Daniels 5-38. PASSING—South Carolina: Fuller 30-47-2-343, East Carolina: Blake, 18-3 1-0-347. RECEIVING—South Carolina: Brooks 9-136, Jeter 7-75, Pitchko 5-59. East Carolina: Gailimore 3-117, Fisher 5-71, Johnson 3-66, Driver 1-48. the crusher. Hunter Gallimore ran an out pattern toward the left sideline. South Carolina’s Antonio Walker, playing because left cornerback Toby Cates was injured, bought Gallimore’s inside fake and com- mitted. Gallimore spun outside and went 71 yards for the score. “| broke up on him too fast, and my momentum carried me _for- ward,’ said Walker. ‘‘He gave mea little twist and went under me.”’ It was a big play — the last big play — in a game in which a glum South Carolina coach Sparky Woods said, “It was a ball game determined by big plays; ones they made and ones we didn’t make.” The teams started slowly, but Blake found Clayton Driver for a 48-yard score to lift the Pirates into a 10-7 lead with 1:16 left in the first half. Gamecocks quarterback Bobby Fuller then drove his team into scoring position, but Marty Simpson missed a 32-yard field goal as time expired. That set the tone for the second half. The Gamecocks moved almost at will between the 20s, but bogged down near the end zone. South Carolina scored on its first possession of the second half, but after the Pirates scored to take a 17-14 lead, the Gamecocks wasted a 64-yard drive when Simpson had his field-goal attempt blocked by Fred Walker. Woods called that a turning point. From then on, whenever Blake needed a pass completion, he got it against a Gamecocks secondary playing without three injured start- ers. And all the while, Blake was leaving South Carolina’s. rushers clutching air. The Gamecocks are now 1-2-1, after starting the season with hopes of a winning season. “TI don’t think anyone ever expected us at this point to be 1-2-1,” said Fuller. “We came in with real high hopes and now we have one win going into our fifth game. “That’s just not the way it should be.” By STAN OLSON Staff Writer Respect, bowl East Carolina goals quarterback named Jeff Blake. Saturday, he threw ° for 347 yards and four touchdowns. He wasn’t ‘He stops in to ask what I think GREENVILLE, S.C. — East Carolina coach Bill intercepted and he wasn’t sacked. Lewis saw his team’s 31-20 victory over South “I’ve been here four years and South Carolina Carolina Saturday as proof positive that his has kicked our butts every time,” Blake said. ‘‘This program has finally arrived. year, we had our heads on straight.” threw a school record-tying four about this or that,” Baker said. ' touchdown passes for 347 yards, “But I stay away. I’d be lying if I : just six yards off the school record gaid I didn’t miss coaching.” ; he set earlier this year against II- linois. “Y’m very proud of the way these guys played today,’’ Baker said after the game. “‘They played a great football game and were very well coached. “But obviously I take some pride in knowing that we were for- tunate enough to have recruited some of these players here. We promised them the chance to play and the opportunity to graduate and I think they’re doing just that.”’ Baker said that he knew just how important the win was for the Pirate program. As offensive coordinator in 1983, Baker was a key man when Ed Emory’s Pirates went 8-3 and finished the season. nationally ranked — but were overlooked by the bowls. That year, the Pirates lost only to Florida, Florida State South Carolina has been going ; through a lot of problems recently + in its athletic program — a steroid ; scandal, the death of the former head football coach, the firing of | their basketball coach — but * Baker feels things are on the : upswing. ‘They just have to give us a lit- tle time,’’ he said. ‘I think people | are beginning to realize you can’t ‘ do things in just a couple of years any more. It takes five or six or seven years.”’ Returning to the day’s happen- ings, Baker said he is very happy ! for East Carolina. “This will be a boost to their : program,’ he said. ‘“‘The new | (Sports Medicine) building is a big | plus. They have a more realistic schedule. “Tm just glad I was able to make a contribution.’’ na’s.”’ an average score of 36-10. “We're breaking through a barrier,’’ an elated Lewis said almost before the echoes of the Ficklen Stadium cheers had died away. “This does so much for us from a recognition standpoint; having people recognize us as a good program. “When I got here, I thought that we could move in this direction, and we have. This shows that we go can be identified with programs like South Caroli- In the past, the Pirates had been identified only as the Gamecocks’ cannon fodder. They had lost all eight previous games between the schools, by But this Pirates team is considerably better than that, in large part because of a strong-armed senior But Blake believes there is still much to be done. “Our goal is to get to a bowl game,” he said. ‘But we could go 9-2 and still not get a bow! bid. ECU and ECU quarterbacks never get a break. This won't do anything for our status other than get us some recognition. We've still got a long ways to Saturday was a big step. Lewis knows it. “We took a stand for what we believe in,”’ he said. “This is an awfully big day for our university, our fans and our football team.” The scoreboard operator apparently under- stood. Two hours after the game, even though not a soul remained in Ficklen Stadium, the score- board still read “PIRATES 31, GAMECOCKS 20.”’ | The he Daily : Reflector ‘Sunday, October 6, 1991 ¥ Wolfp ack offense comes through - KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS RALEIGH — Sooner or later, N.C. State knew it would be forced to win a football game with its of- fense. * But for so much of Saturday afternoon, it seemed so improba- ble against Georgia Tech. First downs had been precious and of- fensive touchdowns had been rumors. Having already produced its weekly portion of defensive wizar- dry, the Wolfpack put together a grinding 74-yard touchdown drive in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter to defeat the Yellow Jackets 28-21 in an ACC football game in Carter-Finley Stadium. : Freshman quarterback Geoff Bender, making the first start of his college career, slipped around left end for a 2-yard touchdown run with two minutes 43 seconds . ah for the deciding score, capping a victory that changed the com- plexion of N.C. State’s season. “This says a lot,’”’ said Wolfpack linebacker Tyler Lawrence. ’-The win pushed the Wolfpack to 5-0-overall and 3-0 in the league. With next week off followed by a non-conference game against Marshall Oct. 19, it’s hard not to look toward the Wolfpack’ Ss Oct. 26 date in Clemson’s Death Valley as the possible ACC title game. ’ That was too far ahead for the Wolfpack to allow itself to look this early in October. There was too much to savor about beating the defending national champion and the way N.C. State did it. - “This was the most adversity ‘we've faced all year,” said N.C, State coach Dick Sheridan. ‘‘We still have a long way to go but to ‘beat this team is a big step for be] us. When N.C. State took possession at its 26 with 9:11 remaining, there wasn’t much reason to expect the — offense to suddenly come to life. Other than its second drive of the game when it marched 71 yards | for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead, the Wolfpack offense had virtually disappeared against Georgia Teeh’s swarming defense. ‘N.C. State had gotten the bulk of | its-points from — surprise — its defense. Lawrence had gone 32 yards with an interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter for a 13-0 Wolfpack lead. ‘In the third quarter, Ricky Turner snatched a Georgia Tech fumble out of a pile of players and bolted 26 yards for another touch- down. It was the third time in two weeks the Pack had cashed in a turnover. “Even though Georgia Tech seored some points on us, this was “st (See WOLFPACK, C-2) ee Sports _ The Daily Retflector/ Shannon Wolfe ECU’s Damon Wilson lunges for one of ae two touchdowns pend ay during the first half By Woody Peele THE DAILY REFLECTOR Saturday afternoon, East Caro-— lina quarterback Jeff Blake found himself in an unusual position in the second half of the Pirates’ game against Akron in Ficklen Stadium. Blake was benched, told to sit down, take off the pads, you’re not going to play anymore today. But it wasn’t because Blake hadn’t done the job. He had — and then some. Blake guided the Pirates to a. quick score in the third quarter, then gave way to the underclassmen as East Carolina rolled up zapped the Zips, 56-20. Blake played only six series on the day, guiding the Pirates to touchdowns on the last five of those. All told, he played just 11 minutes and 56 seconds, but he completed 10 of 14 pass attempts for four touchdowns and 136 yards. It was his second four TD game of the year, again tying the school record. And, along with backup Michael Anderson, he combined to set a new team record of six TDs in a game, snapping a record that had existed since 1953. ECU’s initial possession saw the Pirates forced to punt after one first down, but it was to be the last pu, tfora while. Back on the field just a few plays later, ‘Blake engineers a three-play, 44 yard drive in just 46 seconds. Blake to Clayton Driver, l5yards,7-0. The next time, it was seven plays, 60 yards, 2:40. Blake to Hunter Gallimore, 16 yards, 14-0 Blake gave way to Anderson, a redshirt freshman, who also took the Pirates into the end zone. Back in once more, Blake used 11 plays to drive 61 yards in 4:40, _the longest he was on the field at any one time. Blake to Cedric Van Buren, 19 yards, 28-7. And after another Anderson-led TD drive, he was back once more ® College Football ¢ NASCAR ¢ Outdoors ECU takes the zip out of Akron Sets school record for first half points in By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Arriving fashionably late has become a tradition for East Caro- lina football fans. Those who were tardy Saturday afternoon missed most of ° the show. With senior quarterback Jeff Blake continuing to weave his magic, East Carolina turned in the most prolific half in school histo- ry, running up a 42-7 lead by. in- termission, and coasted past turn- over-prone Akron 56-20. The Pirates, now 4-1 and off to their best start since the 1983 sea- son, scored on six of nine first-half possessions en route to surpassing the 38 points scored in one half against East Tennessee State in 1981. Blake, who spent a good part of the afternoon watching understudies Michael Anderson ‘and Orlando Whitaker take their turns under center, matched a school record for the second con- secutive week with four touch- down passes. The three quarter- backs combined to throw a school-record six TD passes. “I think it was obvious by the way we played the first half that we came out of the dressing room _ ready to play,’’ ECU head coach Bill Lewis said. ‘‘Our plan was to — be very aggressive and attack Blake gets job done quickly for to close out the first half. Six plays, 13 yards, 2:37. Handoff to Damon Wilson, 1 yard, 42-7. Then, after Akron burned off more time on a single touchdown drive than it had held the ball in the entire first half, Blake stepped back to let the Zips know he was still in control. After Akron’s 20- play drive, Blake made it back to the end zone in four plays, 69 yards, 1:13. Blake to Driver, 42 yards, 49-14. After that, it was mop-up time for Anderson and Orlando Whitaker. “It was just an average day at. the office for Jeff,’’ quarterback coach Steve Logan said. ‘‘He’s en- joying the fruits of being in the program for two and a half years now. He’s going to the line and calling our offense. We usually send in two plays to him and he 96-20 victory from the very beginning, make them defend every inch of the field. “They are a very tough, very aggressive team that likes to come at you in a short space. We felt like we had to spread them out.”’ The ECU defense, which took the zip out of Akron’s ‘‘pass-and- pitch” offense, had a similar ap- proach. “We played well and played with intensity the, first half,” defensive line coach Cary Godette said. “‘We made some mistakes the second half, got burned in some blitzes and didn’t make the plays. The first half we made plays.” The Zips, now 1-4, were down 21-0 before they picked up a first down or crossed midfield. They turned the ball over three times .the first half, giving them 17 for the season. “One of the problems was we had a couple of turnovers and you can’t do that,’’ Akron head coach Gerry Faust said. ‘“You can’t have turnovers against a good football team.” The Pirates thrived on excellent field position throughout the day. They had nine first-half posses- sions — five starting in Akron ter- ritory. The Zips started outside (See ECU, C-4) Pirat picks one of them. That’s a tribute | to him and to the system.”’ “It was nice to watch some of the other guys play,’’ Blake said. ‘And it was good that they could get into the game and learn the of- fense under game conditions.” But even when they’re on the field, Blake keeps a close eye on his understudies. ‘‘I help them as much as possible. I see stuff they still don’t pick up and when they come off, I tell them about it. Then, when they go back out, they ‘pick up on it. I thought Michael did a good job and so did Orlan- do, ; Blake is on course to set records this year. In fact, with the season not quite half over, he’s nearly reached some season records. With 68 completions in 122 tries, (See BLAKE, C-4) C-4 The Daily Reflector, Greenville, N.C. Sunday, October 6, 1991 ECU vs AKRON GAME 5: Akron at ECU > a E 1 Pirates Yards rushing Yards passing Time of possession 6 EE] 28 Interception return yards 0 0 Total return yards =] 28 Penalty yards 32 First downs 19 Be] 25 Turnovers i3 0 Total plays Passes completed 16 26 Passes attempted 4th Total Akron 3 20 East Carolina 34-yard run. Score — ECU 7, Akron 0. Drive — 7 plays, 60 yards after punt. — ECU 21, Akron 0. UA — Nelson 26 run (Alcorn kick) ECU — Driver 42 pass from Blake runs. Score — ECU 49, Akron 17. ECU 56, Akron 17. UA — Alcorn 25 field goal, 10:12. Robinson. Score — ECU 56, Akron 20. Team statistics Akron ECU Total first downs 19 O5 First downs rushing 7 ) First downs passing 10 16 ' First downs by penalty B O} | 3rd down conversions 3-14 9-16 Total net yards 336 480] Total plays 67 80 Ave. gain per play 5.01 6.0] Net yards rushing 117 190 Rushes 40 Net yards passing 210 Completed-attempted 16-27 Sacked-yards lost 1-4 Had intercepted 1 Punts-avg. 3-40.3 Total return yards 6 Punt ret. yds. 6 Intercept. ret. yds. -- Kickoff ret. yds. 43 Penalties-yds. 4-32 10-70] Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-0 Time of possession 29:43. 30:17] Individual statistics RUSHING: Ak _ Sweitzer 5-6, Habib 1-1, Small 8-6, Nelson 4-44, Alcorn 1-10, Weems 5-14, Thompson 8- 4, Jacobs 5-11, Dulin 3-12; ECU _ Blake 3-13, Anderson 4-3, Wilson 10-33, Daniels 4-55, Van Buren 7-28, Smith 6-16, Rhett 3-9, Johnson 1-27, Williams 1-6. PASSING: Ak _ Sweitzer 10-16-1 92 yards; Weems 6-11-0 127 yards; ECU _ Blake 10-14-0 136 yards, Anderson 13-22-0 148 yards, Whitaker 3-5-0 6 yards. RECEIVING: Ak _ Robinson 8-160, Small 1-7, Jacobs 1-12, Jones 2-19, Thompson 4-21; ECU _ Zophy 6-76, 7 56 HOW THEY SCORED First quarter ECU — Driver 15 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 9:24. Scoring Drive — 3 plays, 44 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — :46. Key Play — Daniels ECU — Gallimore 16 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 5:31. Scoring Elapsed Time — 2:40. Key Play — Johnson 27-yard run on reverse. Score — ECU 14, Akron 0. _ ECU — Fisher 4-yard pass from Anderson (Brenner kick), 3:25. Scor- ing Drive — 6 plays, 22 yards after fumble recovery by Washington. Elapsed Time — 2:40. Key Play — Anderson 9-yard pas to Fisher. Score , 2:04. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 65 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 1:21. Key Play — offside penalty negating interception by Jones. Score — ECU 21, Akron 7. Second quarter ECU — Van Buren 19 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 12:24. Scoring Drive — 11 plays, 61 yards after kickoff. Time Elapsed — 4:40. Key Play — 39-yard kickoff return by Johnson. Score — ECU 28, Akron 7. ECU — Wilson 2 run (Brenner kick), 7:47. Scoring Drive — 7 plays, 28 yards after muffed punt. Elapsed Time — 3:01. Key Play — Anderson 10-yard pass to Gallimore. Score — ECU 35, Akron 7. ECU — Wilson 1 run (Brenner kick), 5:04. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 15 yards after fumble recovery by Beasley. Elapsed Time — 2:47. Key Play — Blake 7-yard pass to Van Buren. Score — ECU 42, Akron 7. Third quarter UA — Robinson 12 pass from Sweitzsr (Alcorn kick), 5:51. Scoring Drive — 20 plays, 86 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 9:09. Key Plays — Sweitzer 5-yard run on fourth-and-4 and 14-yard pass to Robinson on fourth-and-9. Score — ECU 42, Akron 14. (Brenner kick), 4:38. Scoring Drive — 4 plays, 69 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 1:13. Key Play — Daniels 12-yard run. Score — ECU 49, Akron 14. UA — Alcorn 39 field goal, :46. Scoring Drive — 9 plays, 59 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 3:52. Key Plays — Weems 16-yard and 19-yard Fourth quarter ECU — Zophy 15 pass from Anderson (Brenner kick), 14:20. Scoring Drive — 8 plays, 66 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 1:26. Key Plays — Anderson 23-yard pass to Zophy, 18-yard pass to Gallimore. Score — Scoring Drive — 8 plays, 76 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 4:08. Key Play — Weems 61-yard pass to G. Smith 1-11, Van Buren 4-32, Gallimore 4-53, Driver 3-66, Johnson 1-7, Fisher 3-28, J. Smith 1-(-6), Williams 2-7, Farrare 1-16. PUNTING: Ak _ Alcorn 3-40.3 yd. avg; ECU _ Jett 3-40.0 yd. avg. FIELD GOALS: Ak _ Alcom 2-2 (39, 25); ECU _ no attempts. PUNT RETURNS: Ak _ Wade 2-6; ECU _ Johnson 3-28. KICKOFF RETURNS: Ak_ Robinson 4-43; ECU _ Johnson 3-106, Van Buren 1-24, J. Smith 1-25. INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Ak _ none; ECU _ Wright 1-0. TOTAL TACKLES: Ak _ Keys 13, Dunn 13, Owens 7, Green 7, Best 7, Anderson 6, Robbins 5, Greene 5, Wade 4, Haskins 3, Donaldson 2, Draper 2, Ieli 1, Queener 1, Drakes 1, Sumler 1, Dellovade 1, Cash 1, Junko 1, Alcorn 1; ECU _ Jones 9, Harvey 6, Grandison 6, Lewis 5, Myers 4, Cooke 4, Carter 4, Dillon 4, Washington 4, Davis 4, Wright 4, Hall 4, Cotton 3, Howard 3, Marshmon 3, Braddy 2, Graham 2, Gardill 2, Wortham 2, Floyd 2. TIME ELAPSED: 2:50 OFFICIALS: referee Fritz Graas, line judge John McGrath, field judge Tommy Rose, back judge Grady Ray, umpire Bob Champion, linesman Dave Carnaghi, side judge Kent Henry. ATTENDANCE: 27,500 Future is now for ECU backups By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR For Michael Anderson and Orlando Whitaker, the future is now. That’s why East Carolina head football coach Bill Lewis and quarterback Steve Logan consider an opportunity like the one they had Saturday such a luxury. Anderson and Whitaker, both redshirt freshmen quarterbacks, gained valuable playing time in East Carolina’s 56-20 blitzing of Akron. A season-ending knee inju- ry to junior Sean McConnell, a backup to Jeff Blake at the start of the season, has pushed Anderson and Whitaker up the depth chart. ‘This served as a very valuable tool for Michael Anderson and Orlando Whitaker.’’ Lewis said. “It was an opportunity for them to experience some game situa- tions.” Anderson, under center for five series, completed 13 of 22 passes for 148 yards. Whitaker, inserted for two series, hit on 3 of 5 passes for 11 yards. Anderson directed three scoring drives. He threw touchdown passes of four yards to Luke Fish- er and in the first quarter and 15 yards to Peter Zophy in the fourth quarter. The other two series were cut short by the end of the first half and the end of the game. ‘Michael is proving he’ll put his | Notes unit in the end zone, which is what quarterbacking is all about,’ Logan said. Anderson has several other qualities Logan likes. The Decatur, Ga., native has unusual size (6-4, 226) for a quarterback, has confidence in his ability and has excellent field vision. ‘Michael is an intriguing pro- spect from many points of view,”’ Logan said. ‘‘His field vision is unique for a young man that has never played any college football. He made a throw today that knocked me out of my socks.” Anderson said he felt pressure when he was first thrust into the No. 2 slot, but is now more com- fortable with his role. “There was a lot of pressure,”’ he said, “‘but Coach Lewis just told me I had to step up and do the job. “T had butterflies before the first snap today, but the line was protecting so good I just relaxed.” Whitaker, who passed for more than 5,000 yards and set what was then a state record of 67 career touchdown passes while at North Edgecombe High School, said he was also had butterflies. ‘Before the first snap I was kind of nervous but then I calmed down,” he said. ‘‘I didn’t want to rush anything.” ECU routs Akron (Continued from C-1) their 20 only once in eight first- half possessions and started inside their 15 three times. ‘Field position hurt us the first part of the game,” Faust said. “Their speed is also better than ours and that really hurt us the first half. ‘Our kids came back and played pretty well the second half ... the first half you can forget about.”’ Indeed. By halftime, this one was in the books. In fact, the only left to cheer about in the second half was a report that the Atlanta Braves were on their way to the National League West title. That an- nouncement even got a few toma- hawk chops going on a relaxed ECU sideline. Blake’s first two TD passes came on a 15-yard fade pattern to Clayton Driver at the end of a 44- yard, three-play drive and a 16- yard corner pattern to Hunter Gallimore at the end of a 60-yard, seven-play drive. He added a 19-yard strike to Cedric Van Buren later in the half then found Driver between two de- fenders from 42 yards out on ECU’s opening series of the sec- ond half. Blake now has 14 touchdown passes with just one interception and has 110 consecutive passes without an interception. Against the overmatched Zips, he com- pleted 10 of 14 passes for 136 yards. “It was just what is starting to look like to be an average day at the office for the young man,” ECU quarterback coach Steve Logan said. “‘Jeff is enjoying the fruits of being in a system for two-and-a-half years now.”’ Blake, Anderson and Whitaker combined to complete 26 of 41 passes for 290 yards. They spread the passes to 10 different re- ceivers, led by Peter Zophy’s six catches for for 76 yards. Zophy, a junior wide receiver, snared a 15-yard pass from Ander- son 40 seconds into the fourth period for his first career TD catch. Van Buren and Gallimore had four catches each. Driver caught three passes. The Bucs also had 190 yards on the ground, led by David Daniels with 55 yards on four carries. Blake throws 4 TDs (Continued from C-1) he’s passed for 1,278 yards and 14 touchdowns. That leaves him just 234 yards behind the seasonal re- cord of 1,512 yards, set in 1970 by John Casazza. And he’s just two touchdowns shy of the season re- cord of 16 set in 1953 by Dick Cherry. Career-wise, Blake has hit on 225 of 421 attempts fir 3,338 yards and 29 touchdowns. That leaves him just 590 yards off the season record of 3,928 by Travis Hunter, set two years ago, and just three off the TD record of 32, also held CALL ME. te 6More value for your money...that’s why State Farm insures more homes than anyone else. 97 Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. by Hunter. And he’s got a legitimate shot at Hunter’s career total offense re- cord of 5,197 yards with a total of 3,762. He needs 1,436 to break that record, an average of 239.3 per game. He’s been averaging 265.2 for the first five games. ‘“T’m not really thinking about records,’ Blake said. ‘‘The only thing I’ve got on my mind is Syracuse and Pitt (ECU’s next two opponents). Syracuse has been on my mind all week. I just wanted to get this game over with so we could get on with it.”’ Polly D. Piland 300 Arlington Blvd. Parliament Place Greenville, N.C. 756-8886 STATE FARM (&) @@® INSURANCE ® State Farm Fire and Casualty Company Home Office: Bloomington, Illinois si iS en ag a gpg tal ig einen Loa acolo EO Mi “Tr atin Anderson made his collegiate debut two weeks ago in Orlando, Fla., in a rout of Central Florida. His first career pass was _ in- tercepted, but he regrouped to direct one scoring drive. ‘What caused the interception was the fact that Michael saw something — they rolled their coverage late in his drop and he came off and did attempt to make the correct throw,’ Logan said. ‘‘I got the biggest kick out of it — it’s the only time I’ve been tickled to see a kid throw an interception. He threw the interception because he underthrew it. It was not a misread.’ The opportunity to get the young quarterbacks in this season will pay dividends down the road, Logan said. He added that’s how Top 25 teams are able to continu- ally reload with quality quarter- backs. | “IT don’t mean to compare us with Oklahoma and those kind of people but right now our program is on solid footing,’ Logan said. “Coach (Steve) Shankweiler is playing 10 solid kids on the offen- Sive line at one point or another, we're using five wide receivers and two or three quarterbacks. This is how your program become established.’ BNOT COMPLAINING: Backup fullback Damon Wilson gets few opportunities to carry the football, but he has made the most of his opportunities. Wilson came into Saturday’s game with seven carries for 10 yards, but had scored two touch- downs. Against the Zips, he had 10 carries for 33 yards and two more touchdowns. 1 He scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards. . “Everybody else is doing the hard work and I’ll punch it in,” said Wilson, who sat out last Sat- urday’s game against South Caro- lina with a shoulder injury. ‘I can’t complain. I wish my role was a little bigger but you have to accept what your role is.”’ BHAPPY DRIVER: After two seasons of being hampered by .in- juries, junior wide receiver Clayton Driver is finally on the right track. ne Driver caught touchdown passes of 42 and 15 yards Saturday and now has five TD catches on the Season. “This year I came out with the idea I was going to be produc- tive,” Driver said. ‘I’ve bé@en blessed. I’ve been catching ‘the ball when they throw it tome.” ' And he’s made a few in spec- tacular fashion. ry Driver made a fully extended diving catch in the end zone after battling off a defender earlier this season against Memphis State.,On Blake’s 42-yard pass Saturday, ,he split two defenders near the back of the end zone and managed. ‘to maintain enough control to keep his feet in bounds. Before this season, Driver had 17 catches and just one TD. od a | a IneDaily _ ‘Reflector “Sunday, October 13, 1991 ECU's Terry Tilghman and Derrick L ad ~ ? 4 7 7 Pirates’ victory in the Carrier Dome ‘You look so good to me he The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis eaphart celebrate the Siete The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis faim Cunmulaj sacks Syracuse quarterback Marvin Graves for a 15-yard loss on third and goal in the fourth quarter Blake: victory © sends message By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jeff Blake has never doubted where the East Carolina football team is headed. For those who haven’t shared the same view, he has a message. It reads — East Carolina 23, Syracuse 20. ‘“‘People try to doubt us,” Blake, a senior quarterback, said after turning in another stellar perfor- mance Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome to guide the Pirates to an upset of the nation’s 15th- ranked team. ‘‘We’ve got people stabbing us in our back right now, people standing right beside us saying we weren’t going to win. “T don’t even like people like that around me. I sucker-punch them.” Maybe not literally. But with his strong right arm, Blake jabbed and jabbed at a_ beleaguered Syracuse secondary and propelled East Carolina to 5-1 heading into a showdown with Pittsburgh in two weeks. With his 324 yards passing — his third 300-plus-yard game of the season — Blake set an ECU single-season passing mark with 1,602 yards. His 23 completions and 43 at- tempts are single-game records. He also extended his string of con- . secutive attempts without an in- terception to 153, thanks to a drop of a sure theft by Tony Montemorra late in the first half. Blake also moved to within two of the single-season mark for touchdown passes. His 5-yard flip to Clayton Driver gives him 15 for the season. He has been in- (See BLAKE, C-5) © College Football ¢ High School Sports ¢ Outdoors Pirates yracuse ECU gets its first win over a Top 20 team By Mike Grizzard THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SYRACUSE, N.Y. — October 12, - 1991. Mark it down-as the day the East Carolina football program fi- nally had its prayers answered. With Saturday’s 23-20 upset of 15th-ranked Syracuse, the Pirates have their first-ever win over a Top 20 team. Now they would like a little respect. “T think this shows we can play with anybody in the country,”’ said ECU defensive tackle Greg Gar- dill, who introduced himself to Syracuse quarterback Marvin Graves on several occasions. ‘“‘There may still be some disbelievers out there but we believe we’ve got a good, quality football team.”’ ECU head coach Bill Lewis said the win over South Carolina two weeks ago proved that. But he ad- ded a win over a highly regarded team on the road carries some ex- tra weight. “T told our football team that to be considered a good football team, you have got to be able to beat a good team and beat a good team on the road,’’ Lewis said. “I think we accomplished that.”’ There were some huge obstacles to overcome. But when a big play was needed, quarterback Jeff Blake, wide receiver Dion Johnson or a_bend-don’t-break defense responded. Blake hit on 23 of 43 passes for 324 yards and broke the school’s single-season mark for passing yardage (he now has 1,602); John- son caught seven passes for 136 yards; and the defense played shutout ball for the final two quarters. “We have played in big games like this before and had a few mistakes here and a few mistakes there and lost,’’ said Blake, whose ECU 43-yard scramble early in the fourth period put ECU in front for good. ‘“‘This year we have the ca- pability of coming back in the sec- ond half and picking it up.” The Pirates, now 5-1 after their fifth straight win, nearly self- destructed ‘in the first quarter, putting the ball on the ground on the first two plays from scrim- mage and racking up seven penalties for 42 yards. One of the fumbles resulted in the first turnover for the first- team offense since the season- opener at Illinois and set up a John Biskup field goal. One of the penalties erased a_ scintillating 101-yard kickoff return by John- son. “T think it was concentration as much as anything else,’ Lewis said. Qr perhaps a few jitters. “We were over-anxious,”’ Gar- dill said. But they settled down and over- came a 10-point halftime deficit. Meanwhile the Orangemen (4-2) kept blowing their chances. “They obviously played a super game,’’ Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘“‘They converted big plays and we did not take ad- vantage of some opportunities.”’ ECU took away a big part of Syracuse’s arsenal with high, short kickoffs and angling punts near the sidelines. The Orangemen came in as the best in the nation in kickoff returns (31.2) yards, but averaged just 14.3 yards on four returns Saturday. They returned one punt for two yards. “T think that was an intelligent decision,’ Lewis said. ‘‘We did not want this stadium to explode be- cause of a kick return.” No worry. The disappointing crowd of 37,767 would have made a library look rowdy — except when (See PIRATES, C-5) (Continued from A-1) Members of East Carolina’s football team make their Fans give ECU a rolling welcome By Tom Morris THE DAILY REFLECTOR The horns got louder as the cars rolled up the hill. Then came the screams and the cheers as the rolling victory party for East Carolina Univer- sity’s football team arrived at College Hill. A crowd of over 1,000 Pirate fans greeted the 5-1 ECU foot- ball team Saturday night on its trip back from a 23-20 upset vic- tory over nationally ranked Syracuse, filling the terminal at Kinston Airport. The crowd then piled into a caravan of over 100 cars that stretched a mile and a half to escort the team buses back to Greenville. “We had a celebration like this in 1983,’’ said Jimmy Nunn, president of the Pirate Club, remembering the last airport welcoming for an ECU team. ‘“‘We put that one to bed tonight. This one was better. There were more people, more en- thusiasm.”’ They turned Kinston into a temporary Pirate Club as the throng of purple and gold-clad fans parted and allowed the players to cross through the terminal. Along the way, the team exchanged high fives all around. While the players walked through the crowd, a cheer struck up, ‘‘Hey Hey Hey Hey, EC, You look so good to me, Hey Hey Hey Hey, ECU ... The ECU chain then slowly made its way up N.C. 11, follow- ing the team buses back from Kinston. Along the way, local police departments stopped traffic to allow the chain to pass through. As the buses came to a stop in front of Scott Hall on the ECU campus, a crowd of 300 people swarmed around the —$$_ The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall way through crushed-but-happy Pirate supporters. somewhat startled-though- appreciative players. It was a new experience for the players. “It’s great to feel this ex- citement,’’ said Chris Hall, a senior defensive back. ‘“‘I think everybody believes in-our ca- pabilities.”’ Fan Ken Stallings smiled from ear to ear as he cheered and watched the festivities. Decked out in his purple and gold regalia, he was savoring the moment. “It’s probably the biggest win in ECU’s history,” he said. “‘I (See ECU, A-8) remember in ’83 when we beat | Missouri, we went and it was a great crowd, bit it was nothing ‘like this.” _ mig Stallings said he was on the edge of his seat all day while watching the game and got down to the airport early with his son, Jeff. “We got out a little early and | we went out to the side fence so we could see the plane land,”’ he said. ‘‘When I went back in, I couldn’t believe the crowd. There must have been over 1,000 people.”’ Nunn, who was one of the first to arrive from the airport, said this win is a payback for the Pirate fans who suffered through the lean times of the last few years. “This is the first time we beat a team in the top 20,” he said. “Real Pirate fans have been Pirate fans for a long time. The people are great fans, it’s just a matter of putting together a program that people could sup- port.”’ ECU vs SYRACUSE Brenner has good day under Dome | Notes GAME 6: ECU at Syracuse Pirates Es By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Yards rushing 9 SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Before the 1991 season started, Anthony Brenner was talking about the thrill of going to the Carrier Dome. No wind. Ar- tifieial. turf, Perfect condi- tions for any kicker. He was not 24 disappointed. “Kicking in a do mM e..1 7s unbelievable,”’ Brenner said BRENNER Saturday after hitting three of four field goals in East Carolina’s 23-20 : upset of 15th-ranked Syracuse. Passes completed “The height and distance you can 23 get is unreal. ES 20 Passes attempted “T felt like in practice, pregame 43 ' warmups and in the game is prob- 5125 ably the best two full days I’ve had kicking.”’ . and 3rd 4th eee tue East Carolina 10 6 i Syracuse 14 0 0 normally called on in short-yar- dage situations, got just one carry Saturday. It was both valuable and costly. Wilson’s number was called on a third-and-1 from the Syracuse 35 in the third period. He followed the left side of the line for a 6-yard gain, but stayed on the turf after being hit on the right knee by Tim Sandquist. Wilson was assisted to the sidelines and did not return. MMISSILE VS. DION: Every time Syracuse’s Ismail, tabbed “The Missile’ and ECU’s Dion Johnson touched the ball, the Car- rier Dome crowd was holding its breath, expecting something excit- ing to happen. Usually, something did. Ismail, leaving tacklers grabb- ing for air, finished with with six catches for 101 yards and had one kickoff return for 22 yards. John- son had seven catches for 136 yards, three punt returns for 39 yards and two kickoff returns for 48 yards. One of the most exciting plays of the day — Johnson’s 101-yard kickoff return in the first period — didn’t count. The Pirates were guilty of clipping and holding. MBOWL TALK: At 5-1, ECU is on track for its first postseason bowl bid since the 1978 Independence Bowl. And Saturday was a prime opportunity to impress the scouts. Representatives from the Hall of Fame and Fiesta bowls were in at- tendance Saturday. Both will be held on New Year’s Day. Yards passing Total yards Kickoff return yards First downs Punt return yards Turnovers a | “Interception return yards Total plays “His “0 | Total return yards Brenner, a sophomore, knocked through field goals of 31, 40 and 51 yards. The 51-yarder was a career best — a yard longer than the one he hit at Illinois in the season- opener. It also came after his only miss, a 23-yarder from the left hashmark midway through the third period. How they scored First quarter “ SU: Biskup 19 field goal, 6:35. Scoring Drive — 7 plays, 14 yards. Elapsed Time — 3:29. Key Play — Graves 9-yard pass to Hill. Score — SU 3, CU 0. SU: Biskup 48 field goal, :10. Scoring Drive — 9 plays, 35 yards. Elaps- ed Time — 3:24. Key Play — Graves 24-yard pass to Ismail. Score — SU 6, ECU 0. “The field goal I missed, I don’t think I was concentrating enough,”’ Brenner said. “‘It was a real tough angle, but it’s some- thing that I should have made. It was just a flaw in my mechanics, but we won so I’m not even think- ing about that right now.” The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis. « Pirate head coach Bill Lewis gets a victory ride Saturday in the Carrier Dome after ECU’s 23-20 win over Syracuse . Second quarter ECU: Driver 5 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 11:15. Scoring Drive — 10 plays, 80 yards. Elapsed Time — 3:55. Key Plays — Blake 13-yard pass to Fisher, 35-yard pass to D. Johnson. ; : SU: Lee 8 run (Biskup kick), 6:01. Scoring Drive — 5 plays, 37 yards. Elapsed Time — 2:24. Key Play — Graves 11-yard pass to Ismail. Score — SU 13, ECU 7. ECU: Brenner 31 field goal, 1:34. Scoring Drive — 13 plays, 63 yards. Elapsed Time — 4:22. Key Plays — Blake 16-yard run, passes of 18 and 16 yards to D. Johnson. Score — SU 13, ECU 10. i SU: A. Johnson 40 pass from Graves (Biskup kick), :47. Scoring Drive — 3 plays, 64 yards. Elapsed Time — :-40. Key Play — Graves passes of 15 “and 40 to A. Johnson. Score — SU 20, ECU 10. . “I give Coach (Bill) Lewis and all e Third quarter the other coaches all the credit in STANDINGS the world.”’ ECU: Brenner 40 field goal, 12:06. Scoring Drive — 9 plays, 57 yards. ea aE pepe i — 2:54. Key Play — Blake 18-yard pass to Fisher. Score: f eS en apace a ae Brenner also got some credit ab HIP AEE AAU TE ECU: Brenner 51 field goal, 2:49. Scoring Drive — 9 plays, 33 yards. from Lewis for carrying out a plan Elapsed Time — 2:13. Key Plays — Blake passes of 19 to D. Johnson and of keeping kickoffs short and high. ig forivercone --8U 20): Syracuse came in with an average ye foe vs. Top 25 teams and combined record of all 1991 opponents ii (excluding their games against non-Division I-A teams): of 31.2 yards per kickoff return — 86 Fourth quarter 1990 Vs. Opp. tops in the nation. Four returns 27 ECU: Blake 43 run (Brenner kick), 12:45. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 80 Record Pts. Pvs Top25 Records Virginia 81 ‘yards. Elapsed Time — 2:05. Key Play — Blake 17-yard pass to Florida State (56) 6-0-0 1,472 Seema w yr i Saturday netted 57 yards — a 14.3 : yard average. Qadry Ismail, sec- Wake Forest 13 Gallimore on third-and-2. Score — ECU 23, SU 20. Miami (1) 5-0-0 1,392 2-0-0 14-10-0 Washington (2) 5-0-0 1,384 1-0-0 14-6-1 ond in the nation in kickoff returns, had one return for 22 BIG EAST Michigan 4-1-0 1,282 2-4-0. 15-7-0 . Notre Dame 5-1-0 1,236 1-1-0 15-9-1 i We yards. Pittsburgh .... 0 Rut 0 eam statistics “We felt like if we got the ball in Syracuse 0 . Florida §-1-0 1,179 3-1-0 21-6-0 California 5-0-0 1,021 1-0-0 12-11-0 . ECU SYR between the 18 and 22-yard line W. Virginia ... 0 "Total first downs 24 21 ‘ with about a four-second hang = First downs rushing a) 6} fae ee mi os time that (Ismail) wouldn’t get Tennessee 4-1-0 998 First downs passing 18 Se acaba Cope he eal the ball or they would have to fair tesa : 3-1-0 17-7-0 = First downs by penalty _ 5 7 > 7 ch catch it,’ Brenner said. “They i — a oa en pene s ~ord down conversions -1 : had to fair catch one. I kicked a atid “2- 883 1-1-0 _16-16-0 Foes yards. . Eis oe : aa Sea ECU igs Jett PRSG Syr A couple too deep, but our coverage _N.C. State 5-0-0 856 2-0-0 40-13-0 otal plays : did a heck of a job.”’ . Oklahoma 4-1-0 -0- tie ~ Ave. gain per play. 549° 5.82) J illinoi Ls asic 2H at ie as eh ins 50-66. FIELD GOALS: ECU _ Brenner y Hingis 44-0 M8 2-0-0 13-7-1 mRushes 3437]: 3-4; Syr _ Biskup 24. . Alabama 5-1-0 691 1-1-0 14-16-0 ‘Net yards passing 324 295 : . lowa 4-1-0 664 0-1-0 12-10-0 =“Completed-attempted_ 23-43. 20-25) yd ake shes ECU _ Johnson 25 PAT kicks. . Baylor 5-1-0 629 1-0-0 12-12-2 secede ieee e COSTLY CARRY: Redshirt . Georgia 5-1-0 571 2-0-0 16-12-1 Had neerccpie’ geal: sr ml KICKOFF RETURNS : ECU freshman fullback Damon Wilson, . Ohio State 4-1-0 504 0-1-0 12-11-0 ; S-avg. -42. 5 uy ‘ om “Total ore ~ 72] Johnson 2-48, Van Buren 1-17; Syr _ . Texas A&M 3-1-0 382 0-0-0 7-13-0 ~ Punt ret. yds. 4 7 Richardson 2-28, Ismail 1-22, Piccuci . Pittsburgh 5-1-0 316 0-1-0 15-13-0 Wineicencreuyde sO) I! . Clemson 3-1-1 239 1-0-0 16-10-0 . Colorado 3-2-0 229 0-1-0 11-10-2 . East Carolina 5-1-0 170 1-0-0 18-10-2 . Syracuse 4-2-0 138 1-1-0 16-14-0 34 10 88 52 25. Arizona State 4-1-0 122 1-1-0 _ 10-11-0 75 6 . oa ‘Kickoff ret. yds. 5] C SS eae eall INTERCEPTION RETURNS : rime 24 49 Others receiving votes: Mississippi State 80, Auburn 77, Air Force 47, Fresno "Penalties-yds. "9-64 8-74) ECU _ Dillon 1-13. 38 26 State 33, Georgia Tech 29, Texas 27, Indiana 25, Southern Cal 22, UCLA 19, Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0 Time of possession.....__.28:28. 31:32} 9 27 North Carolina 10, Mississippi 8, Rutgers 5, Arkansas 3, Virginia 3, Texas Chris- 20 20 tian 2, Rice 1. Brenner’s 51-yard field got ECU within 20-16 with 2:49 left in the third period. Jeff Blake’s 43-yard run after being chased out of the pocket proved to be the game- winner. 4B THECHARLOTTEOBSERVER Monday, October 14, 1991 ‘‘All three phases of our team did a heck of a job,’’ Brenner said. 4 The Top 25 h The Associated Press Top 25, with first-place votes in paren- ACC theses, record, points based on 25 for a first-place vote N.C. State .... 3 82 through one for a 25th-place vote, last week’s ranking, record SEFSESENS ~HWoO4wWauon Boston Col. . oooooo°”oe ooooocococe eooocnoo°ce oooocoo°oe ~ st MO LAIN ooo |] o}or] p 1 [19] bod BIG EIGHT Kansas St Nebraska Oklahoma .... Colorado — oS 12 1§ 8 7 16 55 29 49 on oo —- id =A & lowa State ... Okla. St. ....... BIG SKY Weber State Ooo © —- -+ — + oqoooooc”oeooo ONMNOWdDAS & ~s @ For the season, Brenner has hit 9 of 12 field goals and is perfect on ~- 6] —_ be») ~4 ~“ 187 139 126 56 62 40 38 38 88 90 79 104 79.78 96 111 67 165 = fos] =e © Boise State .. y” N. Arizona ... Idaho State .. E. Wash. ...... Montana St. . BIG TEN Stoppers | i Indiana be) pag aNNNN+-—-CoO oqgooooo0ooo “§“NNAOWLORQM rm © °o NO np Nh re) NO pS TOTAL TACKLES: ECU _ Jones 12, Grandison 9, Walker 9, Davis 7, Dillon 7, Lewis 5, Floyd 4, Wright 3, Hall 3, Gardill 3, Howard 3, Carter Bu Beasley 1, Myers 1, Braddy 1, Burnette 1, Wortham 1, Cotton 1; Syr _ Sardquist 10, Young 10, Lusardi 8, Todd 7, Joseph 4, Rooks 4, Hawkins 4, Mitchell 3, Walker 2, Montmorra 2 Spencer 2, Brown 2, Wooten 2, Hill 1, Jackson 1, Sirowide 1, Greco 1, Wooden 1, O'Rourke 1. Individual statistics RUSHING: ECU _ Blake 9-52, Van Buren 11-23, Johnson 3-11, Smith 3-9, Wilson 1-6, Daniels 5-(-2); Syr _ Lee 6-26, Walker 11-44, Womack 2-20, Richardson 7-20, Wooten 8-4, Graves 8-(-48). If you have informa- Goan. Minnesota ... tion on any crime Mines committed in Pitt Wisconsin County, call Crime Stoppers, 758-7777. You do not have to identify yourself and can be paid for the in- formation you supply. aot ot t—OO0o Seoooeoeoeoc]oe RECEIVING: ECU _ Fisher 7-86, Johnson 7-136, Gallimore 3-32, Driver 3-42, Williams 3-28; Syr _ Johnson 9-55, Hill 3-40, Ismail 6-101, Gedney 4-60, Lee 1-23, Walker 2-7, Ferrell 1-9, Wooten 1-0. TIME ELAPSED: 3:07 ATTENDANCE: 37,767 ECU’s latest victory recalls other past achievements ' How about those Pirates... knocked off South Carolina, upset ' Syracuse and now 23rd in the As- ' sociated Press poll. It’s enough to make any old - grad proud. And there’s more. - East Carolina University Pirate - football fans don’t have to come : off the clouds for still another week. There was an open date on ' the schedule yesterday. No matter ‘ what happened to all those other * teams in the top 25 ECU’s record * remains 5-1. Not only that but the + Jone loss was to Illinois by asingle » touchdown. At last the Pirates have a stellar : quarterback; at last they have : plenty of receivers; finally the ' defense can get the job done when » jt counts and finally the defensive linemen can pressure the opposing quarterback. All that plus the Pirates are now a strong second-half football team. ‘ALVIN TAYLOR In years gone by, the teams played their hearts out against stronger opponents for the first half ... and then just didn’t have it for the rest of the game. Was the win over Syracuse the biggest ever? There may have been more emotional ones but some believe the Syracuse win will be seen as the one which put ECU firmly into major college football. But there has been excitement - over the years. Perhaps it was ex- citing in 1932 when the Pirates under Coach Kenneth Beatty merely took the field. Unfortu- nately their record was 0-5 for that year and also it was 1-5 the next year. And there were so-so records through the ’30s under Coaches G.L. (Doc) Mathis, Bo Farley, J.D. Alexander and O.A. Hankner. There must have been some real cheering in 1940 when the team was 7-0 under Coach John Chris- tianbury. The year was even more astounding because the Pirates scored double digits in every game while the opponents had a total of 20 points. That was it for the era, though. World War II came. Coach Chris- tianbury and all available pro- spective players went off to war. Football resumed under Coach Jim Johnson in 1946 and the ex- citement came when the Pirates defeated arch rival Atlantic Chris- tian College (now Barton). They did it in 1947. They lost in 1948 ... but then they lost all the games that year. EC wound up with a 3- 1-1 record with its neighbor. There were better times ahead under Coaches Bill Dole and Jack Boone as well as a steadily im- proving schedule. One the Pirates couldn’t seem to defeat was small college Lenoir-Rhyne. In 21 meet- ings EC won only 6 games — so they hired away Coach Clarence Stasavich. Big wins? How about defeating Richmond in 1965 or the Citadel the same year. That was big. Or how about East Carolina 20, Wake Forest 10 in the 1963 dedica- tion game for the first phase of Ficklen Stadium. The 17,000 fans on hand were all the stadium would hold at the time. After Stasavich, Mike McGee was coach for one year. Then there were some pretty good years under Coaches Sonny Randle and Pat Dye. There was that first emotional victory over N.C. State in 1971, the win over North Caroli- na in 1975 and a win over Duke in 1977. And there was 1983 under Ed ‘Emory — still seen as East Caro- lina’s best year until this one. It was an 8-3 year and the losses to Florida State, Florida and Miami were by a total of 13 points. Art Baker succeeded Emory. Then Bill Lewis took over in 1989 and now the Pirates are playing like the big-time team their fans have always dreamed they could be. Of course flying high can lead to the longest falls. There’s Pitt- sburgh ahead next weekend, as well as some other formidable op- ponents on the schedule. * But no doubt this ECU football group isn’t planning on losing. And no doubt there are a lot of former coaches, players, athletic direc- tors and others in ECU football who are quietly pleased that they made their contribution. How about those Pirates? id Bowl talk. There have been bowl games. In 1952 there was the Lions Bowl in Salisbury, N.C.: Clarion College 13, EC 6. The Elks Bowl at Greenville (1953) saw Morris- Harvey defeat East Carolina. The Eastern Bowl in 1963 saw EC defeat Northeastern at Allentown, Pa. In the Tangerine Bowl it was EC 14, Massachusetts 13 in 1964 and EC 31 and Maine O in 1965. There was the Independence Bowl in 1978, EC 35, Lousiana Tech 13. And this year? Well, we'll wait and see. ECU-S! It’s a classic, but only ona field of dreams By A.J. CARR Staff writer It’d be a classic clash. The stadi- um would rock with an overflow crowd. Thousands would unleash wolfish howls and multitudes would do the ‘‘Saber Slash.”’ But once again this year, it’s the Big Game that isn’t. N.C. State, 6-0, and East Carolina, 5-1, aren’t sched- uled to meet on the football field, which leaves people wondering which team would win if they did play. Some speculate that the Pirates’ potent offense would crack State’s seemingly impregnable defense. Some contend the Pack would defuse ECU’s attack. And others just la- ment because the two rivals don’t settle it in old-fashioned, head- knocking style the way they did a few years back. . “TE they were to play, I’d lean toward State because of the defense,’’ said Lee Corso, a former college coach and current ESPN football analyst. ‘‘In the big ball games, defense usually controls the game and N.C. State is obviously stronger than East Carolina in that The Pack says the Buc would stop here; the Bucs say it would take more than a huffing Pack @ Analysis by position, page 2C. @ What fans think, page 2C. i Tiger defense puzzled, page 2C. College football notes, page 2C. area. ‘It’s not the scheme [State uses]. They’ve got good players who are enthusiastically trained. They are extremely well-coached fundamen- tally. They’re a very good football team.”’ How about the Pirates? ‘Jeff Blake,’’ Corso said, sum- ming up in two words what he thinks is a major key to the Pirates’ 5-1 start and No. 20 national ranking. “‘He’s a terrific athlete and his ability to run [as well as throw] gives him the competitive edge. He’s extremely well-coached ... he also knows how to protect the football. But I’d go with N.C. State because of the defense.”’ Blake might not concur with Cor- so’s pick. The Pirate senior is confident, bold and can destroy defenses. He’s thrown for more than 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns with only one inter- ception. His offense produces 34.7 points and about 460 yards total offense per game. Syracuse couldn’t stop the Pirates. Neither could Illinois or South Caro- lina or anybody else. ECU’s shrewd- ly designed attack spreads the de- fense, makes it cover the entire field, and then prudently assaults the most vulnerable spots. Conversely, State has stopped just about everybody. It ranks No. 1 nationally in scoring defense, allow- ing only 7.5 points per game, and 4th in total defense. And the Pack puts See IT’S, page 3C Lindsey Reeves Soles A sampling of opinion on Fay- etteville Street Mall in Raleigh: RALEIGHT CRUMP, Ra- leigh: ‘‘I’d say State because of their defense, but ECU’s pretty good. I’d like to see that one.”’ @ CHRIS REID, Raleigh: ‘‘I’m a State grad, but | honestly think State would win because of de- fense. | would really love for them to play each other, especially this season.” HSAM ANNAB, Raleigh: ‘I would pick State because of coaching. He’s [Dick Sheridan is] one of the best anywhere. If they could control the crowd, they should play.”’ ANGELA MURPHY, Raleigh: ‘My sister works in the Carolina football office. She’d probably want me to say ECU, but I’d have to pick State. It would be a great game. Everybody would want to see it.”’ MBURL LINDSEY, Raleigh: “‘That one would be just too close for me to say. It’d be a great game, no doubt. But who would win? It’d be a toss-up.”’ M BONNIE MEYER, Clayton: “My whole family’s for ECU, and they’re going to kill mé, but I’d have to pick State. They’ve got the defense and the coaching.”’ Hi MARY MORGAN REEVES, Raleigh: ‘‘ECU would win, of course. That’s why State’s afraid to play them.”’ M EARL SOLES, Raleigh: ‘‘As an East Carolina grad, | would pick the Pirates, naturally. Their of- fense is great. That game should be brought back.’’ “WHO WOULD HAVE THE EDGE? ECU N.C. State OFFENSE ‘ Line: The pro scouts say ECU’s Tom Scott, a 6-7, 328-pound junior, is one of the season’s hottest players. Scott is the leader of an essentially young, huge front that majors in pass protection but is still mobile enough to hunt. Running backs: Nagging injuries have hampered both teams, but the Bucs have rushed for 1,008 yards, compared with 992 for State, and ECU has run the ball 58 fewer times. Neither has overwhelming punch, but the Pirates are quicker. Quarterback: It’s really no contest, and through little fault of State’s Geoff Bender, a redshirt freshman. ECU's Jeff Blake, a mobile senior with a big-league-gun, is among the nation’s best. Receivers: Another mismatch. The Pirates have three — tight end Luke Fisher, wide receiver Hunter Gallimore and flanker Dion Johnson — with NFL potential. Junior Clayton Driver, averaging 18.5 yards per catch, is almost as good. Other than Charles Davenport, the Pack’s most effective catcher has been Ledel George, whose 113 yards would rank sixth for the Bucs. Kicking game: The Bucs’ John Jett, averaging 43 yards per punt, is an imposing weapon, and placements specialist Anthony Brenner is 9-for-12 in field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 from 50 yards or farther. Again, not much of a contest. DEFENSE Defensive line: The Pirates have improved up front since early in the season, but they still don’t have a Ricky Logo or Mark Thomas. ECU is starting a true freshman, Tony Howard, at right tackle, where State’s John Akins gets an easy nod. Linebackers: Basically, it’s one — ECU’s Robert Jones — against five — State’s Billy Ray Haynes, Clayton Henry, Tyler Lawrence and Dave Merritt/Ray Frost. The secondary: This is one area in which the teams are very close. The Pirates have a splendid athlete, corner Chris Hall, and a certified headhunter, junior free safety Greg Grandison, an All-America candidate for 1992. But State has two strong corners, DeWayne Washington and Sebastian Savage, and safeties Mike Reid and Ricky Turner are far above average. COACHING ECU’s Bill Lewis and State’s Dick Sheridan have startlingly similar traits. Neither tolerates on-the-field taunting or off-the-field mischief. Both believe in slow, thorough quarterback preparation. Dollar-for-dollar, Lewis has done a remarkable staff-building job and, like Sheridan, has worked wonders with many lightly recruited prospects. Other than experience, there’s not much to choose from, but that gives the nod to Sheridan. INTANGIBLES This one, too, is difficult. Like the outcome of this hypothetical game, the value of intangibles would depend on the game site. Play it in Greenville and the Pirates win, although State’s players would have the incentive of trying to avenge the loss in the series finale. Play it in Raleigh and State probably would win. Play it on a neutral field and ECU’s persecution compiex might determine it. Let’s call it even. It’s classic, but it’s also just a dream Continued from page 1C heat on quarterbacks, having come up with 16 sacks. Offense vs. Defense. An intrigu- ing matchup. ‘It’s a shame these two teams, with those two records, are not playing each other,”’ former East Carolina coach Art Baker said. “Tt would be a natural. It would probably break all attendance records, which it always did.”’ Baker, now executive director of the South Carolina Gamecock Club, has seen both teams play in person or on tape. ‘‘No way I’d venture to say what would happen,’’ Baker hedged when asked to pick a winner. ‘‘On the surface State appears to have an outstanding defense and East Carolina appears to have a slight edge in offense. ‘“‘Nobody has really slowed ’em [ECU]. They are a very tough offense to defend because they do so many things well. And the guy who makes it all go is Jeff Blake. He has a phenomenal record for not being sacked [in five games]. That’s a great tribute to his offensive line and his receivers, but mostly to him for avoiding that.”’ Baker has watched State play three times, twice on TV and once - on tape. “You can’t sit in one defense any longer unless you are just better. than the other team,”’ Baker said. ‘‘And State seems to mix their defenses up, disguise | coverages and blitzes real well, and that’s a real key to their being successful. But both of these teams are going to be well- coached.”’ In his four-year stint at East Carolina, Baker was 2-1 against the Pack, winning the last meet- ing 32-14 in 1987. A postgame fight among fans erupted and the teams haven’t played since. “It was always a great game,” Baker said. ‘‘I enjoyed the rela- tionship with State and I hope they crank it up again.”’ This season would have been a grand time to do just that. Mean- while, fans can speculate on which team is the toughest. Cooper brought Graham back when Ohio State regained possession with 3:39 left, and Graham quickly guided the Buckeyes into a 7-7 tie on a two-pass, 64-yard touchdown drive. For the day, Graham connected on seven of 11 passes for 130 yards, yet 53 of Ohio State’s 69 of- fensive plays were rushes. “I thought we might throw the ball more,” said Graham. And what about that, coach? “I thought we called the right number of passes,” said Cooper, “but we just didn’t complete the right number.” Graham indicated he might request a meeting with Cooper and offensive coor- dinator Elliot Uzelac this week. Herb- streit added that he was “almost fed up” with the quarterback controversy. In the Illinois locker room, coach John Mackovic was more emotional than any- body had ever seen him, perhaps because ‘it was his fourth consecutive win over Cooper—and never before have the Illini -won that many games in a row from the Buckeyes. Better Than Advertised ~The bowl scouts, who last weekend began attending games in search of candidates for the postseason, had better put Green- ville, N.C., on their itineraries. That’s the home of East Carolina, which just may have the nation’s most underrated team. OCTOBER 21991. VOLUME 52 INOW] The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Friday, a3 20; Pirates’ Jones is Butkus semifinalist From staff reports —— GREENVILLE — Robert Jones, a senior at East Carolina, is one of 10 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to | the top linebacker in college foot- ball. ; Marco Coleman of Georgia Tech and Ed McDaniel of Clem- son also are on the list. Three finalists will be selected Nov. 21, and the winner will be announced Dec. 7. ec nan | Pacific FB f UD Football The Pirates are now 5-1 after their 23-20 upset of Syracuse in the Carrier Dome and might be unbeaten were it not for a controversial call in their opening loss to Illinois on Aug. 31 in Champaign. Trailing Illinois late in the game 38-31—the final score—East Carolina recovered an onside kick, only to be pe- nalized 15 yards for violating the new rule against excessive celebrating. Instead of first-and-10 on their own 46, the Pirates had first-and-25 at the 31. Their bid for the first down fell five yards short. Against Syracuse, East Carolina’s lead- er, aS usual, was senior quarterback Jeff Blake, who went into the game ranked third nationally in passing efficiency and 10th in total offense. Blake riddled the Orange for 324 passing yards, and he also showed some nifty footwork he might have learned from his godfather, Chicago White Sox speedster Tim Raines. With 12:45 left in the game and the Pi- rates trailing 20-16, Blake was forced out of the pocket by a heavy pass rush, but he turned the busted play into a 43-yard touchdown run. “I felt somebody at my heels—that’s what made me run,” he said. The lead held up, but only after John Biskup, the most accurate placekicker in Syracuse history, missed two field goal at- tempts, from 27 and 42 yards, in the fourth quarter. “We played our butts off,” said Pirates defensive tackle Greg Gar- dill. “This proved we can play with any- body in the country.” Did all you bowl scouts get that? Squibs Does anybody understand what’s going on in the wacky Southwest Conference? Just when Baylor seemed to have estab- lished itself as the league’s best team, doggone if Rice doesn’t go into Waco and hand the Bears their first loss, 20-17. “T don’t even know when the last win like this was,” said the Owls’ coach, Fred Goldsmith. And guess who is now leading the league? None other than Arkansas, which beat woeful Houston, the presea- son Southwest Conference favorite, 29-17 and now stands 3-0 in its final sea- son in the conference. The Razorbacks join the SEC next year.... By beating Michigan State 45-28 in East Lansing, Michigan completed its revenge of all three teams that the Wolverines lost to last season (the others were Notre Dame and Iowa). ... Tip of the Hat Dept.: Cin- cinnati, which was taken to task by some Sports Wnstrated CONTENTS 183 i’ CARDS ; Sunday Only <> ~~ 10/24/91 + % UD Hi or Lo # $32 box This Weekend Only! { (thru 10/28/91) Ps a $20/box ff $32/box ’89 UD $200/set & '90 UD $50/set § Northwoods Market 949 N. ic et Ave. * Cary -9966 : M-F 12-8; Sat 10-8; Sun 1-6 fj Sell vOur ! In Our Classified Pages > Call 829-4600 or 1-800-662-8040 int N.C. : PLAYERS OF THE WEEK OFFENSE Michael Lerch, a junior split end for Princeton, set Division I-AA records for all-purpose yards (463) and receiving yards (370, on nine catches) and scored four TDs in the Tigers’ 59-37 win over Brown. DEFENSE Defensive tackle James Patton, a senior at Texas, had eight tackles, including two sacks for nine yards, caused a fumble and deflected a pass in the Longhorns’ 10-7 upset of Oklahoma (page 42). SMALL SCHOOLS Zed Robinson, a junior tailback for Division II Southern Utah State, ran for an 80-yard touchdown on his first carry and finished with 343 yards on 32 rushes in a 37-31 defeat of Santa Clara. observers (blush) after its 81-0 loss to Penn State, now has won two in a row—a 30-7 upset of Louisville two weeks ago and a 38-19 defeat of Kent State on Sat- urday. ... And while we’re congratulating underdogs, how about Kansas State, which is off to its best start (4-1) since 1969? Unfortunately, the Wildcats’ 16-12 win over Kansas last Saturday was tar- nished when winning coach Bill Snyder lashed out at reporters for not giving his team the respect he thinks it deserves. “When they do something decent, give them credit for it, will you?” he growled. Lighten up, coach. After all, Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma are coming up on the next three Saturdays.... When Missouri visited Colorado for the first meeting of the teams since last year’s con- troversial game in which the Buffaloes scored the winning TD on a fifth down, a couple of Missouri fans ran through the stadium carrying a sign saying CU TAKES THE FIFTH. But this time the Tigers took the gas as Colorado won 55-7... . Trail- ing Wyoming 36-22 in the second half, Utah ripped off 35 consecutive points on the way to a 57-42 victory. The Utes, whose victory was their first at Laramie since 1972, had been averaging only 19.5 points a game. a The Daily Reflector Sunday, October 27, 1991 A slashing frenzy in Ficklen East Carolina tight end Luke Fisher is chased by Pittsburgh linebacker Charles Williams (53) and another Panther defender in Sports ¢ College Football ¢ NFL ¢ Outdoors The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall Saturday’s game. Logan’s feeling pays off on conversion By Woody Peele THE DAILY REFLECTOR All week long, East Carolina quarterback coach Steve Logan had a feeling Saturday’s game with Pittsburgh might come down’ to'a-two-point conversion. : ‘So all week long, the Pirate of- fense prepared just in case the situation came up. > Saturday afternoon, with 46 sec- ends left, all that work paid off as Jeff Blake executed the option to perfection, scoring on a two-point conversion to give No. 20 East Carolina a 24-23 victory over No. 23 Pittsburgh. It was the sixth. straight win for the Pirates, guaranteeing them their first winning season since 1983. It’s also the longest winning streak since the 1976 team also won six_in a row to open the sea- son. That was part of a 12-game win streak that went back through the final six games of the 1975 sea- son. In the course of breaking down the Pitt defense from video tapes, Logan found the Panthers in a two-point conversion situation against Maryland. ‘You rarely see that on films,”’ Logan said. ‘‘When I saw it, I told our coaches that we needed two perfectly designed plays to use again their defenses, so we could go against which ever we saw.”’ All week long, Jeff Blake and The Associated Press Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream and Greg Olson talk to Braves pitcher Steve Avery during the first inning a 4 the Pirates worked on those plays, a pass and the trap-option. ‘Coach (Steve) Shankweiler (of- fensive line coach) felt that the trap-option was the best play against (the Pitt defense),”’ Logan said. ‘‘All Jeff had to do was make a decision based on which defense ~ they came out in.’’. : The Pitt defense was designed to rush the passer, so Blake chose to use the trap-option. “And it worked perfectly,’’ Logan said. Blake took the ball, sprinted to Puckett his right, got a pulling block from Mike McCalop on the inside line- backer and another from Luke Fisher on the man head-up on him. That left Blake and his pitch man, Cedric Van Buren, alone with one defender. The defender went for Van Buren and that al- lowed Blake to dive over the line. “There was no way they were going to stop me,” Blake said. ‘‘If they had had five men on me, I was going to get the ball into the end zone some way. But they hadn’t stopped the option all day and I didn’t think they could stop it then.” One fateful move the Panthers made just minutes earlier may have cost them. Pitt caught itself with 12 men on the field when they prepared to kick off after kicking a field goal for a 23-16 lead with 3:32 left. The Panthers burned their final time out rather than kick away and take the penalty. ‘That left them unable to call a time out after they saw us come out for the extra point,’’ ECU head coach Bill Lewis said. ‘‘When they called it, I turned to the other coaches and said ‘there goes their timeout.’ That was big.”’ East Carolina had missed its ini- tial extra point attempt — the first time this year Anthony Brenner has missed in 26 attempts. “Steve called down (from the coaching booth) after that and said we were in a two-point situa- tion,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘He was so cer- tain that it was going to come down to that.”’ Logan never lost his belief that it was going to come down to a two-point conversion. “The last thing I told Jeff before we came out of the dressing room at the half was that it was going to come down to that,’’ Logan said. ‘‘And it’s just a tribute to our line that it was executed so perfectly.”’ ’s shot forces G THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MINNEAPOLIS — Kirby Puckett was just the difference the Minnesota Twins needed to make one of the closest World Series even closer. Puckett, already a hero for a leaping, run-saving catch and two hits and two RBIs, led off the bot- tom of the 11th inning with a home run Saturday night to give the Twins a 4-3 victory over the Atlan- ta Braves 4-3 and force a decisive seventh game. Puckett sent Charlie Leibrandt’s 2-1 changeup on a line over the left-center field fence. “They've been throwing me a lot of changeups the whole Se- ries,’ Puckett said. “I’m such an aggressive-type hitter. ... I just go up there and hack. I just wanted to make him get the ball up. ‘He got it up and I got it out.”’ Atlanta manager Bobby Cox gambled in bringing in Leibrandt, who started and lost Game 1. Leibrandt was making his first relief appearance in two years and defying baseball odds as a left- hander facing the righty-hitting Puckett. It was the second extra-inning game of the Series — the first time that’s happened since 1975 — and the fourth out of six to be decided “They’ve been throwing me a lot of changeups the whole Series. ... I just go up there and hack. I just wanted to make him get the ball up. He got it up and I got it out.”’ —Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins by one run on the winning team’s last at-bat. “I feel like I’ve been in a 15- round fight,’ Puckett said. “I’m so drained you can’t believe it.’’ The Twins returned home after three straight losses in Atlanta and improved to 7-0 in Series games at the Metrodome. Jack Morris, among .baseball’s best big-game pitchers, will start for Minnesota on Sunday night against John Smoltz, who shut out Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the NL playoffs. The Braves hoped to clinch it behind 21-year-old Steve Avery. , He had been winless in four starts this season on three days’ rest, and the playoff MVP was not able to close it out, allowing three runs in Six innings. Puckett, the MVP of. the AL playoffs, began this game in a 3- A he slump. He changed his luck, and that of the Twins, with a run- Scoring triple in the first inning and a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fifth. He also kept Minnesota ahead with a leaping catch at the fence in the third inning that robb- ed Ron Gant of extra bases. Puckett, however, saved his best for last. Leibrandt, who started and lost the opener, made his first relief appearance in two years to start the 11th and Puckett met him with a line drive into the crowd. Rick Aguilera worked around leadoff singles in the 10th and 11th innings for the victory. Twins relievers were shellacked in At- lanta, but shut out the Braves in the final five innings. The World Series has not gone seven games since 1987. That year, the Twins beat St. Louis in the only Series in which the home team won every game, the same scenario this one has followed. Blake’s TD, conversion give Pirates a 24-23 win By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Ficklen Stadium was filled and ina frenzy Saturday afternoon. A record crowd of 36,000 came armed with foam rubber swords and dreams of another chapter in what is becoming a season full of memories. And what a memory this one will be. Senior quarterback Jeff Blake, who rediscovered his magic touch after being shut out for much of the second half, capped a game- winning drive with a 2-yard option keeper and a two-point conversion run with 46 seconds left to give East Carolina a thrilling 24-23 vic- tory over Pittsburgh. | Alex Van Pelt drove the Pan- thers, who dropped their third Straight after a 5-0 start, to the ECU 30 with seven seconds left, but head coach Paul Hackett opted not to try a field goal. Time expired when Pelt hit Chad Askew with a 19-yard pass to the 11. Delirious fans celebrating the 20th-ranked Pirates’ sixth straight win stormed the field and quickly brought the goal posts to the ground. Everyone now believes. “At the beginning of the year, the media and all the sports ana- lysts said East Carolina needed to beat South Carolina or Syracuse or Pittsburgh,’ said ECU defensive end Jerry Dillon, who had six tackles and blocked a field goal. “We beat South Carolina and some said it might have been a fluke. After we beat Syracuse there were still some doubters. “We had to come out here and prove to. ourselves. I don’t know if it’s going to help any at all, but all the fans that were here know what’s East Carolina is all about.” Such as the ability to continually overcome adversity. Saturday, the Pirates let a 13-3 lead slip away then found a way to win on its last possession. “I feel so good for the people who have worked so hard,”’ said ECU head coach Bill Lewis, who donned a T-shirt that read ‘I Believe’ at his postgame press conference. ‘“‘They have done ev- -erything we have asked of them and when they do that you want them to be successful.’ The Pirates, 6-1, won despite be- ing virtually dominated in every statistical category. The Panthers, directed by the cool Van Pelt, had 523 yards of total offense to 350 for ECU and had possession of the ball 13 more minutes. Van Pelt completed 29 of 43 passes for 369 yards. Blake hit on (See PIRATES, C-2) ame 7 Mark Lemke keyed the Braves’ three victories at home, and sparked Atlanta’s rally in the sev- enth inning that tied it 3-3. Lemke led off with a single, making him 9-for-19 in the Series, and Mark Guthrie relieved Scott Erickson. Guthrie struck out pinch hitter Jeff Blauser, but a walk and Terry Pendleton’s squib single to the right side of the mound loaded the bases. Car! Willis replaced Guthrie and got Gant to hit the grounder: the Twins needed. But the ball was hit too slowly for Minnesota to turn a double play, and Gant waved safe as he crossed first a shade ahead of the relay as Lemke scored. Puckett again was at the center of things in the fifth inning, hitting a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 lead. Dan Gladden fouled off several tough 3-2 pitches before drawing a leadoff walk, and then stole sec- ond on the first pitch to Chuck Knoblauch. Knoblauch, the Twins’ best bat- control artist, tried to hit the other way and succeeded with a fly ball ‘to right that sent Gladden to third. Puckett put Minnesota ahead with a fly shy of the warning track in center. Pendleton hit one much farther (See MINNESOTA, C-12) Gold sabers ‘Slash away in victory By Tom Morris THE DAILY REFLECTOR Do you believe? . For the throng of fans that swarmed the field at Ficklen Stadium Saturday after East Carolina defeated Pittsburgh, 24-23, the answer is an em- -phatic yes. Thanks to some late-game heroics by Pirate quarterback “Jeff Blake, ECU sent a record- crowd of 36,000 home with smiles on their faces and im- ages of bowl games dancing in their heads. “Tt was pandemonium,” said "Mark Elmore. ‘‘Cups were fly- And the believers turned out ... ing everywhere. When Blake dove in the end zone, it was huts.”’ On an unseasonably warm day, the nationally ranked and 6-1 Pirates continued to make . this a season to remember for their long-suffering fans. On the final drive, the crowd came alive: a quick pass to Dion Johnson, a key reception by Hunter Gallimore. Soon the sound was deafening. There ae were sabers slashing and flags this. waving. As the final seconds ticked away, fans began to hurdle the }- fence surrounding the field. +1. One swarm quickly pulled down I stayed |. A wrapup on the . game is on page C-1. the west goal posts. Shortly thereafter, the east goal posts came tumbling down. With chaos reigning in the end zone, one fan turned to another and said, “‘I told you if enough we’d win a game like Donald Murray said he was thinking about leaving in the fourth quarter when Pittsburgh led 23-16, but changed his mind. “The next thing I know, Blake was running and passing and then he scores,” Murray said. ‘I’ve been at ECU for two years and I’ve lived here all my life. This is amazing. You just don’t understand. at this school long “‘T rushed the goal post. I was standing there on it, looking around at all the people, at the players. Then people started grabbing me and got on top of me and were stepping on me. I had to get out of there.”’ The fanatical young fans were in a delirious state, hugg- ing and wallowing on their field of dreams. The older fans slow- ly filed out of the stadium, call- ing it the biggest win in ECU hand. history. And perhaps it was. ECU came into the game ranked 20th. Pitt was ranked 23rd. The pregame hoopla stirred up a lot of attention. The Pirates have long felt : The Daily Reflector/Cli A record crowd of 36,000 fans jams East Carolina’s Ficklen Stadium as ECU took on Pittsburgh, and won. ECU keeps the smiles coming On Friday, a crowd of close to 500 people showed up for a _ pep rally at Tyler Beach on the ECU campus. The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall Jubilant fans cut the air with their gold foam-rubber sabers as the Pirates move on. shortchanged in their home state, but this week there were glowing stories in the New York Times, USA Today and the Charlotte Observer. Last week, ECU was featured in Sports II- lustrated. Football gurus began pushing ECU Coach Bill Lewis for coach of the year. Scouts from the Independence, Blockbuster, Peach and John Hancock bowl games were on It’s been the kind of season (See ECU, A-11) SECU (Continued from A-1) “| ECU fans have been waiting a “| long time for. Their last winn- “| ing season came in 1983. The “| years since have been lean. «“That’s what happens when | you start getting successful,” | said Jack Foley, an ECU player ") Back in the early 1960s. ‘“People 4 start paying attention. 1 » “It takes a team like this to get people out. We would fill it 1 like this for State and Carolina, “| but you know they won’t play Pus. "ECU officials were looking for a record sell-out crowd and they got it. They brought in ex- | tra bleachers for the East end of the stadium. “You never know until it happens,” said Lee Workman, assistant director of athletics “| for tickets sales. “‘We knew it 4 was (a record), we just didn’t 1 ‘know how much it was going to 4 ‘be. We closed the ticket win- 4 “dows in the first half. It was a Jot of fun. It was an exciting 9 ‘day for us.” ** School officials also ordered “extra goal posts on Friday, 4 fearful that they might lose 4 ‘some for the second time this . @ Gyear. 4 “Considering the crowd, it 4 ‘wasn’t worse than any other day,’’ said Jim DePuy, director of ECU Public Safety. “‘I’d be 4 dying to you if I said there were 4 tho problems, but it was fairly typical. With that kind of 4 crowd, we were fortunate.” 420e0e@e2e20080e0000800800@08e0eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eee ee @ @ @ 1 Florida St-3) 82020 2 Miia (3) SSSFS0R0 BOW. Seis) SSH280 Other receiving votes: Vir 4, Duke 3, Kansas St. 2, Utah], AP Top 25° Record Pis Pys 9. LO Ce 1 to! : 12.7 5 13. 0 6-1-0 14. Tennessi 4-3-0 {Colorado 5-20 16.-Clemsons AV} 17, Bast Carolina 6-1-0 18: Syracuse 6-20), ABO 1 19, N.€. State OV 20. Oklahoma BoD 21. Baylor ee a 22. Georgia 6-2-0 2 23. UCLA 52-0 48 24 ‘Arkansas Het 25, Fresno St, F020: UWlinois 33, Air Foree 30, Indiana Mississippi St. 29, Pittsburgh 9, Brigham Young 6, Tulsa 6. Stanford 1,492 1415 1412 1,312 1,247 1,210 1,058 1,046 1,002 991 10 910 11 822 13 743 14 693 15 657 16 80S SP Che to nee cee East Carolina moves STAFF, WIRE REPORTS East Carolina keeps inching its way up the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll. After its second win of the sea- son over a Top 25 team, a scin- tillating 24-23 win over No. 23 Pitt- sburgh on Saturday, ECU moved up three notches to No. 17 in the latest poll, which was released Sunday. The ranking is the highest ever for the Pirates. ECU made its debut three weeks ago at No. 23 and was ranked 20th last week. Pittsburgh, now 5-3, slipped out of the poll. ECU will take a 6-1 record into next Saturday’s final home game against Tulane. The Pirates’ sixth Straight win, played before a sellout crowd of 36,000 and repre- sentatives from four bowls, came thanks to a 2-yard run and a two- point conversion by senior quar- terback Jeff Blake with 46 seconds left. Blake on Sunday was named the ECAC player of the week for the fourth time this season. Blake completed 21 of 31 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown. He did have his streak of con- secutive passes snapped at 158 when Steve Israel picked off a pass in the second period. Blake now has 16 TD passes and two in- terceptions on the season. His string of consecutive quarters without a sack was also stopped at 20. N.C. State, which took a 6-0 re- cord to Clemson Saturday and fell 29-19, drooped from No. 12 to No. 19. The win helped the Tigers - 4 bowls to scout — Pirates Peach may be most interested By CHARLES CHANDLER Staff Writer Four bowls plan to scout East Carolina’s football game against Tulane Saturday. One of them, the Peach, is sending its executive director. “I am rarely a decoy,” said the Peach's Robert Dale Morgan when asked if his presence means the bowl is serious about the Pirates. With a 6-1 record and No. 17 national ranking following last weekend's 24-23 win over Pitts- burgh, East Carolina is becoming a darling in the eyes of some bowls. “As off-the-wall as this may sound,” said Morgan, *’you can draw parallels between East Caro- lina and the (Atlanta) Braves. They're Cinderella stories. They’ve had good talent but have always been a couple of skill players away. Now, they've got them. “They've really captured -the attention of the whole _ nation. Everybody keeps waiting for them to get beat, but they don't.” ~ That's an overwhelming review for a team that couldn’t get a bowl bid in 1983 despite an 8-3 record and has played in only one bowl in 26 years, the 1978 Independence. Morgan will be joined Saturday by scouts from the Independence, Gator and Liberty bowls. The Peach, Independence, Block- buster and John Hancock were at the Pittsburgh game, won with a touchdown and two-point conver:-. sion with 46 seconds left. “People are coming who've maybe never been here before," said East Carolina athletic director Dave Hart Jr. Even coach Bill Lewis is catch- ing the fever. Last week, he refused to talk about bowls and ordered his staff and players to do likewise. But at his weekly news conference Tuesday, Lewis talked about how important fan support is?,in impressing scouts and asked. for another large, enthusiastic crowd for Saturday’s game. East Carolina fans are already at work behind the scenes, flooding Morgan’s office with calls.° “They're telling us everybody in state of North Carolina would be down here if East Carolina was invited,” he said. Four games remain. A 10-1 rec- ord is possible, but it won’t be easy. Saturday's game against Tulane (0-8) is the last at home. The Pirates finish with trips to Southern Mississippi (4-4), which has beaten them seven consecur tive years; Virginia Tech (4-4); and Cincinnati (3-5). “Our work is a long ways from being complete,”’ said Lewis. But the Pirates are getting close. PITTSBURGH SAT., OCT. 26, 1991 — 1:30 PM GAME TIME SUBJECT TO CHANGE FICKLEN STADIUM ADMIT ONE NO UMBRELLAS NO CONTAINERS NO READMITTANCE NO REFUND SOUTH STAND rj ii be climb to No. 16. Fresno State and UCLA moved into the Top 25, while third-ranked Washington crept closer to No. 2 Miami. ; Fresno (7-0), one of four unbeaten teams in Division I-A, rose to No. 25 after beating UNLV 48-22 Saturday. The Bulldogs were ranked 24th for two weeks last season, but dropped out for good following a 73-18 loss to Northern Illinois. UCLA (5-2), which has been in and out of the poll this season, climbed back to No. 23 after beating Arizona State 21-16. There were no changes in the Top 10. Florida State remained No. 1, followed by Miami, Wash- ington, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, Alabama, Penn State, Nebraska and California. up to 17th Florida State (8-0), which defeated LSU 27-16, received 53 of 60 first-place votes. Miami (7-0) got three first-place votes and 1,415 points after down- ing Arizona 36-9. But the Hurri- canes lost ground to Washington (7-0), which received four first- placg votes and 1,412 points follow- . ing a 29-7 victory over Oregon. The three-point gap between Miami and Washington is the smallest since the Huskies moved into the third spot on Sept. 29. _ Iowa is 11th, followed by Texas A&M, Ohio State, Tennessee, Col- orado, Clemson, East Carolina, Syracuse, North Carolina State and Oklahoma. Rounding out the Top 25 are Baylor, Georgia, UCLA, Arkansas and Fresno . State. The Daily Reflector Monday, October 28, 1991 -WOODY PEELE Monday musings: In the course of 28 seasons of East Carolina football, ve seen some good games and some downright sorry ones, both in Ficklen Stadium and elsewhere. But nothing can compare to Sat- urday afternoon’s game with Pitt- sburgh. Perhaps the Pirates didn’t play their best, but when it was all over, they walked out of Ficklen with a 24-23 victory. In my opinion, it was the greatest victory ever for an ECU football team. There were those, after the game, who still opted for the win over Syracuse two weeks ago. But I think in the long run, this one carries much more importance. Against Syracuse, the Pirates were the underdogs. They were the Johnny-come-lately, the sud- den newcomer to the Top 25 that really wasn’t expected to win against the Orangemen. But East Carolina pulled off the upset. Up to now, it’s the biggest road victory the Pirates have ever had. Saturday, the shoe was on the other foot. The Pirates were rank- ed 20th in the nation to Pitt- sburgh’s 23rd: ECU was favored. Two weeks ago, there was nothing to lose and everything to gain. Saturday, there was a lot of gain and a lot to lose. There were many who felt that East Carolina’s bowl hopes rode on this game. There were repre- sentatives from the Independence Bowl, the Peach Bowl, the John Hancock Bowl and the Blockbuster Bowl among those who crowded the press box. A loss could have spelled the end of ECU’s bowl hopes regardless of what happens from here on. Certainly what happens in ECU’s next four games is impor- tant. But now, even an upset in one of those — Virginia Tech or Southern Mississippi — won’t hurt as bad. The Pirates can win three of those four and still have a good chance. The fans deserve a lot of credit for Saturday, too. They came, and for a change, many were in their seats at the kickoff, something dif- ferent for the usual Pirate fan who doesn’t head for the gate until kickoff. There was an electric air in Ficklen, one which has seldom been present. The fans now have the obliga- : tion to come back again next week when the Pirates play a lesser op- ponent. Believe me, the bowl peo- ple will be watching. Records count, but fan support counts more. ae Bill Lewis, wearing a shirt that read: ‘‘I Believe/TEAM/me,”’ faced the media after the game and kept a cool head when he could have reveled. Oh, he was happy, almost euphoric. But his feet-were firmly planted on the ground. Hé admitted that this was the biggest win the Pirates — under him’— had ever had. And he praised those who had been in his program since the start three years ago, saying that they played a role in bringing the program as far as it has come. But this isn’t the apex for East Carolina football, he said. Not by a longshot. . “Our first goal was to become winners (more wins than losses) andwe have achieved that,”’ Lewis said. ‘“‘Our second goal is to winyear after year. That’s some- thing that we can’t do this year. We ean only get ready totry and | win-the next game next Satur- day~’ And he tossed off suggestions thatthese Pirates are ovetachievers. “T don’t like that word,”’ he said. “These kids are finding out that they do have some talent. They are good players who are playing good football. They’re starting to recognize those talents and they are using them day in and day out on the practice field and on Satur- days. “We had problems Saturday, but we didn’t let it get us down. Things are going to go in your favor and things are going to go against you. You just have to ac- cept those and take advantage of the things that you can. We just went on about our business.”’ The business of winning. 2C » MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1991 : USA TODAY COVER STORY Twins: Bottoms up Continued from 1C Town with a 3-2 lead before the weekend started, penned their own last-to-first story when they won the National League pennant, but the Twins made sure that’s all they wrote. The Twins’ fun-loving, grap- pling first baseman: Kent Hrbek says the never-say-die 1991 World Series was a healthy shot of inspiration for society. “This is a good lesson for life,’ Hrbek says. “It shows anyone that no matter how down you are, you always have a chance to come back.” And indeed, the Twins were down. Last Oct. 28, they were still smarting from the sting of fin- ishing 29 games out of first place. And it looked like more of the same as 1991 began. The Twins started 2-9 on a travel schedule that sent them from Florida to Oakland, Min- nesota, Seattle and California. They were 9-11 when April finished, 23-25 when May was done. On May 28, the Twins, who were 714 games out of first place, beat the Texas Rangers 3-0 to put an end to the Rang- ers’ 14-game winning streak. Four days later, the Twins defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-1 in Kansas City to ig- nite a winning streak of their own. It lasted 15 games. It was the longest in the ma- jor leagues, but it didn’t get the Twins a lot of respect, because they were kicking around the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indi- ans, the three worst teams in the American League. By the time they lost on June 16 — 6-5 in Baltimore when the Orioles’ Randy Milli- gan hit a two-run double off Rick Aguilera in the last of the ninth inning — the Twins had taken over first place. From there, they marched onward. They were tied for first at the All-Star break. After the break, the Twins beat the Boston Red Sox seven of eight and went ahead by 544 games July 21. But there were some pot- holes on the home stretch. The Twins were clinging to a one- game lead Aug. 11, but they ral- lied. And by end of the month, the lead swelled to seven games. The race was over. When they got to the Ameri- can League Championship Se- ries, the Twins split the first two games with the Toronto Blue Jays at the Metrodome — the first postseason loss in the building’s history. Then, the Twins went to To- ronto and beat the Blue Jays three times on their own Sky- Dome turf — a playoffs road sweep that had never been done before. What keyed the rebirth? When the Twins won the World Series in ’87, they did so with a minimal amount of pitching strength and a lineup laced with home-run power. In contrast, the ’91 Twins had deep pitching, an air-tight defense and a lineup of bats that sprayed pitches from foul line to foul line. For the first time in ages, the Twins had triplets in their start- ing rotation. Right-handers Jack Morris, Kevin Tapani and 20-game winner Scott Erickson combined for 54 wins. Morris, who grew up in St. ’ Paul, signed as a free agent. Tapani came from the New York Mets in a trade along with four other pitchers, in- cluding save-machine Agui- lera. The Twins signed Davis af- ter other teams shied away be- cause of his history of back in- juries. They signed Mike Pagliarulo and platooned him with Scott Leius at third base. They added Steve Bedrosian to the bullpen. They drafted outfielder Shane Mack from the San Diego Padres’ minor- league system, and it turned out to be a steal. The Twins also added a rookie second baseman, Chuck Knoblauch, who has a Dennis the Menace cowlick, a dirty uniform and solid shot at Rook- ie of the Year honors. In the postseason, it seemed that each game brought forth a new hero. Morris’ 10-inning, 1-0 shutout in Game7 sealed the Series and earned the pitcher Most Valuable Player honors. Pagliarulo hit the game-win- ning home run in Game 3 of the ALCS. In the World Series, Greg Gagne and Hrbek hit home runs in Game 1. In Game 2, it was Davis and Leius. In Game 6, the spotlight went to outfielder Kirby Puck- ett, the player who gets the loudest cheers at the Mefro- dome. Puckett hit a triple to score the Twins’ first run in the first inning of Game 6. He jumped with his back to the plexiglass in deep left-cen- ter field to rob Atlanta’s Ron Gant of extra bases, maybe a home run. _He hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to give the Twins a 3-2 lead. And then in the 11th, he led off by hitting a line-drive into the left-field seats against At- lanta’s Charlie Leibrandt to send the Metrodome into even more of a frenzy — and force the Series to a final night of ten- sion. Puckett has that lovable body. He’s 5-8 and 216 pounds. His legs are tree trunks and they have the power of pistons. Puckett is an apt symbol for the comeback Series. He grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes, a Chicago hous- ing project that’s within walk- ing distance of the White Sox’s Comiskey Park. Most of his childhood friends are either dead or in jail, he says. His teammates say his su- perstar status never goes to his head. They love his easy-going, good nature. “This is all ’'ve ever wanted to do — play baseball,” Puckett says. “Baseball has given me everything I need. 6C - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1991 « USA TODAY F East Carolina capturing fans’ fancy 6-1 team is entertaining serious bowl aspirations By Harry Blauvelt USA TODAY In Greenville, N.C., purple- clad football fans do the “saber slash,” a local version of the “tomahawk chop.” At Ficklen Stadium, handmade banners proclaim, “I believe.” The object of their affection: East Carolina, No.20 in the USA TODAY/CNN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. Saturday, the surprising Pi- rates (6-1) took a giant step to- ward a bowl bid, defeating then-No. 25 Pittsburgh 24-23 before a record home crowd (36,000) that tore down the goalposts after the final gun. “It was an exciting atmo- sphere that reminded me of an Atlanta Braves game, with the tomahawk chop,” says Block- buster Bowl scout Chris Boul- ton. “Everybody was. dressed in purple, with gold (foam rub- ber) sabers flashing up and down. This is a town and a team ready for success.” The catalyst of all this ex- citement is quarterback Jeff Blake Saturday, trailing 23-16, he. drove ECU 80 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 23- 22. With 46 seconds left, he ran for the winning two-point con- version. “Anytime you can go the length of the field, then make a two-point play, you’re a heck-. uva good team,”’ says Pitt coach Paul Hackett. Blake, 6-1, 194 pounds, is No. 2 in the USA in passing effi- ciency. Saturday, he complet- ed 21 of 31 passes for 247 yards, with one touchdown and an interception. For the sea- son, he has 1,849 passing yards, 16 TDs and two interceptions. Saturday, Pitt’s Steve Israel ended Blake’s streak of 158 consecutive passes without an interception. “Td match Jeff's production with anyone else in the coun- try,” says ECU coach Bill Lew- is, whose team hosts Tulane (0- ourselves in being a blue-collar team.’ 8) Saturday. ‘“He’s a young guy on a roll. He’s fun to watch.” Two weeks ago against then- No. 18 Syracuse, Blake ran 43 yards for the winning touch- down in a 23-20 win. “We’re a team that wants to go to a bowl game,” says Blake. “But people think we’re a Cin- derella team. We'll have to go 10-1 to really gain the respect we deserve.” Having a quarterback with star quality will help. “The big Florida schools all wanted Jeff, but not as a quar- terback,”’ says his father, Emory, head football coach of Sanford (Fla.) Seminole High. On defense, the Pirates’ top attraction is linebacker Robert Jones, 6-3, 234, a senior from - Blackstone, Va. With Pitt leading 20-16, Jones tackled running back Tim Colicchio for a 2-yard loss on third-and-one at the ECU 13. That forced a field goal, keep- ing the Pirates within striking distance. “I went to North Carolina when Lawrence Taylor was there, and Jones chases people down like L.T.,” says Block- buster’s Boulton. Jones is a semifinalist (top 10) for the Butkus Award and among the final 12 for the Lom- bardi Award. Pirates’ bloodline varied and talented Although standouts Robert Jones and Jeff Blake are out-of-staters, 36 Pirates are from North Carolina. The rest: Florida (22), Georgia (16), South Carolina (11) Virginia (8), Pennsyl- vania. (4), Maryland (3) and New Jersey (2). Seven others hail from seven different states. It is an eclectic group, with good bloodlines: >» Blake’s godfather is outfielder Tim Raines of the Chicago White Sox. > Backup QB Michael Anderson’s brother, Willie, is a guard for NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. > Fullback Michael Rhett’s brother, Errict, is a running back for No. 6 Florida. “I took a visit down here and just loved it,” says tight end Luke Fisher, from Medford, N.J., : who caught seven passes for 92 yards against Pitt. “The people are very friendly.” The program sends players to the pros: RB Er- nest Byner (Redskins); OL Terry Long (Steel- ers); OL Tootie Robbins (Cardinals); LB Vincent Smith (Cowboys), LB Ernie Logan (Browns); RB Tony Collins (Patriots, no longer active). * CATALYST OF EXCITEMENT: East Carolina quarterback Blake has thrown for 1,849 yards and 16 TDs this season. Says Lewis: “He’s the best linebacker I’ve ever been around.” East Carolina is a liberal arts school (enrollment: 16,693) in Greenville, (pop: 50,000), locat- ed 60 miles from the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast part of the state. It is 85 miles from Ra- leigh (North Carolina State) and 110 from Durham-Chapel Hill (Duke, North Carolina). Before Lewis arrived in 1989, the Pirates were 14-41 the previous five seasons. He was 10-11-1 his first two sea- sons. This year, he says the big dif- ference is quality players. An- other factor is the coaching staff, which has remained in- tact, fostering continuity. “And we've instilled a work ethic,” says Lewis. “We’re not IN very fancy, but we pride our- selves in being a blue-collar team.” A stepped-up conditioning program has paid fourth-quar- ter dividends. A year ago, the Pirates were outscored 90-57 in the last period. This season: ECU holds a 64-33 edge. East Carolina’s only defeat was 38-31 to Illinois. “Bill Lewis is an outstanding coach,”’ says Illinois coach John Mackovic. “He’s done what he promised — given East Carolina an exciting team that would play competitively against stronger opponents.” After Tulane, the Pirates close the regular season with three road games: Southern Mississippi (4-4), Virginia Tech (4-4), Cincinnati (3-5). If they keep winning, the Pi- rates should enjoy a postseason reward. ‘Representatives of the Blockbuster, Peach, Indepen- dence and John Hancock bowls watched East Carolina defeat Pitt. “East Carolina is not a fluke,” says Blockbuster’s Boul- ton. “They have an excellent team, and they’re very worthy of going to a bowl.” THE RIGHT WAY TO DO BUSINESS At the Wyndham Hamilton, we Location COLLEGE FOOTBALL Wieberg’s prediction at ee@G6G@ee202@020080080080080008000000000000000800000000008080808 88 OO The Daily Reflector ‘Sunday, November 3, 1991 A sure pair of hands © Gallimore snags 3 for touchdowns X By Woody Peele THE DAILY REFLECTOR “As you look at any great passer, you see two things,’’ East Carolina coach Bill Lewis said Saturday afternoon. ‘‘They have an offensive line that does a great job of protecting him and you have receivers who go and catch the ball. “And a= cer- tain number of them are tough catches.” Senior Hunter Gallimore is one who can make those tough catches. Saturday : afternoon in his final game in Ficklen Stadium, Gallimore pulled the ball away from a defender for two touch- downs, then added another as ECU beat Tulane, 38-28. On the first grab, a 54-yarder from Jeff Blake, Gallimore wrestled the ball away from cor- nerback Willie Smith. Later, on an 18-yard fade pattern, Gallimore /GALLIMORE - fought off another defender for his second score. ‘The long one was a post pat- tern,” the 6-0, 175-pound former walk-on from Wilson said. ‘Jeff made a great throw, the ball stayed up forever and I just ran under it.”’ On the second catch, Gallimore : and Blake used an old formula. “The fade route was the same we’ve run all season,’ said Gallimore, who had six catches for 133 yards. ‘‘(The defender) broke to it quick and Jeff just led me to the back corner.”’ On Gallimore’s. third touchdown (See GALLIMORE, C-2) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PINEHURST — Craig Stadler relinquished his advantage on the scoreboard but may have one in the weather. Stadler’s last-hole, three-putt bogey dropped him back into a tie with Russ Cochran for the lead Saturday after three rounds of the season-ending, $2 million Tour Championship. They shared the top spot at 208, five under par, going into Sun- day’s final round of the tourna- ‘ment that replaced the Nabisco Championship as the big-money climax of the official portion of the PGA Tour. Cochran, one of the rare left- handers on the PGA Tour, was bemoaning the weather forecast, Sports The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis After his interception return fora TD, Anthony Freeman (21) gets a lift from Jerry Dillon however, after his round of par 71 on the famed old No. 2 course at Pinehurst. It called for an overnight low in the 30’s and a high Sunday in the 50’s — precisely what Cochran did not want in the chase for a $360,000 first prize. “T hate cold weather,’ he said. “Tdrather play in the rain. “IT tend to cut everything short in the cold. My hands get cold and I’m a handsie player. ‘“T’ve always struggled in cold weather.” Stadler said he had no such pro- blem. “It doesn’t matter to me. If it’s cold, I’ll just put my sweater on,”’ he said. Stadler scored an eagle-3 in his round of 1-over-par 72 and was leading alone until the three-putt lapse on the final hole. Fred Couples holed out a 108- yard wedge shot for an eagle-2 in the best round of the tournament, a 5-under-par 66 that gave him a leg up in his battle with Corey Pavin for all the major season- long titles. Couples was third alone at 211 and within reach of the lead. Pavin had a 72 in the gusty winds and was seven behind the lead witha 215 total. Pavin and Couples are 1-2 in the money-winning standings. Couples is first and Pavin second in the race for the Vardon Trophy that goes to the player with the best scoring average. They are tied for the lead in the point standings for the PGA Player of the Year. All three races end in this event. “That’s all very good,’’ Couples said, ‘“‘but that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to play in the Tour Championship. “But it’s hard not to think about things like that,’’ he admitted, “particularly when you haven’t won any of them.”’ PGA champ John Daly shot 68, one of the few subpar rounds of the windy day, and moved back into contention at 212, one under par. He was tied with Nick Price and Bruce Lietzke. Lietzke had a 72 and Price struggled to a 75. Stadler, who has won more than $2 million since scoring his last American victory in 1984, almost let this one get away from him. He had two birdies, three bogeys KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS COLUMBIA, S.C. — N.C. State’s football team, left for dead by Clemson a week ago, rose to hammer South Carolina 38-21 Saturday afternoon in Wil- liams-Brice Stadium. The Wolfpack, blasted as overrated by some both before and after its 29-19 loss to the Tigers and dropped from 12th to 19th in the national rankings, simply rammed the ball through the Gamecocks all day long. When it was done, N.C. State (7-1) had 304 yards rushing, 132 passing and considerably more respect. _ “T think we earned back a lot of the respect that we lost last week,”’ said N.C. State line- backer Billy Ray Haynes. “We're not trying to impress anybody, but our national rank- ing had dropped right off. “But today we proved on na- tional TV that we could play ball. If we win the rest of our Wolfpack makes Gamecocks pay | games, we can go to Florida and play football (in a bowl).”’ But Saturday’s victory over the 3-3-2 Gamecocks didn’t come easily. And it didn’t come without controversy. The key play came late in the third quarter, when South Caro- lina, which had just driven for its first score and trimmed N.C. State’s lead to 21-7, forced the Wolfpack to punt from its 35. The officials ruled that the punt bounced off the heel of the right foot of South Carolina’s Rocky Clay, and that the Wolfpack’s Reggie Lawrence had recovered at the Gamecocks’ 24. Televised replays appeared to show that the ball did not touch Clay. Four plays later, N.C. State quarterback Geoff Bender hit Ray Griffis with a 9-yard touchdown pass, making it 28-7 with four minutes 12 seconds left in the third period. The Gamecocks surged back furiously. Quarterback Bobby Fuller piloted a 75-yard drive Norman Greene’s tackle comes too late to stop N.C. State’s Todd Harrison from scoring on the next series that culmi- nated in a 20-yard touchdown toss to Eddie Miller. South Carolina then stopped “The Associated Press the Wolfpack, and Charlotte’s Antonio Walker blocked Tim Kilpatrick’s punt after a high (See WOLFPACK, C-5) % ° College Football ¢ High School Sports ¢ Outdoors Not pretty — but a win ECU holds off Green Wave for seventh straight, 38-28 By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Bill Lewis has his standards. When his football team doesn’t meet them, he is not a happy man — even when the result is a win. Saturday in Ficklen Stadium, after 17th-ranked East Carolina held on for a 38-28 win over Tulane in its final home game this season, Lewis was not exactly thrilled. In fact, no one was. ‘I think our players know what they did out there today,” Lewis said. “There was not a sound in that dressing room. That’s a sign that your program is going in the right direction — when you can win a football game and not have a celebration afterwards. “Good teams find a way to win when they’re not up to standards. Those guys down there know that was not up to our standards.”’ They certainly did. ‘A win is a win,” said junior defensive end Jerry Dillon. “Nothing should take away from the victory, but in the players’ minds we know we didn’t play up to our ability. I think we laid down in the second half.”’ ‘Everybody was happy that we won but we were also disappointed with the way we played,’’ added Stephen Braddy, one of the 24 se- niors playing for the final time in Ficklen Stadium. ‘“‘We know we’re a lot better team than what we showed today. ‘I think we came out the second half with that big lead (31-7) and everybody kind of thought we had it won. I don’t think we played as hard as we are capable of — we weren’t the same team.” Not the team that knocked off Syracuse on the road and had Ficklen buzzing during wins over South Carolina and Pittsburgh. . Cochran, Stadler share lead after three and a double bogey — where he missed a green and then three- putted — on the front side. “My confidence was slipping pretty bad about then,”’ he said. After driving into the trees on the 10th, he managed to save par with a chip to about 8 feet. ‘“‘Thatas the turning point,’ Stadler said. “It’s hard to say what would have happened if I’d missed that putt.’’ He birdied the 14th from about 15 feet, then vaulted back into the lead with an 18-foot eagle putt on the 16th. Cochran had to work hard to match par, with three birdies and as many bogeys. “T feel like I got away with one out there,’ he said. And even the crowd of 31,126 seemed a little flat. No goal posts were coming down and no fans were swarming the field on this gorgeous Saturday afternoon. Of course, if they had, they probably would have been penal- ized. Nearly everything else was. Officials, doing a poor impres- sion of the saber slash, tossed those irritating little yellow hankies to the tune of 31 penalties — five short of the NCAA record. East Carolina was penalized: a school-record 18 times for 159 yards. The Green Wave had 13 penalties for 106 yards. Early in the fourth period, fans finally pleaded in unison ‘‘No more flags, no more flags.”’ “I told the guys one time that must be the 15,000th flag,” Dillon said. “I hate to do it, but, man, I was looking at the clock hoping the game would hurry up and end.”’ When it finally did, three hours, 10 minutes after the 1:30 p.m. kickoff, East Carolina had its sev- enth straight win and stayed on track for a postseason bow] berth. Representatives from the Peach, Liberty, Gator and Independence bowls were in attendance Satur- day. As dreary as it sounds, what they saw was not all bad. They did get to see an imagina- tive ECU offense and two big defensive stands in the first half. They saw senior quarterback Jeff Blake show off his strong and ac- curate arm, they saw Hunter Gallimore make several acrobatic catches and they saw Dion John- son run circles around Green Wave defenders. Blake completed 18 of 32 passes for 243 yards and three touch- downs — all to Gallimore — and (See PIRATES, C-2) RUSS COCHRAN Stanicek gives Heels big boost KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS CHAPEL HILL — North Caroli- na turned the future over to freshman quarterback Jason Stanicek on Saturday afternoon in Kenan Stadium, and the skinny 18-year-old gave the Tar Heels something to smile about. Stanicek, a sudden celebrity after a season of anonymity, drove the Tar Heels on three scoring marches of 80 yards or longer in the first half as North Carolina overwhelmed Maryland 24-0 in Kenan Stadium. In the space of one sunny after- noon, North Carolina’s football fortunes took on a decidedly dif- ferent perspective. Although Stanicek made his share of mistakes, his mobility and savvy gave North Carolina a new dimen- sion at a position that has been a liability much of the past four years. “He (Stanicek) has a lot of nat- ural instincts about being a quar- terback,’’ North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. ‘‘He handled the offense a lot better than he should have as a freshman, but he had a lot of help.”’ A week after the Tar Heels fell apart in a 35-14 loss at Georgia Tech, they dominated a Maryland team (2-6, 2-3) that got ripped afterward by coach Joe Krivak for its sloppy play and lack of intensi- t y. ; A crowd that appeared signifi- cantly smaller than the announced attendance of 50,000 saw North Carolina (5-3, 2-3) stick to a con- servative game plan but grind out 308 rushing yards against the Terps. Tailback Natrone Means and bullish fullback William Henderson ran for 101 yards apiece, the first time in seven years North Carolina had two backs crack the 100-yard barrier in the same game. Defensively, North Carolina was healthier than it had been all sea- son, and it showed. With lineback- ers Tommy Thigpen and Dwight Hollier blitzing much of the time, the Tar Heels held Maryland to 131 total yards and never allowed (See TAR HEELS, C-5) REPORT by WILLIAM F. REEO [Editor’s note: While new purple jerseys played an important role in Clemson’s victory over N.C. State (page 28), purple garb was worn by three other teams we find ourselves writing about this week— East Carolina, Holy Cross and North- western. We did not plan this. Promise. ] vULLEGE Blake were, “Son, it’s going to come down to that two-point conversion.” Sure enough, with 46 seconds left and a school-record crowd (estimated at 36,000) having a collective nervous break- down, Blake finished a gritty 80-yard drive by diving over left tackle for the TD that pulled East Carolina to within one point, 23-22, of the Panthers, who had rallied to take the lead on the passing of quarterback Alex Van Pelt. On the Pi- rates’ two-point conversion try, Blake ran the option, cutting back over right tackle for the deuce that provided the winning margin in a 24—23 victory. “This team has it in its heart that it can’t be beat,” said Blake, who had completed a crucial 22- yard pass on third-and-17 deep in his own territory to spark the drive. The Panthers weren’t done yet, howev- er. Van Pelt quickly moved them to the The win, which moved East Carolina to 7-1, was witnessed by scouts from the Blockbuster, Peach, Independence and John Hancock bowls. The Pirates will probably go to one of those rather than to “R Monday, November 4, 1991 « a major bowl, even if they wind up 10-1. The reason, of course, is that East Caroli- na is a tradition-poor independent, one of those programs that fall through the bowl system’s cracks. No matter how good the Pirates are—and wins over Pitt and Syra- cuse suggest they might be Top 10 materi- al—they’re destined to be regarded as a curiosity by the polls and the bowls. Oh, well. For a program that has been to only six bowls, none of them major, in its 55-year history, any postseason game is important. Besides, East Carolina can now also claim to be the best team in its state, which is rather nice considering that only Duke has agreed to play the Pi- Nobody Is Finer in Carolina The week before No. 23 Pittsburgh visited No. 20 East Carolina for the first game between nationally ranked teams ever played in Greenville, N.C., the Pirates worked extensively on a two-point con- version play. The reason: Offensive coor- dinator Steve Logan had a funny feel- ing—“One of those déja vu deals,” he was 37 yards. called it—that it would be needed. Even at halftime, when East Carolina led 13-6, Logan’s final words to quarterback Jeff East Carolina 30 with seven seconds left. rates—next year in Durham. Talks to set But instead of having kicker Don Silvestri up a series with N.C. State recently broke try a 47-yard field goal, Van Pelt then off, and Wake Forest and North Carolina passed to Chad Askew at the Pirate 11, won’t even discuss the matter. where he was tackled as time expired. Should Pitt have gone for the field goal? A Cross to Bear “I thought we needed five more yards or _Inhis six years at Holy Cross, coach Mark so,” said coach Paul Hackett, aware that Duffner has built what may be the na- Silvestri’s longest field goal of the season _tion’s best Division I-AA program. His record after Saturday’s thrilling 43-42 Pa- triot League win over Lehigh is 56-5-1, Employing a sort of wishbone defense, the Pi- and four of the losses were to Division I-A rates got two legs up on Pitt’s Chris Bouyer. teams. What’s intriguing is that he has achieved this success without the most important motivational tool that any I-AA coach has—a berth in the division’s national championship playoffs. The Patriot League doesn’t allow its champion to participate in the postsea- son, ostensibly because the extra games— four for the two finalists—would require players to spend too much time away from class. “It’s something that’s been around here as long as I have,” says Duffner philosophically. “So we don’t even think about it.” That’s not quite true. Quarterback Tom Ciaccio, who has guided the Crusad- ers to 16 consecutive wins, a 7-0 record this season and the No. 3 ranking in Divi- sion I-AA (behind Nevada and Eastern Kentucky), admits to plenty of frustra- tion. “It’s my senior year, and I don’t want it to end,” said Ciaccio. “We’d like to have a shot at proving we’re not only the best team in the East, but in the country.” Ciaccio needed to be at his best against Lehigh, which came into the game with a 6-0 record and a playbook full of tricks. SNVW3T13IL Tv NOVEMBER 4. [00] VOLUME 75, No 2) CONTENTS By CHARLES CHANDLER Staff Writer three games. loss could be too many. attain. | The Daily Reflector | Sunday, November 10, 7 For East Carolina, where respect has never come easy, a dream season has come down to With wins in all, the Pirates (7-1) go bowling for the first time in 13 years. But even a single this season. purple-and-gold tie he has worn to every game interceptions. ¢ THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Saturday, November 9, 1991 COLLEGE FOOTBALL UPDATE ro ee Record day for STANDINGS 7 The Top 25 rr B ] WLT Pts OP WLT Pts OP : eae : a e 2 : The Associated Press Top 25, with first-place votes in paren- ACC theses, record, points based on 25 for a first-place vote Ree | Clemson ...... 5 through one for a 25th-place vote, last week’s ranking, record By Mike Grizzard ee Sous f vs. top 25 teams and combined record of all 1991 opponents THE DAILY REFLECTOR Virginia a 3 (excluding their games against non-Division I-A teams): N. Carolina .. 2 5 1991 Vs. Opp. : HATTIESBURG, Miss, — Every Marya : Record Pts. Top.25 Records ae you think you have seen the Wake Forest 0 1 . Florida State (53) 9-0-0 1492. 1 3-0-0 35-26-0 vee a ye palpi cs ae he ve a pe 1on that’s just a little BIG EAST 2 bab 2 (4) 8-0-0 1,413 3 2-0-0 35-19-2 bit better. ; Miami... Gio 76 - Miami (3) 7-0-0 1,413 2 2-0-0 25-24-1 So, another record-breaking ei 7 ichi cae eatel ‘ : : : : . Michigan 7-1-0 1,314 4 - 214-0 37-20-1 Saturday for the East Carolina Pittsburgh ... OMe eA . Notre Dame 8-1-0 1,239 5 _ 1-1-0 35-30-1 quarterback with the cannon for a vee tie : 4 : ._ Florida 7-0: J 219 6 Be920 (6) B784eD right arm shouldn’t come as a big Va. TaCh eG _ California P10: ARS) S01. to Bae eg SURDTISe. Jeff Blake ; Temple ........ Oe Open (6 . Alabama 7-1-0 1,060 Ih 2-1-0 28-23-0 special a Baas BIG EIGHT . Penn State fae-O F004 9B 121-0. Saeed Carolina head Reomeka a 6 .lowa 7-1-0 969 11 2-1-0 31-25-41 coach Bill] ae coe : . Nebraska 6-1-1 884 9 1-1-1 28-27-2 Lewis said. Kansas ........ 2 5 . Texas A&M 6-1-0) BBt 4a 4.0.0), eaibaay “You come to ng ant ve ; . Tennessee See OTRO a oth 8 aaa eli false your level eb ae 3 . Colorado 5-2-1 656 15) 1-144 95-0009 of Fe ge Okla. St... 0 _ Clemson 5-1-1 624 16 2-0-0 26-180 : Ash do what he BIG SKY ! . East Carolina PAD SBT AT DeOeO Bt.Opna , BLAKE “Rach wisi a Mei ; . Syracuse 7-2-0 502 18 2-1-0 39-29-0 i@ has lived up to that expecta- Wehatec A 18. N.C. State PeTeOCt BOG AGG. Dee oa lads ion. He’s fun to watch and he’s on Boise St. ...... 6 3. Ohio State 6-2-0 A03 13 0-2-0 25-32-0 vroll.’’ heed i . Oklahoma 62-0 398 20 0-1-0 25-212 ‘Southern Miss was Blake’s lat: NN divona 3 . Baylor 7-2-0 334 4 2450. GON ape est victim. In East Carolina’s 48-20 Idaho St. ... 2 “UCLA 6-20) 288 BS tog Sas ban romp on a cool and windy Satur- Montana St. . 2 day afternoon in Hatt; b ae . Georgia 6-2-0 . 272 "99... 8.19 9q.5B.4 Blake was on fire agai atuiesburg, N pA : alin. Cairn : von a = ao aes By halftime he had completed 16 [OWA vans 7 _ Indiana 5-2- 0-2-0 28-29- of 32 passes for 239 yards with alan ih : Others receiving votes: Tulsa28, Brigham Young 22, Stanford 16, Illinois 14, three touchdowns. When he finish- oe : periseg 1 Bi ie phustian 9, Air Force 6, Bowling Green 5, Mississippi St. 5, ed, he had school records for com- Nrthwstrn .... 3 - pletions (27), attempts (47), pass- Purdue... 3 Ing yards (361) and touchdown 3B FE. Carolina in need of win at Southern The recor determine where they Lhe Or, more importantly, if they go. hing else. This After today, the Pirates play at Virginia Tech next Saturday, then at Cincinnati the following The bowls will be watching. The Peach ee the most interested, but the Indepen- “Southern Miss i Holker t ence, Liberty and Copper also have East every inch of Hehe i en Carolina on their short lists. Gator Bow! Officials front seven will be the best we’ve played. These %?Y they haven't eliminated the Pirates. are guys who can fly to the ball and get there in More fittingly, the first of the three is today (2. 2 nasty mood. p.m.) at Southern Mississippi, a team that has Said Gator Bowl associate executive director Charles Callaghan: ‘Peo East Carolina, but obviously their season is not ' East Carolina counters with.an offense aver- done. The bowls are pulling for a 10-1 East won seven straight against the Pirates. aging 33 points per game. Quarterback Jeff Carolina. “I certainly hope the history of the series Blake is the Catalyst, ranking fifth nationally in serves as a plus for us,” said East Carolina passing and eighth in total offense. He has coach Bill Lewis, who plans to wear the thrown for 2,092 yards, 19 touchdowns and two ple are excited about d, of course, will liss Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower called East Carolina, ranked 16th, goes in with a_ Blake “‘the best quarterback I’ve seen this year seven-game winning streak, its lone loss to in college football. He’s somet f Illinois in its season opener. Today, the Pirates guy can do everything.” are favored by one. Southern Mississippi is 4-5 with losses in three of its past four games. Lewis’ top concern is the Golden Eagles’ week. defense, which has allowed more than 17 Bowl scouts, concerned with ratings and points just twice. revenues, say a 10-1 East Carolina can be sold to TV viewers as Cinderella. At 9-2 or 8-3, that glamor might be lost. Fittingly, all three games are on the road, where wins are always hard to Pirates settle debt; run by Eagles, 48-20 ti _ By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ' HATTIESBURG, Miss. — East Carolina settled another debt Sat- ‘arday afternoon and may have put la postseason bowl bid in the bank. ) With a 23-point outburst in the fourth period, the 16th-ranked Pirates rocked nemesis Southern Miss 48-20 to end one streak and extend another. ECU won its eighth straight this season to im- prove to 8-1 and terminated a string of seven straight losses in the series with the Golden Eagles. “This is one of our paybacks,”’ - Said. senior wide receiver Hunter Gallimore, a key component in an ECU offense that piled up a sea- son-high 551 total yards. ‘‘We’ve been counting our paybacks — South Carolina, Syracuse, Pitt- Sburgh and now Southern Mississippi.” Representatives from the Peach, Independence and Liberty 4 t bowls — along with a Roberts Stadium homecoming crowd of 18,117 — watched as ECU turned a back-and-forth struggle for three quarters into a rout. The loss was the third in a row for the Golden Eagles, now 4-6 overall. ‘“East Carolina has a great foot- ball team,’’ Southern Miss head coach Jeff Bower said. ‘‘There is no question in my mind they are a Top 15 football team. “They have good skill people and that quarterback is some kind of player.”’ That quarterback would be Jeff Blake — the Jeff Blake that com- pleted 27 of 47 passes for 361 yards and five touchdowns — all school records. He also led the Pirates in rushing with 41 yards on seven carries. Dion Johson’s 50-yard pass completion off a reverse gave ECU a school-record 411 yards through the air. “No doubt they are the best of- fensive football team we have fac- fourth-quarter touchdowns. ed all year — they are probably the best team we have played all year,’ Bower said. “‘It was a good game for three quarters. We just didn’t play well in the fourth quarter and could never put ourself in position to win the game.” | The Eagles, who led 14-6 in the first quarter, trailed only 25-20 after Tony Smith’s 5-yard run and a failed two-point conversion at- tempt with 43 seconds left in the third period. But East Carolina got a break on the next series and went on to bury USM with three The break? After finally stopp- ing Blake & Company, the Eagles were tagged with a holding penal- ty during an ECU punt and had to bring its defense back on the field. Two plays later, Johnson pulled up on an apparent reverse and fired a strike to Clayton Driver for a 50-yard gain. Blake and Johnson (See PIRATES, C-6) Sports _ * College Football ¢ High School Sports ¢ Outdoors The Associated Press Southern Mississippi’s Tommy Waters fumbles the ball as he is hit by East Carolina line- backer Robert Jones Saturday. Blake passes (5), With his team-leading 41 yards rushing — mostly on scrambles out of the pocket — Blake also set a school record for total offense in a single game with 402 yards. Just another day at the office? “You can call it that if you want,” said Blake. “We knew we would be able to throw the ball against them. It was just a matter of going out and executing.” And taking what Southern Miss was willing to give up. “They gave us a lot of the quick passes, but we wanted to throw the ball deep to keep them honest,”’ he said. “Once we got in arhythm, everything was fine.”’ Blake’s favorite target for the day was senior Hunter Gallimore, who had 11 catches for 154 yards ~~ both personal highs. Clayton Drivér, who made two spectacular grabs despite tight coverage, finished with five receptions for 115 yard and tight end Carlester Crumpler addded four for 49 yards. “The receivers were fantastic,”’ Blake said. “Clayton made some outstanding catches. Hunter and Carlester made some catches and Peter Zophy had some nice ones. “It’s their job to go out there and catch the ball — that’s what they do all day at practice. My job Is to get it to them.” ee enough. Throw it. Catch i Only sometimes it’s not quite that easy. What has made Blake so dan- Serous is the ability to recognize defenses, get the right played called and then deliver the ball to the open man. (See BLAKE, C-6) ? { € ( Continued From C-] ) Sometimes i . ; with finesse. with zip. Sometimes “Jeff knows whe touch on the bail, throw it in there,” there’s just a li to put a good and when to Gallimore Said. he can put it in ther ll we ask him t ance to mak nda For the Season ed for 2,453 yard 0 do is to give “dKe a play on t} hine times out : 10 7 Blake has Pass- S and 24 touch- C-6 The Daily Reflector, Greenville, N.C. EE ove at Southern Miss * Sunday, November 10, 1991 Ps Pirates E Yards rushing = 69 Total yards First downs 32 E419 Turnovers 2 Be =4 86 5 Interception return yards Total plays Kickoff return yards ee 24144 Punt return yards Passes completed 28 11 Passes attempted 51 E23 1st end 3rd 4th Total East Carolina 6 19 0 23 48 Southern Miss 14 0 6 : 0 20 Soone How they scored First quarter ECU: Brenner 34 field goal, 13:24. Scoring Drive — 3 plays, minus 2 yards after fumble recovery by Hall. Elapsed Time — :50. Score — ECU 3, USM 0. ECU: Brenner 33 field goal, 8:22. Scoring Drive — 10 plays, 55 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — 3:12. Key Plays — Blake 13-yard scramble on third-and-9, 37-yard pass to Gallimore on third-and-28. Score — ECU 6, USM 0. USM: Welch 1 run (Nations kick), 2:30. Scoring Drive — 12 plays, 65 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 5:52. Key Plays — Smith runs of 21 and 13 yards, Waters 14-yard pass to Pope. Score — USM 7, ECU 6. USM: Carter 86 punt return (Nations kick), :59. Score — USM 14, ECU 6. Second quarter ECU: Driver 5 pass from Blake (pass failed), 3:04. Scoring Drive — 12 plays, 75 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 3:04. Key Plays — Blake passes of 18 to Williams, 17 to Gallimore and 11 to Crumpler. Score — USM 14, ECU 12. ECU: Van Buren 3 pass from Blake (pass fails), 1:18. Scoring Drive — 5 plays, 40 yards after fumble recovery by Dillon. Key Play — Blake 26-yard pass to Fisher, Score — ECU 18, USM 14. ECU: Gallimore 29 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), :32. Scoring Drive — 1 play, 29 yards after interception by Floyd. Elapsed Time — :10. Score — ECU 25, USM 14. oe Third quarter USM: Smith 9 run (run fails), :43. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 26 yasrds after in- terception by Carter. Elapsed Time — 2:24. Key Play — Welch 4-yard run on third-and-2. Score — ECU 25, USM 20. Fourth quarter ECU: Johnson 11 pass from Blake (Johnson pass from Blake), 13:35. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 80 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 2:08. Key Plays — hold- ing penalty on USM during.punt, Johnson 50-yard pass to Driver. Score — ECU 33, USM 20. ECU: Wilson 1 run (Blake run), 9:59. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 48 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — 2:04. Key Plays — Blake 28-yard pass to Driver. Score — ECU 41, USM 20. ECU: Gallimore 8 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 6:54. Scoring Drive — 4 plays, 48 yards after fumble recovery by Beasley. Elapsed Time — 1:16. Key Plays — Blake 18-yard pass to Gallimore, Daniels 14-yard run. Score — ECU 48, USM 20. Pirates Roll, 48-20 (Continued From C-1) then teamed for an 1l-yard TD and a two-point conversion, giving ECU a 33-20 lead. After a short punt by Scott Bryant, ECU drove 48 yards in six plays to go up 41-20 with 9:59 to go. A sensational catch by Driver, who went high over Perry Carter near the right sideline, converted a third-and-17 from the 41. Damon Wilson got the touchdown on a 1- yard run and Blake scampered in for the two-point conversion. After Garrett Beasley’s fumble recovery at the USM 48, Blake capped the scoring with an 8-yard pass to Driver with 6:54 left. Southern Miss managed just 86 total yards the second half and 196 yards for the game. Smith ac- counted for most of that with 117 yards on 28 carries, 102 of which came in the first half. Carter turned in a big play on special teams, returning a John Jett punt 86 yards late in the first period to give USM a 14-6 lead. “T’m awfully proud of this foot- ball team for coming in here and winning against a team that has been awfully tough for. Pirate football teams to beat,’ East Car- olina head coach Bill Lewis said. “T think every phase — with the exception of the punt return — played extremely well. Defensive- ly, we caused some turnovers and the offense was able to take ad- vanatage of those turnovers.”’ The Pirates converted five Golden Eagle turnovers — four fumbles and one interception — into 23 points. Chris Hall’s fumble recovery on the second play of the game set up a 34-yard field goal by Anthony Brenner. Late in the sec- ond period, a fumble recovery by Jerry Dillon and an interception The Daily _ Reflector Monday, November 11, 1991 COLLEGE FOOTBALL by Greg Floyd helped ECU turn a 14-12 deficit into a 25-14 lead in a span of just 1:18. Beasley’s recov- ery set up the last TD. After ECU got within 14-12 on Blake’s 5-yard pass to Driver, Brenner, who also had 33-yard field goal in the first period, miss- ed two chances to put the Pirates ahead. He missed a 28-yard attempt with 10:48 showing and a 39-yard attempt with 4:14 left. Both were wide right. The first opportunity for Bren- ner was set up by Richard Wright’s recovery of a muffed fair catch of an ECU kickoff. A 15-yard penalty on the play moved the ball to the 24. Two plays later, Blake hit tight end Carlester Crumpler at the 11. Brenner came on after Arnie Wil- liams stepped in front of two Pirate receivers in the end zone to break up a pass from Blake. Brenner’s second miss came at the end of a 10-play drive that Started at the ECU 20 and ended at the Eagle 22. Southern Miss erased a 6-0 defi- cit with two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first quarter. Welch dashed in from the one on a fourth-and-goal gamble, capping a 12-play, 65-yard march that featured the running of Smith. Smith carried eight times for 43 yards on the drive. The only pass was a 14-yard toss from Tommy Waters to tight end Marcus Pope. Carter’s punt return made it 14- 6. ECU drove 75 yards in 12 plays to get within 14-12. Then, after Breener’s two misses, Jones blind-sided Waters to force a fum- ble and Dillon recovered. The Associated Press ECU’s Damon Wilson is stopped by Southern Miss’ James Singleton A 26-yard pass from Blake to Luke Fisher on third down moved the ball to the six. Two plays later, Damon Wilson went in for the Score and an 18-14 lead. A pas for two points failed. Floyd gathered in a deflected pass on the first play of the next series and returned it to the USM 29. On the next play, Gallimore got Brian Wood to bite on a fake inside and cut to the front corner of the end zone where he was alone. Blake’s pass was on target for a 24-14 lead. Brenner tacked on the PAT. ' “ * “I just ran a flag route and J gave a little inside move; Gallimore siad. “The defensive back bit on it and ended up f down. They said I was pretty open.” “I was amazed how open,’ was,’’ Blake said. ri Carter’s interception of a Blake pass set up USM’s third-quarter, TD. Smith eventually got the score on a s-yard run — three plays after a holding penalty wiped outa 25-yard TD pass from Waters.to Smith. tas FROM PAGE ONE Dream s€ason moves to 14th Pirates not pinching selves By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Eight wins, one loss. Ranked No. 14 in the nation. A bow] berth on the horizon. Is ita dream or reality? East Carolina football fans may be pinching themselves expecting to wake up from what so far has been a storybook season. But you won’t find Pirate players or coaches double-checking to see if this is actually happening. “It’s real. It’s definitely real,’ said ECU junior wide receiver Clayton Driver after East Caroli- na’s eighth straight win Saturday, a 48-20 blitzing of Southern Miss. ‘We work hard in practice and this is a direct result of how hard we work.” Quarterback Jeff Blake, who threw for 361 yards and five touchdowns Saturday, agrees. “It’s for real,’’ Blake said. ‘This is life, reality.”’ East Carolina’s first bid to a postseason bowl since 1978 should also become a reality Sunday afternoon. The Pirates, who still have visits to Virginia Tech and Cincinnati remaining, had repre- sentatives from three bowls — the Peach, the Independence and the Liberty — watching them Satur- day. A band of purple-clad Pirate fans numbering near 300 starting chanting “Gator Bowl, Gator ’ Bowl’ as the final seconds ticked off. The Gator Bow] was in Green- ville two weeks ago. For Blake, where ECU is head- ed doesn’t matter. “I just want a bowl,” Blake said. “I’m not picky. It’s not like we go every year.” ECU’s first win over the Golden Eagles since 1983, which snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series, was rewarded Sunday by a climb of two Spots in the latest As- sociated Press poll. The Pirates moved ahead of Clemson, which remained 15th despite a 21-6 win at North Caroli- na. Colorado, which nipped Okla- | AP Top 25 By The Associated Press The Top Twenty Five teams in the Associated Press 1991 college football poll, with first-place votes in paren- theses, records through Nov. 9, total points based on 25 points for a first- place vote through one point for a 25th- place vote, and previous rank- ing: Record Pts Pvs 1. Florida St. (53) — 10-0-0 1,492 2. Miami (3) 1,413 3. Washington (4) 1,412 4. Michigan 1,311 5. Florida 1,259 6. California 1,167 7. Alabama 1,090 8. Penn St. 1,044 9. Iowa ; 10. Tennessee 11. Nebraska 12. Notre Dame 13. Texas A&M 14.E. CAROLINA 15. Clemson 16. Colorado 17. Syracuse 18. Oklahoma 19. Ohio St. 20. Baylor 21. Virginia 22. Stanford 6-3-0. 167. — 23. Brigham Young 7-3-0 140 — 24. N. Carolina St. 7-2-0 96 18 25. Illinois 6-3-0 59 — Other receiving votes: Tulsa 43, UCLA 39, Georgia 35, Air Force 24, Indiana 21, Bowling Green 11, San Diego St. 10, Fresno St. 9, Mississippi St. 6, Pittsburgh 6, North Carolina 4, Arkansas 3. fos) 1 Sw i mine Sooroocooococooce CONDOS NNe _ So — co = So 933 13 883 11 878 5 867 12 636 16 631 15 630 14 516 17 463 20 460 19 375 21 349 24 a Np Reis URUULEL VON LEP ESS LS Wy pwe sn ooo Soe = a nN 1 homa State on a pass off a fake field, slipped from 14th to 16th. Virginia, which manhandled N.C. State moved up three spots to No. 21. The Wolfpack tumbled from 16th to 24th. Unbeatens Florida State, Miami and Washington are 1-2-3. The Seminoles (10-0) and Hurricanes (8-0) will tangle Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla. MONE FOR ONE: Dion John- son never threw a pass in high school. He had never thrown one in almost four years of college. Now he has. Saturday against Southern Miss, Johnson took a handoff from Blake on an apparent reverse, but (See EAST CAROLINA, B-8) East Carolina advances to 14th on AP pol Team statistics ECU USM Total first downs ; wns: rus wns downs: by: wn conversion -Potaknet3 : Total pla Aves: Net yards Sacked-yards lost Punts-ave. otak:return Punt ret. Individual statistics RUSHING: ECU _ Blake 7-41, Anderson 1-(-3), Van Buren 4-14, J. Smith 7-38, Daniels 4-15, D. Johnson 3-(-6), Wilson 11-29, Rhett 1-12; USM ~ T. Smith 28-117, R. Johnson 4-19, Welsh 5-4, Waters 3-(-26), Reed 1-11, McGee 1-(-4), Niblett 1-6. RECEIVING: ECU _ Gallimore 11-154, Crumpler 4-49, R. Williams 1-18, Driver 5-115, D. Johnson 3-31, Zophy 1-11, Van Buren 1-3, Fisher 1-36, Blake 1-(-7). PASSING: ECU _ Blake 27-47-2 for 361 yds., Anderson 0-3-0, Johnson 1-1-0 for 50 yards; USM _ Waters 7-13-1 for 49 yards, Niblett 4-10-0 for 20 yards. PUNTING: ECU _ Jett 2-82; USM _ Bryant 6-210. FIELD GOALS: ECU _ Brenner 2-4; USM _ none. PUNT RETURNS: ECU _D. Johnson 2-11; USM _ Carter 2-86. KICKOFF RETURNS : ECU ci Johnson 2-34; USM _ G. Reed 3-73, T. Smith 2-47, McGee 2-24, White 1-0. INTERCEPTION RETURNS: ECU _ Floyd 1-10; USM _ Carter 1-26, Blake 1-0. TOTAL TACKLES: ECU My Burnette 13, R. Jones 12, Dillon 11, Grandison 8, Carter 5, Hall 5, Wright 5, Gardill 4, Marshmon 4, Beasley 3, Washington 3, Cunmulaj 3, Floyd 3, Cooke 3, Davis 2, Braddy 2, Freeman 2, Taylor 2, Myers 1, Cotton 1, Harvey 1, Scott 1; USM _ Wood 9, McDowell 8, Antoniou 7, Hoskins We Williams 6, Blake 5, Singleton 5, Wynn 5, Nix 4, Hamilton 3, Johnson 3, Loescher 3, Adams 2, Roberts wh Collins 2, Lynch 1, Rankins 1, Waters 1, White 1, Welch 1, Gaham 1, Mize 1, Monroe 1, Carter 1, K. Collins 1. TIME ELAPSED: 2:47 ATTENDANCE: 18,117 OFFICIALS: Bill Parkinson (r), Tommy Rose (u), Joe Pipkin (hl), Gale Porter (1j), Len Harrington (sj), Sonny Holmes (fj), Danny Landry (bj) a es -WOODY PEELE Monday Musings: . This could be the most impor- tant week of the 1991 football sea- son for East Carolina University. “ ECU goes on the road once more, visiting Blacksburg, Va., to take on Virginia Tech. The Hokies, as most remember, pulled out a one-point victory over the Pirates last year when Tech blocked an extra point by the Pirates late in the game. Earlier, an ECU touch- down went by the boards when David Daniels fumbled the ball go- ing-into the end zone and Tech re- covered in the air and carried it back deep into ECU territory. The Pirates held on that series, but it put them into a hole from which they never recovered and swung the momentum to the Hokies. There are a number of national observers who have been saying for weeks that the Pirates won’t win Saturday afternoon. True, well they might lose. But it won’t be for lack of effort on the Pirate side. Certainly, ECU is going to have to reach into its bag of tricks and come up with something to counter Tech’s pass defense, perhaps the best the Pirates have faced this year. They’re also going to have to counter the Hokies good offense, sharpened against some of the country’s best earlier in the year. The game can accomplish much for the Hokies. It can assure them of a winning season, and it can give them a victory over a ranked team. That, coupled with an upset of Virginia in their last game could still make Tech a candidate for.a bowl game later in the sea- son. East Carolina, of course, would just about sew up a bowl bid with a victory — if they haven’t al- ready. Certainly the bowl scouts who were in attendance Saturday during the 48-20 thrashing of Southern Mississippi had to be even more impressed with the Pirates. (Continued From B-1) 7 pulled and firéd downfield. At the other end — 50 yards away — was Driver with Golden Eagle corner- back Perry Carter on his back. The ball settled into Driver’s arms at the 11. ’' ) ‘“‘We’ve been working on it every day in practice and I was wonder- ing when Coach (Steve) Logan was going to call it,’ Johnson said. ‘‘He said he was going to call it but he never did call it. I’ve been waiting.” Johnson has been used), on reverses since coming to ECU last season. The pass off the play has been in throughout the sedson, Pirate head coach Bill Lewis said, but this was the first opportunity to use it. “It’s something we have carried as part of our reverse package,’ Lewis said. “‘It’s the first time we threw it... a pretty good-looking iral. eThe defender, I thought, had it pretty well-covered, but (Johnson) got it over the top and Clayton made a nice intel ne The play proved critical. On oi et play, Blake hit Johnson on an out pattern. John- son side-stepped one defender and trotted in for the touchdown. Blake then hit Johnson on_the two-point conversion, giving ECU a 33-20 lead. Driver said he was surprised when he heard the reverse pass called in the huddle, since the play is normally designed to go to They look for exciting teams, and ECU is certainly that. East Carolina has been in- novative with its offense all year, pulling plays out of the bag that keep the opposing defense back on its heels, wondering what the Pirates will do next. Certainly, the reverse option pass, as pulled off between Dion Johnson and Clayton Driver Sat- urday afternoon, is that type of play. The Pirates, in addition to the normal compliment of plays, have used a variety of reverses, double reverses and the like. About the only thing we haven’t seen yet is the flea-flicker — and that’s probably down in there somewhere. Hunter Gallimore. “T said ‘Oh well, I can run it too,’ ’’ said Driver, who had five catches for 115 yards and scored two touchdowns. ‘‘Dion made a good throw. He put it where it had to be.” MLUKE’S CATCH: With Luke Fisher nursing a sore shoulder, Lewis didn’t want to use his senior tight end Saturday unless the perfect situation arose. In the second period, with ECU trailing 14-12, Lewis felt he needed Fisher. The Pirates faced a third-and-2 at the Southern Miss 32 and had already failed on two chances to take the lead — both on missed field goals. Fisher came in on what would Unfortunately, there’s a downside to al] of this. When a football team makes the strides that have been made by the Pirates, fame comes quickly and teams with less Success — and bigger names — come calling. - One of the biggest factors in building this year’s SUCCesSes Was the fact that ECU did not lo sea single member of the coaching staff from last year. Butit’s almost too much to hope for that all of the staff will return ne xt fall, Head coaches are going to be look- Ing to copy the innovation the Pirates have shown and will be ealling on our assistants. And athletic directors unhappy with their present coaches are go- re fe be veo not only on some assistants ill Lewis, too, 7 Head coach A great deal, of course. is 30; to be determined by what pk : thinks he can accomplish here — pe nasi nie might be looked re favorable 4 conference now. ee The Pirates lose a lot of good players, including record-setting quarterback Jeff Blake and all- American linebacker Robert Jones, among others. Certainly replacements are there, and one thing Lewis will be Measuring will] be how quickly they can come up to the same level] of competition — to keep the ball rolling. Whether Lewis will be happy with his current Situation or whether he wil] aps the biggest be answered in be his only play of the game and caught a 26-yard pass for a first down. Two plays later, Damon Wilson scored to put ECU in front for good. ‘We knew Luke would be able to do something like that,’ Lewis said. ‘“‘We did not want to play him, but that was a play we knew we could get him in the open field and knew he wasn’t going to take a head-on blow on the shoulder.”’ The catch made Fisher the school’s all-time lead in pass receptions with 92. He came into the game tied with Walter Wilson. Crime Stoppers If you have information on any crime commit- ted in Pitt County, call Crime Stoppers, 758- 7777. You do not have to identify yourself and can be paid for the information you supply. Wednesday November 13, 1991 .« a TOM SORENSEN Pirates paint "91 season purple, gold The football season has been predictable for most major col- lege teams in the Carolinas. Clemson is beating everybody, N.C. State is beating almost everybody, Wake Forest, South Carolina and Duke are not beat- ing anybody and North Carolina has had another good recruiting year. For excitement, we must look beyond the ACC, almost to the coast. There we find Greenville, N.C., from which the East Carolina Pirates have emerged to cut a purple and gold slash through an otherwise beige season. East Car- olina fans wave gold foam rubber swords, put Pirates signs in front of their businesses and follow their team anywhere it goes. About 500 of them showed up at the Kinston Regional Jetport in last Saturday’s late-night gloom and rain to welcome the Pirates home after a victory against Southern Mississippi in Hatties- _ burg, Miss. More than 6,000 fans will drive to Blacksburg, Va., Saturday to watch the Pirates play Virginia Tech. If the Pirates win, they’ll go to the Peach:Bowl and play N.C. State or Virginia. Despite an 8-1 record and victories against Pitts- burgh and Syracuse, the Pirates are underdogs by 5% points. “We've been underdogs since I’ve been here,” says East Caro- lina junior running back Cedric Van Buren. ‘“We’ve been there before and we'll see what hap- pens. That’s all I’m gonna say.” To adopt an Us Against the World attitude, every team wants to be an underdog. The Pirates really are. Although there are 16,506 stu- dents on campus and 46,000 resi- dents in Greenville, the school is out of the way. It is 90 miles east of Raleigh and not on any major freeway or on the way to any place. The only way to get there is On purpose. Most ACC schools don't. Nei- ther North Carolina nor Wake Forest will play the Pirates, and N.C. State will play them only in Raleigh. For most sportswriters, Green- ville is out of sight and out of mind. I visited for the first time in 1983, when the Pirates went 8-3. When Ed Emory, then the coach, saw me on the practice field, he dropped to his knees and bowed. Old Ed was not being nice. Old Ed was being sarcastic. He was ~ good at that. He was a good coach, too. His ’83 team was the last win- ning team the Pirates had until this season. Fans have been wait- ing and hoping, mostly waiting. All those pent-up cheers have been set free. “It's wild in Greenville,” says receiver Dion Johnson. “Nota day goes by when people don’t come up and say what a great job we're doing. It’s just wild.” East Carolina coach Bill Lewis says the biggest surprise for him has been “the way the whole community of eastern North Car- olina — and the East Carolina family as a whole — have ' responded. Perhaps there are larger followings, but I don’t think there’s a more genuine fol- lowing, a more genuine feeling between fans and their football team.” Pirate Club chapters in Green- ville, Charlotte, Raleigh and Rowan County will ride chartered buses to Blacksburg. In the Char- lotte chapter are 188 members. How many are going? ‘All of them,” says Charlotte director Mike Auten. “I don’t know of one who’s not.” Auten is a salesman for Farm Bureau Insurance Service and an East Carolina graduate, class of 79. Two weeks ago, he drove 414 hours from Charlotte to Green- ville to watch the Pirates play Tulane, got tired of his 3-year-old daughter Erin, also a Pirates fan, screaming, and left at halftime to make the 44-hour drive home. The Pirates were up 31-7 at the time, but he still hated to leave. “You have no idea what this season means to us,” says Auten. “Tl mean, we still have to win Sat- urday. Then it’s kind of a dream.”’ The Peach Bowl is played in Atlanta on New Year’s Day and televised nationally. East Caro- lina fans know there is life beyond the ACC, even way out in Greenville, and they want others to know, too. If the Pirates win Saturday, oth- ers will. The Dream Bowl: Pirates vs. Wolfpack? By CHARLES CHANDLER Staff Writer An East Carolina vs. N.C. State Peach Bowl is close to reality, and a Clemson-Cali- fornia matchup in the Florida Citrus Bowl is virtually certain. Both games are set for New Year’s Day. East Carolina (8-1), ranked 14th, can clinch a berth in the Peach in Atlanta with a win Saturday at Virginia Tech. Even if they lose, bowl sources say the Pirates may still get the invitation. East Carolina would play N.C. State or Virginia. Which one probably depends on the results of a meeting today of the Gator Bowl committee. Oklahoma appears set in one Gator slot, The Charlotte Observer with the other going to Virginia or the winner of the Nov. 30 game between Georgia Tech and Georgia. The Gator (Dec. 29, Jacksonville, Fla.) dropped N.C. State from consideration after the Wolfpack’s 42-10 loss to Virginia Saturday. If the Gator takes Virginia, N.C. State goes to the Peach to play East Carolina in a dream meeting for fans of both teams. A 18-game series between the teams ended after Pirates fans stormed the field at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh in 1987. Attempts to revive the series have failed. The Peach (11:30 a.m., ESPN) will be the first of the New Year’s Day bowls. If the Gator chooses the Georgia-Georgia Tech winner, the Peach would then have to choose between N.C. State and Virginia. If N.C. State gets shut out of the Peach, its best possibilities appear to be the Copper (Dec. 31, Tempe, Ariz.), Independence (Dec. 29, Shreveport, La.) and Aloha (Dec. 25, Honolulu) bowls. The Aloha, however, is anxious to land Georgia Tech and would like to pit the Yellow Jackets against Baylor. The Copper and Independence are also interested in North Carolina if the Tar Heels win their last two games to finish 7-4. Clemson can clinch the ACC regular-sea- son title and the accompanying Citrus berth in Orlando, Fla., by beating either Maryland Saturday or Duke Dec. 1 in Tokyo. California, ranked sixth, is already set as becroNDD , the Tigers’ opponent, though official bowl invitations can’t be extended until Sunday. Other bowls matchups look like this: Orange: Miami-Florida State winner vs. Big Eight champ (Nebraska or Colorado). Cotton: Southwest Conference champ (probably Texas A&M) vs. Florida State (if Seminoles lose to Miami) or Big Eight runner-up (Nebraska or Colorado). Blockbuster: Alabama vs. Miami Cif Hurri- canes lose to Florida State) or Big Eight runner-up (Nebraska or Colorado). Rose: Washington vs. Michigan. Sugar: Florida vs. Notre Dame. Fiesta: Tennessee vs. Penn State. Hall of Fame: Ohio State vs. Syracuse. John Hancock: Illinois vs. UCLA. Raleigh, N.C. aa By CAULTON TUDOR Staff writer of this weekend’s games. The Pirates, 8-1 and ranked 14th nationally, are a five-point under- The state’s college football fans will get their once-forbidden fruit. N.C. State University and East Carolina University informally agreed Thursday to an encore of their discontinued football rivalry Jan. 1 in the Peach Bowl game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Official bowl bids will be ten- dered Sunday. Sources close to the Peach Bowl committee said the agreement with the two schools does not depend on the outcomes THE SPORTING NEWS/ NOVEMBER 11, 1991 dog Saturday at Virginia Tech, which is 5-4. State, 7-2 and ranked 24th, is a seven-point favorite against Duke, which is 4-3-1. In the season’s final week Nov. 23, ECU will play at Cincinnati and the Wolfpack will host Maryland. State showed some reluctance before agreeing Thursday to face the Pirates. Possible reasons in- cluded fear that the 1987 incident that ended the ECU series would overshadow the bowl game; stiff- er recruiting competition from ECU in the event of a Pirate victory; and renewed legislative efforts to revive the series. But Wolfpack coach Dick Sheri- Fuzzy Peach picture coming clear: Friday, November 15, 1991 the best opponent we could possi- bly play and give our players and ble games, page IC. Hi Pack, ECU have been in some memora- @ Fans’ reactions, page 2C. @ Former coaches Earle Edwards and Art Baker remember the series, page 2C. program the chance to measure ourselves against a good team,” said NCSU Athletics Director Todd Turner. ‘‘We wanted that to be the highest-ranked team avail- able. “The second objective was the site. We wanted a fun site where dan, who is 1-1 against ECU, reportedly had no reservations about facing the Pirates. “The first objective was to play the players could enjoy them- selves and our fans would have an opportunity to go.”’ Neither Mr. Turner nor ECU Athletics Director Dave Hart Jr. would confirm that the game had been set. An NCAA apreemer 23) East Carolina is in positio By CAULTON TUDOR been recruited in five years. fense by the big- timers in his home state of Florida. So, why is East Carolina ranked in the national polls, winning where Florida couldn’t (at Syracuse), posting formidable offensive stats and elbowing its way into bowl society? Good question. Too bad there are no easy answers. The simplest explanation is for acceptance. on their Dion Johnson. lina. he athletic budget is barely a fourth of that at the University of North Carolina, and the stadium has 10,000 fewer seats than N.C. State’s. There is no conference affiliation, nor much hope for one. A Proposition 48 non-qualifier hasn’t The team’s coach once was fired at Wyo- ming. The quarterback was told to forget of- that East Caro- lina for years has been close to breaking into the football consciousness of the general pop- ulation. It has been just around the corner — hoping, praying and generally overachieving in what it has been told is an impossible quest But don’t try to sell that old impossible dream line to Pirates fans this season. They'll hand you an “I Believe” T-shirt, a foam- rubber saber, teach you the ‘Pirate Slash,” swear that their Jeff Blake is the quarter- backing equal of Casey Weldon and that Desmond Howard has not a step, foot or hand They also will say that given decent of- ficiating at Illinois and the last minute of that season-opening, 38-31 loss to relive, their Pi- rates would be even more visible. “Our fans have been as amazing as the team,’’ Coach Bill Lewis says. “But I’m not surprised by that. I was one of those people who knew about ECU’s love for football.” Truth is, most other football coaches know it, too. That is ECU’s biggest athletic prob- lem. The more affluent neighbors in the At- lantic Coast Conference religiously dodge the Pirates. North Carolina and N.C. State gave them a shot for a while but now devote their regional non-ACC attention to William & Mary, Appalachian State and Western Caro- For the ACC in general and North Carolina and N.C. State specifically, ECU long has represented a baffling contrast in athletic pri- orities: Football is deemed more important plays. than basketball. ditching it. by 4-5-1, and then 8-2. identity problems began. left for Charlottesville, Va. Technically, Greenville, N.C., is a mere ex- tension of the famous ‘“‘Tobacco Road”’ that ACC basketball programs have followed to national success and athletic riches. But foot- ball has been the first love of East Carolina’s student body since 1962, when Clarence Stasavich arrived as coach and installed a sin- gle wing at a time when most coaches were Stasavich’s first team went 5-4. The next three won nine games each season, followed But it was when Stasavich resigned as coach to become athletic director that ECU’s Stasavich hired Mike McGee, a former Duke All-America, to introduce ECU to the T-formation era in 1970. McGee stayed one season, then jumped to his alma mater. McGee was followed by Sonny Randle, a former Virginia star. In three seasons, Ran- dle’s teams went 4-6, 9-2 and 9-2 before he Frustrated, Stasavich hired a coach from outside the ACC area. Pat Dye stayed six SSS SSS nse | Season on the verge After lurking Jor years just outside the national consciousness, n for a postseason appearance Big men on campus: At East Carolina, Lewis (inset) provides the gameplan and Blake the big years from 1974-79 and built ECU the best program in the ACC area, winning no fewer than seven times in any season. But when Dye left for Wyoming in 1979 — succeeding Lewis there — a stepping-stone image was firmly planted on East Carolina. team out of the bowls. Despite posting at least seven victories in 10 seasons since 1970, East Carolina has been to a bowl only once — the 1978 Inde- pendence, where Dye’s fifth team routed Louisiana Tech, 35-13. team, Lewis’ third. By 1983, ECU alum Ed Emory was coach and the Pirates were a Top 20 team, losing only at Florida State (47-46), at Florida (24-17) and at national champion Miami (12-7). Fans followed the team in respectable numbers, but the lack of extensive media at- tention — even in the state of North Carolina — and a limited TV market kept the ’83 But things might be changing with the ’91 The Pirates played before scouts from the Peach, Hall of Fame, Blockbuster and Inde- pendence bowls last weekend in Ficklen Sta- dium, where their 38-28 victory over Tulane gives them a 7-1 record and No. 16 ranking in THE SPORTING NEWS Top 25. If the team can win at least nine games and remain in the Top 20, bowl representatives say a bid is like- ly, even if it is for a game a step below what the Pirates think they deserve. ; “They’re better than any team in the ACC and 90 percent of the SEC,” one bowl! scout says. ‘“‘They have a shot to win 10. It’d be a shame if they won nine or 10 and didn’t get something good.” The Pirates certainly aren’t guaranteed nine or 10 victories, however. Their remain- ing games are on the road — next Saturday at Southern Mississippi, which upset Auburn earlier this season and has beaten ECU seven consecutive times; November 16 at Virginia Tech, where it never is easy to win, and No- vember 23 at Cincinnati. But brighter bowi prospects are just part of ECU’s surging enthusiasm. Lewis, who has to be the youngest looking 50-year-old in the business, is another factor. Already, he is talking more about staying than job hunting, although seemingly better offers are certain to come. Three months ago, Athletic Director Dave Hart declined an offer to take the higher- paying Pittsburgh job. Then, Lewis’ team — with Blake passing for 247 yards — beat the 23rd-ranked Panthers, 24-23, before the first standing-room-only audience in Ficklen’s history. “It’s a dream that keeps going on and on,” says Blake, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior who has thrown for 2,092 yards and 19 touch downs in the first eight games. A native of Sanford, Fla., Blake picked ECU because the head coach at the time, Art Baker, recruited him as a quarterback. “Florida, Florida State, Miami ... those schools all told me I’d have to play defense,” Blake says. ‘‘Well, I’m a quarterback, and | told them so. Now, I think I’m proving it.” The son of a high school coach, Blake proved a lot in 1990, passing for 1,510 yards and 13 touchdowns on a 5-6 team that lost 19-15 at Georgia, 24-23 at Virginia Tech and 30-27 at Temple. ‘“‘We were almost a good team then,” Blake says. “‘Now, we are and we can get bet- ter~ “Hopefully, we’re a program on the, move,” says Lewis, who spent nine seasons as an assistant at Georgia after a 14-20-1. record led to his dismissal at Wyoming. “But: honestly, I think this has been a pretty solid situation all along. This program’s either been there or very close before.” But Lewis knows not to get too excited too soon. “Two years ago (when the Pirates went 5- 5-1), I’m not sure many people realize, we lost by two points at Syracuse and by five at Pitt,” he says. “We were within a dozen or so points of winning eight games the last two years. “Hopefully, a lot of players learned from those experiences that if we don’t finish strong, a lot still could be lost this season — as great as it’s been.” Caulton Tudor covers college football for the Raleigh (N.C) News-Observer. State vs. ECU with the bowls prohibits formal bowl announcements until Sunday at 3 p.m. The Wolfpack and Pirates last met in the 1987 season opener, with the Pirates winning 32-14 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. After the game, a melee began when ECU students, who had been seated on the grassy bank beyond Carter-Finley’s south end zone, rushed the field and tried to tear down the goal posts. At the height of the fracas, about 2,000 fans — mostly ECU see JUST PEACHY, page 14A Just Peachy: Wolfpack vs, cCU Continued from page 1A students, according to NCSU po- lice — were on the field. One police officer suffered an eye injury. Officials of the two schools later agreed to discontinue the series, and recent efforts to revive it have failed. One snag has been ECU’s desire to play some games in a renewed series at Ficklen Stadium in Greenville. Wolfpack officials have said the school is not willing to make the 90-mile trip from Raleigh to Greenville to face the Pirates in a regular-season game, even if it means two games at NCSU for each one at ECU. In 18 games from 1970 through 1987, all played in Carter-Finley, State won 12 times and lost six but never lost more than two in a row. The average score favored the Wolfpack, 27.5 to 18.7. The most one-sided game was NCSU’s 57-8 romp in 1973. The Peach Bowl expects a sell- out for its 24th game, which will begin at 11:30 a.m. and will be televised nationally by ESPN. The game regularly draws crowds in excess of 50,000. A spokesman for Ticketron of Atlanta said Thursday that ticket sales have been relatively heavy since Monday, when news of a possible State-ECU game became known. A Peach Bowl spokesman said all of the $40 seats have been sold. The remaining tickets are $32 each. Several hundred tickets are be- ing sold at Tracks/Record Bar stores in Raleigh — at Cameron Village, North Hills Mall and Crabtree Valley Mall — and at the Tracks/Record Bar in Green- ville’s Carolina East Mall. The seating capacity for Atlan- ta-Fulton County Stadium for foot- ball is 59,930. The Peach last hada sellout in 1988, for a 27-22 Tennes- see win over Indiana. The Daily Reflector Friday, November 15, 1991 By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR East Carolina and N.C. State have failed to get together for a game in this state, but it appears the rivalry may be renewed in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. East Carolina, 8-1 and ranked 14th in the nation, is expected to receive a Peach Bowl bid regard- less of a win or a loss Saturday afternoon at Virginia Tech. N.C. State, 7-2 and ranked 24th, is on the list of at least two bowls, in- cluding the Peach. The Wolfpack visits Duke in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday. Official invitations cannot be ex- tended until Sunday at 3 p.m. EST. Several reports have said that East Carolina has an informal agreement to play in the Peach Bowl. ECU athletics director Dave Hart.and Henry VanSant, ECU’s associate athletics director for administration, said an informal agreement had not been made. Peach Bowl executive director Robert Dale Morgan was unavailable for comment and did not return messages Thursday. Sports Pirates, Wolfpack said Peach favorites “Our posture has really not changed,” Hart said. ‘‘Our focus remains where it has been since Monday and that’s on the Virginia Tech game.”’ “I don’t think that we’re going to know anything for sure until the game in Blacksburg on Saturday,”’ VanSant said. ‘‘There are a lot of things coming out that are beyond my comprehension. I think there are some newspaper people get- ting to some people on committees that are saying things but don’t want to be identified.”’ Todd Turner, athletics director at N.C. State, said he would not elaborate on the specific options for the Wolfpack or a_ possible meeting with East Carolina. Bowls in which N.C. State still could land are the Copper or Independence. ECU has also been scouted by the Independence and Liberty bowls. “I would really rather not com- ment on (our options), but I will tell you about our bowl philoso- phy,” Turner said. ‘‘Our intent is to try to play the best team we can play. That’s our first objective. “Our second objective is try to find a bowl site that is a fun site for our fans to go and enjoy them- selves. If we meet those criteria, ¢ Scoreboard e NBA ° Classified then we’ve taken a major Step.”” Reports of unofficial agree- ments by Virginia with the Gator Bowl and Illinois with the John Hancock Bowl left East Carolina and N.C. State as the top can- didates to meet in Atlanta on New Year’s Day. But the two schools have been at odds since the 18- year series was terminated in 1987. The last time the two teams met, East Carolina won 32-14 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. A postgame incident in which Pirate fans stormed the field resulted in several injuries and damage to the stadium. -If N.C. State declines a bid to the Peach, the Pirates will most likely face either Georgia, Arkan- sas or West Virginia. Georgia, where ECU head coach Bill Lewis spent eight years as an assistant, is 6-3 but needs a win over Auburn or Georgia Tech to reach the re- quired six wins over Division I-AA schools. “T think probably what’s going to happen is some things that no- body even thought could happen,” VanSant said. “There can’t be any formal invitations or any con- tracts signed until Sunday.” e Friday, November 15, 1991 Pack, ECU in memorable games Unpredictability has made it intriguing series total of 56,800 fans jammed into Carter-Finley and watched ECU’s 32-14 victory. NCSU has had a larger home ee crowd only once since then. In 372 NC. State, 38-1 1989, 57,100 fans watched the oe oe ee Wolfpack whip North Carolina | [9/3 NC State, 57-8 40-6. 1974 N.C State, 24-2 dance. The fans who packed Carter- NG State 06-3 The teams have played 18 Finley for the East Carolina | ee ee times, all at Carter-Finley Stadium. And in eight contests have seen some memorable games. ; seasons the loser finished with a better record The Wolfpack won 12 times, the Pirates six. But than the winner. East Carolina whipped State in the games were usually battles. 1985, but the Pirates finished with two victories East Carolina showed early that it would be no and the Wolfpack three. And in ’82, when State doormat when it won the second game, 31-15, won 33-26, the Pack won six games and the _ before 18,000 wet fans in 1971. Pirates seven. N.C. State thrashed ECU in ’73, but that State crushed ECU 57-8 in 1973, but the Pirates pounding set up the first dramatic game of the finished 9-2 and the Pack 9-3. series in 1974. The Pirates led 14-7 at the half but Perhaps the series’ unpredictability has made committed three turnovers in the third quarter as it so intriguing. Crowds at the games grew until State surged ahead. The Pirates scored a final they literally spilled onto the field, prompting its touchdown with 1:31 left in the game, cutting the termination after 1987. Six of Carter-Finley’s 10 State lead to 24-20. But the Pack recovered the largest crowds came in ECU games. onside kick and held on for victory. The series didn’t begin as a huge success at the In 1977 the Pirates prevailed 28-23 in the final gate. The first game, in 1970, a 23-6 Wolfpack seconds. State quarterback Johnny Evans threw victory, drew 28,350. : But the last game, in 1987, drew twice that. A See PACK, page 2C Raleigh, N.C. By DANE HUFFMAN Staff writer @ Earle Edwards remembers that it began over dinner, page 2. 10 N.C. State, 23-6 971 East Carolina, 31 The only records that have seemed to matter when N.C. State and East Carolina play football are the ones for atten- @MArt Baker thinks it’s a natural matchup, page 2C. @ It’s peachy with folks in Raleigh, page 2C. Pack, ECU Continued from Page IC ae fifth Straight in the Series hs the Pirates began to assert emselves after that. In ’83, in ; hei ns Sa first game as Wolf 1 Onl: og oe a7 Byer | a SSO ore ——— ee for < hee dzone roms nasi eTown rushed ne but it lar apa a ; 7 “OS Sem Vie y ie it Soene Reed beat BCU. ey Adams, who was Wolf; ck pgs an yards from the goal Sheeaar ae ; ¥ is 3 Coach, Sheridan ee Sh Hiri ECU ee ———— » and State fell cee LU : : a East Carolina, 55-14 = bB B00 _ : ‘ho | ae y ‘5 . . a ‘ % = . . : : : ie | NC Sate, 5810 2 «=«=*~*«~C | Id The t Wolfpack had Erik Kramer, jlew by ECU fora : | : : 4 irates 38-10 yj : East Carolina, 32-14 6800” B68 onside ee and rr ecovered the A aan ey row oF 98,650 S -opscmmennamaes nn nside Kick at the State 49. But th Pack’s Perry Williams aires Me Greg Stewart's Pass | and the Pack ran ou NC State, 29-13 N.C State, 34-2000 NG State 36-14 00 NC State 31-100 NC State, 33-26 Save the Pj. only once in d by 1986 the new coach, Dick Opener ; faced on first down, t the clock, That ’g2 victory was the Wolf- By CHARLES CHANDLER day when Virginia, another prime candidate concerned that the incident could over- N.C. State athletic director Todd Turner Staff Writer Gi for the Peach, decided to play in the Gator shadow the Peach Bowl game and worry would not comment on N.C. State’s position N.C. State officials are contemplating a Bowl against Oklahoma. that a volatile situation could exist because but said he expected the Wolfpack to have Peach Bowl matchup against East Carolina N.C. State’s reluctance to play East Caro- of the high emotions of both sets of fans. several options when invitations are made on New Year’s Day. lina stems from an incident in 1987 that led There is especially a concern that the Sunday. The Observer learned Wednesday that to the cancellation of an 18-year series postgame scene from 1987 would be con- Those options appear limited, however. East Carolina’s invitation to the Peach is not between the two teams. Stantly revisited by the media leading up to. There is only one for sure: The Indepen- contingent on the 14th-ranked Pirates (8-1) Following a 32-14 victory over the Wolf- the game. dence Bowl at Shreveport, La. beating Virginia Tech Saturday, as was pack, Pirates fans stormed the field at N.C. State is expected to make a decision It seems an unusual predicament for a earlier believed. Raleigh’s Carter-Finley Stadium, resulting in _ by Friday. team that could finish the regular season Though official bids may not be extended damage to the stadium and injuries, If N.C. State turns down the Peach, the 9-2, but the Wolfpack’s opportunities Carolina from the Top 25. Pirates officials are not com- menting on the agreement because it doesn’t become official ECU in Peach Bowl; until Sunday and because they do : not want to reduce the team’s Wolfpack undecided incentive't beat Virginia Tech. Continued from page 1B “Our posture with our team and with our fans has been and contin- ues to be that a win Saturday could until Sunday, the Peach has an unofficial Attempts since then to renew the series have bowl could turn to North Carolina (5-4), became limited after last Saturday’s 42-10 agreement with East Carolina and began failed. seeking one from N.C. State (7-2) Wednes- Sources said N.C. State officials are provided the Tar Heels win their last two games, against South Carolina and Duke. Please see Bowls/page 5B "Trustees OK Ficklen expansion plan By Tom Morris THE DAILY REFLECTOR. ECU officials seeking approval for two more doctoral programs tive for ECU to plan now for a Program in Coastal Resource Management and by 1995 a program in Marriage and Fam- East Carolina University of- ily Therapy.”’ Amid the hoopla of East Caroli- na University’s upcoming Peach Bowl trip, the school’s Board of Trustees decided Friday to pro- ceed with expansion plans for Ficklen Stadium. The university will offer bids on a feasibility study of expanding seating at the stadium, which cur- rently seats 35,000. The study will Spangler to approve two addi- be paid for out of stadium reserve tional doctoral programs. in- funds. cluded in the school’s mission “With the success of the pro- statement. gram and not being a conference “When we received the team, we need to show the rest of eee ae SON te response of the consultants that the world we’re doing the things | Gi statements of each of the We only received two pro- we need to make the facility more | j¢ schools in the UNC system 8am, we felt like we had to enticing,” said Trustee William E. | 314 issue a report ithe ad- have more of the programs ap- Dansey Jr., “not only for our visors will make recom. Proved,” Eakin said. “I con- public, but for the other teams mendations to the UNC Board Vened a group of academic ad- too.”’ of Governors next week visors and I asked them to iden- Dansey said he expects the fea- tify two programs that we sibility study to cost less than ECU has asked the UNC thought were crucial to the doc- $25,000, and the school plans to use System to expand its doctoral toral degree program,” self-liquidating bonds to pay for programs, particularly in aca- the expansion project. demic affairs. The athletics department and “In partial response, I am the trustees have discussed asking for Mr. Spangler to con- }.; . A stadium expansion for several sider two proposals not con- eee awry: “i years. But this is the first time the sidered by the consultants,” and audiolo clad ks oBy university has taken any action. said ECU Chancellor Richard by. lf think we'll see it happen in Eakin. bas | believe it is impera- the next three or four years,”’ Dansey said. ek een vss pete additional plans to add more The sports medicine building between $1.6 and $2 million on Climate-controlled boxes on the opened two years ago. It is home By Tom Morris THE DAILY REFLECTOR ficials have asked University of North Carolina President ¢.D. Last month, the UNC System consultants approved only two of a number of doctoral pro- grams desired by ECU of- ficials. B The outside advisors did rec- ommend approving the cre- ation of doctoral programs in (See ECU, B-2) structural repairs to the south side of the stadium. This project will begin after the 1992 season. The initial proposal for expan- sion will install climate-controlled boxes for corporate sponsorship on either side of the press box on top of the south side stands. There ate north stands and an upper deck above them. The trustees also voted to name the new sports medicine building in honor of Bob and Margaret Ward. Because Ward is a trustee, a portion of the by-laws had to be waived in order to approve the motion. to the human performance labora- tory, the sports medicine training center, locker rooms, academic counseling and offices for most of the athletic department. The Wards recently donated $500,000 to the ECU Educational Foundation to be used for academ- ic development of student athletes. “While this gift is substantial in dollars, it has even more significance in that it is earmark- ed to enable our athletics depart- ment to make continued strides in the total development of all of our student athletes,” said Dave Hart, cirector of athletics at ECU. Janice Faulkner, director of the ECU Regional Development. In- stitute, also reported on the development of the Institute’s Survey Laboratory during Fri- day’s board meeting, RDI began development of the center 10 years ago and increased its scope under the direction of Dr. Ken Wilson, a professor of sociol- ogy who specializes in survey research. “It came about piecemeal, bit by bit,” Ms. Faulkner said. ‘‘We had conversations with just about every office in this university. :It came about very quietly over a period of years.”’ This fall, the laboratory began its first annual survey, looking in- to attitudes about poverty in east- ern North Carolina. The center is now conducting a Survey on the presence and scope of minority-owned business in - eastern North Carolina. In other action from the meet- ing, the finance and facilities committee announced continued plans to renovate Slay, Umstead and Scott residence halls. The group also appropriated $350,000 for renovations to the campus book store. . The Health Sciences Committee announced the formation of a new center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse. The center’s plan will be sent to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors for final approval. | loss to Virginia. The Gator and Blockbuster bowls dropped N.C. State from consideration and two others that had the Wolfpack on their lists had made deals by late Wednesday: The Copper Bowl plans to pit Indiana. against Baylor and the Aloha landed Georgia Tech and Stanford (contingent on a six-win season). Even with a loss Saturday, the Pirates appear the Peach’s best UpuOhas. A defeat might not drop East be very advantageous to us,” East Carolina athletic director Dave Hart said Wednesday. Hart would not confirm that the Pirates were a shoo-in for the Peach. East Carolina has not been to a bowl since playing in the Indepen- dence in 1978. The Pirates weren’t invited to a bowl in 1983 despite an 8-3 rec- ord, which included close losses to Florida State, Florida and Miami. The Daily Reflector Saturday, November 16, 1991 By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Although it will not be official until Sunday, East Carolina and N.C. State will apparently renew their rivalry after a four-year hiatus. The two schools, which last met in the season-opener in 1987, have informally agreed to meet in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Jan. 1. ECU athletics director Dave Hart, N.C. State athletics director Todd Turner or Peach Bowl officials would not confirm that the game has been set. Official bids cannot be extended until Sunday at 3 p.m. An NCAA agreement with the bowls pro- |Good weather has hibits formal bow] announcements before then. Representatives from the Peach Bowl will be in Blacksburg, Va., and Durham today. East Carolina, 8-1 and ranked 14th in the nation, is in Blacksburg to take on Virgin- ia Tech (5-4). Kickoff is at 1 p.m. The Wolfpack, 7-2 and ranked 24th, meets Duke in an Atlantic Coast Conference game. East Carolina will be seeking its ninth-straight win this season against a Hokie team that has won three straight. Tech, which edged the Pirates 24-23 last year in Greenville, has won its last eight games in Lane Stadium. A crowd of more than 46,000, in- _ Sports Peach Bowl-bound Pirates try to focus on Tech cluding approximately 8,000 Pirate supporters, is expected. Pirate head coach Bill Lewis hopes his team can focus on Tech. He stresses patience, particularly on offense, will be critical. “T think one of the keys is we are going to have to be patient — very, very patient — in this foot- ball game,” Lewis said. ‘‘I think we’re going to have to work for every yard we get. “Tf we are to be successful, it’s going to take a full 60-minute ef- fort.” Virginia Tech comes in as a 414-point favorite. The Hokies, who close out the season next Sat- urday at Virginia, need one win in their final two games to clinch a third straight winning season. And they have not given up totally on the postseason. “If we somehow could win two — which for sure is a major task for us right now — then I still feel like there’s a bowl out there that could be waiting on us,’ Tech coach Frank Beamer said. The Liberty Bowl and In- dependence Bowl are the only bowls that do not have informal agreements. Tech is hampered by minor in- juries to three key players. In last week’s win over Akron, senior quarterback Will Furrer sustained a strained right knee, wide re- ceiver Bo Campbell separated rib cartilage and tailback Vaughn e Entertainment e Comics Hebron sprained his right ankle. All are expected to play. Furrer needs just 90 total yards and 95 yards passing to become the school’s all-time leader in both categories. Campbell leads the Hokies in receptions and leads the nation in punt return average (20.3 yards per return). Campbell is a particular con- cern of Lewis. “What that does is take a 40- yard punt and gives you a net punt of 20 yards,”’ Lewis said. ‘‘That’s awfully scary. That’s two first downs without the offense ever coming on the field. It’s a great challenge for our special teams.”’ Some other things about Tech also impress Lewis. @Preparation: ‘‘You’re always going to see a well-coached, well- prepared football team,’ Lewis said. “‘I think day in and day out, week in and week out Frank and his staff do as good a job as there is in the country of preparing their teams sound fundamentally and having them ready to play on Sat- urday.”’ @Playing physical: “‘They’re a very physical football team,”’ Lewis said. ‘‘As we compare them to our nine previous opponents, with all due respect, this will be the most physical football team in all aspects of the game. It’s a very hard, very clean, get-in-your-face, down-in, down-out, aggressive style of play. We need to show up ready to respond to that.’’ (See EAST CAROLINA, C-5) East Carolina faces Virginia Tech (Continued from C-1) MAggressive special teams. “They’re very well-coached in that area,’’ Lewis said. “Their punt rush is as dangerous as their punt return.” @Balance in all aspects. “‘Of- fensively we think in terms of balance between run and pass and they do a good job of that,’’ Lewis said. “Then as you further look at it, they do a good job of balancing the inside run with the outside run, the play-action pass with the drop-back pass. At the end of nine games, you look and say that there is nothing that you can real- ly zero in on. If you try to take one phase of their game away, they’re good enough in other phases to beat you.”’ Defensively, ECU senior quar- terback Jeff Blake and Company will attack an eight-man front. Right tackle Jerome Preston, left tackle Bryan Campbell, end Wooster Pack and _ linebackers P.J. Preston and Rusty Pendleton key the Hokies up front. Safety Damien Russell essen- tially serves as an extra lineback- er. Cornerback John Granby is Tech’s best in pass coverage. “It’s a very difficult defense to run against,’’ Lewis said. “It’s a very difficult defense to throw the ball inside. That makes for a long, patient afternoon as far as attack- ing them.” Depsite three lopsided wins in the last three weeks, Beamer said he doesn’t feel his team is still up to par. And an ECU offense that averages 449.7 yards and 35.3 ee per game has him concern- ed. “I feel shaky to be honest with you,’ Beamer said. ‘‘Defensively I thought we were shaky in our last ballgame and then our three top offensive players are hurt.”’ Pirate fans prepare for The Game (Continued from A-1) weekly at a local restaurant to discuss and speculate ECU sports. All of the Crow members are going to this weekend’s game, Dixon said, and he and his kids have already booked passage to the University of Cincinnati game Nov. 23. The group has also organized almost two bus loads of people to go to Atlanta to support the Pirates in the Peach Bowl, should the team get a bid. After years of support in some not-so-good times, the dedication and enthusiasm is finally paying off. Jerry Beckman, the Pitt County Chapter presi- dent of the ECU Alumni Association, said that while he’s hoping for a bowl, he’s looking forward to this weekend’s road trip. “This year it feels very good,’’ Beckman said. “It feels very, very good. It feels like all that time is paying off — the gratitude that you feel, the sat- isfaction that you feel and finally experiencing what it’s like to be an indirect part of a program that’s really turned the corner and is starting to win.” Beckman said it’s also a thrill to visit other places and meet people who’ve heard about ECU and know where the campus is located. It gives people the opportunity, he said, to not only talk sports but also talk about academics and what the university has to offer. This winning season is something Jimmy Nunn has been waiting for for quitesome time. | “It seems almost like a dream come true,” Nunn, president of the Pitt County Pirate Club, said. ‘“‘We’ve had strong support for many years and great fans throughout the years of losing, this is sort of like payback. It really feels great to get the opportunity to feel like a winner and truly believe.”’ Such strong community support means the cash registers are ringing at stores that sell ECU par- aphernalia. Don Edwards, co-owner of University Book Ex- change on Cotanche Street, is having what some would call a commercial winning season thanks to the football team. Sales of ECU sportswear has doubled during the past year, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate said he’s caught purple and gold fever as a result of the excitement. “It’s not that Carolina is not a great school, ’'m just so caught up with ECU now I don’t even pay attention to Carolina,’ Edwards said. “‘It’s ECU all the way. Edwards said that people have flocked to his store since the Pirates started winning this sea- son. It’s the best year he’s had since opening the sportswear department in 1986, he said. For example, earlier this week, he took: 15 mail-orders, and he doesn’t even have a cata- logue. A middle-school official in Charlotte recent- ly ordered 500 sabers for students. “It’s really just been so much fun,” he said, ‘it’s almost amazing. It’s everything right about college athletics, and it’s incredible what it’s done for the community.” helped brighten ECU’s football season Having a season such as East Carolina’s Pirates have had so far this year involves great athletic skills, outstanding coaching, good chemistry between team members, and sometimes just good fortune. Whatever it is, it has come together. By the time this is printed readers will know whether it continued through the Southern Mississippi game. Just how much to trust luck in winning is always open to conjec- ture. Some of us track another ele- ment of East Carolina football success which is totally based on luck ... or at least the fickleness of fate. That would be the weather. For some reason during September, October and November low pressures build in the nation’s ALVIN TAYLOR heartland and it is usually a ques- tion of whether the clouds will be hanging over Ficklen Stadium at game time on Saturday. The Pirates completed their home schedule last weekend. The storms were out there but ECU football crowds remained reasonably dry in all five home games. On the whole the weather was ideal this year in Greenville. Sure it. was threatening for the Akron game and a little precipita- tion fell ... but not enough to dampen the spirits of the Homecoming crowd. And there was just a sprinkle at the Pittsburgh game. The capacity crowd was so intent on the game that few even noticed. Long time fans and weather trackers can recall heavy rain storms which left Ficklen Stadium virtually empty by the time df the final whistle. In some of the more lackluster seasons the prediction of rain could cut the crowd con- siderably. As for the temperatures this year some fans wished to see more football-like weather. Knit shirts and even shorts were rea- sonable attire for every Pirate home game. Faithful fans recall a Thanks- giving when East Carolina played Appalachian. The game was mov- ed to Thursday night to gain a television appearance. It was Nov. 25, 1976. Cold? Nebraska couldn’t come up with more frigid weather for football. But ECU won 35-7 and wrapped up its fourth and final Southern Conference champi- onship. Fans can also recall one balmy Saturday afternoon in Ficklen when they literally witnessed a cold front moving in. Winds sud- denly picked up; leaves, papers and other debris blew wildly about and the shirt sleeve crowd was quickly shivering as the tempera- ture plummeted. It tells us to expect anything from the weather at Ficklen. etd td Did good weather play a role this year? Well, the Pirates drew crowds of — 32,382, 33,100, 27,500. 36,000 and 31,126. That’s total home attendance of 160,108 and an average of 32,071 per home game. Outstanding play on the field cer- tainly brought them in, but some miserably cold and wet days would have affected the atten- dance. Remember, too, that rain was forecast for the morning of the final home game. Turned out the skies were blue at game time, temperatures were higher than expected. It was another shirt sleeves and shorts day. About the good luck. The next day, Sunday, temperatures drop- ped into the 50s and there was a steady rain all afternoon. How’s that for timing the final home ap- pearance? “ OOO Flying a Pirate flag on the auto antenna doesn’t exempt one from a speeding ticket. One car, apparently headed for the ECU-Tulane game, was among many sporting such flags. It was stopped along U.S. 264 west of the city, the awesome blue light blink- ing behind it. No doubt the trooper was scrib- bling the traditional speeding tick- et. Let’s see. There’s the cost of driving the car here — $35, game tickets — $16 each, dining out and incidental expenses — $50. Add to that $40 or so for a speeding ticket. No doubt the driver was wonder- ing why the state trooper couldn’t have been over at Ficklen Stadium handling game traffic. But, hey, the Pirates won that afternoon. It was a perfect record on the home field! The Daily _ Reflector... ‘Sunday, November 17, 1991 Grandison’s score proves turning point | By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR BLACKSBURG, Va. — Looking for a turning point in East Caroli- na’s 24-17 win over Virginia Tech? Look no further than Greg Grandison. Grandison rescued the Pirates from a desperate situa- tion in the third quarter of Sat- urday’s game _{ when he picked & off a Rodd ye ~, Wooten pass : GRANDISON and returned it 95° yards for a game-tying touch- down. Jeff Blake’s 14-yard pass to Clayton Driver with 7:12 left put ‘ECU, now 9-1 and headed to the Peach Bowl, in front for good. ““We needed a big play and I think that was it,”’ said Grandison, whose return was the. second longest in ECU history. Reggie Pinkney had a 98-yard return in a 1976 game against Richmond. --Grandison’s third interception of fhe season came on a_ second- and-goal from the ECU four with the Hokies threatening to add to a 14-7 lead. Wooten, who started in the place of injured quarterback Will Furrer, rolled to his left and tried to hit tight end Greg Daniels. - ‘But Grandison broke on the ball, juggled it briefly, then found clear sailing down the right:sideline. (See GRANDISON, C-2) Sports Pirates’ comeback puts them at 9-1 The Associated Press Virginia Tech’s Tony Kennedy faces ECU’s Zaim Cunmulaj and Bernard Carter (80) ¢ College Football e NFL e Outdoors | ECU erases 14-0 deficit to defeat Hokies, 24-17 By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR BLACKSBURG, Va. — All you gotta do is believe. East Carolina football coach Bill Lewis started preaching that to his team back in August and look where it has led. Saturday’s im- probable 24-17 comeback win at Virginia Tech is the ninth straight for the 14th-ranked Pirates.. Later today — at 3 p.m. to be exact — an invitation to the Peach Bowl and a New Year’s Day showdown with N.C. State will of- ficially be theirs. “When you have heart and you believe, it’s really amazing how far you can go,”’ Lewis said. ‘“That was an awfully big win that was won by a football team that has a heart as big as I’ve ever seen. “‘T don’t know if I’ve ever been around a group of guys that believe in themselves and believe in each other like they do.”’ Once again, a team that found a way to lose over the last several dreary seasons drummed a way to win. And at 9-1, this team is on the verge of history. The 1963, 1964 and 1965 teams finished 9-1. “I want them to enjoy it because they’ve made this season hap- pen,”’ Lewis said. Senior defensive end Marc Washington, who had his first col- legiate interception late in the fourth quarter, was enjoying it. And he brought along a_ video camera to capture the excitement of the approximately 8,000 ECU followers in the Lane Stadium crowd of 43,718. ‘What a feeling,’ Washington said. “I think all the years of the hard knocks gave us the poise and the grit to find a way to come back.” The Pirates benefited from a couple of breaks on the comfort- able but windy afternoon. The first came before the game started when Tech senior quarterback Will Furrer reinjured his knee and sat out the entire game. Rodd Wooten started in Furrer’s spot and completed 12 of 24 passes for 143 yards. He was intercepted three times. Still the Hokies, taking advan- tage of an inspired defense and the relentless running of Tony Ken- nedy and Vaughn Hebron, built a 14-0 lead. Tech stifled ECU much of the first half and came up with two in- terceptions and two sacks of ECU quarterback Jeff Blake. But the Pirates got a late first- half TD then rallied for 17 sec- ond-half points, capped by Blake’s 14-yard pass to Driver with 7:17 to go. “I didn’t think we were playing with the intensity that we needed to play with,” Lewis said. ‘‘Our whole conversation at halftime centered around that — that we needed to play with intensity and find a way. There was a way out there for them to win if they kept searching and scratching.”’ And search and scratch they did. “My congratulations to East Carolina,’ Tech head coach Frank (See PIRATES, C-2) (Continued from A-1) nored the noisy crowd. wandering through the yard ig- ECU fans celebrate ated iast year named Chris Hall. We used to go to the game and throw stuff at him,”’ McMonagle said. Except for the Student Street The students paid attention to house, the campus and sur- most of the game, most of the rounding neighborhoods were time. A few ducked inside the almost silent Saturday after- house to keep updated on the noon. More than 7,000 Pirate Florida State-Miami game. fans traveled to Blacksburg for Others took turns passing a the game, according to the football in the street. But when radio announcers. the game in Blacksburg got John Prodan said he wished _ close, the fans got serious. he had gone. When the score stood at 17-17 “The people I would’ve _ in the third quarter, they start- stayed with could’ve gotten ed talking to the radio. ‘ tickets. I’m just out of money “Come on boys, wake up, and it’s the end of the Prodan urged, hitting the top of semester,” he said. the car door with his hand. Nan Thompson had a rec- Smith complained when ECU . wc ommendation for the universi- Coach Bill Lewis went for a The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall ty. field goal in the third quarter, instead of a touchdown. Umbrellas not allowed 2 4 VIRGINIA TECH f . EAST CAROLINA Everyone must have a ticke less of age. LANE STADIUM BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA SATURDAY NOV. Vs 1991 1:00 PM SUBJECT TO CHANGE NOT FOR RESALE East Carolina students celebrate a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s victory over Virginia Tech. Peaches, peaches, peaches and... East Carolina fans have Atlanta’s Jan. 1 bowl game on their minds By Kristin Scheve THE DAILY REFLECTOR They were eating oysters and -talking about peaches, with one -ear on the radio at all times. ; ECU students and friends at “a football-birthday party Satur- day had a New Year’s trip to ‘Atlanta on their minds. “CU and (N.C.) State have this little matter to finish. -We’re going to go down there -and beat them like dogs,” said David Smith. ‘‘The Peach Bowl will be one last shebang,’ he said. Twenty students gathered outside a white house on Stu- dent Street were confident that ECU will get a bowl bid. They followed the ECU-Virginia Tech game closely on a blaring car radio. When the game got tense, they opened the driver’s side door to hear better. Their cheering drowned out the radio as the game clock Game details are on C-1 ticked down to a 24-17 Pirate win: The students forgot the oysters and beer momentarily. “Peaches, peaches,’ Smith yelled, while his friends whooped and screamed. Student Glenn Archer didn’t care that bids for college bowl games won’t be made official until Sunday. He already has made his plane reservation to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. Archer, sitting quietly on the front steps of the house, said he knew ECU would have a winn- ing football team this season. The Pirates are 9-1, with only one game left to play, against the University of Cincinnati. “Through my years of time here, I’ve seen it go from com- pletely nothing. Slowly our team’s wins have been increas- ing and increasing,’ Archer said. The number of people at the house: increased as the game went on. Friends on bikes stop- ped by and others walked over, and no one left early. Two dogs (See ECU, A-10) “We should get half-price tickets and free transportaion there,’’ she said. The crowd even had a favor- ite player — defensive back Chris Hall. John McMonagle, who was celebrating his 24th birthday, explained that the fans were cheering in honor of an old friend with the same name when Hall’s name was mentioned on the radio. - ‘We had a friend who gradu- “This is the 90s. Football in the ’90s — you go for it,” he said. When the Pirates won, Coach Lewis was forgiven. Beer sloshed out of cups as the friends howled and slapped hands. Ms. Thompson remem- bered McMonagle’s birthday, and suggested a headline for sportswriters: ‘“‘John’s birthday causes win,” } The Daily Reflector Monday, November 18, 1991 WOODY PEELE Monday musings: ‘When you look back on Saturday afternoon’s football game between East Carolina and Virginia Tech, you almost get a sense of deja vu. Just a little over a year ago, the two teams were playing here in Greenville. We were just into the second half, and East Carolina was driving toward a touchdown that would have increased its lead to 24-14. Just about everyone agreed that if the Pirates scored this touchdown, it would break the backs of Virginia Tech. But as David Daniels plowed in- to the line, a Tech helmet struck the football and popped it out of his arms and into the arms of the Hokies’ Anthony Pack. Pack returned the ball all the way to the ECU 24 before he was finally dragged down by Cedric Van Buren. And while Tech did not score on that particular series, momentum had swung and the Hokies went on to win, blocking ECU’s last extra point attempt to preserve a 24-23 victory. | Saturday afternoon, it looked like the shoe was on the other foot. Tech was up 14-7 and driving toward the end zone. Quarterback Rodd Wooten went back to pass from the ECU 4-yard line. Tech, with the score, would break the Pirates’ back and pull off the ex- pected ‘‘upset”’ of 14th-ranked fast Carolina. But fate, in the form of Greg Grandison, stepped in. Ona sec- ond-down pass Grandison stepped in front of intended receiver Greg Daniels and intercepted the ball, then went 95 yards to tie the game at 14-14. From there, East Carolina went on to win, 24-17. Almost unbelievable. It’s as if there’s a higher power looking down on the Pirates this year and willing them to win. Maybe the sky is just a different hue of purple! One thing can be said for sure. Bill Lewis has proven himself quite a motivator. And his staff has proven itself quite good coaches on the field. In every game, a team goes in with a game plan. Seldom does that game plan work right down the line. Some adjustments must be made here and there and, in some cases, the game plan must be scrapped and a whole new one fabricated right on the spot. Lewis and his staff have shown that they definitely have the abili- ty to do just that. Time after time this year, when things haven’t gone exactly as they would have planned, they’ve pulled things together and found a way to guide the team to victory. ‘And that is what coaching is all about. Many can doit on the prac- tice field, but there are darn few who can do it on the sidelines. The announcement came Sun- day afternoon that East Carolina would, indeed, play in the Peach Bowl. And even before then, the university was urging its fans to purchase their tickets from the ECU athletic ticket office. There is a reason for this. Each ticket bought in Greenville shows fan support for the Pirates. An ECU fan who buys his tickets in Atlanta, or some other outlet out- side Greenville, either goes up as a fan for the other team, or as just an uncommitted fan going to the game. East Carolina has a ‘‘quota’”’ of tickets to sell and, by purchasing tickets at the ECU office, it will help the athletic program impress Peach Bow] officials — and other bowl officials who might share their information in the future. ' During the course of the year, East Carolina receives all sorts of mail, some quite serious, others not so. » This recent item was reported. - Seems a letter arrived question- ing a lost item. ‘‘My son attended an East Carolina football game at Ficklen Stadium and lost his watch,”’ the writer said. ‘‘I wonder if someone found it and turned it mn.” - The letter then noted that the game the son had attended was ‘‘a year or two ago.”’ Probably would have written sooner, jbut he lost track of time. e NFL e Entertainment ¢ Classified is. The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis East Carolina’s Clayton Driver (left) and Dion Johnson celebrate Johnson’s second-quarter touchdown in Saturday’s 24- 17 win at Virginia Tech bringing national attention By Kristin Scheve THE DAILY REFLECTOR With a Peach Bowl bid in hand, East Carolina University officials are ready to reap the bounty of the national attention generated by the Pirates’ foot- ball success. “We now have a situation where people understand there is a Greenville in North Caroli- -na,’’ said ECU. Chancellor Richard Eakin. ‘Something such as this simply creates an opportunity for the university to take center stage.” On Sunday, Peach Bowl rep- resentatives officially extended an invitation to the Pirates to play North Carolina State on New Year’s Day in Atlanta. Eakin said the attention earned by the football team can’t help but draw more notice. to the rest of the university. “The writers begin to ask more about the university, and they start to discover we have some excellent programs here that otherwise wouldn’t have come to their attention.’ he said. ‘“‘Everywhere I go people are beginning to talk about our university and take an interest - init.” This is the first time an ECU team has earned a bid to play in a New Year’s Day Bowl, considered one of the pinnacles _ of college football. The Pirates’ last bowl trip came in the 1978 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. when’ ECU defeated Louisiana Tech, 35-13. The benefits of the upcoming (See ECU, A-9) ECU moves up to No. 13 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Now that the game of the year is over, the debate of the year has begun. Who is the best team in college football, the undefeated Miami Hurricanes or the undefeated Washington Huskies? On Sunday, the overwhelming majority of sports writers and broadcasters who vote in The As- sociated Press poll chose Miami, which beat then-No. 1 Florida State 17-16 on Saturday. The Hurricanes (9-0) jumped from second to first, outpolling No. 2 Washington (10-0) by 32 first-place votes and 40 points. East Carolina, meanwhile, mov- ed from No. 14 to No. 13 after a 24-17 win over Virginia Tech. Miami received 46 first-place votes and 1,486 points, while the Huskies moved up from third to second with 14 first-place votes and 1,446 points. Washington, which trailed Miami by one point last week, routed winless Oregon State 58-6 on Saturda ‘“There’s no doubt that we’re No. 1,’ Miami defensive lineman Rusty Medearis said. ‘‘Nobody in the country can beat us.”’ Washington center Ed Cunn- ingham was just as confident in his team. “T really think we’re the best team in America right now,’ he said. ‘‘I think our defense is the best defense in the nation, if not the best ever to play the game.”’ Miami coach Dennis Erickson said he won’t campaign for the na- tional championship, but he left little doubt about his opinion. ‘All I know is that we beat the No. 1 team on their home field,”’ he said. ‘‘I don’t like to politic, but that has to count for something.” Washington coach Don James, whose team lost the closest final vote ever to Brigham Young in 1984, said he’s not worried about the poll. “We've got to take care of our responsibilities and let the voters do their job,” he said. ‘‘If we get all caught up in the polls and forget_who we’re playing, we’re Pirates Peach Bowl bound Bowl bid | going to get beat.”’ With such a large lead over Washington, Miami appears to be in commanding position to win its fourth national title since 1983. The Hurricanes will be clear-cut favorites in their last three games against Boston College (4-6), San Diego State (8-2-1) and either No. 11 Nebraska (8-1-1) or No. 15 Col- orado (7-2-1) in the Orange Bowl, where Miami has won 43 straight. Washington closes the regular season against Washington State (4-6) before going to the Rose Bowl to meet No. 4 Michigan (9-1), which beat Illinois 20-0 Saturday. Florida State (10-1), which had been No. 1 since the start of the season, dropped to No. 3 after Sat- urday’s loss. The Seminoles, who have games remaining against No. 5 Florida (9-1) in Gainesville and probably No. 12 Texas A&M (8-1) in the Cotton Bowl, still have an outside shot at the national title if Miami and Washington both lose. The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis Peach Bowl representatives Jack Williams, left, and Rod Hovater officially invite ECU head coach Bill Lewis to play in Atlanta. Believers pinching themselves By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR At 3:05 p.m. Sunday afternoon, East Carolina’s bowl! destination became official. The Pirates, 9-1 and ranked 13th in the nation, will face N.C. State (8-2 and ranked 22nd) in the 24th annual Peach Bowl in Atlanta on New Year’s Day. The appearance will be East Caroli- na’s first ina bow] since 1978. Bowl representatives Rod Hovater and Jack Williams, don- ning purple ‘‘I Believe’’ stickers on the lapels of their blue blazers, extended the invitation to East Carolina head coach Bill Lewis in an auditorium packed with team members, assistant coaches and their families and representatives from the media. “We're just elated to have East Carolina in our bowl,” Hovater said. ‘‘We’ve been fol- lowing this team for a month, game after game. It remains an exciting team.”’ Lewis graciously accepted. ‘‘T really feel like I represent sO many people in accepting an opportunity to play in this great classic,’ he said. ‘‘I represent our chancellor (Dr. Richard Eakin) and our university ad- ministration, who have been so supportive; (athletics director) Dave Hart and his staff in Peach Bowl ECU vs. NC State \___ Atlanta, Georgia January 1,1992 athletics; our students and facul- ty, who throughout the year got behind us; a group of fans that has come from far and wide to support this football team; our support groups — student man- agers, trainers, sports medicine people and secretaries; but most important of all, our football family — the players, the coaches and their families.”’ Hart, who turned down an offer to become athletics director at the University of Pittsburgh less (See COACHES, A-9) Pirates head to Atlanta Cinderella story will continue By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Cinderella spent much of the summer in Atlanta. She is going back for a little party on New Year’s Day. East Carolina, this year’s Cin- derella story in college football, on Sunday accepted an invitation to face N.C, State in the 24th annual Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day. Bowl bids could be officially ex- tended at 3 p.m. “T don’t know where Cinderella lives, but I think she might have a condo in Greenville and one in At- lanta,”’ said Jack Williams, who joined Rod Hovater as Peach Bowl representatives in Greenville on Sunday. The Cinderella that already Spent time in Atlanta was in the form of the Atlanta Braves, who went from worst to first in the Na- tional League West then lost to the worst-to-first Minnesota Twins in the seventh game of the World Se- ries. Hovater said the enthusiasm Surrounding East Carolina this season — saber slash and all — could compare to that of the Braves and their toma- hawk-chopping fans. And, remember, the Peach Bowl will be played in the Chop Shop. ‘We went through a bit of ex- citement in Atlanta this last year with the Braves and what they did,” Hovater said. ‘‘I compare the fans’ enthusiasm that I’ve seen here with the same kind of feeling. It’s spontaneous, they’re there and they’re alive. It’s just a great ex- perience to go through.”’ The bowl appearance for East Carolina will be its first since the 1978 Independence Bowl and its first-ever trip to the Peach. The Wolfpack is making its sixth. trip to the Peach Bowl — the third since coach Dick Sheridan arrived in 1986. “It is a great honor for us to return to the Peach Bowl,”’ Sheridan told the Associated Press Sunday. ‘‘I think the bowl has got- ten stronger and bigger each year and to be able to play on New Year’s Day is certainly a great honor. It adds some prestige to the bowl. ‘“We feel like we have an oppor- tunity to play one of the better teams in the country and a team that deserves to be ranked in the top 10.”’ (See ECU, B-4) omer ae ee (Continued from A-1) than a month before football sea- 4 . ‘son opened, extended his con- igratulations to Lewis and the iteam. ; “I’m first happy for Bill and ‘the team,”’ he said. ‘I’ve had an ‘opportunity on a day-to-day basis 'to be cognizant of just how hard 'they’ve worked for this. I’m hap- ‘py to see them rewarded. It’s a great day for East Carolina Uni- versity.” : East Carolina and N.C. State ‘will be meeting for the first time ‘since the termination of the 18- ‘year series in 1987. Virginia and ‘Illinois were also given close ‘consideration before opting for : other bowls. : Virginia is headed to the Gator ‘Bowl to face either Nebraska or ‘Oklahoma. Illinois will play ‘UCLA in the John Hancock Bowl. i Williams said four ingredients imade East Carolina an appeal- i ing team for the Peach Bowl. : The first attraction was a ;growing Cinderella story that ‘has thrust East Carolina into the ‘national spotlight. Other factors tare the team’s overall record, ‘the efforts and integrity of the athletic administration and fan ' support, he said. ~~ Peach Bowl officials witnessed eee a BE (Continued from B-1) East Carolina is currently rank- ed 13th. The Wolfpack is ranked 22nd. Both teams have regular-season games remaining and are bidding for the best finishes in the history of their respective schools. Neither program has ever had a 10-game winner. ECU takes a 9-1 record to Cincinnati next Satur- day i NO. State,.0-2, hosts Maryland. “We are elated to have two teams with the possibility of 10 wins and-nine wins coming in,” Williams said. ‘‘The fact that they happen to both be in a close prox- imity to Atlanta and both happen to be in the same state is fine.”’ Hovater added N.C. State has always been a good draw in Atlan- ta. He expects ticket sales for this year’s game to be brisk. ‘“(N.C. State) has been there several times,’’ Hovater said. ‘They always have a good fan fol- lowing and are a compliment to the state in the way that they behave during the week they are there. It’s always a win-win situa- a sellout crowd of 36,000 in Ficklen Stadium for the Pitt game and saw large followings to road games at Southern Miss and Virginia Tech. About 8,000 Pirate fans were in Blacksburg, Va., for ECU’s 24-17 win Saturday. “The excitement of their fans ... If you think that doesn’t affect someone watching the game who is supposed to be neutral, you're incorrect,’ Williams said. ‘‘It does have an influence.’ Hart said East Carolina would be allotted a minimum of 20,000 tion for both of us.”’ N.C. State and ECU have not met since the 18-year series was terminated 1987. After that game, a 32-14 East Carolina win in Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, Pirate fans stormed the field and caused some damage to the stadium and injured a public safe- ty officer. The Woltpack leads the series, 12-6. ECU head coach Bill Lewis said he would not comment on N.C. State or the bowl game until after the regular season. Players were not made available to the media Sunday. “‘T will hold any comments about the football (bowl) game _ until next Sunday,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘We’ve got an awfully important game with the University of Cincinnati. That’s where all of my attention and all of my efforts and energies will be directed this week. “T told our football team I think it’s extremely important that we get our heads back down and get focused on the objective of the week and that is to get prepared for Cincinnati. Coaches elated over invitation tickets. He stressed that fans should purchase tickets from the university in order to create a track record for future bowl op- portunities. “T hope that our fans will understand that it’s important that they purchase tickets from us for a lot of reasons,’ Lewis said. ‘‘We want our fans together and dressed in purple in gold. ‘‘T want to throw a challenge out to every ECU fan on this planet to find a way to be in At- lanta, Georgia on January Ist of 1992.” The Daily _ Reflector Wednesday, November 20, 1991 By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Each week during this storybook season, East Carolina’s football team has found some source of motivation. Payback was the incentive against a few teams — South Car- ‘olina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, ‘Southern Miss and Virginia Tech ‘for instance. Then, as momentum started to mount, hopes for a postseason bow] bid became some- - thing for which to play.. This Saturday’s game at Cincin- . nati fits neither category. The Pirates’ bowl plans are made. On New Year’s Day in At- ‘Janta, they get their long-awaited showdown with N.C. State in the . ' Peach Bowl. ind wel snr ~ Revenge against the Bearcats? ‘ Not hardly. East Carolina has won all five games in the series. But the regular-season finale for both teams, which kicks off at 1 p.m. in remodeled Nippert . Stadium, is not without meaning. Sports One win makes this ECU team something special The best of the Bucs Year Record Coach 1991 9-1 Clarence Stasavich Bill Lewis Tangerine Sonny Randle Cincinnati would like nothing more than to knock off a bowl- bound ranked opponent and create some enthusiasm for next season. All a win does for ECU is make it the first football team in school history to win 10 games. That’s something special. The Pirates have two chances. Of course, head coach Bill Lewis The Daily Reflector/Stuart Savage would rather not have to wait until Jan. 1 to get it. “This football game, to me, is the biggest football game this team has played or will play — has played or will play — this en- tire season,’’ Lewis said Tuesday during his weekly press: con- ference. ‘‘There is no football team in the history of this univer- sity that has had an opportunity of winning 10 football games. This team has.”’ The 13th-ranked Pirates, who have reeled off nine straight wins since a season-opening loss at Illi- nois, bring in a 9-1 record. Cincin- nati stands 4-6, but has won four of its last six games. “A lot of people probably think we have nothing to play for,” East Carolina senior inside linebacker, Robert Jones said, ‘“‘but we would like to get that 10th win and know we are the best team in ECU his- tory. “Coach Lewis has used that to motivate us. He has found a dif- ferent way to motivate us each week.” Added senior defensive end Stephen Braddy: ‘‘Each week we have had something to fight for. We would love to get a win Satur- day and make history.”’ Seven teams in the history of East Carolina football have finish- ed with nine victories. e Clarence Stasavich led three teams to 9-1 records from 1963-65. e College Football e NBA e Classified e Sonny Randle had 9-2 teams in 1972 and 1973. e Pat Dye directed a 9-2 squad in 1976 and had a 9-3 finish in 1978. Dye’s 1976 team was the last East Carolina team that had less than three losses. In his third sea- son at ECU, Lewis has posted only the third winning record at the school since 1980. Running back David Daniels, a senior from Greenville, is glad he’s been a part of it. “T watched this program since I’ve been growing up in Green- ville,” Daniels said. ‘‘We were al- ways close but could never get over the hump. “We knew we had some good players this year ... it just built game after game. To win 10 games would be a great feeling.”’ So, the Pirates have tried to focus on Cincinnati — not par- ticularly easy when everyone else is talking Peach Bowl. “There have been some distrac- tions but I think they have all been very positive distractions,’’ Lewis said. “I think those are easy distractions to deal with ... I think our players have responded well.” As well as any team in the histo- ry of the school. ‘When people look back at this season, they will look back and will say this team was in a bowl game,” Lewis said. “But there will be a lot football teams this season in bowl games. There will be a lot of football players who have an opportunity during their careers to play in bowl games. ‘How many football players will be able to walk around on Sunday of this coming week and say ‘In the history of my university, I played on the best football team ever?’”’ That’s what is at stake and I think that makes this the biggest football game for this team. That is something they'll carry long with them after the memory of the season fades, long after the memory of the bowl game fades. They'll be able to go into (sports information director Charles Bloom’s) media guide next year and say there it is.”’ 48 THECHARLOTTEOBSERVER Monday, November 18,1991 ° The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis ECU’s Robert Jones is one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, which honors the nation’s top linebacker FROM STAFF, WIRE REPORTS East Carolina’s Robert Jones has been named one of three finalists for the 1991 Butkus Award, presented an- nually to the nation’s most outstanding linebacker. Jones, a senior inside linebacker, is joined by Erick Anderson of Michigan and Mar- co Coleman of Georgia Tech. The list was made from a secret ballot by the 13-member Butkus Award Selection Commit- tee, collected and tallied by the Orlando, Fla., accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche. The winner will be chosen by balloting on Dec. 4. and announced by Dick Butkus at a black-tie banquet on Dec. 7 at the Marriott’s Orlando World Center. The three finalists are sched- uled to attend the ceremonies. “This is great recognition for my school,’ Jones said. ‘‘It’s motivation for me to play better defense in the last JONES couple of games that I’ve got. This is a team award and I owe a lot to them and my coaches.”’ Jones, a 6-3, 234-pound senior inside linebacker from Blackstone, Va., has games remaining at Cincinnati on Sat- urday and against N.C. State in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day. Jones has also been selected first- team All-America by Football News and is one of five finalists for its na- tional defensive player of the year award. Other finalists are Terrell Buckley of Florida State, Santana Dot- son of Baylor, Steve Emtman of Wash- ington and Darrin Smith of Miami, Fla. The winners will be honored on Feb. 4 at a black-tie dinner at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich. The dinner will also honor the offensive player and coach of the year. The Football News All America Team consists of: ¢ Offense — quarterback Casey Weldon (Florida State), running back Vaughn Dunbar (Indiana), running back Trevor Cobb (Rice), wide re- ceiver Desmond Howard (Michigan), wide receiver Carl Pickens (Ten- nessee), tight end Kelly Blackwell (Texas Christian), tackles Bob Whit- field (Stanford) and Greg Skrepenak Jones on Butkus final list (Michigan), guards Mirko Jurkovic (Notre Dame) and Jeb Flesch (Clem- son), center Jay Leeuwenberg (Col- orado) and place-kicker Carlos Huerta (Miami, Fla.). e Defense — Emtman, Jones, Dotson, Buckley, Smith, lineman Brad Culpep- per (Florida), linebacker Joe Bowden (Oklahoma), linebacker Demetrius DuBose (Notre Dame), defensive baek Kevin Smith (Texas A&M), defensive back Dale Carter (Tennessee), defen- sive back Troy Vincent (Wisconsin) and punter Mark Bounds (Texas Tech). In helping the Pirates to a 9-1 record, Jones has accumulated a team-high 136 tackles, including 93 solo stops. He has 463 career tackles — just 30 shy of becoming the school’s all-time leader. In eight games this season, Jones has had at least 11 tackles. Overall, he has 11 tackles for a loss, three quarterback sacks, four forced fumbles, one pass deflection and nine quarterback pressures. Anderson, in 10 games, has 97 tackles -(73 solos), five tackles for a loss, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble, three pass deflections andtwo intercep- tions. Coleman has 60 tackles (36 solos), seven tackles for a loss and 11 sacks. Turning it around Hard work paying off for Lewis and Murphy By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR To appreciate what Bill Lewis and Tim Murphy have done with their football programs, you have to know where they started. In each case, many considered the job a no-win situation. Lewis came to an East Carolina program that was taking on the best the country had to offer and was falling flat on its face. In his first season, Lewis finished with the school’s first non-losing re- cord (5-5-1) in six years. After a 5-6 season in 1990, he has his team at 9-1 and headed to a postseason bowl. ECU vs. CINCINNATI Murphy’s task has been even more difficult. He took over a Cincinnati program handcuffed by probation, scholarship reductions and crumbl- ing facilities and has had to scratch and claw to fi- nally see a light at the end of the tunnel. He won just one game in each of his first two years, but has his team at 4-6 this season. Hard work, a positive attitude, motivation and persistence have paid off for both coaches. Lewis appreciates what Murphy has done — and vice versa. ‘‘T’m not so sure the best coaching job in Ameri- ca is not being done right now by Tim Murphy and his staff,’ Lewis said. ‘“‘They were able to get it turned around. I think it takes something special on the part of the coaches and something special on the part of those young athletes.” Said Murphy: ‘‘Bill Lewis gets my vote for coach of the year. He’s done an outstanding job.”’ Lewis and Murphy will be on opposite sidelines Saturday at renovated Nippert Stadium when 13th-ranked East Carolina and Cincinnati meet in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Pirates have won all five games in the series and need just one more win to become the first team in school history to win 10 games. But the Bearcats have given ECU a fight the last two years. In 1989, the Pirates needed to rally for a 21-14 win. Last season, ECU led 28-25 at the half before pulling away for a 56-32 win. Cincinnati, which had an open date after a 30-10 win over Middle Tennessee State, is seeking its third straight win at home. The Bearcats have won four of their last six, but easily could have been better. In a 20-17 loss to Kentucky, Cincinnati saw a 14-0 lead disappear then lost when Doug Pelfrey booted a 53-yard field goal with one second to go. For the season — despite lopsided losses to Penn State (81-0) and North Carolina (51-16) — the Bearcats have more first downs, average more yards both rushing and passing per game and have more time of possession than their opponents. “These are the statistics of a team that is 8-3 or 9-2,’ Lewis said. ‘‘If you look at the football team at Cincinnati they remind me of a team that all of us are very familiar with — they remind me of the 1990 East Carolina Pirates. “If you remember how we struggled early in the (See PIRATES, C-6) Pirates take on ’Cats _ (Continued from C-1) season and how we got our season turned around, I have to believe this will be a team that will be ready to play. They were off last week. They should be well-rested, they should be well-prepared and I think they will be excited to play us.”’ Murphy rated East Carolina second only to Penn State on UC’s schedule. The Pirates, led by se- nior quarterback Jeff Blake, are sixth in the nation in passing of- fense (309.6 yards per game), 15th in total offense (448.1 yards per game) and 13th in scoring offense (34.2 points per game). “They have the best coach, best . quarterback and best linebacker (Robert Jones) we have seen this year,” Murphy said. ‘‘This is by far the best passing attack we’ve seen. Their defense has not been highlighted because of their of- fense but they’ve made so many big plays on the films we’ve seen,” Cincinnati’s best weapon against ECU’s offense is to grind it out with redshirt freshman tailback David Small and sophomore fullback Mike Britford. Small, avergaing 127.6 yards over the last five games, carried 34 times for 219 yards against Middle Ten- nessee. “What they want to do is estab- lish a very solid running game and possess the ball,’ Lewis. said. ~They’ve been able to shorten the game because they’ve been able to hold on to the football.”’ By all accounts, the Bearcats are not the same team that got whipped in the first two weeks. And with just five seniors and five juniors among the 22 starters, UC has high hopes for the future. ‘‘T think they were mismatched totally with their scheduling situa- tion,”” Lewis said. ‘I think they got in a situation where their team wasn’t mature enough early. But they stayed with fundamentals and they’ve got tough kids.”’ BINJURY REPORT: Several ECU players have been limited in practice this week, but only Greg Floyd is expected not to play Sat- urday. Floyd, a sophomore cornerback, sustained a separated shoulder in the Virginia Tech game. Senior Richard Wright will step in for his first start of the season. Wright will be backed up by An- thony Freeman and Travis Render. Limited in practice have been wide receiver Clayton Driver (shoulder sprain), tight end Luke Fisher (shoulder sprain), safety Garrett Beasley (ankle sprain), free safety Fred Walker (quadricep contusion), strong safety Greg Grandison (upper respiratory infection) and defen- sive end Jerry Dillon (calf bruise, quadricep strain, abdominal strain and bruised shoulder). Dillon is listed as questionable. If he cannot play, senior Stephen Braddy will start. The Daily _ Reflector Sunday, November 24, 1991 The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis ECU’s Chris Hall (40) puts a big hit on Cincinnati quarterback Lance Harp as Bernard Carter (80) closes in e College Football e College Basketball ¢ Outdoors 10-1 ECU shakes off pesky Bearcats By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR CINCINNATI — Put it in the books. The 1991 East Carolina football team is the best in school history. Ten wins, one loss. And still one to go. Win No. 10 for the 13th-ranked and Peach Bowl-bound Pirates came in the form of a 30-19 victory over a much-improved Cincinnati team Saturday before a chilled turnout of only 8,574 at renovated Nippert Stadium. To bypass seven other ECU teams that finished with nine wins, these Pirates had to dodge a number of bullets. But they escaped with their fifth road win of the season and extended their win streak to 10. “Tt is not easy to win 10 games in a season,’”’ ECU head coach Bill Lewis said. ‘“‘That is something that is very difficult to do and I’m proud that they found a way. “T don’t think this was our best game as far as execution, but we found a way to hang tough.”’ The defense should get a big pat on the back for that. Despite spending much of a raw and rainy day being sucker-pun- ched by redshirt freshman runn- ing back David Small (25 carries, 131 yards) and sophomore wide receiver Marlon Pearce (seven catches, 183 yards, two touch- downs), the Pirates managed to stand their ground and protect a shaky fourth-quarter lead. Four second-half interceptions — two by Fred Walker and one each by Jerry Dillon and Greg Grandison — denied the Bearcats their fifth win of the season. Cin- cinnati, which had more total yards than its opponent (446-327 Saturday) for the ninth time this season, finished 4-7. “Don’t let Cincinnati’s record fool you because that’s a good team,” Dillon said. ‘“‘They came out there and hit us right in the mouth, but we pride ourself in playing hard-nosed defense. It showed up in the second half.”’ For example: @ With the score 21-17 late in the third period and UC at the ECU 21, Walker intercepted a pass at the six and returned it 50 yards. mSame score, second play of the fourth quarter. Grandison, who had a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown last week at Vir- ginia Tech, picks off a pass that sailed over the head of Pearce at the ECU 24 and returned it nine yards. @Score still 21-17 with UC facing a third-and-goal at the ECU 6. Walker steps in front of Pearce at the one for his second intercep- tion. (See PIRATES, C-2) Tar Heels get some satisfaction, but no bowl bid KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS CHAPEL HILL — The North Carolina Tar Heels didn’t get a bowl bid Saturday, but they got another 1,000-yard rusher and plenty of satisfaction. The Tar Heels thundered past Duke 47-14 in Kenan Stadium and, in the afterglow, many of the Tar Heels couldn’t resist gathering under an end-zone scoreboard as the Blue Devils (4-5-1, 1-5) made their way into a somber postgame locker room. Two years ago, in the same spot, the Blue Devils had posed for pho- tographs after a 41-0 thrashing of the Tar Heels. “T think I’m going to enjoy this one the most,’’ North Carolina linebacker Tommy Thigpen said after the Tar Heels posted their first seven-win season (7-4) since 1986. As good as it was for the Tar Heels, it wasn’t enough to earn them a bowl bid. Indiana dodged a last-minute Purdue field goal to | slip into the Copper Bowl and Ar- kansas ‘won its way into the In- dependence Bowl, leaving the Tar Heels without a 12th game. North Carolina was left to cele- brate a convincing victory that was given a special sparkle by tailback Natrone Means, who be- came the 20th tailback in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Means, adding his personal touch to the day’s theatrics, shat- tered the barrier with a 68-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, earning a standing ova- tion from the crowd of 50,500. Means finished the game with 181 yards, giving him 1,030 for. the season. “Tm kinda choked up,” said Means, who pushed North Caroli- na past Southern California in the race for most career 1,000-yard rushers. As the game progressed and North Carolina asserted its dominance on both sides of ball, the countdown toward 1,000 be- came the focal point. Means, who played at Central Cabarrus High, needed 32 yards when the Tar Heels took the field early in the fourth quarter and he immediately lost 6 yards on his first carry. The next play, however, Means turned a draw play into dynamite and rocketed 68 yards into his broth- er’s arms in the corner of the end zone. North Carolina piled up 351 rushing yards and 529 total yards against the Blue Devils, but it was the Tar Heels’ defense that ruled the sunny afternoon. Having sur- rendered 816 passing yards to Duke quarterback Dave Brown the past two seasons, North Caro- lina smothered Brown Saturday. Brown completed just 14 of 42 passes for 168 yards and was sacked five times. “Every time I looked up, they seemed to have three defenders around my receiver,’’ said Brown. Earlier in the week, Brown commented that his 479-yard per- formance in Kenan Stadium two years ago had been ‘‘an off day,”’ and it stung some North Carolina ears. “He had an off day when they beat us 41-0. I think we had an off day on defense today letting him get 14 points,” Thigpen said. ‘“‘We remember a lot.”’ The Tar Heels dominated the game in every aspect, setting the tone when Eric Blount went 70 yards with the opening kickoff. Blount and Randy Jordan had first-half touchdowns as North Carolina built a 20-0 halftime lead. Welcome home, Pirates! 1 football season. The football players, given a police escort to the dorm Satur- Mayor Nancy Jenkins and other city officials, Details of Saturday’s game are on C-1. The Daily Reflector/Shannon Wolfe East Carolina University students whoop it up outside Jones Dorm Saturday night dur- ing a campus-city celebration of the Pirates’ 10- winners in Cincinnati Saturday afternoon, were day night, where they were greeted by along with hundreds of well-wishers. The Associated Press UNC’s Eric Blount takes the opening kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown as Randall Parsons watches Duke’s Gavin Gray irates up to 0. 12 STAFF, WIRE REPORTS | East Carolina and North Caroli- na State, scheduled to meet in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day, both moved up a notch in this week’s Associated Press college football poll. The Pirates moved from No. 18 to No. 12 following a 30-19 win at Cincinnati Saturday. The Wolfpack went from No. 22 to No. 21 after defeating aryland, 20-17. Pi aawnile, second-ranked Washington gained ground on No. 1 Miami, setting the stage for a possible photo finish for the na- tional championship. Washington, which trailed Mi- ami by 32 first-place votes and 40 points last week, closed the gap to 15 first-place votes and 20 points after the Huskies walloped Wash- ington State 56-21 and the Hurri- canes squeeked by Boston College 19-14 Saturday. AP top 25 By The Associated Press _ The Top Twenty Five teams in the Associated Press 1991 college football poll, with first-place votes in paren- theses, records through Nov. 23; total points based on 25 points for a first- place vote through one point for a 25th: place vote, and previous rank- os Record Pts Pad: Miami (3712) 10-0-0 1,476% > Wash. (2212) ea 1,45642 2 rida St. 10-1-0 1,378 3 8 Auchan 10-1-0 1,318 4 5. Florida 9-1-0 1,262 5 6. Penn St. 9-2-0 1,159 if 7. lowa 10-1-0 1,095 9 8. Alabama 9-1-0 1,086 8 9. Tennessee 8-2-0: 98 10 10. Texas A&M 9-1-0. 9802 242 11. Nebraska Sets 2987 12. East Carolina 10-1-0 768 13 13. Clemson 8-1-1 756 14 14, California 922205 (380i ae 15. Colorado $-2-1. 609. 15 16. Syracuse 9-2-0 554 16 17. Stanford 93-0 % 538% 21 18. Notre Dame 823-0 52007 Ae 19. Oklahoma 82920 i dO alo ey ete 20 20. Virginia 8-2-1 429 21. N. Carolina St. a 198 22 2. Tulsa -2- 172i Gaza 55, UCLA 8-3-0 155-2420 24. Ohio St. 8-3-0 143 «18 25. Georgia 7-3-0 109 24 Other receiving votes: | Brigham Young 93, Baylor 63, Mississipp! St. 12, Bowling Green 9, Fresno St. 9, San Diego St. 8, Georgia Tech 7, Air Force 3, Kansas St. 2. Miami (10-0) received 37% first-place votes and 1,476% points, while Washington (11-0) (See POLL, B-5) — The Daily Reflector Monday, November 25, 1991 WOODY PEELE Monday musings: Let’s go back about 12 weeks © ago to the waning days of August, when East Carolina’s football team was preparing to open the season against Illinois. The Fighting Illini were heavily favored in that game, and streak- ed out to a big lead. But suddenly, in the second half, East Carolina, under the direction of quarterback Jeff Blake, began to move the ball. Late in the contest, the Pirates closed to within seven points of the Illini, 38-31. Coach Bill Lewis call- ed for the on-side kick and the Pirates recovered, putting them in prime position to have one more shot at scoring and winning or los- ing with a two-pointer. Let it be known, too, that Lewis and Co. would have gone for two. There’s no sister kissing on this team. But a flag was thrown for ‘“‘ex- cessive celebrating,” a new rule this year in NCAA football. Later, the officials said that a Pirate’s words were what brought on the flag, and finally, it was acknowl- edged by the head of Big Ten of- ficials that the call was totally er- roneous and ECU should not have been penalized. At any rate, it set the Pirates back into a first-and-25 situation, one they were not able to recover from. This past Friday night, as I wat- ched Washington play Eden in the 3-A state playoffs, a fan said he thought Blake lost his cool at that point, that at this point of the sea- son he would have overcome that obstacle. Well, maybe he did; I don’t know. But I do have to agree with him that the Pirates probably would find a way to overcome that hurdle if the game were the 11th instead of the first. And that could mean that the Pirates would have finished 11-0. Still, perhaps that obstacle was the force that propelled ECU toa 10-1 record, the best ever in Pirate history. Perhaps they realized at that point, in the arms of defeat, ~ that they could move the ball against the best. They could score and they could win. It could be that losing to Illinois was the catalyst for this season. Back then, in that week, who would have guessed that the Pirates would be ranked, let alone climb into the top 15 teams in the country? The odds-makers in Las Vegas probably would have paid a million to one. Makes me wish I had a dollar to spare that week. But it isn’t over yet. There’s still the New Year’s Day meeting with old rival N.C. State. And while it’s the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Ga., it’s really the battle for North Carolina. The winner will be the best team in the state, no question. The winner will have some bragg- ing rights that, in this day, won’t be settled anytime soon. The win- ner will be a step up in the recruiting race. That is, if Bill Lewis elects to remain in Greenville. That ap- pears to be perhaps the biggest question looming in the weeks ahead. There are already rumors that he will quickly vacate the area to move on toa larger school. Certainly, in that upcoming game, the Pirates must raise themselves to another level of football. This game will be unlike any they’ve ever played, because of the rivalry between the two schools. In each of the last two games, after the Peach Bowl was secured, there was a definitely drop in the overall performance of the Pirates, who still found a way to win — the mark of a good, no, make that great, team. Nevertheless, it’s been a banner year, one which Pirate fans hope will be repeated in the years to come. Regardless of Lewis’ fate, the program appears headed in the right direction, and if he does leave, hopefully a replacement who can pick up right where he left off can be quickly found. And ponder this. An East Caro- lina victory in the Peach Bowl would almost certainly propel the Pirates into the Top 10. Was it Yogi who said, ‘“Who woulda thunk it?”’ And as someone else said the other day, ‘‘On Dec. 31, the last person out of North Carolina, please turn out the lights.”’ F Thursday ‘November 28, 1991 RON | GREEN I am thankful for many things This being Thanksgiving, today I’m thankful for: @ That song, “One Moment In Time,” which may not be about sports but is what sports is all about. @ Mike Krzyzewski vs. Dean Smith, maybe the best coaching rivalry ever in college basketball. ® Granddaughters, unquestion- ably the greatest invention since daughters, especially when they want a hug from certain people. ® Arnold Palmer. @ Mike Ditka, with snow blow- ing in his face and the game on the line, the perfect image of pro football. @ Long touchdown runs. @ Larry Johnson, who has brought passion, and a smile, to. the Hornets, He'll be our first all- star. & The sound of wind in pine trees, the sound of rain on leaves, the whisper of snow blowing against a window, the sound of birds chatting about the coming of spring. ® Duke over Nevada-Las Vegas. Wins like those come in limited editions. @-Chris Berman doing high- lights. @ The Ryder Cup matches at . Kiawah Island, three days of drama and emotion, top five all- time on my list of memorable sports events, @ Beth, my favorite wife, gentle of heart, sweet of smile, generous of soul, and not a bad looker, either. ® Ron. They say he’s lot like me. I’m honored. David and Diana. When they come home for the holidays, they bring a house- ful of happiness with them that we miss for too much of the year. Edie and Johnny. If | had chosen a daughter, it would have been Edie, and if | had chosen a son-in- law, it would have been Johnny. Tamera, who’s like one of the family. And my mom, in her 80’s now but, between you and me, still a little flirtatious. @ Pinehurst. As 1 said some- place else, it’s where golfers go when they die if they haven't played too slowly or lied too much about their handicaps. ® ‘Northern Exposure.” Don’t ask me to explain, but that show touches me. . @ The Atlanta Braves. They — kept us up late and we loved it. Their last-to-first saga and the way it all unfolded was one of the best sports stories in our lifetime. ® Country music, @ The Masters at Augusta, when golf throws back the cur- tain and springtime walks in, looking fresh and beautiful. ® The regulars Ci call ’em thieves) in the daily golf game at Cedarwood. You know they’ll always be there and the game will always be on, which is howit’s supposed to be. @ Michael. - @ Hanging around the kitchen on Thanksgiving day, making sure everything tastes right before it’s served. They ought to make perfume that smells like that. @ Eau de Thanksgiving Kitchen. Guys would buy it. @ Christmas. I still love it likea kid. ®@ George Foreman. @ High school football on Fri- day nights, as American as Amer- ica gets. @ The roar of the crowd that only I can hear when my dreaded sky-hook hits nothing but cord, ® East Carolina’s bowl-bound Pirates. Now there’s a warm story. And a good football team. @ Cameron Indoor Stadium and Reynolds Coliseum, golden oldies. @ Dale Earnhardt, who drives a race car the way Jim Brown ran, the way Arnold Palmer plays golf the way Pete Rose played base- — ball, . @ Margs and Mex, one of my favorite couples. @ Charlie (Choo Choo) Justice, forever’s hero. @ The Head Shop, where, for the price of a haircut, I find out what the public is really thinking about sports. @ “Murphy Brown.” ® The songs Ol’ Blue Eyes used _ to sing. As he said in something I read, they don’t write em like that anymore. @ The good feeling of being at a Hornets game. Hornets crowds have fun, which is what it’s all about. @ Dear friends and good bud- dies. | thought of listing a bunch of people for whom I have a spe- cial feeling and for whom I’m thankful but they know who they are. Happy Thanksgiving, tur- — keys. ; The Charlotte Observer MONEY MAN Top quarterback: East Carolina’s Jeff Blake, The broke virtual Observer's All-Carolinas most valuable offensive player, LSS a ans esc ORS Ts PRED RE ORCI ALL-CAROLINAS TEAM By STAN OLSON And CHARLES CHANDLER Staff Writers East Carolina and Clemson dominate the first Charlotte Observer All-Caroli- nas college football team. _ The East Carolina Pirates, 10-1 and headed to the Peach Bowl to play N.C. State, sweep all three individual honors. Clemson’s Tigers, 8-1-1 heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale against Duke in Tokyo, have the most players on the 25-man team — eight. The team, selected by The Observer sports Staff, consists of the best player at each position in the Carolinas, Players from all divisions and _ classifications were considered. There is no second team. There is no honorable mention. Just the best, with no runners-up. The very best of the best are quarter- back Jeff Blake and linebacker Robert Jones of East Carolina, chosen offensive and defensive most valuable players; their coach, Bill Lewis, is the coach of -the year. Huskies gaining on Hurricanes Pirates maintain No. 12 ranking THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Top-ranked Miami keeps winn- ing on the field and losing votes in the ballot box. For the second straight week, the Hurricanes’ lead over No. 2 Washington shrank even though they won. Despite a 39-12 victory over San Diego State, Miami saw its margin dwindle from 20 to 14 points in Sunday’s Associated Press college football poll. East Carolina remained at No. 12 in this week’s poll. Miami (11-0) received 1,475 points, while idle Washington (11- 0) got 1,461 from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broad- casters. The Huskies also crept closer in first-place votes in the final regu- lar-season poll. Washington, which trailed by 15 first-place votes last week, is now 14 behind Miami (37-23). ‘‘We won the game convincingly and I can’t ask the players to do any more than they’ve done,”’ Mi- ami coach Dennis Erickson said. . ‘Then it’s in the hands of the peo- ple who vote, and I have no control over that.”’ The national championship will come down to the Jan. 1 bowl games, when Miami plays No. 11 Nebraska in the Orange and Wash- ington meets No. 4 Michigan in the Rose. ; If both teams win, history will be on Miami’s side. No top-ranked team in the AP poll has ever won a bowl game and failed to win the national title. However, Washington will have other factors on its side. Because Michigan is higher ranked than Nebraska and because Miami will be playing on its home field, Washington can impress voters more with a bowl victory than Mi- ami can. Michigan and No. 3 Florida are the only other teams with a shot at the national title. They would bat- tle for the No. 1 spot if Michigan beats Washington, Miami loses to Nebraska and Florida defeats No. 18 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Florida (10-1) rose two places in the poll following a 14-9 victory over Florida State (10-2), which dropped two spots to fifth. Blake’s play has been so superb that he has become a contender for Heis- man Trophy votes. He finished tied for second behind Brigham Young quarter- Associated Press y every school passing record this season, throwing for 3,073 yards and 28 touchdowns. ECU, Clemson lead the way back Ty Detmer in’ voting for the Football Writers’ All-America team. Blake broke virtually every school passing record this season, throwing for 3,073 yards and 28 touchdowns, and running for three moré scores. Jones is one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, which annually goes to college football’s best linebacker. He is rated the nation’s third best senior pro pros- pect by NFL draft Te’Thomas, trailing only running back Vaughn Dunbar of Indiana and quarter- analyst Dave Please see Team/next page RECTION ates tune out Hornets . Charlotte loses game, plus Reid to bad back By RICK BONNELL Staff Writer : SALT LAKE CITY — Utah guard Jeff Malone hit three straight jump shots in the last 242 minutes to give the Jazz a 113-107 victory over the Charlotte Hornets’ in the Delta Center Wednesday night. The Jazz (8-6) got 26 points from Jeff Malone. Before the game, the Hornets (4-11, 0-8 on the road) placed J.R. Reid on the injured list with a stress fracture in his back. Reid must miss at least five games, but may be out much longer. : Rex Chapman had pushed the Hornets up 10 in the third quarter, scoring 20 of his 27 points in the first half. But the Hornets scored three points in the last 444 minutes. Karl Malone had 31 for the Jazz. Dell Curry had 26. for Charlotte, which next plays Friday night in Phoenix. : The Hornets pulled ahead 102-97 with six minutes 18 seconds left on Kenny Gattison’s inside basket, but the Jazz came back with six straight points to pull ahead on Jeff Malone’s free throws. The Jazz tied the game at 86-86 entering the fourth quarter, making up a 10-point deficit over the last 6:16 of the period. Chapman had given the Hornets a 78-68 edge on two free throws, and had three shots at pushing the lead to 12 or 13. Tyrone Corbin dunk a miss by Jeff Malone with three seconds left in the third period for the tie. The Hornets led 65-61 at halftime, shooting 58% to’ the Jazz's 49%. Chapman, coming off the bench, was rolpreaa Se the difference. He scored 20 in the first alf. Charlotte hit 11 of its first 17 shots for a 24-19 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter. But Karl Malone tied the game at the quarter with two free throws off a foul by Eric Leckner and an inside basket, that Mike Gminski goal-tended. Leckner, who did not play against the Nuggets, entered six minutes into the game, his most signifigant action of the season. Hornets coach Allan Bristow had said before the game that Leckner would play more, in reaction to Charlotte losing Reid. ® Reid injures back/page 4B Tar Heels, Davis slip past Houston Associated Press ; HOUSTON — Hubert Davis scored 14 of his 29 points in the final 10 minutes 17 seconds Wednesday night as No. 6 North Carolina rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit and beat Houston 68-65. The Tar Heels (2-0) did not score in the first 6:15 and had just one basket in the final 3:38 of the first half as the Cougars (1-1) took a 42-27 halftime lead behind Sam Mack’s 21 first-half points. North Carolina outscored Houston 11-2 to start the second half and Davis’ three-pointer with 6:16 left gave North Carolina its first lead of the game at 59-58, Mack, who scored 32 points, got two free throws and a basket for a 62-60 Houston lead, but four consecutive free throws by Davis gave North Carolina the lead for good, Houston took a 15-2 lead before the Tar Heels started a first-half rally. North Carolina closed to 17-14 before Mack started his string of 13 consecutive points. j North Carolina missed its first seven shots of thé game and had eight turnovers in the slow start. The Tar Heels host Towson State on Saturday. @ Summary/page 6B _ AP top 25 By The Associated Press The Lop Twenty Five teams in the Associated Press 1991 final regular season college football poll, with first-place votes: in =parentheses, :re-2 cords through Nov. 30, total points ~ ‘based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-- Staff. Writer West Charlotte chases another football title | By LANGSTON WERTZ Jr. Charlotte. Players don’t talk too much about a particular game — place vote, and previous ranking: Record Pts Pys. 1, Miami (37) 11-0-0 1,475 2, Washington (23) —11-0-0 1,461 3, Florida 21021-05358: : 4, Michigan -10-1-0 1,333 5; Florida St: 10-20: 1,180 - 6, Penn St. 10-2-0 1,177 7. Towa ~ 10-1-0 1,100 8: Alabama 10-1-0 1,087 9. Texas A&M TO-1-0° 1,018: 3 10. Tennessee 9-2-0 1,000 1. Nebraska 9-1-1 955-1 West Charlotte, which plays at Greensboro Grimsley Friday, is in the third round of the N.C. 4A football playoffs, just two wins away from a third state champion- faithful excited? “Things are kind of normal around here,” says West Charlotte assistant coach Jon Strong. ‘“The eae so oe kids are excited that we've gone © California 712 14 || this far, but they don’t get out of . Colorado 602 15 || hand. They’re used to football and . Syracuse 991 16 |) basketball winning. It’s been that 17: Stanford 57547 18: Notre Dame 19. Virginia 20. Oklahoma =21.N. Carolina St. 92 UCLA OOO MOS Wis Oe 1; 1 ¥ 4 4 4 1 4 460 20 || here.” oe | This is the attitude at West 195 23 1 £ ship in five years. So are the Lions’ Biv ig || Way since all of them have been they talk about winning. The Lions are on a mission. West Charlotte has never won a state football championship under the N.C. High School Athletic Association. But Strong says the Lions don’t talk about that either. West Charlotte just talks about winning. ‘We do things in a very peculiar way,” says West Charlotte princi- pal Barbara Ledford. ‘Our coaches, whether it’s in basketball or football, they are very low-key Please see Preps/page 7B 23. Tulsa 472224 | 24. Georgia 161 25 Boston 101, Orlando 92 t t DOO COS OO GO: SOE ROD OO BD SES GOSS OS IN COIN CS COONS DO et SS et t College basketball 25, Ohio St. 8-3-0 129 24 Minnesota 101; Denver 92 N. Carolina 68, Houston 65 Other receiving votes: Brigham | | Dallas 113, Indiana 106 LSU 96, Middle Tenn. St. 65 Young 91, Baylor 77, Mississippi St. ~ New Jersey at San Antonio, late 20; Fresno St. 9, Bowling Green 5, San 83acramento at Phoenix, late Oklahoma St. 74, Pittsburgh 63. Georgia Tech 120, Texas 107 Diego St. 4, Air Force 1, Kansas St. 1. Michigan (10-1) remained Standings/page 4B fourth, while No. 6 Penn State Side lines/page 4B (10-2), No. 7 Iowa (10-1) and No. 8 §ymmaries/pane 4B Alabama (10-1) also retained their? oe previous rankings. Texas A&M (10-1) moved up one notch to No. 9 after topping Texas. Minnesota 69, Arizona St. 37 Alabama 105, Tennessee Tech 85 Roundup/page 6B 4 Se A supplement to The D ector, Enterprise, VrheDaily _ Reflector _ Friday, December 6, 1991 STAFF, WIRE REPORTS - East Carolina senior linebacker Robert Jones was named to his fifth All-America team Thursday, earning first team honors on the 1991 Associated Press All-America Squad. Pirates senior Dion Johnson was named to the AP’s second team as an all-purpose back. Jones has made a 151 tackles for ECU, which won its last 10 games to gain a berth in the Peach Bowl. He was credited with 12. tackles for losses, three sacks and 10 quarterback hurries. Johnson has 1,673 all-purpose yards on the season, an average of 152.1 per game. His yardage in- cludes 255 regular rushing yards, 743 receiving yards, 513 yards on kickoff returns and 162 yards on | punt returns. ROBERT JONES Heisman Trophy favorite Des- mond Howard of Michigan, freshman phenom Marshall Faulk of San Diego State and all-time Sports DION JOHNSON | passing leader Ty Detmer of Brigham Young led the AP list. The All-America team — selected by AP sports editor Dar- rell Christian, college football writer Rick Warner and regional AP sports writers — will be featured on the Bob Hope Christmas show, Dec. 18 from 9-10 p.m. EST on NBC. Howard, who is nicknamed Magic, lived up to his billing with a spectacular season. The triple- threat wide receiver averaged 159 yards per game and was the na- tion’s second-leading scorer with 23 touchdowns, many coming on his trademark diving catch. Two of his TDs came on a 93-yard kickoff return and a 93-yard punt return. Faulk led the country in rushing and scoring, the first freshman to finish on top in either category. He is only the third freshman to make the AP first team since they be- came eligible for varsity competi- tion in 1972. The others were Hands on the prize Lewis coach of year for Region I FROM STAFF REPORTS Bill Lewis, head coach of the East Carolina football Pirates, earned another honor Wednesday when he was named Coach of the Year in Region I, Division I-A. The selection was made by the American |; Footbatl Coaches Asso- ciation. The award, spon- sored by Kodak, is voted on by active members of the AFCA in the region. By winning, Lewis is one of five candidates for national honors. LEWIS Other regional winners include Jerry DiNardo of Vanderbilt in Region 2, Gary Blackney of Bowl- ing Green, Region 3; Dave Rader of Tulsa, Region 4; and Bruce Snyder of California, Region 5. The national Kodak Coach of the Year for each of the NCAA’s divi- sions will be selected during the ~ upcoming AFCA convention in Dallas, Texas. Members will vote for the coach of the year in Divi- sion I-A, I-AA, II and Division ITI. The four winners will be an- nounced on Jan. 9, 1992. - Lewis earlier was named as the Southern Independent Coach of the Year. East Carolina football coach Bill Lewis (left) and N.C. State football coach Dick Sheridan pose Thursday in At- lanta with the Peach Bowl trophy their teams will soon ECAC honors ECU’s Blake © East Carolina senior quarter- back Jeff Blake has been named as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) player of the year. Voting was done by the Divi- sion’s 10 coaches and sports in- formation directors. Four members of the Pirate football team also were named to the ECAC Division I-A all-star team. They include Blake at quar- terback, Dion Johnson at wide re- ceiver and return specialist, Keith Arnold in the offensive line and Robert Jones at linebacker. The complete team: QB Jeff Blake (ECU), RB Adrian Murrell (W. Virginia), RB David Walker (Syracuse), WR Dion Johnson (ECU), WR Qadry Ismail (Syracuse), TE Mark Chmura (Boston Col.), OL Keith Arnold (ECU), OL Travis Broadbent (Rutgers), OL Scott Miller (Pitt), OL John Ray (W. Virginia), OL Terrence Wisdom (Syracuse), DL Sean Gilbert (Pitt), DL Jim Gray (W. Virginia), DL Bob Kuberski (Navy), DL George Rooks (Syracuse), DL Larry Webster (Maryland), LB Robert Jones (ECU), LB Tom McManus (Boston Col.), LB Ricardo McDonald (Pitt), LB Elnardo Webster (Rutgers), DB Ron Allen (Rutgers), DB Steve Israel (Pitt), DB Mike McElrath (Army), DB Marshall Roberts (Rutgers), DB Doug Whaley (Pitt), RS Dion Johnson (ECU), PK Dan Dearmas (Maryland), P Trent Thompson (Temple). The Associated Press try to win. The Pirates face the Wolfpack January 1 at 11:30 a.m. in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. ° College Sports e NBA e Classified Georgia’s Herschel Walker in 1980 and Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett in 1973. ‘i Despite missing three games with an injury, Faulk rushed for 1,429 yards and scored 140 points. He gained 386 yards against Pacif- ic, setting an NCAA single-game mark that was later broken by Kansas’ Tony Sands. Detmer, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, is the only repeat- er from the 1990 team. He is the first quarterback to make the first unit in consecutive years since Notre Dame’s Johnny Lujack in 1946-47. Detmer was the nation’s No. 2 passer this season, completing 249 of 403 throws for 4,031 yards and 35 touchdowns. He finished his ca- reer with more passing yards (15,031) and TD passes (121) than anyone in NCAA history, two of Jones, Johnson on AP All-America list his 68 passing and total offense re- cords. Joining Detmer and Faulk in the backfield is Indiana’s Vaughn Dunbar, the nation’s No. 2 rusher with a 154-yard average. Although he only played two years for the Hoosiers, Dunbar finished his ca- reer as the school’s third-leading rusher and TD scorer. Ryan Benjamin of Pacific, who led the NCAA in all-purpose yard- age with 2,996, is the squad’s all- purpose back. His total yardage for rushing, receiving and kick returning was the second highest ever behind Barry Sanders’ 3,250 in 1988. Benjamin is the first Pa- cific player to make the AP’s first team. Mario Bailey of Washington is the other wide receiver and Kelly (See ALL-AMERICA, C-2) All-America (Continued from C-1) Blackwell of Texas Christian is the tight end. Rounding out the offense are center Jay Leeuwenburg of Col- orado; guards Jerry Ostroski of Tulsa and Jeb Flesch of Clemson; tackles Greg Skrepenak of Michigan and Bob Whitfield. of Stanford; and placekicker Carlos - Huerta of Miami. The defense is led by a pair of Outland Trophy finalists, linemen Steve Emtman of Washington and Santana Dotson of Baylor. They are joined by linemen Brad Culpepper of Florida and Leroy Smith of Iowa; Robert Jones of ECU and fellow lineback- ers Marvin Jones of Florida State and Joe Bowden of Oklahoma; and backs Kevin Smith of Texas A&M, Terrell Buckley of Florida State, Darryl Williams of Miami and Dale Carter of Tennessee. The punter is Mark Bounds of Texas Tech. The team includes eight underclassmen — Faulk, sopho- more Marvin Jones and six juniors. The juniors are Howard, Whitfield, Benjamin, Emtman, Buckley and Williams. Top-ranked Miami and No. 2 Washington, the only undefeated teams in Division I-A, each have two players on the first team. No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Florida State also placed two players on the squad. Blackwell caught 64 passes for 762 yards this season, and set an NCAA career mark for receptions by a tight end (181). Bailey set school records for catches (62) and touchdown recep- tions (17) in a season, and became the career leader at Washington in receiving yards and TD catches. Leeuwenburg played with a va- riety of injuries, including a broken bone in his right hand, but the three-year starter for Colorado allowed just one sack and was pe- nalized only once all season. Skrepenak, an Outland finalist, anchored a line that helped Michigan average 439 yards and 37 points per game. Whitfield, an All-Pac-10 selection for the second straight year, was a major factor in Stanford’s high powered of- fense. Flesch helped Clemson average 405 yards per game, second best in school history. Ostroski was the top lineman for a Tulsa team that went 9-2 and earned a trip to the Freedom Bowl. JOT PROPERTY Details adding up to success for Lewis and East Carolina By RON GREEN Jr. Raleigh Bureau GREENVILLE, N.C. — The suit- ors have already come calling on Bill Lewis. They’ve nosed around, trying to find out if East Caroli- na’s 50-year-old whiz kid coach is ready to bolt for brighter lights and bigger bucks. To this point, three years and counting, Lewis has remained faithful to the school that gave him a second chance. Just recently, he told Maryland no thanks. Others are sure to call. They always do when a coach leads a team like East Carolina to "Associated Press a 10-1 season and a Peach Bowl Giving the orders: East Carolina football Did: coach Bill Lewis has organized all the details in the Pirates’ 10-1 dream season. More Peach Bowl oe m@ N.C. State coach Dick Sheri- dan says the ACC should expand to 12 and add East Carolina./6C @ Quarterback Terry Jordan, back from a broken wrist, will start for the Wolfpack in Wednesday’s game./6C In the never-say-never world of college football coaching, Lewis hasn’t promised a lifetime of service to East Carolina. But for the time being, he’s having great fun knocking some purple and gold sense into the doubters who didn’t believe it could be done down East. His 12th-ranked Pirates have Please see Lewis/page 6C Little things helping Lewis lead Pirates to big success Lewis Continued from page 1C beaten Syracuse, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and others. They’d dearly love to have a bun- gled first half of the Illinois game to play over. The 38-31 season-opening loss there was East Carolina’s only defeat and that was nearly averted by a late comeback short-circuited by an infamous rally-killing penalty for celebrating too much after apparently recovering an onside kick. To the heart Thereafter, almost everything fell into place, just the way the detail-obsessed Lewis would have planned it. If there has been a flaw this season, it has come from within Lewis, who has seen beyond the X’s and O’s to the heart of his team. _ “The biggest mistake I’ve made is I’ve gotten too close to this football team, too emotionally attached,”’ Lewis said recently. “This has been a fun year. The players have tried to do what we’ve i asked of them and we’ve proved that you can be successful here. “At times, I’ve lost my control. To see where we started and where they have come to, it’s hard not to be emotional. Sometimes you don’t need to be that emo- tional.” But sometimes you've got to go with your gut. That’s what East Carolina athletic director Dave Hart did when he hired Lewis in 1988. Unique credentials It wasn’t Lewis’s 14-20-1 record ‘in three years (1977-79) as the head coach at Wyoming that got him the East Carolina job. Lewis followed his days on the frontier with nine years as Vince Dooley’s assistant at Georgia, where he was given the unenviable assignment of succeeding defen- sive mastermind and resident leg- end Erk Russell. When Dooley made it clear he was on the way out at Georgia, it became equally apparent that Lewis wasn’t on the way in. He pursued the East Carolina position and Hart liked what he saw. ‘‘l was puzzled why more people hadn’t tried to hire him,”’ Hart said. “Sometimes people overreact to records. | think that was the case 4 with Bill at Wyoming. “That was never a negative to me. It was a positive. He has been at every level of the spectrum. ‘‘He had been in programs that struggled and programs that were highly successful, programs with big budgets and programs with meager budgets. ... He had been in mediocre environments, good environments and bad environ- ments. Once you've done that, you - can really appreciate the environ- ment you're in.” Architect of turnaround Lewis talks openly about his admiration for the people around him, both in the administration, on his staff and his players. But the focus always comes back to Lewis. He is the person who took a program that had turned itself into everybody's favorite homecoming guest and made it a program to be feared. East Carolina is a program with many drawbacks. It doesn’t have a conference affiliation in football, has had to fight an image as a weak academic institution and could easily be overlooked because of its location, some 120 miles to the East of the ACC. But Lewis attacked the prob- lems, spreading his message of ‘‘I Believe”’ like a football evangelist. “He's a great motivator,” wide receiver Hunter Gallimore said. “You know you can trust him and believe in him.” The last detail Lewis doesn’t paint in broad strokes. His is a hands-on style in which no detail is too small. When the Pirates go on the road, Lewis provides a down-to-the-min- ute itinerary for everyone. He fills out a seating chart for the airplane, assigning a specific seat for each player and coach, being sure to leave an open seat beside the biggest players. His coaches already know when they’re taking vacation next year and what time preseason practice will begin. When Lewis schedules a team meeting at 3 p.m., he means 3 p.m. Arrive at 3:01 p.m., you'll find the doors locked. The attention to detail reaches right down to Lewis’ shoes, which he keeps polished, doing the dirty work himself. The little things have added up. to a 10-1 season that culminated with the impending showdown in Atlanta with N.C. State. East Caro- lina sold its allotment of 20,000 tickets almost immediately and could have sold another 15,000. The Pirates fans will be easy to spot in Atlanta. They'll be the ones with purple foam sabers, doing the “Sabre Slash,” a down-East ver- sion of the tomahawk chop. Final chapter The Peach Bowl will be the final chapter in a delightfully refreshing season for East Carolina, a season many have found hard to believe. But Lewis whose “I Believe’’ slo- gan has been plastered on bulletin : boards and locker rooms for weeks, never doubted it could happen. ‘‘Am | surprised? No, absolutely not,”’ Lewis said. ‘I don’t want to sound like the prophet but before the season, | felt we had the opportunity to win every time if we played as well as we could every time. ‘I felt we had moved to the level of performance in the spring and the preseason that this team could go undefeated. “There were 30 minutes at Illi- nois when we didn’t do it. That was as bad looking a football team as there could be. But we got it turned around.” And the football world couldn't help noticing. The Daily Reflector Wednesday, December 11, 1991 Lewis chosen coach of year FROM STAFF, WIRE REPORTS Kast Carolina placed 11 players and has the coach of the year on the 1991 Associated Press All- South Independent football team. Six players from the Pirates, who carry a 10-1 record to Atlanta and face N.C. State in the Peach Bowl, were named on the first team. ECU’s Bill Lewis was Selected coach of the year. Florida State, which carries a 10-2 record into the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M, had eight players named to the team. The All-South Independent squad consists of players from East Carolina, Florida State, Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech, Memphis State, Louisville, Tulane, Southwestern Louisiana and South Carolina. A trio of All-Americans repre- senting the dominant teams, line- backers Robert Jones of East Car- olina and Marvin Jones of Florida State and defensive back Terrell Buckley of FSU, lead the first team. All three of the first team All- Americans were repeaters from last year’s All-South Independent team, along with tight end Luke Fisher of East Carolina and another pair of FSU players, of- fensive linemam Mike Morris and running back Amp Lee. Also named from ECU were se- nior wide receiver Hunter Gallimore, junior offensive line- man Tom Scott, sophomore place kicker Anthony Brenner and se- nior defensive back Chris Hall. Sports Pirates dominate All-South team The team also included a sec- ond-team All-American in quar- terback Casey Weldon, who was FSU’s offensive leader. Weldon completed 189 of 313 passes for 2,527 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was intercepted eight times. FSU linebacker Kirk Car- ruthers, an All-South choice in 1989, moved back up to the first team after being a second-team selection last year. The Seminoles also placed of- fensive lineman Kevin Mancini and defensive end Carl Simpson on the team. Completing the offense were running back Jason Davis of Loui- siana Tech, wide receiver Robert Brooks of South Carolina, all- purpose runner Tony Smith of Southern Mississippi, lineman Willie Roaf of Louisiana Tech and center Jay Killen of South Caroli- na. The defensive unit also included end Marty Dye of South Carolina, tackle Chris Hobbs of Memphis State, linebacker Danton Barto of Memphis State, backs Ray Buchanan of Louisville and Demise Loyd of Louisiana Tech and punter Jeff Buffaloe of Mem- phis State. : Davis was the leading rusher on the team, gaining 1,351 yards in 10 games. He ended the season with seven consecutive 100-yard efforts. Lee ran for 977 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Seminoles. Southern’s Smith had 998 yards rushing, 271 yards on_ kickoff returns, 115 on punt returns and 97 on pass receptions. He scored eight touchdowns. Brooks led the receivers with 55 catches for 684 yards and five scores and Gallimore led in yard- age, catching 49 for 881 yards and eight touchdowns. Fisher had 48 Jones named to three All- America teams STAFF, WIRE REPORTS The postseason awards for East Carolina inside linebacker Robert Jones are starting to pile up. Jones, a se- nior fromf{. Blackstone, | Va., on Sunday was selected to the Kodak Divi- sion “J-Aw All: America team and on Monday was named ” } All-America by § JONES both the Football Writers Associa- tion of America and Football News. Jones, one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, leads the 10-1 and Peach Bowl-bound Pirates with 151 tackles this season, in- cluding 104 solo stops. He has 12 tackles for a loss totaling 58 yards, three sacks totaling a loss of 19 yards, one pass breakup, 10 quar- terback hurries and four forced fumbles. More than 100 Division I-A coaches participated in the selec- tion of the Kodak team, which has been selected annually since 1960. «Other players selected are: ‘Offense — quarterback Ty Detmer (Brigham Young); runn- ing backs Trevor Cobb (Rice) and Vaughn Dunbar (Indiana); wide receivers Desmond Howard (Michigan) and Carl Pickens (Tennessee); tight end Kelly Blackwell (Texas Christian) ; linemen Troy Auzenne (Califor- nia), Greg Skrepenak (Michigan), Ray Roberts (Virginia), Tim Simpson (Illinois) and Jay Leeuwenburg (Colorado); and place-kicker Carlos Huerta (Mi- ami, Fla.). Defense — linebacker Steve Tovar (Ohio State); defensive backs Terrell Buckley (Florida State), Kevin Smith (Texas A&M), Darryl Williams (Miami, Fla.) and Matt Darby (UCLA): linemen Steve Emtman (Washington), Brad Culpepper (Florida), San- tana Dotson (Baylor), Levon Kirkland (Clemson) and Leroy Smith (Iowa); and punter Mark Bounds (Texas Tech). Detmer, the 1990 Heisman Trophy winner, is the only repeat- er from last year on the football writers team. Emtman is one of three Wash- ington players on the team, which includes seven juniors, joining wide receiver Mario Bailey and linebacker David Hoffman. Joining Detmer on the offensive unit are Howard, running backs Dunbar and Russell White of California; tight end Mark Chmura of Boston College; Leeuwenburg of Colorado at center; linemen Eugene Chung of Virginia Tech, Jerry Ostroski of Tulsa, Skrepenak from Michigan and Leon Searcy. of Miami; and place-kicker Jason Hanson of Washington State. _ The defense lists linemen Rob Bodine of Clemson and Dotson; linebackers Marco Coleman of Georgia Tech and Jones of East Carolina; and defensive backs Buckley of Florida State, Dale Carter of Tennessee, Darren Perry of Penn State and Troy Vin- cent of Wisconsin. Qadry Ismail of Syracuse is the Kickoff returner and Bounds of Texas Tech is the punter. Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones and Miami punt returner Kevin Williams were the only sophomores chosen. @ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: ECU’s East Carolina Keith Arnold and Ken Burnette have been nam- ed to the GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-District III teams for the sec- ond consecutive year. Arnold, a senior from Marietta, Ga., has started every game at center this season for the Pirates. Burnette, a senior from Spruce Pine, N.C., has started 10 games this season at inside linebacker. He is third on the team in tackles with 77 (49 solos), including one tackle for a loss. He also has two quarterback pressures. Other player making the Squad are quarterback D.J. Campbell (Appalachian State), wide re- ceiver James Thurman (Florida A&M), tight end Paul Siffri (Fur- man), runing back Anthony Casrr- ington (North Carolina A&T), of- fensive lineman Robert Holley (N.C. A&T), offensive lineman Greg Kalinyak (William & Mary), offensive lineman Alec Millen (Georgia), offesnive lineman Eric Walter (Furman), linebacker Joe Reaves (South Carolina), defen- Sive lineman Steve Bussoletti§ (Georgia Southern), defensive lineman Brad Culpepper (Florida), defesnive lineman Chris Keever (VMI) and punter, Ed Garno (Virginia). ¢ High School Sports | ° College Sports e Comics catches for 686 yards and four touchdowns. Brenner led East Carolina in scoring with 82 points, making 14 of 22 field goals, including two of three from 50 yards or more. Buf- faloe had a 42-3 punting average. MECAC-ECU: The Eastern Col- lege Athletic Conference has selected East Carolina as its team of the year for 1991. The selcetion was made by a committee of ECAC athletic direc- tors. The pirates, ranked 12th by the Associated Press and 14th by USA Today/CNN, captured the award for the first time since its incep- tion in 1975. The award will be. presented at the Eastern College Football Awards banquet in Feb- ruary at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. Penn State won the award the last two years. West Virginia claimed the award in 1988. ECU’s Jones named to his fourth All-America Squad ~ BILL LEWIS Other teams in the ECAC are Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Army, Boston College, Maryland, Temple and Navy. The ECAC I-A football awards committee con- | sists of three athleitcs directors — Chair Jack Lengyel of Navy, Chet Gladchuck of Boston College and Ed Pasterlong of West Virginia. STAFF, WIRE REPORTS East Carolina senior inside line- backer Robert Jones tacked on another All-America honor Wed- nesday. Jones, named to three All- America teams earlier this week, made it four with his selection to the Walter Camp Football All- America team, Jones, one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, has also been named to the Kodak/ Football Coaches, Football Writers Association of America and Football News All-America squads. Jones will join other selections at the organization’s Silver Anni- versary Banquet, which is sched- uled for Feb. 15, 1992 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven, Conn. Other Walter Camp selections are: Offense — wide receiver Des- mond Howard and offensive tackle Greg Skrepenak of Michigan, tight end Derek Brown and offensive guard Mirko Jurkovic of Notre Dame, offensive tackle Bob Whit- field of Stanford, offensive guard Jeb Flesch of Clemson, center Jay Leeuwenburg of Colorado, quar- terback Casey Weldon and runn- ing back Amp Lee of Florida State, running back Vaughn Dun- bar of Indiana, running back Russell White of California and place-kicker Carlos Huerta of Mi- ami, Fla. Defense — defensive lineman Steve Emtman of Washington, defensive lineman Santana Dotson of Baylor, defensive lineman Joel Steed of Colorado, defensive line- man Shane Dronett of texas, line- backer Levon Kirkland of Clem- son, linebacker Marvin Jones and defensive back Terrell Buckley of Florida State, defensive back Dale Carter of Tennessee, defensive back Kevin Smith of Texas A7M, defensive back Darryl Williams of Sports Photo courtesy ECU Sports Information ; 44), a AST CAROLINA LINEBACKER: Robert Jones (4 ; aie All-American, traces his success on the field to an unusually strong motivation to excel. Basketball, Football, Classified Ads Sports Editor t everyone rated East Carolina’s Rob- be dae a the best linebacker in college football in 1991. Almost everyone, that is, except. the committee that determines the win- ner of the only award pre- sented to the top line- backer in the country. Because Jones is a con- sensus All-American and because he’s the acknowl- edged leader of the de- fense that contributed to ECU’s first 10-win season and highest national rank- ing ever, he is the New the year. Of The Year no ordinary Jones By LARRY KEECH & Jones Record’s choice as North Carolina’s athlete of large part of Jones’ success on the field an be bated to an unusually strong motiva- tion to excel. “I’d like to be remembered as a person who gave his all and was the best at = More about JONES, C5 Award why he what he did,” he said recently. That’s why the Dick Butkus meant so much to him and was unable to conceal his disappointment after it was present- ed to Erick Anderson of Michigan. “T had almost as many solo tackles (104) as his solos plus assists (120),” Jones said of Anderson. admitted I should have won it. They can’t say we didn’t win enough games. If I had played for a Florida State, Tennessee, Florida or Miami, I would’ve won by a long shot.” Jeff Blake, Wednesday, December 25, 1991 ee ECU linebacker ts JONES _fromc1 Miami, Fla., and punter Mark Bounds of Texas Tech. Each of ESPN’s correspondents on the show’s ‘‘Two-Minute Blitz” will name an MVP for their respective regions. spondent Mike Gottfried will] select Blake. Blake, who was named the ECAC player of the year on Tues- day, finished the 1991 regular sea- son with 3,073 passing yards. He completed 203 of 368 passes (55.9 percent) with 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Blake set 32 school records ir helping the 12th-ranked Pirates td a school-best 10-1 record and a berth in the Peach Bowl agains} N.C. State on New year’s Day. ation. “He even ECU’s quarterback and offensive leader, expressed sim- ilar disappointment that he didn’t receive more All-America recogni- tion and Heisman Trophy consider- It is true that East Carolina’s pro- part of major college football’s establishment in terms of tradition, status and political lever- age. But the underdog Pirates prob- ably benefited competitively from the chip-on-the-shoulder attitude that Jones and Blake expressed. Jones became one of those unusu- al preseason All-Americans who gram is not more than lived up to his advance notices. Statistically, that translat- ed into 151 tackles, including 12 for losses, plus three sacks and four forced fumbles. In assessing his individual im- provement over what had been an outstanding junior season, Jones said, “I played with more maturity on the field, but leadership was the area in which I made the most im- provement. I think I said the right things at the right time to help them play through their mistakes’ and bring out their best efforts.” New Year’s draft. The 6-foot-3, 234-pound inside linebacker from Blackstone, Va., will have two more opportunities to prove his point about the Butkus Award when ECU faces former ri- val N.C. State in the Peach Bowl on Day and when he plays in the East-West Shrine Game the following week. Already, though, Jones’ size, strength, 4.66-second 40-yard speed and athleticism have earmarked him as a likely first-round choice in the National Football League’s April Pitching for the Peach Bowl Campers get Jump on sales By Lane Dunn THE DAILY REFLECTOR East Carolina University waited years for the atmosphere that goes with a winning football team. ! The team has done its part with a 10-1 record and a New ECU students pitch tents Sunday afternoon in front of Minges Coliseum to wait for Peach Bowl tickets to go on Year’s Day bowi. Now the stu- dents are playing their role sim- ply by being fanatics for the Peach Bowl-bound Pirates. “Tt feels like you’re in a big- time school now,” Jody Wimber- ly, a sophomore from Raleigh, said. Wimberly and about 1,000 oth- ers pitched tents Sunday after- noon in front of Minges Coliseum to wait for the ticket window to open Monday morning. As the sun set, they fired up The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall sale. ECU’s Athletic Department has allotted 4,000 of its 20,000 bowl tickets to students. grills for dinner — mostly hot dogs and hamburgers with healthy dose of beer. With one student identification card and $32, they get one pass to cheer for the Pirates in Atlanta. ECU will renew its rivalry with N.C, State at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 1 in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The East Carolina University athletic department has allotted 4,000 of its 20,000 tickets to stu- dents. Students play the waiting game Students were worried last week that tickets would elude them as Pirate Club members with big checkbooks snapped up thousands. “We're still not real confi- dent,” Wimberly said as he and a group people kept up with NFL scores on a portable television. His friends Lori Jessup of Pilot Mountain and April Kearney of (See TICKETS, A-9) Raleigh Bureau Tickets (Continued from A-1) Goldsboro were even more skep- tical. “T’ll be confident when I have the ticket in my hand in the mor- ning,”’ Ms. Jessup said. “I won’t be sure until I’m j Atlanta New Year’s Day,” Ms. Kearney added. But the students all seemed t 0 enjoy the chance to back a win- ner, East Carolina’s last winning S€ason was 8-3 in 1983. Since then they strung togeth e three 2-9 Seasons, a 3-8 id : couple of 5-6 seasons. The onl year they avoided losing was 1989 when they went 5-5-1, 66 < Since I’ve been here it’s been two and nine’ seasons,’’ said Misha Zonn, who has bee n in Greenville for five 4 years. ‘So anything to get excited about I’ll be here.”’ Jimmy Schafer, a sophomore from_ Raleigh, compared the crowd to the fans up the road in Durham. _ “It sort of looks like Duke dur- ing basketball season,”’ he ny ! school.” East Carolina wants respect off field, too By JOHN DRESCHER King and East Carolina fans across the state can’t wait ’til Wednesday’s game. With all 60,000 tickets sold long ago, scalpers are asking $100 a ticket — at least. Twelfth-ranked ECU had its best season ever, winning 10 of 11 games. And ECU is still angry at No. 21 N.C. State (9-2) for ending their annual football game series after Pirate fans sat State’s field to celebrate a win in But Wednesday’s game between the two schools, each with deep roots in GREENVILLE, N.C. — Bill King, East Carolina University class of ’89, is seeth- ing. While shopping for ECU sportswear in a book-and-supply store near campus, he sees a poster-size reprint of a recent editorial from N.C. State University’s student newspaper, the Technician. The editorial, highlighted in yellow and displayed for all of Greenville to see, urges N.C. State students to be on their best behavior for Wednesday’s Peach Bowl game in Atlanta between ECU and “ SON NS i LAK AN Sy : x : SS . SY The Daily Reflector/Paul Glankler Fans scramble to find tickets and travel info N.C. State. In other words, don’t act like ECU st think of ECU, do y quality academic institution or do you think of it as a party school?” asks the editorial, which also calls ECU “‘aschool of fools.” King, who attended N.C. State for two years before transferrin through clenched teet down on the East Caroli They feel their college is just a better Eastern North Carolina, is more than a the editorial says, udents. “‘When you ou think of it as a g to ECU, says “They look na students. By Lane Dunn THE DAILY REFLECTOR Phones screamed in the background Monday as Quixote Travels sales manager Rich Rados describ- ed the interest in a New Year’s Day trip from Greenville to Atlanta. “It’s phenomenal,”’ Rados said. ‘‘I haven’t had a chance to check the numbers, but the phones have been ringing off the hook. We have six lines ring- ing.” Callers weren’t'looking for just any package trip to Atlanta. They wanted Pirate football. It was the same in travel offices all over town. The official announcement came Sunday at about 3 p.m.: East Carolina University will play N.C. State in the Peach Bowl Jan. 1 at Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium. But the grapevine beat Peach Bowl representa- - tives in announcing the renewal of the football series that was called off following the 1987 game when fans stormed the Carter-Finley Stadium field after an ECU win. (See PIRATE, A-5) Pirate fans scramble for seats (Continued from A-1) ‘“‘We were here taking calls Sunday,”’ Rados said. “We already had a backlog of people from last week. It was one of the worst kept secrets.” Jackie Harbeson, assistant manager at ITG Travel Center in Greenville, said people got up early this morning to try to beat the rush. ITG is the official Peach Bowl travel agency for both ECU and N.C. State. ‘“‘We’ve got six lines and they’ve been lit up since we walked in the door at 8:30 this morning,” said Jackie Harbeson. ‘‘I had a lady this morning said she had been calling since 6 o’clock.”’ Travel Express said it even opened for four hours Sunday night to help fans plan their trip to Atlanta, and those hours were busy. A survey of prices turned up trips costing from $120 to $229 to $509, depending on mode of travel and length of stay. One-day as well as overnight bus trips and plane trip packages are available. But if fans prefer to make their own arrange- ments, travel officials in Atlanta say the city has plenty of spaces. Julie Northcutt, public relations manager for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the downtown area, where the stadium is located, has 10,130 hotel rooms. The Midtown-Buckhead area, 1-6 miles from downtown has 5,884 and the airport area has 10,495. An ACVB survey shows hotel rooms averaging about $63 per night, she said, but some publications have put the number at $92. The rooms are hot commodities these days. Greg Wright, manager at Days Inn in downtown Atlanta, said all 262 rooms were booked by Monday morning. “The pick-up at this point is better than it has been in the last couple of years,’’ Wright said, comparing this year’s interest to past Peach Bowls. He said he started getting calls for reservations on Friday and they kept coming throughout the weekend. The flocks of people heading south will have to eat. And according to Corporate Travel magazine, food’s not cheap in Atlanta. The magazine has ranked Atlanta as the 26th most expensive city in terms of food costs — $52.56 per day for one person. The Peach Bow! helps pick up the slack during a time that isn’t popular among tourists or conventions, Ms. Northcutt said. “In terms of sporting events, this would be one of the top events,” she said. ‘‘And this is a slow conven- tion time so the Peach Bowl always helps.”’ The success of the 9-1 Pirates seems to be helping many people these days. Dennis Young, -executive director of the Pirate Club, said normally at this time of the year, the group would pick up a few new members each week. But on Monday stock in Pirate athletics went up. “IT would be safe in saying that we’ve probably picked up thirty-plus memberships today alone,’’ he said. He said the Pirate Club has 3,700 members but needs 7,500-8,000 to fund ECU athletics like it wants. Peach Bowl tickets can be ordered by sending your name, address, daytime phone number and the quantity of tickets requested along with payment in form of of check or MasterCard of Visa to the ECU Athletic Ticket Office, Minges Coliseum, Greenville, N.C. 27858-4353. Tickets are $32 each plus a $3 handling service per order. Ticket order forms are also available at Wachovia banks throughout eastern North Carolina. football game. For East Carolina fans, it’s another round in a long battle to gain respect — in academics as well as athletics — from ECU’s older and bigger siblings at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State. “We're the Rodney Dangerfield of North Carolina institutions,” said Jack Edwards, co-owner of University Book Exchange, the store that displayed the Please see Peach/page 4A Associated Press School Spirit: Don Edwards, co-owner of Univer- sity Book Exchange in Greenville, N.C.., displays sweatshirts for the 1992 Peach Bowl. Peach More than football is at stake for ECU Continued from page 1A editorial. ‘“They call us a second- class institution. It just burns me up. Said his son and co-owner, Don, who was wearing a purple ECU jacket: ‘‘There’s an expression, ‘It’s not easy being a Pirate,’ and it’s true.”’ East Carolina has nearly 17,000 students, third-highest among North Carolina’s 16 state-funded schools. Yet ECU has long strug- gled to bring its academic reputa- tion to the level of its students’ highly regarded parties. At sporting events, ECU’s rivals still break into chants of ‘““ECTC, ECTC”’ — for East Carolina Teach- ers College, as the school was known until 1951. The school didn’t become a university until 1967, and it didn’t award its first doctoral degree until 1983. ECU now has a medical school and has improved many of its other programs. ‘But there’s still a feeling we have to fight for respect academically and _ athletically,”’ said Mike Aldridge of Greenville, a 1972 ECU graduate, as he shopped at the Edwards’ store for a sweat- shirt for his ECU-bound son. Barrett Kays of Raleigh, an N.C. State graduate visiting Greenville, was looking for some sweatpants. “You always have sort of a pecking order of things,” Kays said. ‘One school likes to view itself above the other.” Do N.C. State people view their school as superior to East Caro- lina? “‘Of course,”’ Kays said with a smile, quickly adding that he did not. At first glance, ECU and N.C. tate might not appear to have much in common. ECU is a liberal arts school that takes pride in its programs in education, art, music and drama. N.C. State, 85 miles west in Raleigh, has a more techni- cal curriculum with well-regarded programs in engineering and com- puter science. N.C. State also has an agricul- ture college with extension offices, to assist farmers, in every county. That has given the university a, strong link to the state’s rural east, which is dotted with tobacco barns and dominated by agricul- ture. Of course, the schools’ alumni also are united in their dislike for what they consider hoity-toity UNC-Chapel Hill graduates. When N.C. State canceled the annual football game with ECU, which had drawn record crowds during the 18-year series, “It was almost like losing a family mem- ber,’ said George Threewits, assis- tant director of ECU’s News Bureau. Wednesday's game, which will be televised nationally at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN, brings the family together again. For its part, N.C. State officially says it doesn’t look down its nose at ECU. ‘We have a great cooperative relationship between the _ institu- tions,” said Lucy Coulbourn, a 1961 East Carolina graduate who is director of information services for N.C. State. Her ECU counterpart, Bill Shires, confirms the great working relationship. But he also speaks for many ECU supporters when he said East Carolina hasn’t received the recognition over the years that he says it deserved. Now, its nationally ranked foot- ball team is bringing ECU attention the school has long craved. “Maybe we’re like Avis,” Shires said. ‘‘We're trying harder.” TheDally Reflector ~~ Tuesday, December 17, 1991 ? Sports. ¢ NBA e Major League Baseball ¢ Scoreboard Lewis nixes Terps; will stay on By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Now that Bill Lewis has said no to Maryland, East Carolina foot- ball fans can rest a little easier. Lewis, the third-year Pirate football coach, on Monday told of- ficials at the University of | Maryland to withdraw his name as a. possible successor to Joe Krivak, who resigned Dec. 6. - Lewis, who led the Pirates to a school-record 10-1 record this sea- son, has reportedly been a can- didate for vacancies at both Maryland and Arizona State. He was given permission by East Carolina athletics director Dave Hart to speak with Maryland of- ficials and announced at a pre- Peach Bowl press conference Monday that he would not be changing addresses. “T just did not feel the timing was right,”’ said Lewis, who has a 20-12-1 record at East Carolina. “At this particular time there is nothing out there. The slate is completely clean.”’ Lewis said he hopes the an- nouncement will put to rest the rumors about his future and help his team focus on its New Year’s Day date with N.C. State in the Peach Bowl. It should also show some stability in the program, hg added. “I want to now be able to focu& on two things,”’ Lewis said, ‘one is the bow] game and North Carolina State ... I did not want any distractions for our football team and I did not want any distractions for our coaching staff except for the distractions that had come about the last couple of days. ‘Also, I feel it’s extremely im- portant to our recruiting efforts. The young people that we’re recruiting throughout the country, particular on the East Coast, know that our intentions are to stay with this program and to continue to “T just did not feel the timing was right. At this particular time there is nothing out there. The slate is completely clean.”’ —Bill Lewis move forward.”’ But Lewis did not rule out listen- ing to other opportunities that may arise next season. “T don’t think there is a coach in America that would say that,” Lewis said. ‘I’m not going to tell anyone there will not be a time or opportunity, but this is not the right time or set of circumstan- ces,”’ A clause in his contract could make any eventual move for Lewis an expensive proposition — unless ECU would decide to waive the clause or if any school that hired Lewis picked up the tab. Lewis has a four-year contract that renews itself each year with an annual base salary of $95,000. If he leaves, he owes ECU his base salary for the remaining time on his contract — a penalty of $380,000. As for his reasons for wanting to stay, Lewis said: ‘‘First of all it starts with people, people like (chancellor) Dr. (Richard) Eakin | and Dave Hart. Those are two people I have worked closely with ... Pve worked closely with a lot of other people. “We've got total support from top to bottom and have people that - believe in what we believe in — that’s excellence in academics and excellence in athletics. They can peacefully coexist on a university campus.” Lewis also said keeping a close- ly knit coaching staff intact was also a factor. “I think I have as fine a coaching staff as there is in col- lege football,” he said. ‘I’ve never seen 16 men get along better than these 16 men have -the last two years. We're friends on and off the field.”’ With the loss of several key players, including record-setting quarterback Jeff Blake and All- America linebacker Robert Jones, Lewis faces a huge challenge next year. This year’s winning record was the first since 1983. Lewis was 5-5-1 his first season and 5-6 last year. “We'll have a simple goal for next season and that will be to come back and have another winn- ° ing season,’’ Lewis said. ‘“We’ve proved we can be successful here and we feel like we can do it again. ‘“AS we look to the future of this program, what we will turn our at- tention to after New Year’s Day is consistency. I think we have broken down a lot of barriers this year with this football team and we have proven we can do certain things. Now what you do at the next level is to do it consistently.” ECU’s unheralded receivers getting the job done By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR At one end of a good passing at- tack, you can look for a strong and accurate arm. East Carolina has that covered with Jeff Blake. At the other.end, you can look for some dependable hands. East Carolina has that covered, too. This may be an unheralded corps of receivers, but it’s one that is getting the job done. And wide receiver coach Dale Steele couldn’t be more pleased. “The kids know where Jeff is go- ing to put the ball and they get ECU vs. SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI there,” Steele said. ‘‘We’ve played inmost games four to five guys and all of them have performed well. “But there are a lot of guys on this football team that catch the football. I think that makes it tough to go out and defend one Ne dma ie Make that impossible. Through eight games in a sea- son that has ECU climbing the na- tional rankings and on target for a postseason bowl berth, Pirate quarterbacks have spread the ball around to 14 receivers. Six wide receivers have 101 of the team’s 155 receptions. Only seven teams in the nation average more than ECU’s 293.5 yards per game. The production is the result of chemistry, confidence and several players coming of age. Steele hoped it would work out this way. Coming out of spring practice and then through fall camp, he saw he had a number of capable individuals. There was the speedy Dion Receivers getting the job done (Continued From C-1) Johnson, who came to East Caro- lina as a wide receiver but has also seen time in the backfield. There were Clayton Driver, Hunt- er Gallimore and Peter Zophy, a dependable threesome with ade- quate but not blazing speed. And there was newcomer Ronnie Wil- liams,.who possessed all the tools but had to learn the system. The trick was getting them to mesh into one productive unit. “The one thing that we talked about as a group in spring prac- tice was that we felt like we had to build unity and that everybody had to be in it together,’ Steele said. ‘They like one another, they get along with one another. “T didn’t know if they were go- ing to blend the way that they have. That really pleases me to see them complement one another and to be able to play their role and understand their role and to take their responsibility and carry it out once they get to the field.”’ And each has come up with at least one big play. Johnson, a senior, has caught 29 balls for 589 yards, an average of 20.3 yards per catch. He had an 80-yard touchdown. reception against Illinois, but his biggest catch may have come in an upset of Syracuse when he and Blake teamed to convert a third-and-20 to keep alive what proved to be the game-winning drive. Ja Driver, a junior who didn’t visit the end zone last year, has six cat- ches for TDs and is averaging 17.0 yards per catch. He caught a crucial 19-yard TD pass against Memphis State and had a 48- yarder against South Carolina. Gallimore, a senior and the team leader in touchdowns cat- ches with seven, is coming off the (See RECEIVERS, C-4) best day of his career — a day in which he caught three Blake passes for TDs in a win over Tulane. Gallimore also had a 71- yard TD catch South Carolina. He is averaging 19.9 yards per catch. Williams, a junior who has 12 receptions for 100 yards, came up with a big third-down reception in the South Carolina game — one play before Gallimore’s TD. Gallimore and Johnson, along with tight end Luke Fisher (the team’s leader in receptions with 37), have been particularly effec- tive after the catch. Gallimore’s touchdown against the Gamecocks came on a 6-yard hitch pattern. Johnson turned a 15-yard crossing pattern into his long TD against II- linois. ‘“‘When we came here as an of- fensive staff — and coach (Bill) Lewis stresses this a great deal — we said ‘when you catch the foot- ball it’s important that we get up the field, explode up the field.’ ” Steele said. ‘“‘We don’t want to run laterally with the football. “‘We talk to them about it all the time. We’ve reached a point now where they feel things when they catch the football and try to get up the field right away.” . And they’re not just making the routine catch. These receivers have gone in a crowd to take balls away and made difficult grabs when the sideline became just another defender. Few on-target throws have been dropped. “We've had a few (dropped passes) but any time you throw the ball‘as much as we do you're going to have a few,”’ Steele said. when they had.to, they’ve caught the ball in crucial situations.”’ One of the big weapons has been the fade or ‘“‘timing’’ pattern where Blake lofts the ball high and allows the receiver to run under it. Gallimore and Driver have been his primary targets. “‘We’ve practiced it a lot in the three years we’ve been here,” Steele said. “‘It’s a route that I think Jeff understands and I think the receivers understand and that makes it tough to defend. Plus, we've got some guys that have got great body control and they keep that area on the outside for the quarterback to lay the ball in there.” The Daily Reflector Another added dimension has been the ability to throw the ball deep — taking full advantage of Blake’s shotgun. The Pirates have seven TD passes covering 40 yards or more. “‘T think the design of the offense lends itself to that,’’ Steele said. ‘‘I think the kids have run good deep routes and they understand them. ‘“‘Any time you’ve got a guy that runs like Dion you’ve got a poten- tial deep-ball threat. Ronnie Wil- liams is certainly that type of run- ner. I think the guy that has sur- prised us a little bit have been the two split ends. They’ve both caught a couple of deep balls and run away from people.”’ Thursday, December 19, 1991 By Mike Grizzard _THE DAILY REFLECTOR Officially, East Carolina vs. N.C. State on New Year’s Day will be for the 24th annual Peach Bowl trophy. But the game is for more, much more. It’s neighbor against neighbor. On the line PEACH BOW L. game will be decided and we’ll know if East Carolina is the best in North Caroli- “The kids have really concen- trated and they’ve made plays. We talk about making plays, mak- ing the tough catch and they've | done that. They’ve caught the ball” are the last word in a once-heated rivalry that has been on hold for four years and an edge in the annual recruiting wars. ~And for one year, the winner can truly call itself the best team in North Carolina. “Its the two best teams in the state | meeting,’ East Carolina senior inside linebacker Ken Burnette said. “It. will definitely be for bragging rights for the best team in the state.”’ Added All-America Robert Jones, a se- nior who lines up beside Burnette at the other inside linebacker: “It’s going to be fun to see a group of guys getting after each other to prove to the state who is the best team. After the fourth quarter the na or if North Carolina State is the best in the state in North Carolina.”’ East Carolina, a two-point favorite, br- ings in a 10-1 record and is ranked 12th in the nation. The bowl appearance is the first for the Pirates since 1978. N.C. State is 9-2 and ranked 22nd. The Wolfpack is making its fourth trip to a bowl in five years. The two teams have not met since 1987. ECU won the last meeting, but N.C. State holds a 12-6 lead in the series. Enthusiasm for the rematch resulted in the quickest sellout in Peach Bowl histo- ry. “This football game has got a lot of people excited,” ECU third-year head Sports More than trophy at stake in coach Bill Lewis said. ‘Traditional nee are what make these games so Dig Lewis — along with most coaches and players on both sides — has not experi- enced the ECU-N.C. State rivalry first hand. But they all know the history. And fans on each side have kept the feud alive. ‘This is more of a fans’ rivalry now,”’ said Pirate junior offensive lineman Tom Scott, who was recruited by both ECU and N.C. State. “The guys that played back in ’87 know what it’s about.” Burnette didn’t play in the 1987 game, but as a redshirt freshman, got an insight to just what the annual game, usually played early in September and always in Raleigh, meant. “The side I know is the practice side of it,”’ Burnette said. “I know the level of in- tensity in practice was much higher get- ting ready to play them than on your average week. That was a big game for us — that was pretty much our season be- cause they are an hour-and-a-half up the road. That’s the people you live with, you know, you’ve been to high school with. “Nobody on either team has actually played against each other on the college: level. It’s lived on with the fans and it has somewhat with us, but we have to go on and take care of business with other teams we play.” Both teams returned to the practice field this week and take a break for Christmas after working out on Saturday. Each team is scheduled to arrive in At- lanta on Dec. 26. “This is pretty much a one-game sea- son,” Burnette said. “I believe for us it’s a must-win. If we lose this, then the whole season will pretty much be for naught. These are the people we are going to be living with and working with the rest of our lives.”’ ECU players also believe they have something else at stake — respect. Even after the best season in school history and media attention nationwide, they still feel ° College Sports * High School Sports ° Classified Peach Bowl respect is something they have yet to gain. ‘Nobody really gives us any respect,” Scott said. “People have called us the Louisville of last year and you saw what happened to Louisville. They had a down year, So people just think it’s just a fluke year. They say ‘if we win this, so what. Next year we’re going back down again.’ We still have to prove ourself next year. “You guys in the media still haven’t given us much respect. No school gives us any respect at all, whether they are in North Carolina or outside North Carolina, whether we beat them or lost to them.”’ Including N.C. State, Burnette Says. “To be honest with you I don’t think they respect us,’’ Burnette said. “They look down on us because they’re in the ACC and we’re not and they think they’ve got all the football going on up there. Now, they do have a good program, I’ll give ’em that, but we’ve had a good year and we’ll be ready to play and we’ll just see what happens in Atlanta.”’ December, 1991 w hi | 7 PEACH 4 BOWL Pirates To Meet NCSU In New Year’s The most successful year in East Carolina football history has earned the Pirates their first trip to a post-season bowl game since 1978. On: Nov.-12- ECU accepted an invita- tion to play North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day in Atlanta. The game will be the first meeting with the Wolfpack since 1987 when ECU defeated NCSU 32-14 in Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack leads the series, however, 12-6. The seventh bowl appearance for the Pirates, the Peach Bowl tops off a great 1991 season. ECU has completed its best season with a 10-1 record. The 1991 season is also the biggest im- provement ever for ECU. After last year’s 5-6 record, ECU has shown a 5-1/2 game improvement. The previous best was from the 1971 to 1972 seasons when the Pirates improved from 4-6 to 9-2. The improvement has paid off for ECU with its New Year's Day bowl ap- pearance. The Pirates are 4-2 in bowl games, having won the last four. The 1978 win over Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl was the last for ECU. Other ECU bowl victories came in 1963 (Eastern Bowl, ECU-27, North- eastern-6), 1964 (Tangerine Bowl, ECU-14, Massachusetts-13), and 1965 (Tangerine Bowl, ECU-31, Maine-0Q). During the 1991 season, the Pirates have taken one challenge at a time and continued to prevail. Here's a look back at ECU’s record- breaking 10-1 season. Illinois 38, East Carolina 31 Aug. 31, 1991 at Champaign, Ill. (46,313) East Carolina got down 38-10 early in the third quarter and a valiant comeback fell a little short. The Pirates rallied for three second half touchdowns to pull within seven, 38-31, with 1:46 remaining in the contest. Anthony Brenner’s onside kick attempt was covered by Clayton Driver and gave ECU a chance to tie or win the contest, However, after a personal foul penalty against the Pirates, ECU's last gasp attempt fell a little short. Jeff Blake had an outstanding game, setting a school mark with 353 passing yards. Blake also tied a school mark for completions (21) in a game. Dion Johnson, who caught an 80-yard TD pass late in the game, had five receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns. East Carolina 20, Memphis State 13 Sept. 14, 1991 at Ficklen Stadium (32,382) East Carolina and Memphis State were involved in a defensive struggle for most of the contest. Damon Wilson’s one-yard run with 7:49 left in the contest finally put the Pirates ahead to stay, 20-13. The Pirates defense allowed just one field goal, a 26-yarder by Joe Allison, and 23 passing yards in the first half. With just 30 seconds left in the first half, Jeff Blake hit Clayton Driver with a 19-yard TD strike | TIME OUTS LEFT DOWN The Ficklen Stadium scoreboard said it all on Oct. 26, as East Carolina earned one of the biggest victories in the program’s history, a 24-23 win over Pittsburgh. ECU broke into college football's top-25 for the first time since 1983 and has con- tinued to climb higher in the top-20 each week. Along the way to its top-20 ranking, the Pirates earned wins over nationally- ranked Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, Pittsburgh in Ficklen Stadium, as well as Akron, Tulane, Southern Mississippi, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati. Along their way to ECU’s most suc- cessful season ever, the Pirates broke 100 school records. to give the Pirates a 10-3 halftime lead. In the fourth quarter, with ECU holding onto the ball, the Pirates ran behind offensive tackle Tom Scott nine straight times. ECU averaged 4.7 yards per play and were able to keep the ball away from the Tigers. The 10th largest crowd in Ficklen Stadium history (32,382) watched ECU win its fifth straight home opening contest. East Carolina 47, Central Florida 25 Sept. 21, 1991 at Orlando, Fla. (20,049) When: Jan. 1, 1992, 11:30 a.m. Atlanta, Ga. (59,813) Home of the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons TV: ESPN About the 24th Annual Peach Bow] Where: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Peach Bowl History: The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce entered into a manage- ment agreement with the Peach Bowl in July 1986. Founded in 1968, the Peach Bowl was under the jurisdiction of the Lion’s Club of Georgia for the first 18 years. America’s Most Competitive Bowl Game: In the last seven years, the Peach Bowl winner has been decided by a combined total of 21 points. 7 PEACH 4 BOWL After Central Florida scored on its opening drive, the Pirate offense woke up and scored on four of its next five pos- sessions and defeated Central Florida, 47-25, at the Florida Citrus Bowl. East Carolina had six successive scores to take a 40-7 lead early in the third quarter. Jeff Blake had thrown two touchdowns in the first half and finished the contest, completing nine of 17 passes for 265 yards. Defensively, Greg Grandison had two interceptions and an intercepted fumble while Greg Floyd returned an intercepted fumble 93 yards for a touchdown. East Carolina 31, South Carolina 20 Sept. 28, 1991 at Ficklen Stadium (33, 100) East Carolina broke open a close game in the fourth quarter and defeated South Carolina, 31-20, in Ficklen Stadium. It was the first time in series history (9 games). The Gamecocks got on the-scoreboard first when Eddie Miller ran in from the four yard line. After Anthony Brenner put ECU on the board with a 25-yard field goal, Jeff Blake hit Clayton Driver with a 48-yard TD pass with 1:16 left in the first half, putting the Pirates ahead, 10-7. The two teams traded touchdowns before Blake hit Hunter Gallimore with a 25-yard touchdown strike to put ECU ahead, 24-14. USC's Bobby Fuller connected with Robert Brooks for an eight yard TD strike before Blake and Gallimore put the game out of reach when they connected on a 71-yard touchdown pass play. The win was the third straight for the Pirates, marking the first time since 1989 that ECU had accomplished that feat. It also marked the first of two times this season that the goal posts in Ficklen Stadium would come down. East Carolina 56, Akron 20 Oct. 5, 1991 in Ficklen Stadium (27,500) East Carolina scored often and early in routing visiting Akron, 56-20, in the annual Homecoming game. The Pirates scored 42 points in the first half. It was the most ever scored by a Pirate team in one half. Jeff Blake had another outstanding per- formance, completing 10 of 14 passes for 136 yards with four touchdowns. Ten different Pirates caught passes and nine different players carried the pigskin. Three ECU quarterbacks completed six touchdown passes, which is a school record. ECU went ahead 21-0 on touchdown passes to Clayton Driver (15 yards from Blake), Hunter Gallimore (16 yards from Blake) and Luke Fisher (4 yards from Michael Anderson). East Carolina 23, Syracuse 20 Oct. 12, 1991 at Syracuse, N.Y. (37,767) Jeff Blake scampered 43 yards with the game winning touchdown in the fourth nc lpn tO ace oe Ape eee Sa ee xs ' Have Breakfast With The Peach Bowl Teams Meet East Carolina and N.C. State Players and Coaches Great Christmas Gift!!! p Breakfast Sponsored By Fellowship } Of Christian Athletes Of Georgia Friday, December 27 — 7:30 a.m. Marriott Marquis Downtown Tickets $15.00 ¢ Testimonies by Players & Coaches ¢ Former Atlanta Falcon Quarterback Steve Bartkowski > fi a quarter as ECU defeated Syracuse, 23-20. The victory was East Carolina's first-ever against a nationally-ranked opponent. It looked early as if ECU would not get untracked on offense. On their first pos- session, the Pirates fumbled at their own 21 yard line. The ECU defense held, al- lowing a field goal. On its next possession, the Pirates gained just 20 yards. SU began their next possession on its 34 yard line. Again, the Pirate defense held, allowing just a field goal. The Pirates, trailed 20-10, at halftime and did not give up a point in the second half. ECU struggled offensively in the first quarter, gaining just 23 yards in the first stanza. However, the defense answered and held the Orange to just two field goals in the quarter. (Continued on Page 4) ECU quarterback Jeff Blake's jersey was on display at the College Football Kings Island, Ohio, as a part o *Thie Weel in Calla This Week in Colleg single game records f completions (23), Blake also sco: down with a 43-yard run in the fourth UZe Volume XIII, No. 10 91 a Poe lass Postage er emo Dec Ge «site pa "Jack" ul a Louk her: (Continued from Page 1) Blake, who earned National Offensive Player of the Week honors from The Sporting News, completed 23 of 43 passes for 324 yards with one touchdown. He also had 52 yards rushing on nine attempts. ir A IQQ7T at Fick YL. ZU, LIT I 4d ith the Pirates trailing, 23-16, with 3:3 left in the game, Jeff Blake drove the Pirates 80 yards on 10 plays and went in from the two-yard line to close the gap to 23-22. Blake then ran in for the two-point con- version, giving the Pirates a 24-23 win in front of a Ficklen Stadium-record 36,000 fans. The Pirates had led throughout the first three periods. Jeff Blake hit Hunter Gallimore with a five-yard touchdown pass to put ECU ahead 6-0. After a 23-yard Don Silvestri field goal, Cedric Van Buren put ECU ahead 13-3 with a seven-yard TD run. Pitt came back to tie the score in the third quarter on a two-yard run by Jermaine Williams. Williams scored again on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Panthers ahead, 20-16. Pitt had a chance to put the game out of reach late in the game, but on a third-and-one at the ECU 15, Robert Jones stuffed Tim Colicchio for a one-yard loss and the Panthers had to settle for a 35-yard field goal. Nov. 2, al en Stadium (31,126) East Carolina got out to a 317 halftime lead and coasted to a 38-28 victory in the last game at Ficklen Stadium of the 1991 season. After Tulane’s Chance Miller scored on a four-yard run to tie the score, 77, the Pirates countered with 24 unanswered points. The icing on the cake was Anthony Freeman's 24 yard interception return with just 28 seconds left in the first half. Tulane made a gallant comeback. The Green Wave struck quickly in the second half on a 28-yard pass from Jerome Woods to Wilbert Ursin. Jeff Blake came back with a 24-yard TD strike to Hunter Gallimore and the game was out of reach, 38-14. - Tulane scored two fourth quarter touch- downs to make the final margin, 38-28. 8, Southern Miss 20 at Hattiesburg, Miss. (18,117) Jeff Blake set school records for com- pletions (27), attempts (47), passing yards (361), total offensive yards (402) and touch- down passes (5), to lead East Carolina to a 48-20 victory over Southern Miss, breaking a seven-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles. The Pirates were a little slow early on offense, not able to capitalize on USM turnovers. Two early drives were converted into 35 and 33 yard field goals by Anthony Brenner to put ECU ahead, 6-0. Southern Miss retaliated quickly. Michael Welch scored from one-yard out and Perry Carter returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown and the Pirates were behind, 14-6. ECU then scored 19 unanswered points on three touchdown passes by Blake to go ahead 25-14 at halftime. And after USM’s Tony Smith scored from five-yards out late in the third quarter, the Pirates retaliated with three touchdowns to put the game out of reach, 48-20. ea i ain rast aro lina 94 Viroinia Tock 7, na 24, Virginia Tech 17 Nov. 16, 1991 at Blacksburg, Va. (48,317) Jeff Blake hit Clayton Driver with a 14 yard touchdown pass with 7:12 left in the game to lead East Carolina to a 24-17 victory over Virginia Tech. The Pirates had trailed 14-0 in the second quarter before making their comeback. It’s the largest deficit ECU has overcome to win this season. Trailing 14-0, Blake hit Dion Johnson with a 15 yard touchdown pass to pull ECU to 147 before halftime. One of the big turnarounds in the game was with 11:40 left in the third quarter. Virginia Tech was driving deep in ECU territory when Greg Grandison intercepted a Rodd Wooten pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown, tying the score. The re- turn was the second largest in ECU history. The two teams traded field goals before Blake hit Driver for the game winner. The Pirates had a strong presence in Blacksburg with an estimated 10,000 fans in attendance. East Carolina 30, Cincinnati 19 Nov. 23, 1991 at Cincinnati, Ohio (8,574) It had to happen sometime and it did against Cincinnati. The Pirate offense struggled and the defense picked up the slack, allowing ECU to hold off the Bearcats, 30-19. The Pirates held a 14-10 lead at halftime, making the margin very uncomfortable. UC went ahead 1714 on a 33 yard TD pass from Lance Harp to Marlon Pearce. Two minutes later, Dion Johnson ran in from the third- yard line to give the Pirates a 21-17 lead — one they would never relinquish. The score was set up on a 42 yard pass from Jeff Blake to Hunter Gallimore on a second down and oe: In the fourth quarter, the Bearcats cut the lead to 21-19 when Blake was sacked in the end zone. However, Jerry Dillon re- turned an intercepted pass 20-yards for a score with 1:50 left and 50 seconds later, Eric Myers tackled David Small in the backfield for a safety. From the Booth Jeff Charles CEE AVveice Pirate Football Explodes Many of us have had a feeling that when the football program finally turned the corner the en- thusiasm would explode through- out eastern North Carolina. It has and it did. That belief kept all of us going through the tough times and losing seasons. Good things happen to good people. It takes a lot of hard work, enthusiasm and maybe above all patience, something that is not very prevalent in our society today. This program has been built in the right way and it’s certainly grati- fying to see people enjoy the fruits of their labor. What's even more gratifying is to see the respect ECU is receiving on a national basis. The doubting Thomas’ and negative Nellies who said ECU could never have a nationally ranked program and that the Pirates were trying to be something they were not capable of becoming are the ones asking, “how are they doing it?” Let’s give the credit to the young men in the Purple and Gold and Bill Lewis and his staff. Bill operates this program in a first class manner from top to bottom. Those of us who knew him prior to becoming ECU’s Head Coach were thoroughly convinced he was the right man for the job and said so from day one. He brought to ECU exactly what it needed. My thanks to David Horn of WCZI Classy 98.3 for a super job of putting together the “Pirate Mix.” The song produced by Kenny Rogers, “Put Your Heart In It” was aired in 1988 for our Olympic Team. David took that song and edited in play-by-play segments of the ECU- Pitt radio broadcast. It’s really caught on. We are planning to pro- duce both a video cassette tape of the 91 season and an audio tape as well. We'll have details later. Finally, congratulations to all of you reading this column. You are the people who truly care and you should feel a big part of what is hap- pening this year. None of us would be successful without your support. THANK YOU! The Daily Reflector Friday, December 27, 1991 Sports ¢ High School Sports ¢ NFL ® Classified Pirates ink JUCO receiver THE DAILY REFLECTOR COFFEYVILLE, Kans. — Morris Letcher, a wide re- ceiver/kick returner from Cof- feyville (Kans.) Community College, has signed a grant-in- aid to play football at East Car- olina University. Letcher, is expected to follow in the footsteps of another Cof- feyville product at East Caroli- na, Dion Johnson. Letcher will - enter ECU at the start of the January 1992 spring semester, according to a report in the Cof- feyville Journal, and take part in spring drills with the Pirates. A 5-9, 165-pound sophomore out of Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kans., Letcher caught 26 passes for 533 yards, a 20.5 average, scoring six touchdowns. He carried the ball once for five yards. He also brought back 12 punts for 208 yards, a 17.3 average. He returned one for a touch- down. On kickoffs, he returned 20 for 452, a 22.6 average. All stats are for 10 games. He was second in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference in receiving, first in kickoff returns and fifth in punt returns. J.C. Gridwire, a _ scouting publication out of California, listed him honorable mention all-America this year. Letcher did not start his freshman year, but was used in a back-up role. He caught 38 passes for 875 yards, a 23.0 average and had eight touch- downs. In rushing he had three carries for minus six yards. On punts, he had 13 for 223, a 17.2 average and on kickoffs, 22 for 474, a 21.5 average. river (Continued from C-1) with his first two seasons — a broken leg his freshman year and a broken arm his sophomore year. “The number one achilles heel for me has been not staying healthy,” Driver said. “It hasn’t been those nagging little injuries you can play with, it’s been breaks. I couldn’t do anything about that.”’ But now, after a relatively inju- ry free season, Driver is finally realizing his full potential. He had at least one catch in all but one game, had a touchdown catch in all but three games and finished with 28 catches for 464 yards, an average of 16.6 yards per catch. - The Daily Reflector “Saturday, December 28, 1991 Driver was most dangerous in the red zone (inside the 30), find- ing a way to shake a defender or using his leaping ability to come up with acrobatic catches in cov- erage. His confidence steadily grew and, in the last three games, had 14 recepetions for 226 yards and four TDs. “Once I realized I could play with these guys — Pitt, Syracuse, South Carolina — I just went out and played,” Driver said. ‘‘Be- cause I want to try to get to the next level (the NFL), I knew I had to have these two years. ‘“‘T came into this year and said ‘Look, I’m going to work hard, try to shed a couple fo pounds to try to improve my _ speed and stay healthy.”’ Driver and his compadres will face a Wolfpack secondary that was surrounded by numerous question marks coming into the season but quickly came of age. N.C. State allowed only three teams to pass for more than 200 yards and came up with 18 in- terceptions, including five in the season-opener against Virginia Tech. ECU averages 307.2 yards per game through the air. Blake threw for at least 200 yards in nine games and had five games in which he passed for more than 300 yards. “It’s going to be a challenge for them to stop us,’’ Driver said. ‘‘No team has stopped us yet. “Pitt had one of the best defen- sive backfields we’ve seen, but they didn’t stop us. Once we got clicking in the second half, they couldn’t really stop us.” The Associated Press East Carolina quarterback Jeff Blake warms his hands Thursday during the Pirates’ first practice in Atlanta for Wednesday’s Peach Bowl. Of course, the Wolfpack coaching staff has had a month to dissect ECU game films. But Driver still has high expectations. “We'll try to cover up some of our tendencies, but we’re going to do the things that got us this far,”’ Driver said. ‘“‘They do some things we are going to be able to take ad- vantage of. We are going to have some big plays.” ECU Peach practice in Atlanta Driver not regretting his choice of football at all By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — As a kid growing up just outside Atlanta, Clayton Driver got a few chances to go to Fulton County Stadium. He watched as the Falcons suf- fered through a string of dismal seasons but never really imagined himself playing on the same field. Basketball was Driver’s game. He would would get together with friends such as Jerry Houston (now at Texas), Terry Davis (now at DePaul) and Kevin Chambers (now at North Carolina A&T after a transfer from Maryland) and emulate his roundball heroes. While his friends pursued their basketball talents, Driver saw football as his best bet. There were times when he perhaps regretted the decision, but not now — certainly not now. On New Year’s Day, Driver will jog into Fulton County Stadium along with his East Carolina teammates for a long-awaited bat- tle with N.C. State in the 24th an- nual Peach Bowl, which moves to the Georgia Dome next season. Driver will have plenty of fami- ly and friends on hand from near- by College Park — just a five- minute ride on MARTA (Atlanta’s public transportation system), a 10-minute drive or a couple of heaves from ECU quarterback . Jeff Blake. “I’m raring to go, get this week of practice over with, have some fun, but stay focused,” Driver said. ‘“‘We have to remember what we’re here for, to win — that’s the bottom line.”’ Both 12th-ranked East Carolina CLAYTON DRIVER (10-1) and 22nd-ranked N.C. State (9-2) arrived in Atlanta and went through workouts Thursday. The teams have daily practices sched- uled through Tuesday on the Georgia Tech campus. Neither team has played in more than month, but Driver says he believes East Carolina has not lost any. momentum. “I really don’t have any con- cerns about us being into the flow or losing focus,” Driver said. ‘“‘We’ve come too far to do some- thing dumb like that. “The weeks off have helped us tremendously. The last couple of games we were getting banged up here and there. The time has helped us heal.” Driver, whose 10 touchdown receptions this season matched the single-season school record, was at his best down the stretch despite a few bumps and bruises, But those little nicks paled in comparison to what he had to deal (See DRIVER, C-2) Crime Stoppers If you have information on any crime committed in Pitt County, call Crime Stop- pers, 758-7777. You do not have to identify yourself and can be paid for the in- formation you supply. The Associated Press rs tries to Pirates new to bowl experience By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — This whole bowl experience is something new for East Carolina. For N.C. State, it’s pretty much routine. Will that little piece of history mean anything as the two teams prepare for Wednesday’s 24th an- nual Peach Bowl? East Carolina head coach Bill Lewis thinks so. “It will be a factor and I ad- dressed that with our football team,‘‘ Lewis said at a press con- ference before Friday afternoon’s workout on the Georgia Tech campus. “For some of (N.C. State’s) fifth-year seniors, this is their fifth (actually fourth) expe- rience and as you go down the line they’ve got guys, with the excep- tion of their true freshmen, that have all been through this one time or more. “We can’t create that for our guys. What we’ve got to do is understand that there has to be a focus on the reason we’re here and that’s to win a football game.”’ None of the 123 East Carolina players that made the trip to At- lanta have been through this be- fore. Not sophomores, not juniors, not seniors. Not even fifth-year seniors. The only thing they’re ac- customed to this time of year is spending time with family and watching other teams from around the nation play in the long lineup of holiday bowls. In fact, not since 1978 has an East Carolina team had an oppor- tunity to go to a bowl. But Lewis is pleased with the way his team has handled everything thus far. “I was pleased with the way we got in, got settled and about get- ting onto the practice field and taking care of our business as far as our waork preparations,” ‘Stay focused Peach Bowls Lewis said. ot The Wolfpack, which will dress out 130 playersj‘is making its four- th-straight bowl appearance and fifth in the last six years. The trip to the Peach is N.C. State’s fifth overall and third since Dick Sheridan became head coach in 1986. But Sheridan says each visit is more special, particularly with the move to New Year’s Day. ‘“‘A bowl game is a unique expe- rience,’ Sheridan said. ‘“‘We’re here to work. It’s a game you can tell is very important to our players.”’ But this week won’t be all busi- ness. Each team has daily prac- tices scheduled along with several social functions set up by the bowl committee. And both coaches are giving their players freedom, in- cluding no curfews. “We want our players to enjoy themselves and have a good time because this is a reward for the outstanding job they’ve done dur- ing the season,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘I’ve impressed upon them that there will be a time each day where we will focus on the football game and we will get our work done. “I think you can enjoy the good times that a bowl affords and at the same time get your work done.”’ That puts a lot of responsibility on players ranging from about 18 to 22 years-old, but the coaches don’t seem overly concerned. “We're going to rely on the maturity of our football team,”’ Lewis said. ‘‘They’ve handled oth- er distractions well and we’ve got confidence they’ll be able to han- dle this situation.”’ Said Sheridan: ‘‘I have complete faith in that our players can balance that out. It has to be done ina mature way.”’ (See PIRATES, C-5) Pirates (Continued from C-1) Upperclassmen from both teams aren’t tempting fate, though, and have taken steps to make sure things don’t get out of hand. ‘Before we came on the trip the seniors got together and talked to the younger guys to make sure we keep things under control,’ East Carolina senior tight end Luke Fisher said. ‘We'll go out and have a good time, but we’ll get our work done. Our first objective is to win the game.”’ Said N.C. State senior tight end Todd Harrison: ‘‘We know when we can go out and have a good time and we know when we need to have a_ business-like attitude. We are very honored that Coach . Sheridan has left it upon us to take care of ourselves. We’re here to play a football game, so we know we can do and what we can’t do.” Since neither team has played in more than a month, this week of practice is extremely crucial. East Carolina freshmen (left to right) David Crumbie, Friday’s practice at the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta Dwaine Johnson, Dwight Linville and Carlos Blake watch The Daily Reflector - Sunday, December 29, 1991 By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — The marquee matchup that all eyes will be wat- ching in the 24th annual Peach Bowl will be East Carolina’s ex- plosive offense against a rugged. N.C. State defense. The Pirates score in bunches, 33.8 points per game to be exact. The Wolfpack, nationally ranked in the top 30 in five defensive categories, hasn’t given up much, at least when it’s been at full Strength as it will be on New ~ Year’s Day. ‘But there’s a flip side to all this. yy East Carolina’s defense vs. N.C. State’s offense. a The Pirates give up a lot (408.8 yards per game). The Wolfpack, riddled by injuries at quarterback, lacks punch. But both groups are perhaps a little underrated. Should be an interesting mat- chup — and just as critical to the outcome as the more high-profile ~ {2 SB _ duel. ‘‘There’s a defense on this team, too,” East Carolina junior defen- sive end Jerry Dillon said. ‘‘We stop somebody every once in a while.”’ Inside the 20 is when the Pirates’ bend-don’t-break defense has been its toughest. On 14 occa- sions this season, opponents Weather works in ECU’s favor By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ‘ATLANTA — The Peach Bowl practice schedule worked in East Carolina’s favor Saturday. A miserable, rainy morning in Atlanta forced N.C. State to scrap its practice session at the Rose Bowl (grass) complex on the Georgia Tech campus, but ECU was able to conduct its practice on the artificial turf at Grant Field. The two teams, who meet at 11:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, have been alternating practice sites since arriving Thursday. “We had the luck of the draw when it came to practice facili- ties,”” ECU head coach Bill Lewis said. ‘“‘The weather did cooperate with us, as surprising as that might sound. As we got out onto the field, the rain ceased for most of the workout and we were able to have a productive day.” The conditions did limit what the Pirates were able to do and concentration was focused primarily on the areas where tim- ing is critical — the passing game, the option game and special teams. The Wolfpack, meanwhile, held walk-through drills in a spacious room in the Hyatt Regency. While the offense took the floor, defen- Sive players attended meetings with their position coaches and watched game films. The two units then switched. “We were able to get a lot of mental work done,” N.C. State head coach Dick Sheridan said. “Even though physically it wasn’t necessarily a day where we made a lot of progress — although at this point of the season you don’t really need to — we did get some- thing out of it. We do need to get out there (Sunday) and Monday.”’ The Wolfpack is scheduled to practice today from 8-11 a.m. at Grant Field. ECU will work out from 1-4 p.m. at the grass complex if conditions permit. If not, Lewis said practice would be shifted to the turf. MWOLFPACK QB: Terry Jor- Notes dan appears to be fully recovered from a broken left wrist and is ex- pected to get the start at quarter- back for N.C. State. Jordan, a junior, is one of three Wolfpack quarterbacks to play this season. Jordan started the first four games, but was injured in the first half against North Car- olina. Redshirt freshman Geoff Bender Stepped in and played until sus- taining a shoulder injury against Virginia (Nov. 9). True freshman Terry Harvey started the final two games. ‘ All three are now healthy. “The biggest question was to see if Terry Jordan could return to where he was before he got hurt and, if that was the case, he would be our starter,’ Sheridan said. “He was a little rusty the first part of our practices last week, but he’s had two good practices here. He looks like he’s back to form.” @ DIFFERENT VIEW: Not ev- eryone is ecstatic about ECU and N.C. State playing for the first time since 1987. “T know this is going to be in all the papers, but honestly we didn’t want to play N.C. State,” East Carolina junior defensive end Jerry Dillon said: “The coaches might have wanted to play them but a lot of the players, me in par- ticular, could care less to play N.C. State. ““We’re here and we’ve got to play them, but I would rather play Illinois. I wanted one more shot at * those guys.”’ The Illini, who handed ECU its only loss (38-31 in the season- opener), will play UCLA in the John Hancock Bowl. Dillon said since an agreement couldn’t be reached to play during the regular season, a postseason battle will not accomplish much, The 18-game seires was termi- nated after a brawl following the 1987 game in Raleigh. By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR JERRY DILLON “I wasn’t here in ’87 when the whole thing happened with N.C. State and East Carolina,’ Dillon said. “I’ve been wanting to play them the last three years and they wouldn’t play us, so why make them play us now?” MTHE UNDERDOG: Rarely has N.C. State been an underdog in the series with East Carolina, but the Pack finds itself in that situation this year. ECU, ranked 12th, is a 2 1/2- point favorite. N.C. State leads the Series 12-6, but the teams have split the last six meetings. “I think it takes a little pressure off us,”’ N.C. State senior tight end Todd Harrison said of the under- dog role. “Anybody that’s an underdog can go into a game and play its hardest. You’re not ex- pected to win and if you do, great. “I don’t want to say we like be- ing an underdog, but it’s not a sit- uation that we’re not accustomed to being in, not a situation where we feel awkward. Hopefully that will work in our favor.” MACC EXPANSION: Sheridan would like to see the Atlantic Coast Conference follow the lead of the Southeastern Conference and expand to a two-division, 12- team league with a championship game at the ed of the season. And one team he suggests ad- ding — East Carolina. “I frankly would like to see East Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Con- ference,’”’ Sheridan said. ‘There has been so much change in col- lege football the last two or three years with realignment and con- ferences, I think you need to be aggressive.”’ The big strike against East Car- olina is its basketball program and a 6,000-seat arena — neither of which make the Pirates a hot property. ATLANTA — The job as head There’s absolutely nothing to this story.” Lewis, 50, is 20-12-1 in his three seasons at East Carolina. He withdrew his name from con- season, 104 unassisted and 12 for a loss. He will be a key in trying to put the clamps on a N.C. State of- fense that most likely will try to set the tempo with a ball-control ground atack. “I don’t think there is much finesse to them,” Jones. said. “They are a basic running team. They are going to line up and run Tight at us and say ‘Can you stop us? Here we come.’”’ The Wolfpack is led by tailback Anthony Barbour, who rushed for football coach at Georgia Tech | may soon be open. As has been the case with other high-profile vacancies in college football, East Carolina’s Bill Lewis is being mentioned as a possible candidate. Ross, who led the Yellow Jackets to an 11-0-1 record and the national championship (UPI) in 1990 and an 8-5 record and an Aloha Bowl win this year, is reportedly leaving for the San Diego Chargers. Ross talked with Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard earlier this week and is expected to be named before Wednesday. Lewis, a former assistant at both Georgia Tech (1972) and Georgia (1980-88) is in Atlanta preparing his team for Wednes- day’s 24th annual Peach Bowl. Danny Sheridan on Saturday reported on CNN that Lewis and Georgia Tech was ‘“‘a done deal”’ and that the third-year ECU head coach could be named as early as Thursday, but Lewis said the report has no foundation. “Bobby Ross is still the head football coach at Georgia Tech,” Lewis said. ‘I have had no contact with the people at Georgia Tech. sideration at Maryland earlier this month, saying the timing was not right. He was also mentioned as a candidate for the vacancy at Ari- zona State. With the success of this year’s team — a 10-1 record and No. 12 ranking in the nation — more teams may be seeking his services. “There hasn’t been a junior high job come open from California to here that his name hasn’t popped up,’’ ECU co-offensive coordinator Steve Logan said. “This is just Sports ECU defense vs. Pack offense big key Peach Bowl penetrated the ECU 20 and came away with no points. “They find a way to keep people out of the end zone,’ ECU head coach Bill Lewis said of his team. “From a statistical standpoint, we don’t have the national stats, but they’ve done a good job of playing team defense.”’ The Pirates have been proficient at forcing turnovers and are tied for fourth in the nation — with N.C. State — in turnover ratio. And there’s a long list of heroes that have come up with big plays. ¢ Greg Floyd, a 93-yard return of a fumble at Central Florida. e Greg Grandison, a 95-yard return of an interception at South- (Continued from C-1) “The thing that makes him Stand out is that when he makes a tackle, he makes a tackle,’’ Adell Said. “When he puts his arms around a running back or a quar- terback, he locks up and stays locked on them.”’ Jones has made 151 tackles this 769 yards this season with an average of 6.2 yards per carry. The Wolfpack is the only ranked team in the nation to start three different quarterbacks and have each one win at least one game. The trio of Terry Jordan, Geoff Bender and Terry Harvey each passed for more than 500 yards. Jordan is expected to start. “You don’t win nine games without an offense doing some things well,” Lewis. said. “They have great balance. “They are a very hard-nosed of- fensive football team. I hope we will be physical enough to match “The burden of proof is on us,”’ Adell said, referring to the entire ¢ College Football e NFL ® Outdoors ern Miss. ¢ Chris Hall, a breakup of a pass on the opponent’s final offensive , Series at Syracuse and Southern Miss. ¢ Dillon, a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown at Cincin- nati. And many, many more — all contributing to a 10-1 season. ““They’ve all fit into the role of a winning football team,’’ Lewis said. “‘As they get into a game, they realize what it’s going to take to win a particular football - game.” ECU’s defense, small up front by Division I-A standards, is hard- ly imposing. But N.C. State senior offensive tackle Scott Adell said there are some traits that make the Pirates dangerous. “I think the thing they thrive on is quickness,’’ Adell said. “‘They’re not as big as some of the teams we’ve faced, but I think they’re probably equally talented because of their overall hustle and pursuit to the football. “It’s not necessarily how tal- ented you are, but how much heart you have and I think they have a- lot of heart.”’ Adell is particularly impressed with ECU consesus All-America linebacker Robert Jones. (See PIRATE, C-3) Pirate defense to play big role mage in order for us to be success- ful.”’ Added “ECU linebacker Ken Burnette: “For us to be successful! against them we’ve got to stop the» run, which is pretty much true against anybody you play that’s.. going to try to run it. We've got to. force them: into passing situations. *: “They’ve got good people that’ can catch.it and throw it — don’t" get me wrong — but I think their: t bread and butter is the run.”’ up against them.” The Daily Reflector ie So, like most games, it comes +4 i if down to a battle in the trenches. Classifieds DECATHLON Free Treadlife Worranty $ 29 P155/80R13 Whitewall No Trade Needed WHITEWALL] , PRICE SIZE 931-4200 GOODSVYEAR ', TIEMPO a FreeTreadlife Warranty _-P155/80R13 Whitewall “sNo Trade Needed 'P165/80R13 34.73 P175/80R13 36.90 P185/75R14 *37.99 P195/75R14 *39.06 = [LP20s75Ri4| 40.16 RI AOE Be PRICE WHITEWALL No Trade PRICE * SIZE, ed wi a No Trade | | WHITEWALL RAs sical P215/75R15| ‘44.50 vane Need P225/75R15} 46.69 PI6580R13 | 946,23 P20575R14 | 61.53 P235/75R15 48.85 P18580R13 51.22 P20575R15 64.81 P18675R14 | °55.54 P23575R15 | *75'58 Other sizes available. P19575R14 *58.50 ral LONCORBE CALIBRE LT 68.95 @ P235/75R15 RWL SL LT235/75R15 OWL C $ 89.95 ag Other sizes available. a! ; SONconoE METRIC reéTreadlife Warranty $29 .f155SR12 Blackwall «No Trade Needed a t 31-1050R15 OWL B $ 99.95 20¢ FET iene 4 PRICE 875R16.5 BL D$ 99.95 | Sie | No Tad vajsize | No Made LT215/85R16 BL D $ 99.95 \§ Na pe LT235/85R16 BL E $109.95 98¢ FET x 165R13 133-85 199.96 RWL = Raised White Letter . 4 &L175/70R13 36.65 OWL = Outline White Letter BL = Blackwall ae Denandahle GOODYEAR AUTO SERVICE You C;n Caunt On I Lewis: nothing to Tech rumors Peach Bowls Although Lewis is a hot com- modity and has said he will be willing to listen to future offers, Logan said people shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that the coaching Staff is ready to jump ship. ‘There seems to be a mentality out there that maybe East Caroli- na is the place to get out of,” Logan said. “It might surprise you as to the number of people that might want to stay there.”’ Steve Shankweiler, also-a co- offensive coordinator, echoed Logan’s remarks. “One of the real phenomenal things about a school like East Carolina is that everybody auto- matically assumes that when you win, you’re supposed to leave,” neighbors that are asking ‘When are you going to move?’ ‘Why? We’re 10-1. I would think maybe some people might want to come to East Carolina. That’s: kind of a misnomer we’ve had toy overcome as a staff.”’ ‘ Shankweiler, the only holdover: from the Art Baker era, is the se:’ nior member on the staff. After’ the first winning season he has? experienced in his five years at ECU, he now sees a bright future. “There aren’t many football: teams in the country ranked higher than us and we’ve had twé! excellent recruiting years,™ Shankweiler said. “‘It’s a comfort’ able situation. I think you go to’ places to coach in New Year’s Day: The Daily Reflector Monday, December 30, 1991 WOODY PEELE Monday musings: This is the week that East Caro- lina fans have been waiting for Since 1987: the chance to play the hated Wolfpack once more. For 18 years, from 1970 until 1987, the two teams met on the football field — N.C. State’s foot- ball field. The meeting of the two in Atlanta’s Peach Bowl Wednes- day at 11:30.a.m. will mark the first time The Game has been played outside Carter-Finley Stadium. Except among the ECU faithful, there was little notice paid when the series started. It was a chance to beat up on one of those ACC teams that look down their noses at little EZTC. State won the opener, only to see ECU come back and win Game Two, 31-15, before 18,000, the smallest crowd of the series. The worst beating the Pirates took was in Game Four, when the Wolfpack slammed the Pirates, 57-8. ECU, under Sonny Randle, was coming off a 9-2 year and there were those who actually be- lieved that ECU might just be on its way toa bowl game. But when that opening night crowd wandered out of Carter- Finley, the Wolfpack had plastered the Pirates and it looked like the start of a long season. The bad thing about it was that it had come in front of the first real crowd the two teams had at- tracted, 45,000. The good thing was that it woke the Pirates up to reality. The next week, they upset Southern Mississippi, 13-0, and went on to record another 9-2 season. The on- ly other loss was to North Caroli- na, 28-27. Unfortunately, there was no bow] to celebrate that year and Randle beat the trail to Virginia just days after the final gun. After two more losing seasons against the Wolfpack, Pat Dye’s 1976 team finally broke the State string, taking a 23-14 win before 49,000, a new game record. ECU also won the following year, 28-23, with 49,200 watching. For the next five years, howev- er, State won, all but one of those games attracting in excess of 50,000. Ed Emory’s great 1983 team fi- nally broke the string again witha 22-16 win and after that, the two alternated wins until the 1987 Pirate victory, 32-14. Again, each game attracted huge crowds, but after the final two ECU wins, fans mobbed the field and State would play no more. Efforts to revive the series have met with failure. N.C. State is un- willing to accept anything that calls for a visit to Greenville. It wants all of the games played at Carter-Finley. ECU is willing to play two out of three there just to get the Wolfpack on its own turf, but to no avail. So when it was announced that the two would meet in the Peach Bowl, it came as no surprise that the game was quickly sold out. The largest Peach Bowl crowd in history is expected for the game. How those fans respond to the game may have an eventual bear- ing on whether the series is ever picked up again. Unless... What was that I heard last week? What was that Dick Sheridan said? ECU in the ACC? Surely you jest! But no, the Wolfpack head coach has expressed the desire to see the ACC expand from its current nine members to 12, giving the league the opportunity to split into two divisions, setting up, at season’s end, a championship game — an sae . F f \ (Continued from B-1) bowl games and we’re coaching in one.”’ ~ Of course, this season’s success has also boosted the stock of Logan and Shankweiler, as well as several other members of the staff. They are likley to get a few inquiries as to their future plans in less than two weeks at the Na- tional Coaches Convention in Dal- las, Tex. ‘When you’re on a 10-1 football team as an assistant coach, I think you can probably walk in down there and find another job if you’re on a mission to do that,”’ Logan said. But, Logan added, he likes the potential he sees in Greenville. another story.”’ And he uses the growth of now na- tional power Miami, Fla. as an example. “IT can remember when I was just coming out of college, the mid 70s or early ’70s, nobody in this room had ever heard of the Uni- versity of Miami,’’ Logan said to a group of about 20 members of the media. “In fact, they were getting ready to drop football. There was not a goofier football program in the United States than the Univer- sity of Miami. “Someone came in and _ took their program by the horns and here we are today thinking Miami invented football. That can happen anywhere in the country. “Tm not Saying that’s going to Shankweiler said. Lewis to Jackets — ‘just another story’ happen at East Carolina but East Carolina has a tremendous amount of potential. What hap- pened this year was not a fluke. We've got quality football players — we've got quality young football players that are going to take the field next year. We are going to have a good football program at East Carolina.”’ The career path Lewis takes will most likely determine the path of his assistants since coaching staffs normally stick together. Loyalty is a big factor and a trait Logan saw in Lewis when he decided to apply at East Carolina three years ago. Logan has worked at six major Division I schools and says it’s the head coach, not the university a is the drawing force. ACC bowl game all its own. And Sheridan says ECU is one of the teams he’d like to see brought into the ACC. ECU could, if the present pro- gram continues, compete in foot- ball, not to mention several other sports, such as baseball. But it would take big improvements to compete on a daily basis in bas- ketball in the ACC. But big bucks would come in and that would help improve the program, including the replace- ment of Minges Coliseum. So, Dick, win or lose Wednes- day, I salute you. May your wish come true (but may you be on the short end of the scoreboard this week). “Tve got (See LEWIS, B-2) ; : $ “In this profession, you work for the head football coach,”’ Logan Said. ‘When a guy like Bill Lewis takes a job at East Carolina, there’s a lot of attractiveness to go to East Carolina. That’s my point of view. “He does things the right way and there are not a lot of people that have the guts to do that. This is a tough enough profession without working for a guy that’s creating a crisis every 10 minutes.”’ If Lewis leaves, Logan would be considered a logical candidate to move up, but asked if he would join Lewis, Logan said: ‘“‘I’d bounce down there on my tongue to follow him.”’ Monday December 30, 1991 as the official headquarters for the East Carolina University team, staff and fans. North Carolina State Universi- ty’s party was staying across the street in the Hyatt Regency. The bowl trip is the first for ECU since 1978 when the Pirates beat Louisiana Tech 35-13 in the Independence Bowl. The Peach Bowl is ECU’s first trip to a New Year’s Day bowl, and Pirate fans were set to savor the experience of being in Atlanta. ‘Since we couldn’t go to the oth- er one, we decided to go to the next one wherever it is,’ Walden said. ‘We didn’t get a reservation in early enough for the alumni asso- ciation’s New Year’s Eve party, but we’re going to be taking in ev- erything we can. We’re going to be By Tom Morris THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — And on Sunday, the Wolfpack and Pirate faithful rested as festivities for the Peach Bowl were set to begin in earnest on Monday. Fans began arriving for Wed- nesday’s game Sunday afternoon following the long drive from North Carolina and other parts far removed. ‘“‘We might crash early tonight,”’ said Archie Walden, who had just ~ arrived from Garner with his wife, Catherine. “It might be the only es night we get any rest.”’ The Daily Reflector/Shannon Wolfe Walden was one of a few Pirate Vernon Howard and Sharon Tarleton of Sanford arrive early fans milling around the lobby of in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. Sunday, the two were looking the Marriott Marquis, a 47-story for Howard’s son, ECU football player Charles Howard. hotel in downtown Atlanta serving The red and white blues nT Vhe Daltyiteflector/ Michael tiali A red-and-white lettered sign in the window of Darryl’s is Hillsborough Street's only sign of Peach Bowl pride Wolfpack spirit just a whimper in Capital City “‘T would not say it’s as big a - deal in Raleigh as it is in Green- ville,” said Skip Dyer, assistant general manager of Darryl’s 1906 By J. Ward Best THE DAILY REFLECTOR RALEIGH — The flesh of N.C. festivities begin tourists — Hawaiian shirts and to arrive, the teams arrived’ Bermuda shorts, the whole nine Thursday. The players have spent: yards.” their time practicing and taking Most of the fans are staying in part in such grueling exercises as hotels located near the Marriott a carnival, a dance contest and a and the Hyatt. That affords the cheer-off. fans the chance to sample the “Tomorrow, I expect it will be benefits of the city. There’s enter- hectic when a lot of the Pirate tainment ranging from country Club people get here,’ Walden music to jazz in Underground At- _ said. . lanta through most of the Hotel officials said most of the. downtown area. bowl game reservations were to: Atop the Peachtree Plaza Hotel begin Monday, and the Marriott’ _ there’s a rotating restaurant that was expected to be at 100 percent’ offers a view of downtown Atlanta, occupancy. including Fulton County Stadium Walter Wells and his wife Scott: where the Peach Bowl will be got in just before 3 p.m. after leav-: played. ing Greenville at 6 a.m. On Sunday night, there were “T thought the place would be’ “Meet The Player Nights” at two more alive,” said Ms. Wells after’ locations of Hooters, nearby sports checking in and taking a_ look’ bars. Though the fans are just starting (See BOWL, A-7) Bowl (Continued from A-1) around the lobby. ‘I guess we’re going to pioneer around.”’ Ms. Wells, who works for the ECU Alumni Association, will be busy planning a breakfast and dinner for ECU fans as well as the New Year’s Eve party. Vernon Howard was the first of a large contingent of Sanford resi- dents coming to Atlanta for the game. “Probably half of the town is coming down here, both State and ECU fans,”’ Howard said. He spent Sunday trying to track © down his son, Charles, who is the long snapper for ECU. “Believe it or not, I was a State - fan until my son went to ECU, and that sort of changed things,”’ Howard said. Pirates’ reaction + State’s football team had better | bestrong, because the hometown Spirit appears weak. The streets bordering the ‘campus of N.C. State showed few signs of support this week for the Wolfpack in the New Year’s Day matchup with East Carolina University in the Peach Bowl. The enthusiasm so readily ap- parent in Greenville is all but absent in Raleigh. Greenville has embraced its | football team, painting the town purple and gold. Restaurants and businesses throughout the city have posted signs of support, drivers are flying Pirate flags from their windows and all con- versation now turns around foot- ball. Nothing of the sort in Raleigh. restaurant on Hillsborough Street. Dyer said the staff at Darryl’s put up the hand-lettered signs ‘‘Go Pack”’ and Peach Bowl: Watch It Here’ in the front win- dow of the restaurant a week _ ago. But aside from the State students working at Darryl’s, Dyer said he’s noticed a lack of enthusiasm for the New Year’s Day game. . Along Hillsborough Street, the main thoroughfare for student life, only Darryl’s has put up a sign showing its support for the Wolfpack. On Western Boule- vard, which parallels Hillsborough Street south of the campus, a tailgate special of- fered by Bojangle’s Chicken is the closest thing to support for | The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall Timothy F. Harrison, an ECU grad, works at Brother’s pizza in Raleigh. He won’t be pulling for State this time. the team. At the off-campus bookstore on Western Boulevard, Addam’s, a lone rack displays Peach Bowl T-shirts and sweat- shirts. “Tm surprised that they haven’t painted the streets red or anything,’’ Dyer said. ‘‘Maybe they’re waiting until after the game. Maybe they didn’t want anything in permanent ink.”’ Unlike other shop owners along Hillsborough Street, Dyer freely offered his opinion of the game’s outcome. A UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, he’s jess likely to have any love for N.C. State. “‘T think ECU is probably going to do the job on them,” Dyer said over boos and hisses from the State-loyal bartender. N.C.'State is the lifeblood of the southwestern part of Raleigh. But the pulse weakens during the holidays, with or without a post- season bowl game. Apparently (See WOLFPACK, A-8) ‘Wolfpack spirit is hard to find in Raleigh (Continued from A-1) even the prospects of reviving a heated intra-state rivalry that ended in 1987 after a post-game melee, cannot stir the spirit in Raleigh. ‘‘T can remember games when there was more excitement,”’ “said Chris Candes, owner of Two Guys Italian restaurant on Hillsborough Street. Ra ‘There was a lot of excitement when they announced it,’’ Candes said. ‘‘But I think it’s just the lag time.” Candes is confident that the Wolfpack will prevail. Despite the Pirate’s 12th ranking com- pared to the 21st ranking of N.C. State and the better record for ECU, Candes holds to his convic- tions. He also holds to the stereotype of ECU and its students. “They drink a lot down there don’t they?” he asked. “‘It’s a party school.’’ Greenville’s excitement over the bowl game will not help the team, Candes predicted. “T think they’ll be pumped up, it’s their first bowl game in 13 years,’ he said. ‘‘I don’t know if it’l] help them any.”’ Mitch’s Tavern, a favorite stu- dent hangout above Hillsborough Street, shows not outward signs of exuberance. No signs or ban- ners. And two pairs of basketball shorts hanging above the-bar: -: give the only nod to N.C. State. “Up until I hung those shorts up there, you wouldn’t know what school is across the street,”’ said Mitch Hazouri, the owner of the tavern. He estimated that students make up about one-third of his business. But with the students gone during the holiday break, Hazouri said he’s heard little about the Peach Bow] so far. “I think people will come out of the woodwork on New Year’s Day and want to go somewhere to show their spirit,’’ he said. The second-floor bar will be open Jan. 1 in time for the game, and Hazouri expects a crowd of Wolfpack faithful. He tossed out a number of ex- cuses for the apparent lack of spirit in Raleigh. “Maybe we’re too dignified,” he offered half sincerely. ‘‘Yeah, yeah. That’s it. We’re just too dignified.” Wearing a Notre Dame hat and tossing up sandwiches for the Friday lunch crowd, Hazouri would not hazard a guess at the outcome of the game. ““We’d love to beat them and say they played a great game and get the series going again,”’ he diplomatically stated. ‘‘On the other side of the coin, we hope we don’t get beat too bad.”’ Pressed for an answer, he predicted State would prevail. -» But only for publication. Hazouri said maybe he could have hung a banner outside his bar. At least he knew about the up- coming bowl game. “‘T don’t even know who’s play- ing,’’ said Maurice Clapman, owner of DJ’s College Books and News on Hillsborough Street. A confessed non-sports fan, Clapman said he didn’t even know if the two teams were play- ing basketball or football. Tim Ellis, manager of DJ’s, at least knew the two teams. But he said he’s not felt much excite- ment about the game. “It’s really odd because it’s an old-time rivalry between ECU and State,” Ellis said, ‘“‘but I don’t hear people talking about it, really.” The Wolfpack faithful cannot even find a haven in Brothers Pizza Palace, a restaurant deck- ed in the glories of past N.C. State teams. The manager, Timothy F. Harrison, graduated from East Carolina University. His purple shirt stands out in a sea of red and white. “T’m a Wolfpack fan,’”’ Har- rison said, ‘‘but in this game my allegiance is going tohave tobe - somewhere else.”’ Harrison said he believes the post season play means more to Greenville because it happens less frequently. The Pirates last played in a bowl game in 1978, and have struggled for respect- ability ever since. Harrison said he senses com- placency in Raleigh. Many peo- ple are confident that N.C. State i will win the matchup. ECU, with a 10-1 season, is not to be taken lightly, Harrison warned. ‘The real die-hard fans are worried about the game,” Har- rison said. “‘I think a lot of peo- ple are legitimately concerned that the Wolfpack won’t win it.” Greenville Antiques Mall 31 Shops Under One Roof. 1 block E. of N. Greene St. cn Highway 33. 752-8111. Mon.-Sat. 10-5 * Sun. 1-5 Even though you’re disabled, y has startling effect By CAULTON TUDOR Staff writer ATLANTA — If East Carolina’s football program and its fans don’t accomplish anything else for years, they have rekin- ‘dled the spirit of the season for the Peach Bowl selection committee. “It’s like having a 5-year-old around the house for Christmas,” said Rodney Bow- ers, a member of the bowl’s organizing committee. “Everything about ECU is what bowl games are supposed to be all about,” he said. ‘‘They’re enjoying everything assocl- ated with the week. It’s like a breath of fresh air.”’ But ECU, which last played a postseason event in the 1978 Independence Bowl, was not considered prime material for any ’91 games until it cracked the national top 15 in mid-November. Many bowl scouts thought the Pirates, even at 10-1, might have been skipped had the Peach not arranged an encore of the Bucs’ rivalry with N.C. State. A regional school without a conference and with little television exposure, ECU and schools like it usually are gambles for bowls. No bow! games, not even the Rose and Orange, can take sellouts for granted. And the Peach, for years, has been in a delicate financial situation. Its tendency has been to invite only traditional powers, primarily from the Southeastern and Big Ten confer- ences. ‘ 7 ‘“‘When we picked ECU, I guess we were second-guessed to some extent by other bowls across the board,’’ Peach executive director Robert: Dale Morgan said. “And truthfully, I guess we didn’t know exactly what to expect in the way of response from their fans.” ECU’s reaction startled even the most optimistic committee members. Pirate fans bolted in huge numbers to their telephones, creating unprecedented ticket demand for a mid-echelon bowl and the quickest sellout among the 18 postseason games for NCAA Division I-A teams. ~ “‘What’s happened with us this year could change a lot of thinking about who you invite and who you don’t,”’ Morgan said. “ECU not only has enhanced its standing in the bowl] community, but they’ve done a lot for schools in similar situations.” Pirate fans long have yearned for the kind of exposure many schools, N.C. State among them, can take for granted. The Peach gave ECU that opportunity. Pirate alumni arise in Georgia Peach Bowl officials say they have ~ been stunned by the sudden emer- gence of East Carolina alumni in the Atlanta area. ‘“‘We never realized there were so many of them in north and middle Georgia until the past few weeks,’ said Rodney Bowers, a member of the bowl’s organizing committee. ~ One alumnus is the supervisor of a shopping mall that connects two hotels, the Marriott (ECU headquar- ters) and Hyatt (NCSU headquar- ters). : “The ECU Grad Who. Manages This Mall Welcomes Pirate Fans!” reads a huge banner in the shopping entrance. Beside that sign is another: ‘“The Mall Marketing Director From N.C. State Welcomes Wolfpack Fans!”’ Behind them is a third banner: “The Assistant Mall Manager From UNC Is Sulking!”’ One ECU supporter said the ban- ners made her day. : “For the first time in our lives, we’ve got something Carolina doesn’t have,” she said. ‘I’m send- ing copies of this picture to every on of my Carolina friends.” — __ : “1m convinced ECU’s enthusiasm would have been just about this great whether the _ opponent was State or not,’’ Morgan said. Another Peach committee member lik- ened ECU’s response to an oil field. “It was there all along, probably,” he said. “But no one tapped it. Some bowl probably missed a heck of an opportunity in 1983, but no one had enough courage to try it.”’ The °83 Pirates went 8-3 and finished in the national top 20. That team’s only losses were to eventual national champion Miam1 and top-10 opponents Florida and Florida State, all by narrow margins on the road. Ironically, it was in 1983 that the Peach Bowl game between North Carolina and Florida State drew so few fans and generated such little interest that the game went on NCAA probation and nearly lost its accreditation. Tuesday December 31, 1991 . SORENSEN Peach Bowl fans plowing into Atlanta ATLANTA — Most of the year, East Carolina and N.C. State are 85 miles apart. This week, they are separated only by Atlanta’s Peachtree Center Avenue. The East Carolina fans and football team are staying in the Marriott Marquis, the N.C. State fans and football team across the street at the Hyatt Regency. It would be great to report downtown Atlanta is being over- run by tractors and Caterpillars, but alas, it would not be true. It would be great to report because although Atlanta is the liveliest city in the South, it knows it. And it insists you know it. A lot of Dear John letters are spawned at these fancy downtown restau- rants and bars. So what about a few John Deeres? Fans from both schools have come to the Peach Bowl, which will be played Wednesday at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, mainly by car. But Wolfpack fans are mainly a rumor. This is East Carolina’s show. Fans wearing Pirates purple fill the sidewalks and streets. It has been 13 years since they’ve been able to accompany their team to a bowl. If they're rusty, it doesn’t show. Although some of the Pirates players think their 10-1 record should have been parlayed into an invitation to a more presti- gious bowl, others seem as happy as their fans. Receiver Hunter Gallimore couldn't get ascholarship after graduating in 1987 from Wilson’s Hunt High. Now, here he is. As a senior this season, he set a school record with 49 recep- tions. And he caught 27.of them in the last four games. “T’m thrilled about the Peach Bowl,” said Gallimore. é Wolfpack is not. Under coach Dick Sheridan, the Wolf- pack plays in bowls almost every year, and the bowls have always been little ones. They played in the All American last season, the Copper in 1989, and the Peach in 86 and ’88. After winning their first six games this season, the Wolfpack envisioned an ACC champion- ship and a big bowl. Then they lost to Clemson and were slammed by Virginia. Now, here they are. But for East Carolina, the sea- son has been tremendous. The Pirates beat Pittsburgh at home, Syracuse and Virginia Tech on the road and South Carolina for the first time anywhere. They lost only once, 38-31 to Illinois. And they might have won that one if they had not been penalized for celebrating before starting their final drive. There will be celebrations tonight in Baptist retirement homes that are more fiery. But the Pirates were punished. They have not lost since. ‘The season has been great, really great,” said Gallimore. ‘So many things have happened. Coming back in the second half against Illinois and getting into the Top 20 and beating South Carolina. We proved we could win big games, and we had never done that.” The team’s motto is “I believe.”’ Gallimore believes. He caught 60 passes as a high school senior, and although Elon and Lenoir-Rhyne talked to him, nei- ther offered a scholarship. East Carolina and N.C. State told him he could walk on, and he chose the Pirates because then-coach Art Baker had a reputation for being kind to walk-ons. His teammates weren’t. When Gallimore reported for his first practice, he was 5-11, weighed 150 pounds and ran a 4.9 40-yard dash. He had great hands, but they weren’t as apparent as his size and speed. “You get banged around,” said Gallimore. “You have to earn respect, and convince the other players you can play at their level.” } Gallimore remembers running across the middle and getting slammed by senior defensive back Ellis Dillahunt. Gallimore hung on to the pass. “But on the way back to the huddle, I fell five times,”’ Galli- more said. He recovered: 32 walk-ons began the season and two, he and punter John Jett, are on the team when it ends. Since then, Gallimore has added a scholar- ship and 15 pounds and has dropped .3 from his time in the 40. His hands are still great. And Poundcake Classic is the heav of the bakins O The Daily fair ports -Change-up =* ACC loses one coach and gains another Reflector Wednesday, January 1, 1992 Game Day! Fans turn from revelry to rekindle an old rivalry By Tom Morris THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — They’ve shop- ped ’til they’ve dropped and cheered until they’re blue in the face. Finally, game day is here. After four years of waiting, the fans’ prayers have been an- swered as East Carolina and North Carolina State meet in today’s Peach Bow! at 11:30 a.m. Today’s meeting is a renewal of one of the most popular col- lege football rivalries in North Carolina, and fans from both schools have spent a memora- ble week preparing for the game. Anestimated 45,000 people have come from out of state to see the game (if they’re lucky enough to have tickets tu the sold-out contest) or just take part in the festivities. “We're just a real spirited group of people,”’ said Pirate fan Bob Lee of Greenville as he watched the Peach Bowl parade Tuesday. ‘“‘We haven’t been to a bowl since 1978 and haven’t hada winning season since 1983. It really shows the country that a small, indpendent school can really take a big crowd toa bowl game.”’ It’s been a week-long party for Pirate fans, who seem to be everywhere in downtown Atlan- ta. Bowl games may be old hat to N.C. State, but ECU backers are clearly trying to do it all. The State fans have been almost.blase compared to the exuberant Pirate faithful, who’ve adorned themselves with purple and gold clothing, jewelry, hats, buttons and stickers. State fans can be forgiven, though. This is the school’s third trip to the Peach Bowl in five years. The fans have shopped the nearby downtown mall, toured CNN and taken advantage of the abundant nightlife in a city Peach Bowl e State fan sur- rounded by purple and gold — Page B-1 e A Peach-Bowl rescue — Page C-1. e Let the game be- gin — Page C-1 that hasn’t slept much the last few days. ‘“‘We went to the Hyatt last night to watch all the State fans playing bridge,’’ said Sherwood Odom of Raleigh. Long before the parade began, the fans began to line Peachtree Street and started chanting, ‘‘PURPLE, GOLD; PURPLE, GOLD.” The event turned into a minor pep rally, climaxed by the arrival of the ECU band. “This is a good showing here,’’ Odom said. ‘‘Look at all the purple. I guess it’s lack of bowl experience. “Tt’s a heck of lot bigger East Carolina turnout than I ex- pected. It’s fun. I’m glad the game is finally here. I‘m a little nervous about the game. I’m a big fan.”’ A pep rally Tuesday night drew over 4,000 people to the - Atlanta Apparel Mart. The bands and cheerleaders from both schools gathered in front of the Marriott Marquis and led separate entourages on a three-block march to the ap- parel mart. At the pep rally, the bands traded fight songs and the cheerleaders stirred the crowd into a frenzy. Today, though, the focus fi- (See FANS, A-9) The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis Boy, left, shows his colors to State cheerleaders Wednesday, January 11,1992 A-9 The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis ECU’s Bill Lewis (1) and NCUS’s Dick Sheridan talk to the media at their final pre-game press conference. Finally— it’s time to play By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — Fans are anx- ious. Players are anxious. Coaches are anxious. All this waiting has been nerve-racking but finally, it’s time to play the game. After a little more than five weeks since the end of the regu- lar season and a long week in Atlanta, East Carolina and N.C. State can get down to the busi- ness of playing the 24th annual Peach Bowl. Both teams on Tuesday got their first visit to Atlan- ta-Fulton County Stadium and held brief —_ walk-throughs. By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR “This is a good chance for these two teams to find out just how good they are.”’ —ECU’s Bill Lewis Peach Bowl*> ATLANTA — Before the At- lanta Chamber of Commerce decided to get involved, the Peach Bowl was a loser in a ci- ty of losers. Attendance was slipping, revenues were not being gener- ated, CBS terminated its asso- ciation with the bowl and mai- taining certification from the NCAA was a question. But now, Atlanta is enjoying a recent run of good fortune — a National League West cham- Kickoff is set for today at 11:37 a.m. ‘“‘When you go to the stadium, you should get excited,’ ECU head coach Bill Lewis said. ‘“‘We’ve been to the site where this is all going to happen and it’s really time to play. “With all of the fun things that have happened, the reason we are here is to play a game.”’ The meeting is the first be- tween the in-state rivals since pionship and World Series ap- pearance by the Braves; the Falcons in the second round of the NFL playoffs; the 1994 Super Bowl; the 1996 Summer Olympics; Ted Turner being named Time’s Man of the Year — and the Peach Bowl is fol- lowing suit. The quickest sellout in its his- tory this year has Peach Bowl officials confident their plan is on course for becoming one of the nation’s elite bowls. ‘‘We knew we had to walk be- fore we could run,’’ Peach Bowl executive director Robert Dale 1987. The Pirates, making their first bowl appearance since 1978, come in at 10-1 and are the nation’s 12th-ranked team. The Wolfpack, in their fourth straight bowl, is 9-2 and ranked 22nd. “This is a good chance for these two teams to find out just how good they are,’ Lewis said. ‘It will be an honor for East Carolina to be on the same game program with North Car- Morgan siad. ‘“‘We had a five- year plan and we’ve executed most of that.”’ The only thing that has not followed the intended path is having this year’s game — matching East Carolina against N.C. State — in the yet-to-be completed Georgia Dome. The 70,000 seat facility was originally scheduled to be com- pleted in 1991, but the state legislature did not appropriate the funds in adequate time. Still, even that delay is turn- ing up gold, er, silver for the Peach Bowl, which will cele- olina State... it’s an honor for us to have our program lined up alongside that of Coach (Dick) Sheridan’s program.’’ | The first Peach Bowl to match two nationally ranked teams will be the last football game in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Peach Bowl and the Atlanta Falcons move to the Georgia Dome later this year. Near ideal conditions — a rarity in the recent history of the bowl — are expected for to- day’s game, which has been sold out for several weeks. Rain spread through the area over the weekend, but clear skies and comfortable temperatures are forecast for today. (See FINALLY, C-2) Chamber made Peach Bowl a winner brate its silver anniversary in the first year in the dome. The ECU-N.C. State matchup is unique in that two teams from the same state are com- peting. It also marks the first time two ranked teams have squared off in the Peach. “T think a lot of people thought it took a lot of guts to do it,’ Morgan said of sending ECU against State. ‘To us, it provided little risk and it ac- complished the objectives we set forth when we began our (See PEACH, C-2) ” a . Fans (Continued from A-1) nally turns to football and scalpers are having a field day as many have come to Atlanta without any tickets. The hotels beefed up security for last night’s New Year’s Eve festivities and Atlanta police were expecting to do the same for today’s game. “They told us to expect some problems,” said officer D.J. McGinnis of the Atlanta Police Department. ‘“‘We’ve been given some special orders on how to handle it. I’ll tell you this, they’re not going to fool around. They’re going to put some people in jail.’ ’ ‘ ‘ ; Ma r] a > cae $ sd % > |} > pa /- “SPE EE ELE EP EF are because of ECU-NCSU rivalry THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTA — Security has been increased for the Peach Bowl because of past problems at football games between rivals East Carolina and North Carolina State, officials said Tuesday. Peach Bowl and security of- ficials at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the site for Wednes- day’s sellout game, said they - are aware of the history of the two schools. They said . they have prepared for any trouble ‘ during or after the game. “Tt (security) was a con- ~ sideration’ when choosing the two teams, said A. Neill Cameron, chairman of the board of the Peach Bowl. ‘‘Se- curity whenever you get a " crowd in a competitive situa- _ tion is a concern. “After discussions with the athletic departments and the administrations of the two schools they felt it wasn’t an exaggerated problem so we'll treat it that way. But we don’t anticipate anything other than a good, competitive game.”’ A record crowd of more than 59,000 1s expected for the 11:37 a.m. kickoff. East Carolina faced the Wolfpack in Raleigh, .N.C., for 18 years before the heated ri- Peach Bowl beefs up security Peach Bowl is no longer a loser ‘After discussions with the athletic de- partments and the ad- ministrations of the two schools they felt it wasn’t an exaggerated problem so we'll treat it that way. But we don’t anticipate anything oth- er than a good, com- petitive game.’’ —A. Neill Cameron Peach Bowl valry ended in 1987 after a postgame riot. Fans stormed down the grass bank onto the Carter-Finley Stadium field, knocking down a fence, pulling down the goal posts and inju- ring a security guard. There were also numerous fights between fans. After that game, the series -eame to a halt with East Caro- lina winning three of the last five games. Fans bought every available ticket in the fastest sellout in the Peach Bowl’s 24- year history. Cameron and: security of- ficials at the stadium refused to say how many police and secu- rity personnel will be at the New Year’s Day game. “Tt will be a little more than for a Falcons game and a little less than for an Olympics,” Cameron said. In addition, the game will be the last football game played at the stadium, and fans will be coming to the contest after celebrating a festive New Year’s Eve. “T think that plays a part in it,’ said Terri Brennan, direc- tor of stadium operations and security at the stadium. “‘Hope- fully, they: will be tired and not too wound up. Hopefully, it won’t be a huge factor.” Ms. Brennan said mounted pol’se won’t be used as in World Series games at the stadium in October. She said -mounted police were used to keep fans off the field so future games could be played, but that won’t be a problem during Wednesday’s football finale. Security for football is much tougher than baseball, she said. ‘During the World Series it was a totally different crowd than football,’’ she said. ‘“‘There is less field accessibility. For football you can come out of the stands anywhere.”’ Emotions will also play a big part, she said. “If N.C. State wins, nothing will happen, but if East Caroli- na wins they will take the field,’ Ms. Brennan said. (Continued From C-1) team selection process.’’ Morgan said ideally the bowl would liked two ranked teams with an intersectional game with a Southern host. But State-ECU presented an attrac- tive package. “We were not going to jeop- ardize quality,’ Morgan said. “Tf the next best came from the South, so be it.”’ The Peach Bowl reached its lowest point in 1985 when an announced 29,857 attended Ar- my’s win over Illinois. In July 1986, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce formed a task force to investigate if the bowl was worth saving. There three main concerns were eco- nomic impact, visibility for the city and the impact on quality of life. The 1992 bowl has attracted an unprecedented 45,000 fans from outside the city and will generate in excess of $35 mil- lion as compared to $25 million produced by the World Series. A multi-year contract with ESPN and a mass of print and electronic media guarantee the city excellent exposure. “When the Chamber got in- volved in ’86, they began to run it like a business,’ Morgan said. ‘‘We began to put more ef- fort into it, both at a staff level and volunteers and leadership. The volunteers and leadership was enhanced not only in numbers, but in quality.” Volunteers, who serve on 16 committees, have grown to around 450. Bringing Morgan, A. Neill Cameron Jr. (execu- tive vice president and manag- ing director of Oglivy and Mather’s Atlanat Office who was named Peach Bowl chair- man in January, 1991) and Gerald L. Bartels (President of the Peach Bow] and the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce) on board have been a driving force in the bowl’s resurrection. Morgan, who was hired as assistant executive director in 1986, has implemented a strategic marketing plan that has enabled the bow! to move to New Year’s Day, increase by 66.3 percent the payout to par- ticipating teams and increase by 74 percent corporate spon- sorship. The last eight Peach Bowl teams received at least $800,000. “Tf I can ynake two institu- tions and the city of Atlanta happy, we’ve met every objec- tive we started out for,” Morgan said. Today is the first time the Peach Bowl has been held on New Year’s Day. The 1993 game will be the only bow] held on Jan. 2. “We wanted to be a New Year’s Day game or certainly have the importance of a New Year’s Day game,’ Morgan said. Washington 34 ‘Michigan =e ‘(4 Florida State {0 Texas A&M 2 Syracuse 24 Ohio State 7 YEAR’ COMPLETE BOWL COVERAGE a. \ td Sports SECTION E THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION wk THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1992 East Carolina believers revel in latest miracle n the space below, there will be no discussion of Georgia Tech’s search for a coach. To focus on that would be to deny Bill Lewis and his gallant players their moment of moments. No program in the land came further in 1991 than East Carolina, and on the first day of 1992 the Pirates made their giddy journey complete. They won the Peach Bowl over a snooty neighbor after trailing by 17 points with eight minutes left. “Poetic justice,’ Lewis called the game. “This just went with all we’ve done all year.” East Carolina finished 11-1, the Peach Bowl miracle being the latest and greatest in a series. In eight of their victories the Pirates trailed; in five their winning points came in the fourth quarter. So often had East Carolina done the improbable that, even at the darkest moments in Atlanta- Fulton County Stadium, even as the red-clad North Carolina State fans were sure they’d squashed the upstarts ... even then, the unbowed horde of Pirate backers could be heard chanting: “We believe! We believe!” And doggone if this dogged little team didn’t make believers of everybody watching. Good slogan, but players did it For East Carolina, belief had its genesis in the last week of September. The Pirates were about to play South Carolina, a school ECU had never beaten. Said Lewis: “We felt we weren’t all on the same page as far as believing we could beat South Carolina. So on Tuesday I told the players, ‘We as coaches believe in you. I believe in you.’ And we printed up a sign — it wasn’t fancy, just an 8-by-11 sheet of paper we ran off in the office — that said, ‘I believe.’ And on game day we tacked that to the top of every player’s locker.” Someone noted that a coach at Kentucky, the long-forgotten John Ray, made “We believe” his team’s credo. Alas, the Wildcats won but 10 games in four seasons and the believer Ray got fired. Hearing, Lewis laughed. “Tf we’d have lost to South Carolina,” he said, ‘those signs probably would’ve been thrown in the trash can. ... [But] there’s nothing in signs or slogans if you don’t have the players.” East Carolina did. Quarterback Jeff Blake closed a stunning season in heroic style, throwing 51 times for 378 yards, completing 15 of 21 passes in the final 8:41. “T think everybody was scared or worried,” Blake said of the 17-point deficit, “but that’s part of life.” With 7:26 to play, Blake ran for a touchdown to pull the Pirates within 10. Three minutes later he hit Dion Johnson to cut the lead to four. Inside the final two minutes Blake hit Luke Fisher on a hitch over the middle, and the splendid tight end turned and lugged the last of his dozen catches into the end zone. Rocking the stadium at 10:25 a.m. Ninety-two seconds remained. The Pirate defense huddled on the sideline. Said the All-America linebacker Robert Jones: “We just said, ‘Hold ’em one more time and our dream can come true.’ ” East Carolina did, just. With the ball on the ECU 31 and six seconds left, State coach Dick Sheridan chose to play for the tie, but Damion Hartman’s kick sailed wide right. The Pirates had won. For those in purple, joy Hurricanes, Huskies claim, FROM STAFF REPORTS iami made its point, but so did Washington. The Hurricanes capped a perfect 12-0 season in the Or- ange Bowl, and the Huskies did the same Wednesday by dominating the Rose Bowl. Who’s No. 1? “Who knows how the vot- ers will vote?” said Miami coach Dennis Erickson after a 22-0 victory over Nebraska gave the Hurricanes a chance at their fourth national title in nine years. Miami finished the regular season ranked No. 1 (by 14 points) in The Associated Press writers’ poll, tied for first with Washington in the USA Today-CNN coaches’ poll and No. 2 behind the Huskies in the United Press Interna- tional poll. Washington made a case for its first national title by shutting down Heisman Tro- phy winner Desmond Howard in a 34-14 Rose Bowl rout of & Georgia Tech wants a new coach within a week E3 ® Pat Sullivan to be named head coach at TCU today E7 No. 4 Michigan. Afterward, Washington coach Don James said, “If Mi- ami wins and we both don’t get at least some part of the na- tional championship, it’s going to be a disaster.” All three final polis will be released today. Another question: Who’s No. 3? Third-ranked Florida was stunned 39-28 by No. 18 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl as Irish fullback Jerome Bettis scored three touchdowns in a span of 2:44 in the final five minutes. No. 5 Florida State, with the help of eight turnovers by Texas A&M, won 10-2 in a rain-soaked Cotton Bowl and could move up in the polls. But the Seminoles (11-2), ranked No. 1 until losing their final e’re the 1! two regular-season games to Miami and Florida, finished third in their home state. No. 6 Penn State also bid to move up, surging past No. 10 _ Tennessee 42-17 in the Fiesta Bowl. The day’s smorgasbord of eight bowl games left Peach Bowl winner East Carolina with a chance at an unprece- dented top-10 finish. The No. 12 Pirates could pass Tennes- see, No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 11 Nebraska. Tight end Luke Fisher catches a touchdown pass to put East Carolina ahead 37-34 with 1:32 remaining. E. Carolina rally stuns N.C. State By Darryl Maxie STAFF WRITER Until the middle of the fourth quarter Wednesday, 12th-ranked East Carolina and its rallying cry — “I believe” — were taking a North Caroli- na State beating in the Peach Bowl. Then, began. the unbelievable East Carolina quarterback’ Jeff Blake ran for one touch- down and threw for two more, > Complete coverage E5 making tight end Luke Fisher look as unstoppable as Luke Skywalker. Blake and Fisher connect- ed on a 22-yard touchdown with 1:32 left, giving the Pi- rates a 37-34 victory before a Peach Bowl-record crowd of is ahs ROT Sinha Re LOUIE FAVORITE/Staff Front 3 heed call of ‘Hogs’ Falcon defensive line at a size disadvantage By Len Pasquarelli STAFF WRITER The heaviest weight the At- lanta Falcons’ defensive line figures to carry into Satur- day’s NFC semifinal against the Washington Redskins is the giant-sized chip the unit is toting around on its collective shoulder these days. Always undersized but rarely overmatched in intensi- ty, the Falcons’ front three nonetheless came under fire during Saturday’s 27-20 first- round playoff victory in New Orleans. The ABC crew broad- casting the game frequently criticized the unit and pointed out its physical limitations. Despite the fact they’ll give away nearly 30 pounds per man to Washington’s famed “Hogs” offensive line Satur- day, the Falcons’ defensive linemen vow to hold their own. “Hey, we don’t get knocked off the ball like people have been claiming we do; that’s just bull,” said Tim Green, the NFL’s lightest starting defen- sive lineman, at 245 pounds. “If we took people on toe-to- toe and tried to just play ‘smash-mouth’ football with them all the time, yeah, we’d have a tough time. “But that’s not our style and you’d think the [broad- casters} doing the game last week would have understood that. I, mean,/they’re down to the final eight teams playing, we’re one of them, and these guys are on us like crazy. Look, nobody’s abusing us.” The NFL’s lightest front three — the average weight of starters Green, Moe Gardner and Rick Bryan is 256 pounds, exactly 20 pounds under the league’s average unit — the Falcons compensate with an Please see FALCONS, ES > Heavy-duty lightweights The Falcons’ starting defen- sive line is, on a per-player ba- sis, the lightest in the NFL. Here are the five lightest and five heaviest lines: LIGHTEST Avg. weight 256.0 259.5 264.8 268.0 268.5 was unconfined. At 10:25 a.m., more than an hour before kickoff, the East Carolina folks were raising such a din inside the stadium that the roar could be heard two parking lots away, surely the loudest ruckus ever raised before noon on New Year’s Day. Said Lewis: “It was something. We were still in the locker room, but you could hear it. You could feel it.” It was as if the citizenry of Greenville, .N.C. — roughly 36,000 folks — had transplanted themselves into one drafty old .ballpark. They came wearing their team’s gaudy colors and brandishing foam-rubber swords, which they used to perform something called the Saber Slash, which is a takeoff on the you-know-what. They came and they slashed and they chanted, and when it was done maybe 5,000 of them rushed the field in ecstasy. For even the truest Pirate believer, the day had been sweet beyond belief. » HAPPY 59,322 in Atlanta-Fulton Coun- ty Stadium. The 21st-ranked Wolfpack led 34-17 with 8:41 left and backpedaled into a position in which it would have been hap- py to salvage a tie. That’s what . Damon Hartman tried to get on the game’s final play, but his 49-yard attempt sailed wide right as time expired. With that, the field was en- gulfed in a purple sea of East Carolina fans, many digging up the grass as souvenirs of a crowning achievement. It was the 11th consecutive victory for the Pirates (11-1). | : “We just concluded a fan- ~ alu sy a tastic season,” East Carolina Psat igo East Carolina’s Dion Johnson leaps over the goal line for a touchdown in the Please see PEACH, E5> fourth quarter as North Carolina State’s Ricky Turner watches. £ H EVENT COD! lee 3 her UM Team Atlanta Tampa Bay Minnesota Dallas N.Y. Jets a teats All Taxes Incl. If Applicable ~ a ‘= «( ADM$ 11:30 A.M. sal HEAVIEST Avg. weight 290.0 286.5 286.3 285.0 282.2 Team San Diego Cleveland Chicago Philadelphia Phoenix Ow ROW iw tp a rs OX " JQN/B te x qt ; 3 : hh 24TH ANNUAL PEACH BOWL JANUARY 1, 1992 - ATLANTA-FULTON COUNTY STADI ‘wo om , ‘ N.C. State 'E. Carolina 7 10 O0 20—37 * East Carolina: Cedric Van Buren 5 pass from Jeff Blake _ 2:28. N.C. State 7, East Carolina7. -. Second quarter . North Carolina State: Todd Harrison 4 pass from Terry ’ 2:36. N.C. State 14, East Carolina 7. .. North Carolina State: Robert Hinton 14 pass from Jor- ’ North Carolina State: Greg Manior 1 run (kick . blocked), 2:34. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 3:50. N.C. State ~~ Fourth quarter The Atlanta Journal / The Atlanta Constitution SPORTS aaa Thursday, January 2, 1992 ES ~ COLLEGE FOOTBALL: EAST CAROLINA 37, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 34 Lewis: I’m not looking to move but will listen if Tech calls By Earnest Reese STAFF WRITER An hour or so after his team’s thrilling victory, over rival North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl, East Carolina coach Bill Lewis said he isn’t actively pursuing the Georgia Tech job but added, “I'd have to talk to them” if the Yellow Jackets called. Lewis, a Tech assistant 20 years ago and a mem- ber of Vince Dooley’s Georgia staff for nine years, has been mentioned repeatedly as a possible re- placement for former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Ross. Lewis insisted Wednesday, however, that he was going back to Greenville, N.C., with his team and that he is not necessarily eager to leave East Carolina. “I’ve got a job I love right now,’ Lewis said. “I work for sume of the finest people in college today, and I’m very comfortable with that.” If Lewis was actively pursuing the job, his New Year’s Day audition did nothing to hurt his chan- ces. His team’s comeback from a 17-point deficit for a 37-34 victory was not only exciting, but left: East Carolina with an 11-1 record and Lewis as one of the hottest commodities in the business. Only last month he took his name out of the run- ning for the top job at Maryland. No sooner had he done that than his name was connected with Geor- woe Z - - big 3 oa ois HE gia Tech, which would have to deal with a $380,000 buyout clause that East Carolina included in his contract. While it appears to some that there are not many more worlds to conquer at East Carolina, Lewis, a finalist for coach of the year with Miami’s Dennis Erickson, Washington’s Don James and Florida’s Steve Spurrier, begs to differ. “When we came to East Carolina, we talked about Florida State and how they turned the cor- ner,” Lewis said. ‘““‘They had to start somewhere. I think we’re building something at East Carolina that is very exciting. “Once we realized we had the capabilities, good things started to happen to us.” Returning players at East Carolina almost to a man say that losing Lewis and his staff would cer- tainly hurt the program, but not necessarily devas- tate it. “If he leaves, it would be very disappointing, and it would affect the program [adversely] a lit- tle,” junior cornerback Tim Marchmon said. “But we know how to fight through adversity. He’s taught us that, and how to believe in ourselves. I think we’d be able to carry on because of the senior leadership. We had it this year, and I think we’ll have it next year.” ¢ BY THE NUMBERS — 7 713 7—34 First quarter North Carolina State: Gary Downs 2 run (Damon Hart- man kick), 7:50. Drive: 12 plays, 68 yards, 6:09. N.C. State 7, East Carolina 0. (Anthony Brenner kick), 5:22. Drive: 6 plays, 57 yards, Jordan (Hartman kick), 14:10. Drive: 7 plays, 54 yards, East Carolina: Brenner 27 FG, 6:41. Drive: 10 plays, 61 yards, 3:43. N.C. State 14, East Carolina 10. East Carolina: Hunter Gallimore 55 pass from Blake ‘(Brenner kick), 1:39. Drive: 6 plays, 77 yards, 1:36. East Carolina 17, N.C. State 14. Third quarter dan (Hartman kick), 9:35. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 5:25. N.C. State 21, East Carolina 17. 27, East Carolina 17. North Carolina State: Charles Davenport 52 pass from Ledel George (Hartman kick), 13:01. Drive: 2 plays, 51 yards, 0:49. N.C. State 34, East Carolina 17. East Carolina: Blake 2 run (Brenner kick), 7:26. Drive: 7 plays, 32 yards, 1:58. N.C. State 34, East Carolina 24. East Carolina: Dion Johnson 17 pass from Blake (pass failed), 4:18. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 2:06. N.C. State 34, East Carolina 30. East Carolina: Luke Fisher 22 pass from Blake (Brenner. kick), 1:32. Drive: 5 plays, 41 yards, 1:05. East Carolina East Carolina players celebrate after the 37-34 victory over North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl. MARLENE KARAS/Staff Fancy passing by Blake Four TDs despite a cramped thumb By Karen Rosen STAFF WRITER Thumbs up to East Carolina quarterback Jeff Blake, who was - so effective Wednesday in the Peach Bowl that he threw his fi- nal two touchdown passes with- out the use of the thumb on his passing hand. Blake’s numbers added up to four fingers, four touchdown passes — a Peach Bowl record. The senior from Sanford, Fla., also rushed for a fourth-quarter score as East Carolina surged 37, N.C. State 34. TEAM STATS N.C. St. E.Car. First downs 20 24 Rushing 12 6 Passing 7 17 Penalty 1 1 Rushing yards 42 Rushing attempts 56 24 Yards gained 239 85 Yards lost 53 43 Passing yards 378 Attempted 24 51 Completed 16 31 Had intercepted 1 3 Total yards 383 420 Offensive plays 80 7 Yards per play 4.8 5.6 Return yards 38 53 Fumbles-lost 1-1 4-1 Penalties-yards 5-34 8-45 Interceptions-yards 3-14 1-20 Punts-yards 8-286 4-166 Average 35.8 41.5 Punt returns-yards 3-24 5-33 Kickoff returns-yards 6-142 3-104 Possession time 36:07 23:53 Third-down conversions 9-18 5-11 Sacks by-yards lost 3-17 3-33 INDIVIDUAL STATS N.C. State RUSHING Att Yds Avg & | Barbour 23 41 _ Manior 15 3.7 Downs 10 6.3 Williams 1 0.0 Jordan 6 0.0 Davenport 1 0.0 Totals 56 239 4.3 OjpOloj oo] o; olan —_ NM] SO} oO] 0] =| +/o] 0 PASSING Att Com Yds lg Jordan 23 15 145 23 George 1 Wet ea ae Totals 24 16. 197 52 w}]—|rojg RECEIVING Att Yds Avg Davenport 118 = 19.7 George ee Harrison 4.0 Shaw 3.0 Williams 30. 75 Hinton 6 1 1 2 4 2 37. 185 Totals 16 197- 12.3 we} -/ofo/=jo}/-ig PUNTING Att Yds Avg Kilpatrick Bee 86) 30.8 Totals 8 286 = 35.8 East Carolina RUSHING Att Yds Avg Blake 10 13 1.3 Van Buren 11 68 6.2 . Daniels 2 4 2.0 Johnson 1 0 0.0 Totals 24 85 3.5 PASSING Att Com Yds lg Blake 51 31 378 =55 Totals 51 31. 378 | 55 RECEIVING Att Yds Avg Fisher 12 144 = 12.0 22 Johnson 9.3, 17 Gallimore 22.6 55 Van Buren 6.0 8 Daniels -2.0 -2.0 Driver CTA au is) 21 Totals 10.5 55 PUNTING Att Yds Avg Lg Jetty 4 16641 Gi 48 4 166 41 5 48 * Totals Players, coaches agree: Rivalry should resume By Earnest Reese and Karen Rosen STAFF WRITERS If it were left up to the coach- es and the players at East Caroli- | na and North Carolina State, the series between the rivals that was discontinued four years ago would be resumed as soon as possible. “All I can do is take the same. position I’ve taken all along,” Wolfpack coach Dick Sheridan said after his team had been beaten 37-34 by the Pirates. “I’d like to see the game resume. It’s a great rivalry.” Said ECU coach Bill Lewis, who was facing the Wolfpack for the first time in his three years in Greenville, “I think it would be something very positive for the state of North Carolina. I’d like to see the game played on a regular basis. I don’t know about every year, but something could be worked out.” Officials at both schools agreed to terminate the series af- ter a brawl ensued following the Pirates’ 32-14 victory over N.C. State in 1987. “Look at what happened out, there today. There was no prob- lem — just two teams trying to prove they were the best in the state,” said Pirates center Keith Arnold, a senior from Kennesaw. “Tt would be great if the schools start playing games. How else can we prove which team is the best in the state?” Wolfpack linebacker Billy Ray Haynes, who said the Peach Bowl loss to ECU leaves him “sick to my stomach,” would like nothing more than a resumption of the series. “Tf it can be done, obviously yes,’ said Haynes, a junior who led the team in tackles. “It was a great ballgame, and I don’t know of any trouble that happened. It’s an incredible rivalry, and it’s a shame not to play it.” LOUIE FAVORITE/Staff A fumble by N.C. State’s Greg Manior is recovered by Derek Taylor in the second quarter. Stadium security stays out of fans’ way By Karen Rosen STAFF WRITER When East Carolina began its relentless comeback, and Pirate fans made ready to storm the field in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s Peach Bowl game, ' the director of stadium opera- tions and security made a de- cision. . “We'll just let them take it,” said Terri Brennan. Peach Bowl officials said there were no arrests and fans were generally well-behaved. Security officers were en- trenched in both end zones, pri- marily to guard the goal posts. The posts were safe, but fans tore up the turf with abandon, obliter- ating the S in ‘‘Pirates.” One fan filled a duffel bag with turf. NOTEBOOK Nothing was sacred, not even the players. “It’s almost as bad as the game, guys hitting you in the head and stuff,” said tight end Luke Fisher. The helmet of Pirates offen- sive tackle Tom Scott was sto- len. With Scott 6-feet-7 and 338 pounds, the helmet must have been taken while he wasn’t looking. RECORD DAY: The last Peach Bowl in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadi- um set eight records: > Attendance: 59,322, (old rec- ord 58,737 set in 1987 at the Tennes- see-Indiana Peach Bowl). > Most points by a losing team: 34 by N.C. State, (old record 29 by Il- linois in 1985). » Most passes had intercepted: three by East Carolina (ties North Carolina in 1976 and.Clemson, 1979). > Most TDs passing: Four by ECU (old record, three by six teams). > Fewest times penalized: Five by N.C. State (ties Arizona State in 1970); Georgia, 1973; and Vanderbilt 1974). > Most passes completed: 47 — ECU 31, NCSU 16 (old record 43, Illi- nois 38, Army five in 1985). > Most TD passes thrown: Four by Jeff Blake, ECU (old record. three, held by five players). > Most passes caught: 12, Luke Fisher of ECU (old record nine, by Cap Boso, Illinois in 1985; and Vic- tor Hall, Auburn, 1990). ‘past N.C. State 37-34. Blake’s right hand started cramping late in the third quar- ter. Trainers massaged his fin- gers, but the thumb was useless. “T was throwing with four fin- gers,” said Blake, “On that last touchdown, my hand was cramp- ing all over the place.” But his aim was true. “He can put the ball where it needs to be at any time,” said tight end Luke Fisher, who caught 12 passes — also a Peach Bowl record — for 144 yards and the winning TD. ‘“We’re always confident when Jeff’s back there.” Only East Carolina wanted Blake as a quarterback out of high school. This year he fin- ished seventh in the Heisman balloting after passing for 3,073 yamds, In the Peach Bowl, he completed 31 of 51 passes for 378 yards with three interceptions. “He’s got a rifle, that’s for sure,” said N.C. State linebacker Billy Ray Haines. “If there’s any, room between you and the re- ceiver, he’ll stick it in there.” However, Haines feels. Blake’s size — 6-1, 194 pounds — could eventually be a disad- | vantage. - Yet with Blake’s strong show- ing on national television, Blake’s godfather, baseball play- er Tim Raines said, “If he doesn’t deserve to play professional — as a quarterback, then something’s wrong.” “He carries that team,” said N.C. State quarterback Terry Jordan, who was 15-of-23 for 145 yards. - For. a while, however, it ap- -peared that Jordan, a senior who had broken his non-throwing arm in the fourth game of the season and had not played since, would carry his team to victory. While both quarterbacks were sacked three times, the key sack was Jordan’s. On first-and- 10 from the ECU 36, noseguard Zalm Cunmulai and defensive tackle Daryl Taylor caught him for an 18-yard loss with 26 sec- onds left. » Continued from El we were behind, you couldn’t ple chanting ‘We believe’ or ‘I believe.’ ” N.C. State coach Dick Sheri- ‘dan, whose 9-3 team failed to earn an unprecedented 10th win, couldn’t believe it. “I would’ve thought 34 points would’ve been enough.” The Pirates knew better, - coach Bill Lewis said. ‘‘When - help but hear the people in pur- © having come from behind in the fourth quarter to win three oth- er games this season. Even with Blake passing for four touch- downs and 378 yards — includ- ing 12 passes to Fisher for 144 yards — they were uneasy. “Everybody was a little scared or worried, but never gave up,” Blake said. ‘‘As long as you never give up, you’ve got a chance.” Even N.C. State split end Charles Davenport, who caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from a fullback, wasn’t comfortable with the 17-point lead the TD brought with 13:01 left.. “T told the kids we needed just one touchdown, no matter how long it takes,” Pirates of- fensive coordinator Steve Lo- gan said. “Once they got that touchdown, they looked at the scoreboard and said, ‘Hey, guess what? We’re close enough Peach: East Carolina rallies from 17-point deficit to defeat rival North to do it now.’ ”’ And the Pirates did it, even though N.C. State moved from its 29 to East Carolina’s 31 in the final 1:27. The Pirates were expecting a Hail Mary pass for the final play instead of Hart- man’s field-goal try. “T wanted to do something like that,” Wolfpack quarter- back Terry Jordan said. Said Logan, “I was shocked. My heart would’ve been in my Carolina State - throat had they thrown into the end zone. Then I was relieved because I knew at the very worst we weren’t going to lose.” Having already caught one improbable touchdown, howev- er, Davenport said he didn’t think a second was realistic. _ “A touchdown was kind of farfetched,” he said. “I think Coach Sheridan made a good decision. I have no regrets.” | Barbour 23 95 41 The Atlanta Journal / The Atlanta Constitution SPORTS xxx Thursday, January 2, 1992 ES COLLEGE FOOTBALL: EAST CAROLINA 37, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 34 Lewis: I’m not looking to move but will liste gia Tech, which would have to deal with a $380,000 buyout clause that East Carolina included in his By Earnest Reese STAFF WRITER An hour or so after his team’s thrilling victory, over rival North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl, East Carolina coach Bill Lewis said he isn’t actively pursuing the Georgia Tech job but added, “I’d have to talk to them” if the Yellow Jackets called. Lewis, a Tech assistant 20 years ago and amem- ber of Vince Dooley’s Georgia staff for nine years, has been mentioned repeatedly as a possible re- placement for former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Ross. Lewis insisted Wednesday, however, that he was going back to Greenville, N.C., with his team and that he is not necessarily eager to leave East Carolina. “T’ve got a job I love right now,” Lewis said. “I work for sume of the finest people in college today, and I’m very comfortable with that.” If Lewis was actively pursuing the job, his New Year’s Day audition did nothing to hurt his chan- ces. His team’s comeback from a 17-point deficit for a 37-34 victory was not only exciting, but left: East Carolina with an 11-1 record and Lewis as one of the hottest commodities in the business. Only last month he took his name out of the run- ning for the top job at Maryland. No sooner had he done that than his name was connected with Geor- contract. While it appears to some that there are not many more worlds to conquer at East Carolina, tate it. Lewis, a finalist for coach of the year with Miami’s Dennis Erickson, Washington’s Don James and Florida’s Steve Spurrier, begs to differ. “When we came to East Carolina, we talked about Florida State and how they turned the cor- ner,” Lewis said. “They had to start somewhere. I think we’re building something at East Carolina that is very exciting. “Once we realized we had the capabilities, good ¢ n if Tech calls things started to happen to us.” Returning players at East Carolina almost to a man say that losing Lewis and his staff would cer- tainly hurt the program, but not necessarily devas- “If he leaves, it would be very disappointing, and it would affect the program [adversely] a lit- tle,” junior cornerback Tim Marchmon said. “But we know how to fight through adversity. He’s taught us that, and how to believe in ourselves. I think we’d be able to carry on because of the senior leadership. We had it this year, and I think we’ll have it next year.” BY THE NUMBERS — ‘N.C. State 7 713 7—34 'E. Carolina 7 10 0 20—37 First quarter North Carolina State: Gary Downs 2 run (Damon Hart- man kick), 7:50. Drive: 12 plays, 68 yards, 6:09. N.C. State 7, East Carolina 0. * East Carolina: Cedric Van Buren 5 pass from Jeff Blake (Anthony Brenner kick), 5:22. Drive: 6 plays, 57 yards, 2:28, N.C. State 7, East Carolina 7. : -. Second quarter .. North Carolina State: Todd Harrison 4 pass from Terry Jordan (Hartman kick), 14:10. Drive: 7 plays, 54 yards, » 9:36. N.C. State 14, East Carolina 7. East Carolina: Brenner 27 FG, 6:41. Drive: 10 plays, 61. yards, 3:43. N.C. State 14, East Carolina 10. East Carolina: Hunter Gallimore 55 pass from Blake ‘(Brenner kick), 1:39. Drive: 6 plays, 77 yards, 1:36. East Carolina 17, N.C. State 14. Third quarter .. North Carolina State: Robert Hinton 14 pass from Jor- dan (Hartman kick), 9:35. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 5:25. N.C. State 21, East Carolina 17. North Carolina State: Greg Manior 1 run (kick «. blocked), 2:34. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 3:50. N.C. State 27, East Carolina 17. - Fourth quarter ~ North Carolina State: Charles Davenport 52 pass from Lede! George (Hartman kick), 13:01. Drive: 2 plays, 51 yards, 0:49. N.C. State 34, East Carolina 17. East Carolina: Blake 2 run (Brenner kick), 7:26. Drive: 7 plays, 32 yards, 1:58. N.C. State 34, East Carolina 24. East Carolina: Dion Johnson 17 pass from Blake (pass failed), 4:18. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 2:06. N.C. State 34, East Carolina 30. East Carolina: Luke Fisher 22 pass from Blake (Brenner. kick), 1:32. Drive: 5 plays, 41 yards, 1:05. East Carolina 37, N.C. State 34. TEAM STATS N.C. St. E.Car. First downs 20 24 Rushing 12 6 Passing 17 Penalty 1 Rushing yards 42 Rushing attempts 24 Yards gained 85 Yards lost 43 Passing yards 378 Attempted 51 Completed _ 31 Had intercepted 3 Total yards 420 Offensive plays 7 Yards per play ‘ 5.6 Return yards 53 Fumbles-lost 1-1 4-1 Penalties-yards 5-34 8-45 Interceptions-yards 3-14 1-20 Punts-yards 8-286 4-166 Average 35.8 41.5 Punt returns-yards 3-24 5-33 Kickoff returns-yards 6-142 | 3-104 Possession time 36:07 23:53 Third-down conversions 9-18 5-11 Sacks by-yards lost 3-17 3-33 INDIVIDUAL STATS N.C. State RUSHING Att Yds Avg a = Manior 15 56 o/ Downs 10 63 6.3 Williams 1 0 0.0 Jordan 6 9 0.0 Davenport 1 0 0.0 Totals 56 239 86943 PASSING Att Com Yds lg Jordan 231.450 140) 23 George 1 hat oenn oe Totals 24 16 #197 52 RECEIVING Yds Avg Davenport Vib 197 George eu ew Harrison eoty 4 40 Shaw : 6 3.0 Williams BOOED Hinton 18.5 Totals 197- 12.3 PUNTING Att Yds Kilpatrick 8 286 Totals 8 286 Olio Oj, Oo] oO; O1 Nn a w}—lnolg w|-lojo|—-jo|-ig S| S\& East Carolina RUSHING Att Yds Avg Blake a akties 1.3 Van Buren 11 68 6.2 . Daniels 2 4 2.0 Johnson 1 0 0.0 Totals 24 ~=— «85 3.5 PASSING Att Com Yds Lg East Carolina players celebrate after the 37-34 victory over North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl. MARLENE KARAS/Staff Players, coaches agree: Rivalry should resume By Earnest Reese and Karen Rosen STAFF WRITERS If it were left up to the coach- es and the players at East Caroli- © na and North Carolina State, the series between the rivals that was discontinued four years ago would be resumed as soon as possible. “All I can do is take the same | position I’ve taken all along,” Wolfpack coach Dick Sheridan said after his team had been beaten 37-34 by the Pirates. “I'd like to see the game resume. It’s a great rivalry.”’ Said ECU coach Bill Lewis, who was facing the Wolfpack for the first time in his three years in Greenville, “I think it would be something very positive for the state of North Carolina. I’d like to see the game played on a regular basis. I don’t know about every year, but something could be worked out.” Officials at both schools agreed to terminate the series af- ter a brawl ensued following the Pirates’ 32-14 victory over N.C. State in 1987. “Look at what happened out. there today. There was no prob- lem — just two teams trying to prove they were the best in the state,” said Pirates center Keith Arnold, a senior from Kennesaw. “Tt would be great if the schools start playing games. How else can we prove which team is the best in the state?”’ Wolfpack linebacker Billy Ray Haynes, who said the Peach Bowl loss to ECU leaves him “sick to my stomach,” would like nothing more than a resumption of the series. “Tf it can be done, obviously yes,” said Haynes, a junior who led the team in tackles. “It was a great ballgame, and I don’t know of any trouble that happened. It’s an incredible rivalry, and it’s a shame not to play it.” LOUIE FAVORITE/Staff A fumble by N.C. State’s Greg Manior is recovered by Derek Taylor in the second quarter. Stadium security stays out of fans’ way By Karen Rosen STAFF WRITER When East Carolina began its relentless comeback, and Pirate fans made ready to storm the field in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s Peach Bowl game, ' the director of stadium opera- tions and security made a de- cision. . “We'll just let them take it,” said Terri Brennan. Peach Bowl officials said there were no arrests and fans were generally well-behaved. Security officers were en- trenched in both end zones, pri- marily to guard the goal posts. The posts were safe, but fans tore up the turf with abandon, obliter- ating the S in “Pirates.” One fan filled a duffel bag with turf. NOTEBOOK Nothing was sacred, not even the players. “Tt’s almost as bad as the game, guys hitting you in the head and stuff,” said tight end Luke Fisher. The helmet of Pirates offen- sive tackle Tom Scott was sto- len. With Scott 6-feet-7 and 338 pounds, the helmet must have been taken while he wasn’t looking. RECORD DAY: The last Peach Bowl in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadi- um set eight records: > Attendance: 59,322, (old rec- ord 58,737 set in 1987 at the Tennes- see-Indiana Peach Bowl). > Most points by a losing team: 34 by N.C. State, (old recerd 29 by II- linois in 1985). » Most passes had intercepted: three by East Carolina (ties North Carolina in 1976 and-Clemson, 1979). > Most TDs passing: Four by ECU (old record, three by six teams). » Fewest times penalized: Five by N.C. State (ties Arizona State in 1970); Georgia, 1973; and Vanderbilt 1974). » Most passes completed: 47 — ECU 31, NCSU 16 (old record 43, Illi- nois 38, Army five in 1985). > Most TD passes thrown: Four by Jeff Blake, ECU (old record. three, held by five players). > Most passes caught: 12, Luke Fisher of ECU (old record nine, by Cap Boso, Illinois in 1985; and Vic- tor Hall, Auburn, 1990). Fancy passing by Blake Four TDs despite a cramped thumb By Karen Rosen STAFF WRITER Thumbs up to East Carolina quarterback Jeff Blake, who was - so effective Wednesday in the Peach Bowl that he threw his fi- nal two touchdown passes with- out the use of the thumb on his passing hand. Blake’s numbers added up to four fingers, four touchdown passes — a Peach Bowl record. The senior from Sanford, Fila., also rushed for a fourth-quarter score as East Carolina surged past N.C. State 37-34. Blake’s right hand started cramping late in the third quar- ter. Trainers massaged his fin- gers, but the thumb was useless. “T was throwing with four fin- gers,” said Blake, “On that last touchdown, my hand was cramp- ing all over the place.”’ But his aim was true. “He can put the ball where it needs to be at any time,” said tight end Luke Fisher, who caught 12 passes — also a Peach Bowl record — for 144 yards and the winning TD. ‘“We’re always confident when Jeff's back there.” Only East Carolina wanted Blake as a quarterback out of high school. This year he _fin- ished seventh in the Heisman balloting after passing for 3,073 yam@s, In the Peach Bowl, he completed 31 of 51 passes for 378 yards with three interceptions. “He’s got a rifle, that’s for sure,” said N.C. State linebacker Billy Ray Haines. “If there’s any. room between you and the re- ceiver, he’ll stick it in there.” However, Haines feels, Blake’s size — 6-1, 194 pounds — could eventually be a disad- | vantage. - Yet with Blake’s strong show- ing on national television, Blake’s godfather, baseball play- er Tim Raines said, “If he doesn’t deserve to play professional — as a quarterback, then something’s wrong.” “He carries that team,” said N.C. State quarterback Terry Jordan, who was 15-of-23 for 145 yards. - For.a while, however, it ap- .peared that Jordan, a senior who had broken his non-throwing arm in the fourth game of the season and had not played since, would carry his team to victory. While both quarterbacks were sacked three times, the key sack was Jordan’s. On first-and- 10 from the ECU 36, noseguard Zalm Cunmulai and defensive tackle Daryl Taylor caught him for an 18-yard loss with 26 sec- onds left. > Continued from El having come from behind in the Charles Davenport, who caught Peach: East Carolina rallies from 17-point deficit to defeat rival North to do it now.’ ” Carolina State - throat had they thrown into the 5131378 65 coach Bill Lewis said. “When - fourth quarter to win three oth-_ a 52-yard touchdown pass from And the Pirates did it, even end zone. Then I was relieved 813137855 we were behind, you couldn’t er games this season. Even with a fullback, wasn’t comfortable though N.C. State moved from ~ because I knew at the very RECEIVING _ help but hear the people in pur-' Blake passing for four touch- with the 17-point lead the TD its 29 to East Carolina’s 31 in worst we weren’t going to lose.” : Att Yds _ Avg ple chanting ‘We believe’ or ‘I downs and 378 yards —includ- _ brought with 13:01 left. the final 1:27. The Pirates were ii crite tony. eniinht Gne: Lib Lak a REEL PN 3 believe.’ ” ing 12 passes to Fisher for 144 “T told the kid ded expecting a Hail Mary pass for ; Aiea ponerse Ca 8 i-P told the Kids we neede Dp & yP improbable touchdown, howey- ore a eee N.C. State coach Dick Sheri- yards — they were uneasy. just one touchdown, no matter the final play instead of Hart- oy Davenport said he didn’t van tian seg -dan, whose 9-3 team failed to “Everybody was a little how long it takes,” Pirates of- | man’s field-goal try. tint a second was realistic. Daniels a 0 ae earn an unprecedented 10th scared or worried, but never fensive coordinator Steve Lo- “I wanted to do something Driver 185 ai win, couldn't believe it. “I gave up,” Blake said. “As long gan said. “Once they got that _ like that,” Wolfpack quarter- “A touchdown was kind of Totals 10.5 55 _ would’ve thought 34 points as younever give up, you’ve got | touchdown, they looked at the back Terry Jordan said. farfetched,” he said. “I think PUNTING would’ve been enough.” a chance.” ; scoreboard and said, ‘Hey, Said Logan, “I was shocked. Coach Sheridan made a good = ) au os ua The Pirates knew better, Even N.C. State split end guess what? We’recloseenough My heart would’ve been in my decision. I have no regrets.” ~ Totals 4 166 41548 ‘ i 2 a ee ass ae OF Ge Naar \to te, wer AGrnd 2. SH FG USh 8 1.8 7) 1 yn neane? v3 oe 1 =-29 Want an AIDS test? Get in line Local/1C Wolfpack 32, the Pirates’ 20 and the N.C. State 41. ‘| don’t like being up like that in the fourth quarter,’”’ said wide receiver Charles Davenport, who had six catches. “It seems like everybody wants to come back on us. It’s like there’s a ghost out there or BOB LEVERONE/Staff Touchdown: East Carolina receiver Dion Johnson (87) Wednesday. N.C. State's Ricky Turner (15) is too late to something.” But it was hardest on the defense, guys like senior linebacker Billy Ray Haynes. “It’s sick — you're just so sick on your stomach,” he said. ‘You're sick of yourself. It was our game to win, and we blew it. “I was going to stay in Atlanta tonight, but there's no way now. This is the worst I think I could possibly feel playing college football.” Pirates live up to their slogan: ‘I believe’ Afterward, Lewis talked about that dream for as long as anyone wanted to discuss it. “We had a dream; we had a goal,” he said. ““We thought we could take the program to the next level. We never talked in terms of wins; we set a goal of being a winning program. . “Once we started to believe that we had those capabilities, we knew good things would happen to us.” - It was almost as if Lewis tried to get his team to believe by burying it under the word. He would tell them he believed, and all his assistant coaches would follow sult. During the season, every play- er's locker had a sheet of paper saying “‘I believe” taped to it. And Lewis gave every player a T-shirt sporting the slogan as well. And finally, the Pirates really did believe. ‘As the games went on, momen- tum carried (the slogan) into a big thing,” said tight end Luke Fisher, who had 12 receptions Wednes- day. “The players, coaches and fans all believed. , ‘That's the whole story.” ooo Staff writer Ron Green Jr. con- tributed to this article. The stars: East Carolina quarter- back Jeff Blake with his remarkable finish and 378 yards passing. But there were others, like Pirates tight end Luke Fisher, who caught 12 passes for 144 yards and a touch- down, and flanker Dion Johnson, who had six catches and 137 yards in kick returns. N.C, State was led by quarterback Terry Jordan, who completed 15 of 23 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, and tail- back Anthony Barbour, who had 90 rushing yards in 23 tries. The turning point: N.C. State led 34-17 with less than 10 minutes left but a shanked Tim Kilpatrick punt traveled just 10 yards, giving ECU the ball at the Wolfpack 32. The quick score that followed got the Pirates back in the game. The key stat: All season, the Pirates have been a quick-strike offense. Wednesday, they had no touchdown drive longer than two minutes 28 seconds, and their three-score burst that won the game featured drives of 1:15, 2:06 and 1:05. Quote: N.C. State coach Dick Sheridan, on ECU's rally: ‘We knew what they were capable of doing. We missed some catches on third down and weren't able to complete them, to keep the bail for six more plays. We were playing a normal defense — not a soft prevent. It was just good execution by Jeff Blake.” Worth mentioning: Several ECU defensive players taped their ankies with yellow — or maybe Pirate gold -— tape, just for luck. But the tape was virtually the same shade as the Officials’ penalty flags, often causing some in the stands to think a flag © had been dropped when 4 yellow- taped player flashed through the crowd. ~~ Stan Olson N.C. State 7 713 7—34 East Carolina 7 100 0 20—37 NCS~—-Downs 2 run (Hartman kick) Drive: 12 plays, 68 yards. Key play: On third and 1 at the i East Carolina 37, N.C. State 34 r ECU 46, Barbour swept left for 15 yards. ECU—Van Buren 5 pass from Blake (Brenner kick) Drive: 6 plays, 57 yards. Key play: On third and 1 at the NCS 48, Blake flipped a screen pass to Fisher for 19 yards. NCS—Harrison 4 pass from Jordan (Hartman kick) Drive: 7 plays, 54 yards. Key play: On third and 2 at the ECU 46, Downs broke a quick trap up the middle for 19 yards. ECU—FG Brenner 27 Drive: 10 plays, 61 yards. Key play: Van Buren carried five of the first six plays, gaining 49 yards. ECU—Gallimore 55 pass from Blake (Brenner kick) Drive: 6 plays, 77 yards. Key play: The touchdown, as Gallimore beat Reid down the right sideline and dodged Turner at the 2 to make the catch. NCS—Hinton 14 pass from Jordan (Hartman kick) Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards. Key play: The touchdown, as Jordan hit Hinton in the right flat and he spun inside two ECU defenders. NCS—Manior 1 run (kick failed) Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards. Key piay: On third and 6 from the ECU 48, Jordan hit Davenport for 21 yards. NCS—Davenport 52 pass from George (Hartman kick) Drive: 2 plays, 5 1:yards. Key play: The touchdown, a halfback option pass on which Dave enport came back to make the catch cn the 9, Splitting 2 ECU defenders. ECU—Blake 2 run (Brenner kick) Drive: 7 plays, 32 yards. Key play: On first and 10 from the 15, Blake hit Fisher for 13 yards. ECU—Johnson 17 pass from Blake (pass failed) Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards. Key play: The key was Blake's consistency. He completed seven of nine passes on the drive for 77 yards. ECU—Fisher 22 pass from Biake (Brenner kick) Drive: 5 plays, 41 yards. Key play: Johnson’s punt return, a 27-yard burst that allowed ECU to start from the N.C. State 41. Att.—59,322 (at Atlanta). wcs ECU First downs 20 24 Rushes-Yards ......cssosceseecarsssere 56-186 24-42 Passing . 197 378 Return yards 38 53 COMP-Att-Int ........ccesececseeseeeess 16-24-1 31-51-3 Punts 3-24 §-33 Fumbles-Lost .........cccccsscecesssecsorese 1-1 4-1 Penalties-Yards ... « 5-34 8-45 Time of possession ...........s.0008 36:07 23:53 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—N.C. State: Barbour 23-90, Downs 10-63, Manior 15-54, Williams 1-(minus 3), Daven- port 1-(minus 9), Jordan 6-minus 9). East Caro- lina: Van Buren 11-65, Daniels 2-3, Johnson 1-(mi- nus 13), Blake 10-(minus 13). ‘PASSING—N.C. State: Jordan 15-23-1-145, George 1-1-0-52. East Carolina: Blake 31-51-3-378. RECEIVING—N.C. State: Davenport 6-118, Wil- liams 4-30, Hinton 2-37, Shaw 2-6, Harrison 1-4, George 1-2. East Carolina: Fisher 12-144, Johnson 6-56, Gallimore 5-113, Van Buren 5-30, Driver 2-37, Daniels 1-(minus 2). With the Pirate flag waving behind them, ECU quarterback Jeff Blake (2) and teammates celebrate their come-from-behind Peach Bowl victory ) Classic ma ECU squad keeps faith, erases 17-point deficit | By CAULTON TUDOR Staff writer ATLANTA — North Carolina’s greatest college-football rivalry may have breathed its last Wednesday in Fulton County Stadium. But what a way to go. The 24th Peach Bowl was a delicacy — a stirring 37-34 East Carolina triumph over N.C. State — that bowl officials in- stantly proclaimed their best ever. “Nothing will ever beat this for us,’ said Pirates wide re- ceiver Hunter Gallimore of Wil- son. ‘‘This is one we’ll remem- ber all of our lives.” Game MVP Jeff Blake’s 2- yard touchdown run, plus scor- ing passes of 17 and 22 yards to Dion Johnson and Luke Fisher, gave the 12th-ranked Pirates a “20-point fourth-quarter explo- sion. State, 9-2 and ranked 21st, saw a 34-17 fourth-quarter lead evap- orate. “But we never give up,”’ Blake @:id. “It’s just not our nature. We knew we had a chance, even when it was 34-17. You have to believe.”’ The Pirates’ “I Believe’ mot- - to worked one more time. Fish- er’s 22-yard TD reception with 1:32 left created the final score. NCSU drove into Pirate terri- tory and tried a 49-yard field goal on the final play of the game that would have created a tie. But Damon Hartmon’s kick ‘hen T: ae Thursday, January 2, 1992 tcl m East Carolina’s stunning come-back in the fourth quarter makes a believer out of NCSU, page 1C. missed its mark. The win was ECU’s second straight over State. The two former arch-rivals had. not played in football since the open- ing game of the 1987: season. NCSU athletics director Wil- ‘“‘Todd’’ Turner. said Wednesday that he does not anticipate future meetings. “Staff photo Shifting fortunes on field - give fans roller-coaster ride. By ROBERTSON BARRETT Staff writer ATLANTA — For the fans, it was a squeaker chock-full of cliffhangers, Pirate purple and Wolfpack. red trouncing. each other every time the ref’s cheeks puffed into a whistle. For the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, it was a dream — an all-Carolina infight that turned the normally dull bow] into the hottest stop on the cable-TV dial Wednesday. “T’ll bet nobody’s turning to the Cotton Bowl,’’ crowed. East Carolina University’ alum Jim Kelley, just as the Pirates pulled out the miracle touchdown that gave them bragging rights in every corner. of the Tar. Heel state. ee At the end, Pirates fans, young and old, rushed. the field’ — . careful not to repeat their. infa- mous. 1987 goalpost assault. Then they flooded down. the ramps, yellow .rubber sabers’ chopping up and down in sync with the full repertoire’ of ECU chants, cheers “and home-tailored jin- gles. j ‘“Eeeee. Ceeeeeeee! Ceeeeeeeee?!”’ ; Pack fans, many. dejected de- spite their. team’s. remarkable Eeeee play, didn’t hang around for the hoopla. Daniel Proctor, heading out with other red-clad NSCU students, was consumed by the Seé PEACH, page SA The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Jan. 2, 1992. ECU fans, in a frenzy for a Peach Bowl souvenir, rip Peach Bowl fans take wild ride Continued from page 1A missed last-second field goal that he insisted sailed through the posts. “Tt was a damn good goal,” he said, low and mean enough to make Clint Eastwood flinch. *‘Make no mistake,’ said his friend, Steve Bollinger, even meaner. ‘‘We WILL be back.” When the field finally cleared of fans, scads of souvenir patches of sod had been mysteriously dug up — including much of the painted ‘E’ from the Pirates’ end zone. It started out friendly enough; with 59,000 fans filling Atlanta- Fulton County Stadium, many with just. a few hours sleep after all-night New Year’s revelry in the city’s beer-soaked Under- ground district. Even more than friendly in one case. With 10:18 to go in the second quarter, a blond head from the crowd suddenly materialized on the billboard TV, and next to it: “GINA PRICE, AISLE 303, ROW 2, SEAT 105. WILL YOU:MARRY ME? TOMMIE DOUGLAS.” Up in Pirateland a few minutes’ later, Price still had her eyes fixed on the field, — gcy “I hardly saw#it. | -Was*waving at myself,” she said absent-mind- edly. ‘‘I said yes, of course.”’ So what’s more important: Pi- rates or marriage? “This is!’’ she shouted, waving her foam-rubber saber. Douglas cleared his throat and tried some damage control. “If the Pirates lose, THIS is more important,” he confided, talking about his now-official be- trothal. ‘‘But if the Pirates win His team wasn’t winning, though. With halftime closing in, the Wolfpack was up 14-10 with two strong drives. Then, a magi- cal 55-yard ECU pass sailed into Pirate’ receiver Hunter Galli- more’s hands inside the end zone. Scores of hand-held signs went up in the’ ECU stands: Pirate Power! “YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, ECU, From Page One Staff photo by Chris Seward A dejected Mike Reid of NCSU leaves the-field.after what “appeared to be’a Peach Bowl victory turned into a defeat Staff photo by Scott Sharpe up pieces of end-zone turf out to the shoulder pad and yanked him down.” Then it was on to goalpost boasts. They were coming down after the State win, ECU-style, the Pack fans vowed. Cheesehead, alias John Merritt, who came complete with a big foam-rubber slice of Swiss attached to his head, said he’d handle the goalposts himself if he had to. “Tl get it,’’ he promised: But soon, State was coming back, again and again, reaching a whopping 34-17 lead that had Wolfpack-white hankies coming down like a snowstorm. One worried ECU follower up in the stands gathered her family for a small prayer-turned-pep-talk. “Remember our buttons? ‘We believe!’ ’’ she told them. Nearby, Jimmy Haggans of Greenville was slouching in the aisle, his saber already stuffed disconsolately into his leather jacket, ,wondering whether his ‘Pirates could come back. “I don’t think so,’ he said. “They WERE doing it. They SHOULD have done it. But they made too many mental errors. But there’s always that possibili- tyne Just then, ECU’s Dion Johnson picked the ball out of midair and cut through two lines of Wolfpack defense. — then caught another pass. Behind the end zone, where rivals were all mixed up together, the-State ‘‘De-fense’”’ and Pirate *“‘Di-on’”’. cries had a harmonic convergence. ~~ Thenhalf-thestadium went ‘upper reaches. “They picked the right place to play this game,’’ ECU junior Lee Howerin said. ‘Seems like all year long, they get a little behind, but all they need is a wake-up call. Once the fans get behind ’em, that’s all we need.” Outside in the beer lines; the NCSU faces were somber. “State’s getting robbed!’’ said Joel Terrell,” one rattled NSCU student. ‘“‘I mean, face-mask? Where’d the ref go to learn anato- my at? ECU? If I were defending that guy, I- would have reached i ‘Remember our buttons? ‘‘We believe!’’ — ECU fan, addressing her family “@lectric? Luke Fisher grabbed a ' pass for'a’22-yard ECU touchdown and. a three-point, out-from-the- cellar edge for ECU with the clock ticking down to the final minutes. It was so close that a few Pirate and Wolfpack fans found them- selves cheering with each other. ‘It’s too. much fun, with. too much old football rivalry to con- sider it over,’’ said Steve Chris- tian, despite his ties to alma mater ECU. ‘‘When you have an ECU fan and a State fan high-fiv- ing each other, that’s a great game. I think that has got.to be one of the best bowl games I’ve ever seen,’ His girlfriend, Robin Berkowitz, was just trying to keep up — even wishing she were from North Carolina. “I’ve never seen anything like it,”’ she said. “It’s a war between the state.”’ Section oo Thursday, January 2, 1992 The News & Observer Cool-hands Luke hauls in the winne Blake writes obit, 1 24.9 y) but it’s the Pack’s TLANTA — I believe. I really do. Let me explain. ‘With 8:41 remaining in the Peach Bowl, N.C. State is leading East Carolina 84-17, Computer terminals are cranking up, spewing out the obituary for these darling Pirates who had stolen the fancy of the col- lege football world. . But wait, Jeff Blake stirs. | He runs 2 yards for a touchdown. ECU trails 34-24. . He throws a 17-yard pass to Dion Johnson to cap an 80-yard drive. Now it’s 34-30, with 4:18 remaining. The ECU rooting section roars to life, slashing their sabers, implor- ing the Pirates for one last hurrah. The Wolfpackers answer, pleading with their he- roes to hold the line. And Blake breaks their hearts. He throws a 22-yard pass to Luke Fisher for one last touchdown. ECU leads, 37-34. A minute and 32 seconds remain. ‘State bullies its way up the field. The clock ticks. The Pack huffs and puffs. Too late. Now I believe. I really do. . So does a record crowd of 59,322, though half of them reluctantly. Those in purple scream to the heavens. Those in red cringe as the clock clicks. - Pirate players celebrate, hugging and cheering, then offer a hand to the van- quished. There are no incidents, nothing ug- ly, just spent warriors deserting the battle- 1) Ss ae . ‘The game is a showcase for Blake. He can do anything. He deals in miracles. The Pi- rates were behind eight times this year; they won seven of the games. , Cinderella lives; Superman flies; mira- ‘cles happen. Yes, I believe. I really do. « Blake was unstoppable in the fourth quar- ‘ter: With one eye on the clock, the other on ‘the Pack, he was a cold-blooded hit man. - You can cheer the winner. But don’t forget the team with 34 points. State played hard. ‘It had a good. game plan and was swinging -with all its might until a last-play field goal fell just to the right of glory. * “T would have thought 34 points would ‘have been enough,”’ said Dick Sheridan, the Wolfpack coach. : Usually it would have been. But East ‘Carolina believed. Jeff Blake makes faith easy. : . And folks, you won’t see a better game. It five-receiver routes, and Jeff _ Blake picked us apart with that ack to accept ‘| never like to lose, but Lith all the extra stuff going on, on and off the field, it made it hard to lose to that team.’ — Mark Thomas Wolfpack tackle © rifle arrh* “They were runnin ga lot uf sf bick plays, even off the - referees. That’s illegal, but nobody calls it. We just couldn’t keep up with them. ‘‘We knew they could come back in the fourth quarter because they had done it all year. It was our game to win and there’s nobody to blame but ourselves.”’ For most of the cool, windy, overcast day, the Pack operated its game plan to perfection, pleas- ing the Wolfpack faithful among the record bow! crowd of 59,322 at Atlanta2?Fulton County ‘Stadium. With junior Terry Jordan back at quarterback, State efficiently blended option running with time- ly throws and opened up. the offense more in the second half to get the ball in the hands of senior star Charles Davenport. The Wolfpack defense, mean- while, kept Blake in check for the most part, picking off three pass- es. “We were getting back to the defense we had at the beginning of Shigt ess Wolfpack fans Ceeuras in fhe third quarter, when State ownee the field, ebb the bottom fell out: the year,’’ senior tackle Mark Thomas said. ‘‘We didn’t give up any points in the third quarter, and we were standing on the sideline saying we wanted to shut them out for the second half. ‘“‘There’s' just no excuse for giving up 20 points in the fourth quarter. I never said to myself, ‘The game’s over,’ but in the back of my mind I thought there’s no way we’re going to lose a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. ‘There was a bad punt and then a punt return by them that gave them great field position. But there’s no excuse for not stopping them.”’ Thomas, fighting back tears, called it.a bitter loss. He made that point emphatically. “I never like to lose, but with all the extra stuff going on, on and off the field, it made it hard to lose to that team,” he said. ‘‘Most of their guys are great guys, and I can respect someone who knocks you on your back and says ‘Good job.’ But to just tell a gute ie photo oy Scott Sharpe * you what they’re gonna do — I have no respect for some of them. Talk is cheap.” Despite seeing ECU push into the lead with 1:32 left, the Pack nearly staged another fourth- quarter comeback of its own. State bolted to the ECU 36, only to see Jordan sacked for a critical 18-yard loss with 15 seconds re- | maining. “T tried to run around rather | than running up into the pocket,”’ Jordan said. ‘‘That’s a cardinal sin for a quarterback.”’ After a completion, just ‘six seconds were left and the Pack was at the ECU 31. It was decision time — one last pass to the end zone or a field goal attempt by Damon Hartman. “I wanted to go for a victory pass,”’ Jordan said. ‘‘Maybe go trips [three receivers] on one side, throw it up and let Charles come down with it. “But a tie would have been better than a loss. I was just hoping Damon would make it.”’ Hartman’s 49-yard attempt was long enough but just wide to the right. The game was over and the Wolfpack beaten, ending the sea-. @ son 9-3. ‘It wasn’t a matter of one team wanting it more than the other,” Haynes said. ‘‘Nobody wanted it more than we did, which makes it so hard to accept. ‘I’m just sick.”’ Charles 7 Davenport , NCSU Diary Big effort helps: console Pack ©. >: don’t feel that bad,even .*, | though we lost. ie The reason I can say that i Is, that I think the guys gave a 100--**- percent effort, a helluva effort: ('d- really have felt bad if I thought we didn’t play hard. The outcome wasn’t what we wanted, of course. But you’ve got. to credit ECU. ECU made the big plays when they had to and wey simply didn’t. At the end, it would have been’: - nice to go for a touchdown. But:we were a little too far out, out about. the 30- or 35-yard line, so I think’ ° we made the right decision in let." J ting [Damon] Hartman go for the field goal. You win some and you lose some. That’s just the game of life. The only thing Ireally regret» * about the game is that I think on’ -” one or two plays, I could have**: gone a little harder and tried to make something happen a little: better than I did. I’m not happy with that. At 34-17, I wasn’t completely” comfortable. I knew they could |’ score, but I didn’t count on them” -~ scoring that quickly. Jeff Blaké did a great job with his people... ~ When he needed to find them, he.” found them and they made good. catches. They did what they had to do- a. respect their offense. I said all’ : along Blake’s a great quarter- ~ back, and I hope to see him goon ~ to the next level and do well. We were prepared for ECU, of- fensively. We were just one or: two: : plays away from getting it done — : a catch here, arun there. That’ S frustrating. But again, in games like this, r can’t complain, even though we = came up short. The effort was |, there. The guys didn’t quit, didn’ t. give up. If we had tied the game up on ° that field goal, I wouldn’t feel a8“ bad now. But we played hard and ©, things don’t always work out like” you want them to. It’s been a great season for us.’ It would have been great to finish ~ it with a victory in Atlanta on New - Year's Day, but that’s life. You’ve- got to accept itand move on. “+” se a Charles Davenport is a senior rs wide receiver for N.C. State from Fayetteville. AFTER CHRISTMAS SPECIALS. ULTRA IRONS Dynamic Gold Shaft 3-pw 32.99% 2 Sets in Stock Maxfli DDH X OUTS 15 Ball Pack $1799 Feotzley. Green Joys Style 45158 : $9999 Soft Joy II Style 53181. "SALE ENDS SATURDAY THE 4" HOURS: MON.-SAT. 10-6 Raleigh Tire i Service Center} Special Tire Prices. On Most Brands © : Minor & Major Repairsi FREE ESTIMATES: '@ Reasonable Prices... | CALL AND SAVE 755-1971 Be sooty peprhtiee BLVD. GLOVES “| FJ STAYSOFT II G11®§ WEATHER SOFT 9° DIAWA DPF 89. TOMMY ARMOUR ' 845 Silver Scot © 3-pw “399” Prestwick Plus *32” *'} "Air Hamstead *44” © SEVERAL ETONICSTYLES MEN’ s & LADIES Raleigh 3306 Capital Blvd. +, Across from Putt-Putt Center ‘ In Starmount Center 876-7835 The Peach Bowl / East Carolina 37, N.C. State 34 A. cause worth rallying for ' TLANTA — Un-“‘I Be- : lieve’’-able. ! To steal a word or two from a phrase East Carolina foot- ball fans turned into a religion, that was the feeling the Pirates and N.C. State left in the Peach Bowl. And in near-freezing tempera- tures and with the Pirates down 34-17 in the fourth quarter, thou- sands of ECU fans stood by their conviction — the simple sentence, “I Believe.” “‘Those fans helped us win this game. They really did,”’ Pirates quarterback Jeff Blake said after the 37-34 victory that his touch- down passes made possible. ‘‘We heard them up there all along. We knew they wouldn’t give up on us, and we knew we wouldn’t give up, either. That’s the spirit ECU lives by.”’ Never was that creed more fully tested than Wednesday afternoon under gray skies in Atlanta-Ful- ton County Stadium. State erased a 17-14 halftime deficit and nearly blew the Pirates out of the nation- al top 20 with a third-quarter ex- plosion and an early fourth-quar- ter razzle-dazzle touchdown play that hit most of ECU’s fans right in the face. But almost the moment after Damon Hartman’s extra-point kick cleared the north end-zone crossbar, hundreds of ECU fans behind it started an “‘I Believe”’ chant. Those cheers and what ensued forever will be remembered by Pirate fans as The Rally. Ironically those same fans were in the direct line of flight for a last-second field goal attempt by Hartman that missed to the right from 49 yards. The north end-zone area erupt- ed in a celebration that made some ECU officials hold their breath one last time. When the celebration did not deteriorate, ECU’s perfect day was complete. . -Thousands of Pirate fans spilled onto the playing field. The ‘‘E”’ in the P-I-R-A-T-E lettering on the Hae ‘They never did sit down.’ Officer in stadium about ECU fans “south end zone was dug up by a -dozen or so fans. But stadium se- -Curity officials reported no fights, “no confrontations. ~. “No problem,” said an armed “officer stationed beneath one set “of goal posts. ‘‘Those people up ‘there in purple are just what I would call great fans. Not a one made a move at the goals that I ‘saw. They look like to me the kind of fans every team would want. “They never did sit down.”’ Indeed not. In fact, most of the ‘record crowd of 59,322 stood ‘throughout the game. Only at half- time, when many of those fans en- ‘dured long lines to pay two bucks for a small cup of coffee and high- ser prices for other refreshments, “were many of the seats used. . “Everything out there went like va charm, just like we had hoped “andexpected, ”” said Peach execu- tive director Robert Dale Morgan. “Tere weren’t any incidents at ‘all that I know about.’’ The chants and jeering went back and forth across the arena “but in the spirit of good-natured ri- valry. Each ‘‘Hey, Hey, EC, You Look So Good to Me”’ was count- ered by a ‘“‘Hey, Hey, EC, You Look Like Hell to Me.”’ ' State’s fans furiously met ‘ECU’s yellow foam-rubber sabers with their own white towels. There: was:a loud, steady buzz until the end, when many dejected State fans vowed that contrary to Ath- letics Director Todd Turner’s feel- ings, there would be future foot- ball:games between State and ECU. ’ .Three minutes after the game : Was over, a fan unveiled a new version of a sweatshirt popular with Pirates throughout the week +; “Beat State’’ on the front and Again” on the back. The updated wording had ‘‘Beat State”’ on the front and ‘‘Again and Again” on the reverse. _ Asked whether he thought this would be ECU’s last meeting with State, Blake said he hoped not. . “But if it is, we gave ’em one to -yemember,”’ he said. ‘‘I saw those fans on both sides — ours and theirs. I know they were all excit- e : 99 ' ‘Delighted Peach officials were more emphatic. . “Let’s see another bowl top that!’’ said A. Neill Cameron, chairman of the Peach Bowl board of directors. ‘‘I don’t think it'll happen for a long, long time.’’ Believers all. That is what ECU’s 11-1 dream season — one bad officiating call at Illinois short of perhaps 11-0-1 or even 12-0 «- made of everyone. N.C. State tailback Anthony Barbour is stopped by Tony Davis (53) and Bernard Carter (80) as other Staff photo by Scott hiavne Pirates close in Pirates had a surprise for their coach ATLANTA — One day in De- cember, East Carolina coach Bill Lewis missed a Pirate practice to attend an important Peach Bowl meeting. When he returned the next day, he was surprised to see his team firing away from a shotgun of- fense. “They were throwing the ball all over the field,’’ Lewis recalled. “I asked Steve Logan [ECU’s co-offensive coordinator], ‘What are they doing out there?’ ‘He said: ‘It looked great yes- terday; just be patient, Coach.’ I had also missed a few offensive meetings when it was being con- sidered. They wanted to see my reaction.”’ Wisely, the Pirates kept the formation in their diversified ar- senal. And in the Peach Bowl, with quarterback Jeff Blake as the trigger man, ECU let N.C. State have it with both barrels. “‘We felt with Jeff in the shotgun it would give him a better look and a little more time,” said Lewis, who watched his 11-1 Pirates rally from a 34-17 fourth-period deficit to win a 37-34 thriller Wednesday. East Carolina operated from the shotgun briefly in the first half, but used it almost exclusive- ly on its three scoring drives in the final eight minutes, 41 seconds. “I was waiting the whole game for Jeff to get in a: rhythm,” Staff photo by Chris Seward Bill Lewis speaks to Pirates fans on the field after the victory Lewis says there’s been no discussion with Tech ATLANTA — Bill Lewis’ job status did not become an issue New Year’s Day. The only item on East Caro- lina’s agenda was beating N.C, State in the 24th Peach Bowl. The Pirates did that, and in remarkable fashion, with a 37-34 comeback victory in what Peach officials called their best game ever. But soon after ECU quarter- back Jeff Blake received the most valuable player award, he pre- dicted Lewis, the Pirates’ third- year coach, would be back in Greenville for the 1992 season and not at Georgia Tech. “I know he’s not leaving,” Blake said. ‘I know that for sure.”’ Asked how he could be so certain, Blake smiled and said, ‘‘I just know, that’s all.” Blake and other Pirates players were more concerned with cele- brating their 11th win of the season and the cherished triumph over a former annual rival than dabbling in speculation. But Blake said Lewis had not announced his plans to the team. ‘“‘He just told us that he hadn’t talked to Georgia Tech or anyone else,’’ Blake said. Lewis, reported to be the No. 1 target to replace Bobby Ross, would not discuss the subject. He repeated that there had been no discussions with the Atlantic Coast Conference school. “It would not be appropriate to comment on that because I have not talked with anybody from Georgia Tech,”’ he said. ECU assistant athletics director Charlie Carr also said he had not been contacted by Tech. A Georgia Tech official said that if the school requested per- mission to interview Lewis, it would not talk with him until next week. Lewis, Tech assistant coach George O’Leary and head coaches Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech and Jim Donnan of Marshall are believed to be the leading candi- dates for the Tech job. But Beamer said Wednesday that he had no plans to take the position. “At this point in time, it is my intention to remain at Virginia Tech and continue to develop the football program here,’’ Beamer said in a statement. “T have not ... been contacted by officials at Georgia Tech re- garding the head coaching job there.”’ O’Leary and Ralph: Friedgen, Tech’s offensive coordinator, both said Wednesday they would be candidates to replace Ross as the Yellow Jackets’ coach. ~ CAULTON TUDOR 4 : Logan said. ‘‘So with eight min- utes left we put in the gun. He called the plays on the first drive. “Then I checked with him on the phones and he said he wanted me to call ’em. He said he was tired and didn’t want to foul up anything. So I flashed signals to him on the last two drives.”’ On the final three scoring marches, Blake ran for one touch- down and passed for two. He was at his brilliant best, hitting eight of 10 throws an an 80-yard journey that pulled ECU within 34-30. ‘“‘Our whole season has been this way, but this is as good a come- back as any I’ve been around,” Logan said. “Once Jeff gets in a rhythm, Renewal of Pack-Pirates series unlikely ATLANTA — Even though fans, coaches and players want to see the N.C. State-East Carolina regu- lar-season series renewed, Wolf- pack athletics director Todd Turn- er said Wednesday that it wasn’t likely. “Playing them is just fine; it just doesn’t meet the scheduling criteria at each school,’ Turner said. Turner said that State need- ed to play six home games each season and couldn’t do that if it met ECU’s demand that some of the series games be played in Greenville. ‘‘That would mean every other year we would have only five home games,’ Turner said. “I just can’t see us getting through this impasse. Also, we are pretty much solidly scheduled through 2000.”’ East Carolina athletics director Dave Hart Jr. said he didn’t think the impact of Wednesday’s Peach Bowl, with its sellout crowd and record payoff, would alter ‘‘the impasse.” ‘BOXSCORE First downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Return yards Comp-att-int Sacked by-yards Punts-average Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of possession N.C. State 7713 7—34 East Carolina 710 0 20—37 Scoring summary First: NCSU—Downs 2 (Hartman kick), 7:50; Drive: 12 plays, 68 yards, key play—Barhbaur 15 gain on 3rd-and-1 at State 46. ECU—Van Buren 5 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 5:22; Drive: 6 plays, 57 yards, key play—Blake 19 pass to Fisher on 3rd-and-] at ECU 48. Second: NCSU—Harrison 4 pass from Jordan (Hartman kick), 14:10; Drive: 8 plays, 54 yards, key play—Downs 19 run on 3rd-and-2 from State 46. ECU-—FG Brenner 27, 6:41; Drive: 10 plays, 61 yards, key play—Van Buren runs totaling 62 yards. ECU— Gallimore 55 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 1:39; Drive: 6 plays, 77 yards, key play—the touchdown pass. Third: NCSU—Hinton 14 pass from Jordan (Hart- man kick), 9:35; Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, key play-—-Mainor 4 run on 4th-ond-! at ECU 36-yard line. NCSU—Manior } run (kick foiled), 2:34; Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, key ploy-—Jordan 17 pass to Deven- port on 3rd-and-9 from State 30. ' Fourth: NCSU—Davenport 52 pass from George (Hartman kick), 13:01; Drive; 2 plays, 5) yards, key play—ECU’s Dion Johnson fumbled punt near mid- field and State’s Santee recovered. ECU—Blake2run . (Brenner kick), 7:26; Drive: 7 plays, 32 yards, key play—Kilpatrick’s short punt gave ECU possession at State 32. ECU—Johnson 17 pass from Blake (pass failed), 4:18; Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, key play— Blake 21 pass fo Driver on 2nd-and-10 at ECU 34. ECU—Fisher 22 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 1:32; Drive: 5 plays, 41 yards, key play—Johnson’s 27-yard punt return. Individual statistics Rushing: N.C, State — Barbour 23-90, Downs 10-63, Manior 15-54, Williams 1-(-3), Davenport 1-(-9), Jor- dan 6-(-9); East Carolina —- Van Buren 11-65, Daniels 2-3, Johnson 1-(-13), Blake 10-(-13). Passing: N.C. State — Jordan 15-23-1—145, George 1-1-0—52; East Carolina — Blake 31-5)-3—378, Receiving: N.C. State — Davenport 6-118, Wil- liams 4-30, Hinton 2-37, Shaw 2-6, Harrison 1-4, George 1-2; East Carolina — Fisher 12-144, Johnson 6-56, Gallimore 5-113, Van Buren 5-30, Driver 2-37, Daniels 1-(-2). Tackies: N.C. State — Haynes 14, Reid 10, Savage 5, Merritt 5, Lawrence 5, Akins 5; East Carolina — Jones 16, Grandison 11, Carter 9, Walker 9, Davis 8, Dillon 7, Washington 7, Gardill. A—-59,322. nothing stops him. Also, Jeff and | all five receivers were on the same page.”’ Fisher caught 12 passes for 144 yards and the game-winning TD. “I never gave up,” Blake said. Neither did Gallimore, Fisher nor the fans, who were waving a ‘We Believe” banner and doing the saber slash even when ECU trailed by 17. “When Jeff’s on, we just don’t believe anybody can stop us,”’ Fisher said. And with 1:32 left, it was a 22-yard toss from Blake to Fisher that provided the decisive points. It was the last, deadly blast from the Pirates’ shotgun. ye2-yard TD:irun Hunter Gailimore ECU Diary A brief pause to savor victory TLANTA — This morning, A I could hardly eat. I did eat just one bow! of cereal. It was a nervous time. When we got to the field, the welcome from the fans was out- standing. That helped us. I couldn’t have painted a more perfect finish. We never stopped believing. I never dreamed I could be one of the leading receivers in the Peach Bowl and score a TD. This is the best game of my career. When we got behind, we went to the shotgun. We knew we could throw the football. Jeff Blake did a great job. Then, it was a tremendous feel- ing to see all the fans come out on the field. That meant a lot to us. In the dressing room, it was really emotional. We’re really go- ing to miss this, but we’ll stay in touch with everybody. I’m going to rest some now. I’m going to take a vacation. Hunter Gallimore is a senior wide receiver for East Carolina from Wilson. TURNAROUND: Sometimes there isn’t a quarter’s difference between a goat and a hero. Early in the fourth period of the Peach Bowl, East Carolina’s Dion Johnson fumbled a punt near midfield. N.C. State recovered and promptly marched in for a touchdown and a 34-17 lead. “| patted Dion on the shoulder and told him he would have some more chances to contribute,’’ Pirates coach Bill Lewis said. “‘He’s a competitor.” Johnson, a 5-foot-8, 164-pounder, quickly made up for his miscue. He caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Blake with 4:18 left to help the Pirates cut State’s lead to 34-30. Then he returned a punt 27 yards to the State 42-yard line, giving East Carolina superb field position with 2:37 remaining. A few snaps later the Pirates scored the winning touchdown. ~ A.J. CARR Geemm- N.C. State East Carolina , punt lays, 57 Ri hind bint TD pass End at quarter ~teoncenmecincecom 4 pays, A yare 4 ‘dave 15 yards, intefcepti Os ponsienate 842040, Sete G10 20 30 40 50 40 30 20 10 |G a 8 plays, "54 yards, Fyard TD pass: : 3 plays, 2 yards, punt = : ig plays, é: yards, punt plays, 61 yards, 27-yard FG punt ie yat 5 -yare ee plays, 4 yards. punt lays, -2 yards; intereeptio fp 10 20 30 n, halftime ce. 40.50 40 30 20 10 iG yards, punt plays, 58 yards, 14- 4-yard TD pags , a Prana 2 plays, +11 pane, intoreepti ante. 4 plays, 2 yards, mis$ed 45 71 yards, 1 -yard TD fun oR. 23 3 yards, ipu nt G10 20 30 40 50 40 30 20 10 lend of quarter , FROM PAGE ONE The Daily Reflector, Greenville, N.C. The Daily Reflector/Michael Hall Fans gather at Kinston to welcome the returning Pirates after their victory in the Peach Bowl. January 2, 1992 P.O. Box 10629 — Goldsboro, N. C. 27532 20 Pages—2 Sections | Ste sceen eres ae ee {tome ronnet: TTS : aan seers tertemrentt Associated Press Marc Washington (99), other East Carolina players celebrate after win over N.C. State. Story on 1B Throng of ‘believers’ greets happy Pirates KINSTON (AP) — Hundreds: of ‘‘believers’’ were waiting at the Kinston airport when the East Carolina football team arrived home after its ex- citing Peach Bowl victory over North Carolina State. About 500 people greeted coach Bill Lewis and his team when they arrived Wednesday night after defeating the Wolfpack 37-34 in Atlanta, many carrying signs depicting the Pirates’ slogan for the season, ‘‘I believe.”’ The first and possibly loudest cheer went for Lewis, who cradled the game trophy in his arms as he stepped off the plane. Fans stopped Lewis and his players as soon as they walked through the airport doors, begging them for autographs. ‘The whole day, the whole experience of being able to go into the stadium, see the fans there, see their reaction after the game and then to come back to this ... it’s what this program — this foot- ball team’s all about,’’ Lewis told Raleigh televi- sion station WRAL. ECU alumnus Hilda Marshburn had watched the game at home with family members. ‘‘We thought this is something we could do in the place of not going to the Peach Bowl,’ Ms. Marshburn told The Daily Reflector of Greenville. Bowl results at a glance BOWL “We were just jumping up and down. If the foundation of my floor was not sturdy, we would have fallen completely through.” Some welcomers decided to stop short of the airport. Cars flying ECU flags dotted the 30-mile stretch of highway coming from the airport. Pas- sengers waited outside their vehicles to ensure the team was cheered all the way to Greenville. Hours after the team’s arrival, motorists in Greenville continued to honk their horns in victo- ry. The N.C. State football team arrived home in Raleigh about 7 p.m. - (USPS 221 42 Thursday, January 2,1992 A.7 Idaho capitol is hit by fire THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BOISE, Idaho — Fire heavily damaged several offices in Idaho’s State Capitol on Wednesday before firefighters contained it. Flames shot out a broken window and up the side of the 80-year-old granite building. The fire engulfed several small rooms in the attorney general’s of- fices on the four-story building’s second floor, then quickly spread to legislative committee rooms on the third floor. The rotunda ap- parently wasn’t affected. A Capitol security guard, who discovered the fire, and a reporter were the only people in the build- ing. on the New Year’s holiday. They fled uninjured. Firefighters faced thick smoke and rapidly advancing flames, but controlled the blaze within 45 minutes, Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said. The cause wasn’t immediately known, Fraijo said. The damage “‘is going to be con- siderably serious, probably be- cause of a lot of valuable informa- tion that was lost,’’ Fraijo said. Computer equipment was located in the offices on both floors. The attorney general’s of- fices also held many law books and documents. “It looks like what I’ve seen so far, we took the major damage,”’ Attorney General Larry EchoHawk said. ‘‘Of course we’ve got some valuable records.” PAYOUT/ RESULT TEAM ATT. MVP(s) created enough noise to make up for the 20,000 ECU fans who saw the game in Atlanta. And the fans that greeted the team home were just as loyal. ‘‘The whole time they were down by 17,” said Greta Tur- Raisin Bowling Green 28, Fresno State 21 $250,000 34,825 Lk ALS ona B. Green; QB Mark Barsotti, . resno St. Heritage Alabama State 36, North Carolina A&T 13 $150,000 7,724 QB Ricky Jones, Alabama State + 650,000 34,433 RB Tommy Vardell, Stanford; QB Shawn Jones, Aloha Georgia Tech 18, Stanford $ tibiae, Blockbuster Alabama 30, Colorado 25 $3 million 52,644 WR David Palmer, Alabama ia 24, Arkansas 15 ° $650,000 46,932 FLK Andre Hastings, ILB Torre i ississippi 1,497 QB Rob Perez, Air Force nage of Deep Run, ‘‘we were Air Force 38, Mississippi State 15 $900,000 61,49 irgini illion 62,003 QB Cale Gundy, Okla.; DB Tyrone Lewis, Va. down on our knees praying.” Gator Oklahoma 48, Virginia 14 $1.2 mi i 1.3 million 60,646 QB Ty Detmer, BYU; DB Josh Arnold, BYU; DB cre een : Carlos James, lowa 7a 1 milli Arnold Ale, UCLA _. ; | John Hancock UCLA 6, Illinois 3 $1 million 42,821 ILB 7 singlet he cape nes 2h er STO ee aro cae sees ere ° . H e a . ’ ’ ‘4 If you have nese tee Meth Peach East Carolina 37, N.C. State 34 $900,000 Caroina; LB silly Ray Haynes, N.C. State; QB any crime committed in Pi | 1 _ Terry Jordan, N.C. State County, call Crime Stop- : | ill 57,789 QB Marvin Graves, Syracuse 58." Hall of Fame Syracuse 24, Ohio State 17 $1 million , Syracuse yer, eg Ne do ae Citrus Caifornia 37, Clemson 13 $1.35 million 64,192 _QB Mike Pawlawski, California ag iss ate y sath Cotton Florida State 10, Texas A&M 2 $3.1 million 73,728 RB Sean Jackson, FSU; S Chris Crooms, A&M be can be pai 4 e in- Fiesta Penn State 42, Tennessee 17 $2 million _71,133_WR O.J. McDuffie, OLB Reggie Givens, PSU vo bt a : ~ Washington 34, Michigan 14 $6.5 million 103,566 DL Steve Emtman, QB Billy Joe Hobert, Wash. | Orange - Miami (Fla.) 22, Nebraska 0 $4.2 million 77,747 RB Larry Jones, Miami Sugar Notre Dame 39, Florida 28 $3.6 million 76,447 FB Jerome Bettis, Notre Dame The Daily Reflector Thursday,January 2, 1992 Carolina quarterback Jeff Blake, the Peach Bowl ““We’ve been called a Cinderella story all year. Cinderella went to a ball tonight and got married. She’s queen now. The feeling’s unbelievable... now I guess we know who’s the best in North Caroli- na.”’ —Keith Arnold ECU center Most Valuable Offensive Sports Pirate comeback just peachy The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis Pirate tight end Luke Fisher broke the Peach Bowl record with 12 catches for 144 yards and caught the game-winner. Van Buren timely By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — East Carolina’s Cedric Van Buren may never have been in a better place at a better time. And thanks to his recovery of a Luke Fisher fumble, ECU was able to complete an unbelievable 37-34 comeback win. over N.C. State in Wednesday’s Peach Bowl. “‘T saw one of the North Carolina State defenders pull the ball loose,’ said Van Buren, a 5-10, 185-pound junior running back. “‘It just popped my way and I dropped on it. I knew we had to have the ball.”’ ECU, which trailed as much as 34-17 in the fourth quarter, was on what proved to be the winning drive when Van Buren came up with the loose ball at the Wolfpack 30. After getting his hands on one of Jeff Blake’s 51 passes, Fisher was sandwiched by two defenders and was stripped of the ball. Van Buren, trailing the play, dove to the turf to beat a host of converg- ing white shirts. After Van Buren’s recovery, the Pirates needed just three plays to punch it in. The score, with only 1:32 to go, came on a 22-yard pass from Blake to Fisher. The Wolfpack’s Damon Hart- man missed a 49-yard field goal attempt on the game’s final play, giving ECU its 11th straight win . for ECU “That’s probably the greatest feeling I’ve ever had,’’ Van Buren said. ‘“‘The fans were great. “It’s just totally incredible look- ing at where East Carolina was and where East Carolina is now.” Van Buren did his part to help put the finishing touches on an 11-1 dream season. He caught an 8- yard pass in a 32-yard drive that made it 34-24, then had three cat- ches for 16 yards in an 80-yard drive that made it 34-30. Van Buren’s only other catch was for a first-quarter touchdown. On first-and-goal from. the five, Van Buren lined up a couple of steps behind Blake and drifted to the front corner of the end ‘zone where he found himself all alone. “Tt was 142 Cajun and what happens is I hide behind the quar- terback and run a flat route,’’ Van Buren said. ‘The cornerback ‘See VAN BUREN, D-5) © College Football ¢ College Basketball ® Scoreboard The Daily Reflector/Shannon Wolfe Player, scrambles away from N.C, State’s Mark Thomas. ECU’s big gun omes through By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — The time between the end of the regular season and a bowl game gives teams a chance to put in a few new wrinkles. East Carolina added _ the shotgun, loaded it up in the fourth quarter and had both barrels smoking in a 37-34 comeback win over N.C. State in the 24th annual Peach Bowl. Quarterback Jeff Blake, named ECU’s offensive player of the game, directed three touchdown drives in a seven-minute span as the Pirates rallied from a 34-17 deficit. “We had been practicing (the shotgun) for a month,” Blake said. “I think N.C. State was un- prepared for it. The Pirates used the shotgun once in the first half, but went to it almost exclusively after falling behind by 17 with 8:41 to go. The Pirates saturated the field with five receivers and found the cracks in a soft Wolfpack defense that was sending, just four in the pass rush. On the final three drives, Blake hit 15 of 21 passes for 148 yards. He finished 31 of 51 with a bowl- record four touchdown passes. “We had joked about it early in the season and the coaches seem- ed a little hesitant,’ siad center Keith Arnold, who delivered Blake the snaps in the shotgun forma- tion. ‘‘We had three weeks to prac- tice it. I was tickled to death. It was a change, we had a good time with it and it seemed to pay off.”’ Blake called his own plays in a seven-play drive that got ECU within 34-24. He scored the TD on a 2-yard run. (See SHOTGUN, D-5) Bowl win over Pac caps 11-1 season By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — The perfect script now has the perfect ending. And a team that always believed it could did something truly unbelievable. It was done with thrills and chills, suspense to the very end: But what did you expect? Down 34-17 with 8:41 to go and its never-say-die fans chanting ‘‘We believe’? East Carolina mustered an incredible rally Wed- nesday to overcome N.C. State 37-34 in the 24th annual Peach Bowl. The fitting end to a’ story- book season leaves the Pirates 11-1. ‘‘When we were behind 17 points you couldn’t help but hear the people dressed in purple chanting that they believe,” ECU head coach Bill Lewis said. ‘‘I think we've added a special meaning to ‘I believe’ or ‘We believe’ or however you want to say it be- cause I think that we truly cap- tured the spirit of that.” The frenzied bowl-record crowd of 59,322 and the final Peach Bowl to be played in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (the bowl moves to the Georgia Dome next year) nearly settled for a tie, but Damon Hartman’s 49-yard field goal at- tempt as time expired was short and wide right. College football’s Cinderella had beat the clock again. ‘“‘We’ve been called a Cinderella story all year,’’ ECU senior center Keith Arnold said. ‘‘Cinderella went to a ball tonight and got married. She’s queen now. “The feeling’s unbelievable . . . now I guess we know who’s the best in North Carolina.”’ East Carolina, with its second- straight win in a series that was discontinued in 1987, can make that claim. But for three-plus quarters, the Wolfpack was better. Muscle and speed in the running game enabled the Pack to do what it wanted coming in — keep the ball out of the hands of Pirate quarterback Jeff Blake and put a lot of points on the board. Anthony Barbour was a danger on the corners and finished with 90 yards on 23 carries. Greg Manior and Gary Downs banged inside and combined for 117 more yards. The Pack ran the ball 56 times for 186 yards. But when time was an ally and first downs were critical, ECU’s defense got tough and State wilted. “T thought we were the better team there for a while,” N.C. State head coach Dick Sheridan said. ‘“‘But we didn’t get the job done either offensively, defensive- ly or the kicking game.”’ State’s collapse down the stretch included a shanked punt that gave the Pirates a shot in the arm. The Wolfpack also could find no solution to a red-hot Blake, who completed 31 of 51 passes for 378 yards, threw four touchdowns and was intercepted three times. (See PIRATES, D-6) The Daily Reflector/Shannon Wolfe , Cedric Van Buren contributed .65 rushing yards, a touchdown and a key fumble recovery. j se t a= + MA ee ee ee ee ee ee a OE EE ee “Sp GAME 12: i N.C. State i i If = Ag SS vs. East Carolina age =] Pirates Yards rushing Yards passing ME «SWolfpack Time of possession ome Total yards Kickoff return yards Interception return yards 14 E20 Total return yards 8 First downs map Edo Turnovers i Total plays Passes completed RS Passes attempted N.C. State East Carolin N.C. State 14, ECU 7. State 14. ( Team statistics ECU NCS Total first downs ; 2 = Rushes Net yards passing ff ret. yds. alties-yds. BAS 534 1-1 07] Individual statistics ECU _ Blake 10-(-13), Yan Buren 11-65, Daniels 2-3, Johnson 1-(-13). RECEIVING: NCSU _ Davenport - 2-6, Williams 4-30, Hinton 2-37; ECU ._ Fisher 12-144, Johnson 6-56, Gallimore 5-113, Van Buren 5-30, Daniels 1-(-2), Driver 2-37. RUSHING: NCSU _ Barbour 23-90, Manior 15-54, Downs 10-63, Williams 1-(-3), Jordan 6-(-9), Davenport 1-(-9); 6-118, George 1-2, Harrison 1-4, Shaw How they scored First quarter NCS: Downs 2 run (Hartman kick), 7:50. Scoring Drive — 12 plays, 68 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — 6:09. Key Plays — Barbour runs of 9 and 15 yards. Score — N.C. State 7, ECU 0. ECU: Van Buren 5 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 5:22. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 57 yards after kickoff. Elapsed Time — 2:28. Key: Plays — Johnson 35-yard kickoff return, Blake passes of 13 and 19 yards. Score — N.C. State 7, ECU 7. NCS: Harrison 4 pass from Jordan (Hartman kick), 14:10. Scoring Drive — 7 plays, 54 yards after interception by Savage. Elapsed Time — 2:36. Key Plays — Downs runs of 14 and 19 yards. Score — ECU: Brenner 27 field goal, 6:41. Scoring Drive — 10 plays, 61 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — 3:43. Key Plays — Van Buren runs of 12, 14 and 16 yards. Score — N.C. State 14, ECU 10. ECU: Gallimore 55 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 1:39. Scoring Drive — 6 plays, 77 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — 1:36. Key Plays — Blake 16-yard pass to Gallimore. Score — ECU 17, N.C. Third quarter NCS: Hinton 14 pass from Jordan (Hartman kick), 9:35. Scoring Drive — 10 plays, 58 yards. Elapsed Time — 9:35. Key Plays — Bar- bour runs of 7 and 9 yards. Score — N.C. State 21, ECU 17. NCS — Manior 1 run (kick blocked), 2:34. Scoring Drive — 8 plays, 71 yards. Elapsed Time — 3:57. Key Plays — Jordan passes of 18 and 21 yards to Davenport. Score — N.C. State 27, ECU 17. Fourth quarter _ NCS: Davenport 52 pass from George (Hartman kick), 13:01. Scor- ing Drive — 2 plays, 51 yards. Elapsed Time — :49. Key Play — George’s pass. Score — N.C. State 34, ECU 17. -ECU: Blake 2 run (Brenner kick), 7:26. Scoring Drive — 7 plays, 32 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — 1:15. Key Plays — Blake 13-yard pass to Fisher. Score — N.C. State 34, ECU 24. ECU: Johnson 17 pass from Blake (run failed), 4:18. Scoring Drive — 11 plays, 80 yards after punt. Elapsed Time — 2:06. Key Play — Blake 21-yard pass to Driver. Score — N.C. State 34, ECU 30. ECU: Fisher 22 pass from Blake (Brenner kick), 1:32. Scoring Drive — 5 plays, 41 yards. Elapsed Time — 1:05. Key Plays — Blake passes of 8 yards to Johnson and Fisher. Score — ECU 37, N.C. State 35. PASSING: NCSU _ Jordan 15-23-1 for 145 yds, George 1-1-0 for 52 yds; ECU _ Blake 15-31-3 for 378 yds. PUNTING: NCSU _ Kilpatrick 8-286 yds; ECU _ Jett 4-166 yds. FIELD GOALS: NCSU _ Hartman 0-1; ECU _ Brenner 1-3 22). PUNT RETURNS: NCSU _ George 3-24; ECU _ Johnson 4-33, Crumpler 1-0. KICKOFF RETURNS: NCSU _ George 4-107, Battle 2-35; ECU _ Johnson 3-104. INTERCEPTION RETURNS : NCSU _ Savage 1-14, Washington 1-0, Reid 1-0; ECU _ Jones 1-20. . TOTAL TACKLES: NCSU _ Haynes 14, Reid 10, Savage 5, Merritt 5, Lawrence 5, Akins 5, Washington 4, Giannamore 4, Henry 3, Thomas 3, Turner 3, Johnson 2, Strong 2, Logo 2, Gallon 1, Santee 1, Jordan 1, Burton 1, Moore 1, Battle 1, Beard 1; ECU _ Jones 16, Grandison 11, Walker 9, Carter 9, Davis 8, Gardill 7, Dillon 7, Washington 7, Taylor 5, Cunmulaj 4, Burnette 4, Harvey 3, Floyd 3, Hall 3, Cotton 3, Tate 2, Marshmon 2, Wilson 2, Myers 2, Howard 2, Seekford 1, Blake 1, Daniels 1, Wright 1. ATTENDANCE: 59,322. The Daily Reflector, Greenville, N.C. Thursday, January 2,1992 9.5. PEACH BOWL Van Buren ‘Continued from D-1) looked at me but he just left me in the open.”’ Van Buren also accounted for the bulk of what ECU managed on the ground. In fact, the Pirates finished with fewer net yards rushing (42) than Van Buren’s total (65 on 11 carries). Van Buren got most of those yards in one second-quarter series that produced a fieid goai, carry- ae ¥ ing five times for 39 yards. ‘“‘We knew in order for the pass- ing game to really open up we had to have a pretty good running game,” Van Buren said. ‘We practiced on a scheme all week and the scheme worked. “Tn the second half, they started to stop the scheme because they shifted their middle linebacker over a little bit.”’ Van Buren was limited to two yards on three carries in the sec- ond half. Pack’s unpopular tie bid fails By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — Boos rang out from most of the 59,322 fans in At- lanta-Fulton County Stadium when N.C. State kicker Damon Hartman ~ trotted onto the field. Only six seconds remained in the 24th annual Peach Bowl and N.C. State trailed East Carolina 37-34. The Wolfpack, ahead 34-17 a little less than nine minutes be- fore, now was willing to settle for a tie rather than take a one-shot gamble at the win. Hartman’s try from 49 yards was short and wide right. “The odds weren’t good either way,” N.C. State head coach Dick Sheridan said. ‘‘A tie would have been a disappointment, but we “The odds weren’t good either way. A tie would have been a disappointment, but we sure wouldn’t be feeling quite as bad as we are now.”’ —Dick Sheridan N -C, State coach sure wouldn’t be feeling quite as bad as we are now.” East Carolina linebacker Robert Jones, who blocked a Hartman PAT attempt and finished with 16 tackles, said he could only watch and hope. “I was just praying he didn’t make it,” Jones said. East Carolina’s stirring rally was capped on a 22-yard pass from Jeff Blake to Luke Fisher with 1:32 to go. The Wolfpack, Johnson makes a few big plays By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR ATLANTA — A couple of costly mistakes in Wednesday’s Peach Bowl had Dion Johnson feeling a little down. He was playing in his final col- lege football game and the memo- ries in the making were not ones he was going to want to replay over in his mind. But East Carolina head coach Bill Lewis felt his versatile little wide receiver and return spe- cialist still had a few big plays in him. And he told him so as Johnson reached the sideline after a fumbled punt set up a touchdown that put N.C. State 34-17 early in the fourth quarter. | “‘T walked up to him after that — I felt like I had to at that point in time because I know how com- petitive he is — and I told him that he was going to have an opportuni- ty to make big plays and to put that thing behind him,” Lewis said. Johnson did. In the final nine minutes, John- son caught three passes for 34 Loss tough one for Wolfpack By Stan Olson KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS ATLANTA — North Carolina State quarterback Terry Jordan was the last of his team to leave the field Wednesday afternoon, slowly heading toward the locker room as East Carolina’s players and fans bounced and danced across the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium turf behind him. And it was almost as if he thought somehow that if he didn’t leave, the game couldn’t quite be over yet. That N.C. State was not yet a 37-34 Peach Bowl loser to East Carolina and that maybe he could play the game just a little longer. But it was over. There had been just enough time for the Wolfpack to blow a 17-point lead in that last, painful quarter, and just enough time to barely miss a 49-yard field goal that would have tied it in those final anxious seconds. And now, it really was over. And, as the Pirate hordes shrieked and waved their gold styrofoam sabers, Jordan understood. - “J just knew we had lost,” he said of his long, slow postgame walk. ‘It was a tough way to end the season ... real tough.”’ In the locker room, there were some tears but no tantrums. N.C. State coach Dick Sheridan ad- dressed his team evenly and quiet- ly, and then his players scrambled through the showers, dressing quickly and piling onto their buses. Hurrying to make the flight home. But on the way, some, like Jor- dan, stopped to talk. “They earned the right to cele- brate, to run their mouths, to do whatever they want to do,” he said of the Pirates. ‘“We just have to live with that a while.” But the Wolfpack players still weren’t exactly sure what had gone wrong, how the lead had vanished so rapidly under those yards, including a 17-yarder for a touchdown, and set up another score with a 27-yard punt return as the Pirates rallied for a 37-34 win. Johnson’s TD catch on a cross- ing pattern got ECU within 34-30 with 4:18 to go. Then, after a three-and-out Wolfpack _ series, Johnson took Tim Kilpatrick’s 40- yard punt and darted through a small seam up the middle for a 27-yard return to the State 41. Five plays later, Blake threw a 22-yard TD pass to Luke Fisher. Johnson finished with six recep- tions for 56 yards, returned four punts for 33 yards and three kickoffs for 104 yards. He had kickoff returns and 35 and 47 yards. He mishandled one pitch for a loss of 13 yards. The fumbled punt came when the Wolfpack was backed up in its end zone, but owned a 27-17 lead. Two plays after the fumbled punt, Ledel George threw a 52- yard TD pass to Charles Daven- port. Johnson was especially happy to atone for the fumbled punt. “T felt good about that,” John- son said. “‘T just knew we had lost. It was a tough way to end the season... real ' tough.”’ —Terry Jordan three Pirates touchdowns in less than six minutes. To a man, they credited East Carolina quarter- back Jeff Blake, and to a man, they blamed themselves. Defensive tackle Mark Thomas said, ‘“The defense had a little let- down. We wanted to shut ’em out in the second half and we did in the third quarter. But after that, I guess the biggest thing was field position — ours wasn’t very good. But we had plenty of opportunities to stop ’em, and we didn’t.” The three East Carolina drives began at the Wolfpack 32, the Pirates’ 20 and the N.C. State 41. “T don’t like being up like that in the fourth quarter,’’ said wide re- ceiver Charles Davenport, who had six catches. ‘‘It seems like everybody wants to come back on us. It’s like there’s a ghost out there or something.”’ But it was hardest on the defense, guys like senior lineback- .er Billy Ray Haynes. “It’s sick — you’re just so sick on your stomach,” he said. “Youre sick of yourself. It was our game to win, and we blew it. “T was going to stay in Atlanta tonight, but there’s no way now. This is the worst I think I could possibly feel playing college foot- ball.”’ y after a return to the 29 by Reggie Lawrence, then try to mount a final drive. Quarterback Terry Jordan hit Chris Williams with passes of 3, 6 and 14 yards to move the ball to the ECU 48. After an incomple- tion, Jordan zipped a pass to Charles Davenport, who was trip- ped up by, Greg Floyd after a gain of 12 yards. After a timeout, Jordan dropped back to pass and was swarmed under by Zaim Cunmulaj for an 18-yard loss. The Pack was now at its 46 with 15 seconds to go. After a 25-yard pass to Robert Hinton, the Wolfpack called time then sent in the field goal unit. “Until we got the sack, there’s was no question what we were do- ing,”’ Sheridan said. ‘“Had we been in a situation where there. had been a legitimate chance to throw a normal type of pass pattern, then that’s what we would have done.”’ Jordan, playing his first game since Sept. 28 and the Wolfpack’s offensive player of the game, said he made an error in judgment when sacked by Cunmulaj. “T felt pressure to the right and instead of stepping up in the pocket, I tried to run around,” Jordan said. ‘“‘That’s a cardinal sin for a quarterback.”’ The Daily Reflector/Cliff Hollis Dion Johnson caught three key passes in the final nine minutes of the Peach Bowl Wednesday. No comment from Lewis on Jackets | FROM WIRE REPORTS ATLANTA — It wasn’t long after East Carolina’s 37-34 Peach Bowl victory Wednesday when Pirates coach Bill Lewis was con- fronted again about reports link- ing him to the vacant coaching position at Georgia Tech. Lewis wouldn’t elaborate on the subject except to say he liked the way his football team handled the continuing reports. “Our football team did a good job with it,’’ Lewis said. ‘“Because of the circumstances, I don’t feel it is appropriate for me to make a comment. “T have had no comment from the Georgia Tech people. I have a job I love right now.” Lewis flew home with the East Carolina football team Wednesday night. He said he had not been contacted about the job. TOP TEN?: Is East Carolina a Top 10 team? Notes ‘“‘Our team deserves to be a Top 10 team,’’ Lewis said after com- pleting an 11-1 season. ‘‘When you win 11 games in a season and have the opportunity to be close to 12-0, that kind of team deserves to be ranked in the Top 10. But this football team won’t be upset with wherever it finishes”’ HDEFENSE: Despite the high- scoring 37-34 game, there were defensive stars. East Carolina All-American linebacker Robert Jones made 16 tackles and was named the defen- Sive player of the game for the Pirates by media members. For the Wolfpack, middle line- backer Billy Ray Haynes had 14 tackles and defensive back Mike Reid had 10 tackles and one in- terception. Haynes was named N.C. State’s top defensive player. (Continued from D-1) Co-offensive coordinator Steve Logan called the plays on the final two scoring drives. “T just kept waiting the whole game for Jeff to get into a rhythm,”’ Logan said. ‘“‘When we were down 34-17 he called his own plays and put us in the end zone. ‘“‘When he came back after that touchdown. I got him on the headsets and asked him if he wanted to continue to call it or if he wanted me to. He said he wanted me to call them because he was tired and winded and wanted to make sure he didn’t screw anything up.” No matter who was calling the plays, it was like clockwork. | Blake completed 8 of 10 passes in an 80-yard drive to get the Pirates within 34-30 with 4:18 to go. The two-point conversion fail- ed. Blake then got a chance to win and capped a 41-yard drive with a 22-yard pass to Luke Fisher. “Luke was in an option route,” Logan said. ‘‘I was watching Jeff with one eye and Luke with the other. “Luke took about two different cuts on that thing and they did a great job of covering it. Finally, Luke made a third move — and our offensive line protected Jeff maybe six or seven seconds on that play — and when Luke came out of the third cut Jeff took him. Great throw, great catch by two great players.” N.C. State head coach Dick Sheridan said his defense was not in a prevent mode or playing soft, but that Blake simply caught fire. “You almost take for granted how accurately those throws were — and under pressure,’’ Sheridan said. ‘“‘He made some great throws and some great decisions. ‘“‘He made it look easy. He made us look bad.”’ Added Logan: ‘‘When he gets in that rhythm you can call anything you want and it’s going to be com- pleted. That’s what he’s done all year long.”’ The shotgun was just another weapon. Pirat rpalilaneiidi Credit trap win over Campbell ™ How to escape See Sports, C-1 >> . = On D-1 306 Greenville ECU ends year 9th in nation By Greg Rideout THE DAILY REFLECTOR Number Nine. No. 9. Ninth. From the Greek ‘ennea’, which back in Greece means the Pirates painted the AP pigskin poll purple. Single digits, that’s where East Carolina University’s football team sits today. The Pirates propelled themselves into the Associated Press top 10 for the first time ever, landing at No. 9 in the final poll after a 37-34 come-from-behind victory over N.C. State in Wednesday’s Peach Bowl. In Greenville, now there’s respect. ‘“‘A lot of people around the Pigeon finds Peach lunch no big deal By Priscilla Brown THE DAILY REFLECTOR About that pigeon. I’d give anything to talk to him for just afew minutes. . I’ve spent close to 40 years trying to figure out how to stay perfectly calm when everyone else wasina frenzy. And here he was, probably not even 30, peaceful as can be, violence on all sides. How’d he do that? Study on that bird for a sec- ond. There he sat on the 20-yard line at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium during the Peach Bowl, New Year’s Day. Na- tional television, 59,000 scream- ing fans and 44 feet attached to 22 bodies, all weighing in ex- cess of 200 pounds. What did he do? Nothing. I haven’t talked to any of the football players. Don’t know whether they were worried about the bird or not. But I was. My anxiety over the game stopped dead when I started fretting about that bird. ‘‘Blake pitches it back to Johnson. . .and he drops it! Fumble! Who’s got it, who’s got it? It’s Blake! Wham! It’s State! Slam! No, it’s ECU!” Peck. Peck. Peck. ‘“‘Blake drops back to pass. He’s being chased! The Wolfpack defense is every- where, but ECU’s offense is holding! It’s a long pass! Blake is hit!” Peck. Peck. Peck. There’s bound to be a lesson in there somewhere. Another thing. Who in the world put birdseed on the 20- yard line? It’s not like that’s something that would fall out of someone’s pocket on their way across the football field. It sure didn’t come from football’s bag of dirty tricks. et yo Home turf, from Atlanta. country know us now,’ said Christine Presley, a 22-year-old ECU senior. Ms. Presley and_ friends viewed the victory on a giant- screen TV rented just for the game. She believes the game and the ranking could help alter a decades-old school image. “So, we’re now known for something other than a party school,’’ Ms. Presley said. Marcia Smith had never — never ever — watched a foot- ball game on television. But the ECU alumna and _ non-fan ~< caught the thrilling last 10 minutes of the Peach bash. “It was exciting,’’ Ms. Smith found herself saying. But the No. 9 ranking? “It means nothing to me. But I think it gives students a good feeling to be ranked that high.”’ The ranking and athletic suc- cess could help ECU’s academ- ic reputation, according to medical school employee Mel Swanson. “ECU has always been striv- ing to have a viable football reputation and a viable school reputation,” Swanson _ said. “This gets people thinking about ECU.”’ Swanson sees good students coming to school in Greenville because of the notoriety of hav- ing the nation’s ninth best team. ECU freshman Jonathan Register agrees. He’s_ been working, so the Peach is preserved on videotape until he can savor it. “T think it will help the col- lege admissions,’ Register said. “It will help bring people (See ECU, A-7) Referee and friend. It’s highly unlikely that Billy Ray Haynes and company call- ed that special play to stop the Pirates: ‘‘OK, defense. Blitz and birdseed.”’ Don’t think so. Maybe they should have. Suffice it to say that those of you who sat in the stands of At- lanta-Fulton County Stadium missed a whole dimension of the Peach Bowl. For those of us watching television, hearts stopped not over whether another Blake to Fisher bomb would connect, but over how a pigeon could survive the cleats of Zaim Cunmulaj. Would it look up from its repast of golden seed to finda face full of Robert Jones? Could it flutter fast enough to avoid Cedric Van Buren? Pulses raced faster than Hunter Gallimore that New Year’s Day. But one bystander was absolutely, perfectly serene. One who stood but 20 yards from the end zone. Peck, peck, peck. Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? N.C. State graduate Priscilla Brown is layout/design editor of The Daily Reflector. from other places here.”’ Procter and Gamble e (recruiting) a lot. (Continued from A-1) But for Dwayne Hi Peach Bowl win Hi yn a ing Mpens recruiting prospects The No. 1 thing it will help j the recruiting,” the 27-year-old octer mploye Said. “I think it hurt State's “A lot of people didn’t k who ECU was or what ECU was, Hill said. “We kind of made a name for ourselves,”’ pis Peach: party By CHIP ALEXANDER Staff writer ATLANTA — More than 24 hours after the fact, the eupho- ria — Pirate Mania — hadn't died. As East Carolina fans pre- pared to leave town Thursday after outlasting N.C. State in the Peach Bowl, it still looked like game day. Many were wearing their purple sweaters and shirts and caps as they loaded up Cadillacs, Hondas and Chevy Blazers. Many at- tached Pirate flags to the tops of their car doors or slapped on new bumper stickers as joyous party continued up 1-85 and back to Eastern North Caro- lina. “T want everybody to know what school I’m from and who won the Peach: Bowl,” one proud fan said before depart- ing. In what many agreed was the best of the New Year’s Day bowl games, the gutsy Pirates: outdueled the Pack, 37-34. What followed was a big party in a big-party kind of town, and the: good vibes were still evident . Thursday morning when: the word quickly spread that ECU had been ranked ninth ‘in the. final Associated Press poll. Could there have been a more perfect ending to a sea- son so special? Eleven wins, a top-10 finish and an bow! victo- ry as incredible’ as it ‘was: indelible? mui “We just concluded a fantas- tic season,’ ECU coach Bill. Lewis said. ““Even when we ...were-behind in the fourth quars. ..ter,.we could hear those people Ee ine purple’ chanting, “We be lieve,” ”’ a “It was the biggest game any _ of-us has ever had the opportu- =. nity to be in, player or coaches. It’s the most fun I’ve ever = » had.” ni — For ECU tight. end Luke “ ‘Fisher, nothing could have been finer than the final min+ ~ utes. / i “Every night when I go to bed, I dream of doing some: thing spectacular to make us a winner,” the big.senior-said., . All Fisher did was pull in a | See PEACH PARTY, page 3C © . - AC - FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1992 : USA TODAY Peach party Continued from page 1C 22- scoring pass with 1:32 to play that ited ECU into the lead. It wiped out the last of what had been a 34-17 deficit, and caused widespread pandemonium among the 30,000 or so Pirate Supporters who HR fill Atlanta-Fulton County Sta- pra Resin ko g Saber slashing a shared “Now the dream has come true, n just for me i hot ae but for the whole team, Could a quarterback h i game than ECU’s Jeff Blake? ee All the little senior did was pass for 378 yards and four touchdowns. And he was at his best with the game on the line hitting 15 of his last 21 passes out of a newly installed shotgun formation as the amazing Bucs scored three times in about 4 $lx-minute span. Jeff was very calm out there,” ECU offensive tackle Tom Scott said. “Tt was rs like he was God.”’ ake’s right hand began to late in the third atte and speed trainers were frantic when his thumb went numb. But Blake refused to come out, throwing the ball with four fingers. On that last touchdown, my hand was cramping up all over the place,” he said. The Pirates’ closing rush left the Wolfpack in a collective stupor, wonder- ing how so much could have gone so wrong so swiftly. “We really weren’t playing that con- servatively on defense,’’ State lineback- er Billy Ray Haynes said. “‘But with the shotgun, you can’t get a good pass rush and with the five-receiver routes they were running, you can’t play zone. But Blake’s a quality quarterback. He was right on the money and complet- ed everything. If there was any room at all, he zipped right in there. It was just a game where momentum went our way, then their way. But Blake saw to it that the momentum changed too much in their direction. There was nothing we could do.”’ After the first 51 minutes of the game, the Wolfpack appeared to be the better team. State’s offensive line over- whelmed ECU’s smaller defensive front and the tailbacks Anthony Barbour and haat Downs slashed off consistently big “We didn’t play too terribly bad on offense,” said quarterback Terry Jor- dan, who returned as the starter after suffering a broken arm early in the season. “We did a lot of good things in the first half and then opened it up a little more in the second half to get [wide receiver] Charles Davenport more op- portunities for big plays.”’ State would finish with 34 points and 383 yards in total offense. The Pack had more plays and more possession time il i Bay But it wasn’t enough ainst an East l heed Carolina team that kept “It’s frustrating, especially for the seniors,” said Jordan, who was named the Pack’s offensive MVP. “It was a ‘tough game and especially a tough one to lose. But it was a fun game.” EEE LE NTE ERS AT COACHES’ POLL FINAL 1991 RANKINGS Be WASHINGTON (12-0-0) p> poll points: 1,44972 (332 No. 1 votes). '> Bowl result: Defeated then-No. 3 Michigan 34-14 in the Rose Bowl. QB Billy Joe Hobert threw for 2 TDs and ran for another. > Pre- season rank: 4. 25 MIAMI (FLA.) (12-0-0) > Points: 1.44072 (2572). » Bowl re- sult: Defeated then-No. 10 Nebraska 22-0 in the Federal Express Orange Bowl. QB Gino Torretta completed 19 of 41 passes for 257 yards. > Preseason: 2. Reve PENN STATE (11-2-0) p Points: 1,321. » Bow! result: De- feated then-No. 11 Tennessee 42-17 in the Fiesta Bowl. QB Tony Sacca threw 4 TD passes and team scored 28 points in 4 minutes of second half. Preseason: 8. 4 | FLORIDA STATE (11-2-0) » Points: 1,292. » Bow! result: Defeated then-No. 9 Texas A&M 10-2 in the Mobil Cotton Bowl. QB Casey Weldon scored his first TD since 1988 and the Seminoles recovered a game-record 6 fumbles by the Aggies. » Preseason: 1. ae ALABAMA (11-1-0) > Points: 1,191. » Bow! result: Defeated then-No. 13 Colorado 30-25 in Blockbuster Bowl. » Preseason: 23. 6. MICHIGAN (10-2-0) p Points: 1,071. > Bow! result: Lost to then-No. 1 Washington 34-14 in the Rose Bowl. Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard caught only 1 pass for 35 yards, ran once for 15 yards pil had 60 yards in kickoff and punt returns, but did not score. > Pre- season: 3. CALIFORNIA (10-2-0) > Points: 1,027. » Bow! result: De- feated then-No. 12 Clemson 37-13 in the Florida Citrus Bowl. Brian Treggs returned 5 punts for 124 yards, including a 72-yard TD run. » Presea- son: Unranked. 8 | FLORIDA (10-2-0) > Points: 1,020. » Bowl result: Lost to then-No. 18 Notre Dame 39-28 in the USF&G Sugar Bowl. Arden Czyzewski set a Sugar Bow! record with 5 field goals. > Preseason: 7. hae | EAST CAROLINA (11-1-0) » Points: 1,003. » Bow! result: Defeated then-No. 21 North Carolina State 37-34 in the Peach Bowl. QB Jeff Blake had 378 yards, 4 TD passes and another rushing. >» Presea- son: Unranked. | 10) IOWA (10-1-1) > Points: 944. » Bowl result: Tied then-No. 24 Brigham Young 13-13 in the Thrifty Car Rental Holiday Bowl. > Pre- season: 18. 11 SYRACUSE (10-2-0) p> Points: 891. » Bow! result: Defeated then-No. 23 Ohio State 24-17 in Hall of Fame Bowl. Qadry Ismail caught a 57-yard pass to set up a field goal, and QB Marvin Graves threw for. 2 TDs. » Preseason: Unranked. Beet NOTRE DAME (10-3-0) p points: 815. > Bow! result: Defeat- ed then-No. 4 Florida 39-28 in the USF&G Sugar Bowl. Jerome Bet- tis scored 3 TDs in the final 5 minutes to break Florida’s 8-game winning streak. » Preseason: 5. 113 | TEXAS A&M (10-2-0) p Points: 799. » Bow! result: Lost to then-No. 7 Florida State 10-2 in the Mobil Cotton Bowl. Rain pro- duced 13 turnovers, including 6 Aggie fumbles. » Preseason: 20. 114 | OKLAHOMA (9-3-0) > Points: 694. » Bowl result: Defeated then-No. 19 Virginia 48-14 in the Gator Bowl. QB Cale Gundy com- pleted 25 of 31 passes for 329 yards and 2 TDs as the Sooners compiled a season-high 618 yards. > Preseason: 11. : tSh TENNESSEE (9-3-0) > Points: 617. » Bow! result: Lost to ‘then-No. 6 Penn State 42-17 in the Fiesta Bowl. » Preseason: 13. | 16 | NEBRASKA (9-2-1) » Points: 608. » Bow! result: Lost to Points: 450. » Bowl result: Lost to then- No. 15 California 37-13 in the Florida Citrus Bowl. » Preseason: 9. UCLA (9-3-0) > Points: 443. > Bowl result: Defeated Illinois 6-3 in the John Hancock Bowl. » Preseason: 24. GEORGIA (9-3-0) » Points: 407. » Bowl result: Defeated Ar- kansas 24-15 in Independence Bowl. » Preseason: Unranked. COLORADO (8-3-1 ) > Points: 366. » Bowl result: Lost to then- No. 8 Alabama 30-25 in Blockbuster Bowl. » Preseason: 10. TULSA (10-2-0) > Points: 233. > Bowl result: Defeated San Diego State 28-17 in the Freedom Bowl. » Preseason: Unranked. STANFORD (8-4-0) > Points: 216. » Bowl result: Lost to then- unranked Georgia Tech 18-17 in the Jeep Eagle Aloha Bowl. > Pre- ; Unranked. BRIGHAM YOUNG (8-3-2) > Points: 149. > Bowl result: Tied then-No. 5 lowa 13-13 in the Thrifty Car Rental Holiday Bowl. > Preseason: 19. | 24 | AIR FORCE (1 0-3) > Points: 165. > Bowl result: Defeated Mississippi State 38-15 in the Liberty Bowl.> Preseason: Un- ranked. 25 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE (9-3-0) p Points: 142. > Bowl result: Lost to then-No. 14 East Carolina 37-34 in the Peach Bowl. > Preseason: Unranked. , >» DROPPED OUT FROM FINAL REGULAR-SEASON POLL: No. 19 Virginia, No. 23 Ohio State. > OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Indiana 83, Virginia 76, Ohio State 61, Geor- gia Tech 47, Bowling Green 45, Illinois 17, Fresno State 15, Mississippi State 8, Baylor 5, New Mexico 2, San Diego State 2, Arkansas 1, Louisiana Tech 1. >» The USA TODAY/CNN Board of Coaches is made up of 59 head coaches at NCAA Div. I-A institu- tions. They are from each of five geo- graphical regions: Atlantic, South, 5 Midwest, Southwest and West. The poll is conducted with the cooperation of the American Football Coaches Association and in conjunction with the Ameri- can Football Coaches Retirement Trust. TOP 25 FAN’S PICKS Each week, a fan gets a chance to match picks with the 59 college coaches who vote for the Top 25. The selections are not included in the overall tally. Robert Budreau lives in Meriana, Fla., but still agrees with the coaches that Washington is the No. 1 team in the nation. “| though about splitting my vote, but | decid- ed to put myself on the line and make Washing-, ton No.1," said Budreau, who attended lowa and is retired from Bell Telephone. ‘‘They’ve got the No. 1 defense and it’s true, the best de- fense wins the championship.” ROBERT BUDREAU’S PICKS 1. Washington 10. Texas A&M 19. UCLA 2. Miami (Fla.) 11. California 20. Tennessee 3. East Carolina 12. Syracuse 21. N.C. State 4. Alabama 13. Tulsa 22. Air Force 5. lowa 14. Nebraska 23. Colorado 6 7 8 9 . Florida State 15. Clemson 24. Brigham Young . Michigan 16. Notre Dame 25. Ohio State . Penn State 17. Oklahoma . Florida 18. Georgia The Daily Reflector Friday, Janidary 3,.1992 WOODY PEELE Peachy-keen finish Cinderella not only got invited to the ball this time around, she found the glass slipper fit and the clock never struck midnight. Wednesday afternoon, East Carolina’s Pirates did what they have done so often during this magical year in football. Trailing, 34-17, early in the fourth period, East Carolina rallied behind Prince Charming (Jeff Blake) and ° scored 20 points in less than 10 minutes, beating N.C. State, 37-34. The clock began to toll in those final seconds, but a sack by: Zaim Cunmulaj slowed it, and the Wolfpack missed a possible tie on the final play to keep the chime from ever ringing. As joyous fans mobbing their heroes, East Carolina had ended the greatest year in the school’s football history. After an opening loss to Illinois, there were 11 straight wins. When Pat Dye scooted out of Greenville, there were those who said that program was doomed. Never again, they said, would East Carolina bask in the glory that Dye had brought them. In 1978, he led the Pirates to the In- dependence Bow], where they beat Louisiana Tech. Until Wednesday, it was ECU’s last bowl. The Pirates wore the Cinderella * College Basketball e NBA ECU closes at No. 9 LOCAL & WIRE REPORTS While the rest of the nation debates on whether Washington or Miami is No. 1, East Carolina University fans celebrated the ar- rival of their Peach Bowl champi- on Pirates in the top 10. Thursday, the Pirates were voted to the No. 9 spot on the As- sociated Press’ list and also ended up ninth on the CNN-USA Today poll. It is the highest ranking ever for the Pirates who were 12th go- ing into the bowls. ECU’s previous best at season’s close was a 19th place ranking in 1983 when the Pirates went 8-3 but were denied a bow] bid. East Carolina rallied from 17 points down in the fourth period to defeat N.C. State, 37-34, Wednes- day in. the Peach Bowl to win its 11th straight game and finish an 11-1 season, its best ever. As to the question of whether the No. 1 spot belonged to Miami or “I don’t mind sharing it. Miami has a great team and we’ve got a great team. Everybody could argue forever who’s the best. It doesn’t matter. I’m just proud of what our guys have done.”’ Washington coach Don James Washington, the question the fans asked was answered — both. By the slimmest of margins, Miami finished first in The Asso- ciated Press media poll and Wash- ington won the USA Today-CNN coaches title. The split decision won’t please fanatic followers of either 12-0 team, but it seemed fair to the two head coaches. “I’m. delighted,’’ said Washing- ton’s Don James, who cried as he recounted the moment he and his wife, Carol, learned that the Huskies were No. 1 in the coaches poll. “T don’t mind sharing it. Miami has a great team and we’ve got a great team. Everybody could argue forever who’s the best. It doesn’t matter. I’m just proud of what our guys have done.”’ Miami’s Dennis Erickson also was Satisfied with the split. The AP title was the Hurricanes’ fourth in the last nine seasons, a stretch of dominance matched on- ly by Notre Dame’s four champi- onships from 1943-49. “Believe me, I’m not complain- ing,’ Erickson said. ‘“We don’t want to take anything away from Washington. We both had great seasons.’ Miami, which blanked Nebraska 22-0 in the Orange Bowl, edged Washington by four points in the AP poll of sports writers and broadcasters, the closest finish in its 56-year history. Washington, which manhandled Michigan 34-14 in the Rose Bowl, topped Miami by nine points in the coaches poll. In first-place votes, Miami had a 32-28 edge in AP and Washington led 3344-2514 in USA Today-CNN. It is the second straight year in which the two major polls have crowned different champions. Last year, Colorado won the AP ti- tle and Georgia Tech was voted No. 1 by the coaches. Miami, which also won the AP championship in 1983, 1987 and 1989, finished first in The New York Times computer rankings. UPI, which distributes the College Football Foundation poll, and The Sporting News, which surveys 10 (See POLLS, C-3) ¢ College Football we By The Acsucialed ! The a Awenly Wive te: final Lie Boll wih Fis i Ay Es Caton Ys Xy, oS CAROLIN. YZ LAW, IOWA ZZ Li SYfACuse 7/7 V2 VERBS RRA 13 INOUE Dane? VA Tennessee / 1s Nebraska 16; Olahorma VE GONG 1a Chem Son AG MONA DY AOR OL AGES PRICE 2 stemtord/7/ Uy BS, Brigham ey BBD i BAIS AAC OMIA hi DBA ‘4 D5 Par OPCs YG Yj Other LOCOVOR/IOES, Lech Wi, Nireinia is, Giana ABO SB, Bowling GHEE 21, BB for Ly ieee BY 5, Arkansas Ay is Lewis 1S still high on the list By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR label again in 1983, coming within a hair of beating Florida State, Florida and eventual national champion Miami. The three losses, by a total of 13 points, all came on the road and in each, ECU had the chance to win at the end. Still, despite a lot of national publicity, ECU — Cinderella — got no invitation to a ball. Others with less impressive records went to bowl games; ECU sat at home. For the next five years, the Pirate football program did hit the depths. From being one of the na- tion’s winningest programs in the 70s, ECU went to being one of the doormats of the country in the 80s. But on the eve of the ’90s, a man came on the scene that many wondered about. He didn’t act like a football coach. He didn’t look like-a football coach. And he wasn’t even the choice of the selection committee. They wanted another mar. But Dave Hart was adamant in his choice of Bill Lewis. Lewis’ first two years produced a break-even season and another losing year. But the spark seemed there, at last. The fans could see it twinkling in the dark night they’d gone through over the years. Lewis was teaching a lesson, a short two word lesson. At the end © of the 1990 season, you could see that the lesson was taking root. The Pirates began to learn that whoever controlled the last half usually won. They learned to snatch victory from the jaws -— and sometimes even the stomach — of defeat. They learned to dominate the fourth period. Bill Lewis remains on Georgia Tech’s short list of candidates for a new head football coach, but has yet to be contacted and is go- ing about business as usual. Lewis returned to Greenville from Atlanta Wednesday night after the Pirates’ 37-34 comeback win over N.C. State in the Peach Bowl. “My plans were to take one day to get things back in order and then leave in the morning to do. some in-state recruiting,’’ Lewis said Thursday night. ‘“‘The weekend is a dead period’ and then Monday I’ll fly to Dallas for the American Coaches Conven- tion.”’ A nine-member search com- mittee to replace Ross, who re- signed Tuesday to become the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, met for the first time Wednesday and mentioned Lewis, Yellow Jackets’ defensive coordinator George O’Leary and Tech offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen as the top candidates. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, who was on the Jackets’ original list, said in a statement “At this point in time, it’s my in- tention to remain at Virginia Tech.” Georgia Tech athletics director Homer Rice is acting as spokes- man for the committee and told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution there is ‘‘an urgency to this’’ be- cause of the impact on recruiting. He added he would like to have a new coach in place by the middle of next week. Lewis did not say if he would be willing to talk with Tech if contacted. “T don’t think it’s. appropriate Bill Lewis walks the sidelines during Wednesday’s Peach Bowl victory over N.C. State. Lewis: Dreams can come true for those who believe During the week leading up to the 24th annual Peach Bowl and following East Carolina’s 37-34 win over N.C. State, Pirate head football coach Bill Lewis talked with the media about how a team that had not had a winning sea- son since 1983 had become an 11-1 team and what the impact might be for the program down the road. Following are a selection of questions with responses from Lewis compiled by Daily Reflec- tor Sports-News Editor Mike Q&A with ECU's Bill Lewis a trip to a New Year’s Day Bowl game and having players such as Robert Jones and Jeff Blake. recognized nationally? A I think what we have ® done is proven a couple of This year, including Wednes- day’s 20-point fourth quarter show, the Pirates more than doubled their opponents output in the to comment on that,” (See NO CONTACT, C-5) Lewis said. “T’ve had no contact with the Grizzard. @ What benefits should ° East Carolina’s program reap from a season with 11 wins, things that are so important to the success of any program. I’ve had an opportunity since the first of December to visit with pro- The Daily Reflector/Shannon Wolfe spects and I’ve tried to point out two things. One is that I believe all people that are involved in competitive athletics dream dreams about what they want to do as individuals. In the case of football players, they dream about winning 10 football games, they dream about playing on na- tional television, they dream about playing in bowl games, they dream about being All- Americans and having those kind of recognition things. We have proven to the young people out there all of those things, individ- ually, can now happen at East | (See BILL LEWIS, C-5) Hurley’s late points lead Duke THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Bobby Hurley scored seven of his 11 points in the final 27 seconds to help top-ranked Duke hold off pesky Virginia for a 68-62 victory Thursday night. Duke (7-0) had won its previous six games by an average margin of 27. The Blue Devils had trouble getting quality shots against the changing defenses of Virginia (4- an The Cavaliers, losers of four of the last five games, kept it close the whole way in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams. Bryant Stith, who led Virginia with 17 points, hit a 3-pointer that gave the Cavaliers their only lead at 44-43 with 15:55 to play. Thomas Hill put the Blue Devils ahead to stay 15 seconds later on a baseline jumper, and Duke gradu- ally pushed its edge to 57-50 with nine minutes left. But the Blue Devils missed 10 of their next 12 field-goal attempts, allowing the Cavaliers to cut it to 61-59 on a layin by Ted Jeffries with 1:14 left. Hurley answered with a_ 3- pointer with 27 seconds left to make it 64-59, then hit a pair of free throws for a seven-point lead. After Cory Alexander hit a 3- pointer for Virginia with five sec- onds remaining, Hurley made two more foul shots for the final margin. DUKE 67, VIRGINIA 62 DUKE (7-0) G. Hill 6-9 4-4 16, Parks 0-1 3-4 3, Laett- ner 7-12 2-3 17, Hurley 2-12 6-6 11, Davis 1-5 0-0 2, Lang 2-3 1-3 5, T. Hill 5-12 0-0 12, Clark 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-55 16-20 68. VIRGINIA (4-5) Burrough 4-10 3-7 11, Stith 7-15 1-1 17, Jeffries 2-6 0-0 4, Oliver 3-8 0-0 6, Co.Alexander 5-12 0-0 13, Smith 1-1 2-2 4, Parker 2-3 0-0 5, Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Barnes 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-58 6-10 62. Halftime—Duke 41 Virginia 37. 3-Point goals—Duke 4-15 (T.Hill 2-5, Laettner 1-2, Hurley 1-8), Virginia 6-12 (Co.Alexander 3-5, Stith 2-3, Parker 1-2, Oliver 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Duke 31 (Laettner 9), Virginia 37 (Burrough 11). Assists—Duke 15 (Hurley 8), Virginia 16 (Co.Alexander 7). Total fouls—Duke 17, Virginia 18. A—8,864. period. After watching ECU lose game after game in that quarter over the past decade, it was a blessed change for the faithful. Now, the Pirates lose a host of talented seniors, like Jeff Blake, Robert Jones, Hunter Gallimore, Dion Johnson, Luke Fisher and many others. But there are a host of talented people waiting to take their places, looking for the opportunity to show that they know the Lewis lesson. That lesson, perhaps, should be carved in the stone at the gates to Ficklen Stadium, to the practice field and the locker rooms so they may see it and renew it each time they pass. The simple lesson. “T believe!’ - Finally, two points. We hope that Bill Lewis will remain at East Carolina next fall. Certainly, he is going to be sought after by others. And if he does leave, hopefully, the seed he has planted can con- tinue to be nourished. And, lastly, I believe the Geople of North Carolina want a game be- tween State and ECU on an annual basis. ECU’s request of a home and home series is not out of line. The ball’s totally in State’s court. Bill Lewis Q&A (Continued From C-1) Carolina. And perhaps there were some people, that doubted that. Most important of all, I think we’ve proven as a football team that if we win at East Carolina, then we can enjoy the same things that any team in college football enjoys. I think there might have been doubt if East Carolina wins are they going to be recognized nationally. I think we proved that is going to hap- pen. Our young players, they now know what it takes. To. the players that we’re trying to bring into our program, we.can point to this football team and say ‘Ev- erything that you want as an in- dividual, everything that you want out of your college football experience, can happen at East Carolina.’ re As an assistant at © Georgia, you were involved with a number of teams that went to a bowl game and one that won a national championship, but do the accomplishments of this ECU team carry more significance for you? A This football team is the * most special because of the position that I’m in in relation to the position I was in with the oth- er teams. I’ve been very fortu- nate to be associated with some other good football teams, but none of them — and it’s a big dif- ference — none of them come close to the personal enjoyment, the personal satisfaction that I’ve gotten out of this football season and this football team. @ Before the season, did °® you feel you had a team that could have a winning season and possibly go to a bowl game? A First of all, we never * talked in terms of wins and losses. We just wanted to go out each game and be the best foot- ball team we could be. We have just concluded a fantastic season and that happened because you have outstanding football players and an excellent coaching staff. I’m so proud of every single player on our team _ because every one of them accepted their role. We asked them to accept their roles as they started to become defined. We asked them to be coachable and they were coachable then they took their very special talents and they found a way to use them to the maximum. @ In the past, ECU teams © havecome up short in the fourth quarter. Wednesday’s comeback against N.C. State was just another example of how well this year’s team played in the fourth quarter. What was the dif- ference? & Jeff Connors, our * strength and conditioning coach, took this football team to a new level when it comes to strength and conditioning, took them to a new level physically by just discipline and driving them and then. I think more important- ly, took them to a new level men-* tally as far as believing in them- selves and believing how impor- tant it was that you could go and win the battle of the fourth quarter. That’s something this football team did so very well. They learned a couple of lessons late last year, they carried it over, found a way to fight and scratch, whatever’s necessary to win in the fourth quarter. Q Do think if next year’s ¢ team goes 4-7 or 5-6, what was accomplished for the entire program this season would be lost? That’s the challenge of the 1992 team. That’s how A. The Daily Reflector ECU’s David Daniels (1) and Jeff Blake are prayerful as they watch N.C. State’s last second field goal go wide right. Lamont Edwards and Ronnie Williams (87) can’t bear to look. you become consistently recognized in this business or any business. You’ve got to do it next year, then you’ve got to do it the year after that. One of our goals for next year’s football team will be to come back and have another winning season. That’s the way you establish success and that’s the way you maintain success and recognition. You’ve got to go out and string together successful years. That’s the next level for this program. (Continued From C-1) Tech people. I have not heard anything from those people in any way, form or fashion. “T’ve got a job that I love right now.” ECU athletics director Dave Hart said he had not expected Tech to attempt to contact Lewis during preparations for the Peach Bowl, but wouldn’t be sur- prised if a call came soon. Lewis was contacted by Maryland officials in December, but withdrew his name from con- sideration. ca OH Ot anticipate they would try to contact Bill in Atlan- ta,” Hart said. “I know Homer Rice and that is not his style and it’s not my style. ' “Now that they’re in the throngs of their search, it would not come as a shock if we heard something.”’ is third season at ECU. After a 10-11-1 record his first two years, he led the Pir to school-record 11 wins a ranking of No. 9 in the co this year. Lewis, 50, is in Lewis has already been nan the United Press Internatic coach of the year and is a finali for the Associated Press coach of the year, the American Foo tball Coaches Association coach of the year, and the Football Writers of America Coach of the. year MONO Oo contact Section K The News & Observer Sunday, January 5, 1992 “sectio e victory dance Staff photo by Jim Bounds East Carolina’s Larry Farrare leaps for joy as the Pirates take the field after Damon Hartman’s field goal attempt failed on the final play of the 1992 Peach Bowl A fairy-tale football season unfolded for ECU By A.J. CARR Staff writer n the beginning, there were plenty of skeptics. They did not believe East Carolina would make a noticeable ripple in the college football world. Some figured the Pirates might win six games, with a break or two. Again the Bucs were over-scheduled and undermanned, the same old refrain heard during seven straight losing seasons. Then ECU kicked off its 1991 campaign at Illinois, fell far behind, rallied, suffered from a call Big Ten officials later admitted was wrong and came home a 38-31 loser. But if there was a turning point, that might have been it, Coach Bill Lewis reflected. “Tl never forget the feeling I had after that game,” said Lewis. “There was a certain air, I can’t describe it, when our players came into the dressing room. Not a head was down the way it is after some losses. I sensed that we could have a good football team, that we could go on from that point.” All of a sudden this team with the I Believe attitude began to do unbelievable things — things almost as unexpected as the Atlanta Braves’ rise and the Soviet Union’s demise. Opponents that had been unbeatable in the past were beaten. South Carolina fell. So did Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Lewis rode off the field on his players’ shoulders. Goal posts came down. Fans filled Ficklen Stadium and scrambled for a place on the Pirates’ bandwagon. A fairy-tale football season was unfolding. There would be 11 straight wins, eight in comeback fashion, a No. 9 national ranking and a classic 37-34 conquest of rival N.C. State in the Peach Bowl before it all came to a glorious end. These Pirates had a special charisma and ¢captivat- ed fans whose colors weren’t even purple and gold. They listened to Kenny Rogers’ lyrics, “When you put your heart in it, it’ll take you anywhere,” played out that tune on the field and buoyed the spirits of all who watched with miracle rallies. They taught us unforgettable lessons about how to deal with adversity, about never giving up. In the process this team became known as some- thing other than Pirates and Bucs. Names like Winners and Champions were more appropriate. They had Robert Jones, an All-America linebacker leading the defense, and resourceful Jeff Blake, a Heisman-type quarterback, directing the offense. Two like those might not pass this way again. Nor might fans see a Pirate team like this again. It’s the most enjoyable football season I’ve ever had, said Lewis, the UPI National Coach of the Year. And the ending unfolded as if Hans Christian re & Andersen had written the script. The Pirates went to Atlanta, enjoyed themselves off the field, then produced a Peach Bowl victory that was symbolic of their season. With 8:41 remaining, they trailed State 34-17. Blake ‘still had faith and was brilliant in the clutch again. He completed 15 of 21 passes on three quick touchdown drives. The clincher came on a 22-yard toss to determined tight end Luke Fisher with 1:32 left. And don’t overlook Cedric Van Buren, who might have made the most important fumble recovery in ECU football history when he pounced on a bobble at the State 29 to keep one TD drive alive. And how about the defense, which gave up 34 points, yet stopped the Pack three times in the fourth quarter? “Our approach was that this was the most impor- tant game we would ever play,” Lewis said. So the Pirates produced one more miracle — and the multitudes believed. sy MA e News a Observer Dennis Rogers Purple passion understandable Eastern North Carolina, the fer- tile lands from Interstate 95 to the Atlantic, is awash in purple and gold. David fought Goliath and the big guy went down. Wolfpackers took the rock to the head, but the Peach Bowl was more than one of the best football games ever played. The game was the fireworks that caught ev- eryone’s attention, but that eerie ‘“We Believe!” chant when the Pi- rates were 17 points down and sure losers came from 400-plus years of being treated like poor relatives. What was billed as a football game was a fight for recognition of a school and a region long scoffed at as being, as one editor warned me years ago, ‘“‘that great chicken yard that is Eastern North Carolina.” I admit my prejudice. I was reared in Eastern North Carolina and I love it. Ihave spent most of the past 15 professional years traveling more than 300,000 miles through the region. I was treated by colleagues here at the paper as almost a foreign correspondent sent out there, alone and un- armed, to explain the mysterious East to city readers. You could see it coming. When I first hit the road in 1977, I never made a reservation. Pull in at dark and there was room at the ‘inn. But that changed, and it -changed first in Greenville. One 'early-week night in 1983, I pulled | into my favorite motel, and it was full. 1 knew something was going on. ECU was the catalyst for that growth, and the people of Eastern North Carolina turned to Green- ville. Thirty years ago, Raleigh was the mecca of the east. People came to Raleigh to shop, to be en-. tertained, to touch the outside world. Then came the ECU medical - school. East Carolina grew to more than 16,000 students, far out- pacing its brother schools in the UNC system. Once there was Carolina and State and everybody else. Then there were three as ECU outgrew even Charlotte’s homegrown university. In the 1980s, Greenville grew 25.8 per- cent. East Carolina made its mark with its nationally famous cultural offerings in music, dra- ma and art. Most college teams count on alumni for support, but not ECU. If ever a team was adopted by people who never went to college, it was the Pirates, beloved from Wilmington to Wilson, from Eliza- beth City to Elizabethtown. ‘East Carolina, and Eastern Carolina, pride has been a long time coming and a long time over- due. Those who think of the region as tobacco barns, barbecue joints and satellite dishes have squinted too much as they headed for the beaches of Eastern North Caro- lina. They haven’t slowed down through beautiful Wilson and Ke- nansville and Trenton. They raced for the ferry and missed the 40 ex- quisite miles between Beaufort and Cedar Island. They didn’t see the waterfronts in Washington, Beaufort and Wilmington. They went the other way and didn’t see the Canada geese, swans and ducks at Lake Mattamuskeet in January. Now perhaps they will. East Carolina University has reared up on its hind legs and demanded to be noticed. It is, whether anyone likes it or knows it, a major uni- ‘versity and a tough football schoo] that would have beaten anyone in the state. I’m a Carolina fan, but I can sympathize with my Wolfpack friends. I’m glad we don’t have to play East Carolina. Once it was because they offered nothing to gain and everything to lose. Now they’re too good. But the Eastern North Carolina native in me heartily applauds the Pirates. With the hopes and aspi- rations of a neglected and laughed at part of the state riding with them, they kept the faith and kept the chant. They’ve always believed. Now everyone else does, too. The News & Observer Caulton Tudor Time for ’em to play Pirates TLANTA — Peach peels: A @ It’s high time that this state’s taxpayers instruct three of their best-paid employees — athletics directors John Swof- ford of North Carolina, Todd Turner of N.C. State and Dave Hart of East Carolina — to start an annual series that involves all three football programs in home- and-away rotating schedules. Why? For the good of North Carolina’s economy, that’s why. Forget the caliber of the games, which are as good as they come. That’s just part of the pie. Forget what it would do for foot- ball in the state. That’s just anoth-¢ er slice. Just stick with the bottom line. ECU and NCSU fans in the past week generated what Peach Bowl officials said would be $40 million for the Atlanta area. If UNC vs. ECU and NCSU vs. ECU produces just $2 million a year per game, think of what they could mean to small businesses and tax revenue. None of the many successful businessmen associated with the Peach Bow! could believe that North Carolina’s three largest state universities were so stupid as to disregard such an obvious public treasure. . “Somebody somewhere isn’t do- ing much thinking,”’ a top bowl of- ficial said. ‘‘In Georgia, the state would see to it that those three teams played every season.” North Carolina’s taxpayers pick up the base salary tab for top ath- letics officials at all three schools. Taxes maintain the sports com- plexes. It’s time the real bosses — those taxpayers — have some say in the scheduling. @ A few State fans were quick to criticize Wolfpack coach Dick Sheridan for what they perceived to be conversative play-calling in the fourth quarter Wednesday. But in the 12 minutes that.re- mained after the Pack took a 34-17 lead, State threw eight of its 24 to- tal passes and attempted an end- around play. Two incompletions on third down actually contributed more to ECU’s ability to regain possession than the play selection. And the play that may have decided the outcome — an 18-yard loss ona quarterback sack by the Pirates’ Zaim Cunmulaj and Derek Taylor — came when State’s Terry Jor- dan was trying to pass. On State’s first possession after it took the 34-17 lead, the offense started on its 5-yard line after Mike Reid intercepteda Jeff... .. Blake pass. Certainly, you don’t pass from there with a17-point _ leadand12minutesleft. The truth is that State, a very good team, lost to a great ECU team in much the same way good teams did. There was no stopping the Pirates’ offense when the - game was being decided. m Was ECU the best team in the nation? The guess here is that it probably was, although my final Associated Press No. 1 vote went to Miami, with Washington sec- ond, Penn State third and the Pi- rates fourth. But based on wire-to-wire.per- formance, no other team had an offense to match ECU’s. Blake’s overwhelming ability, coupled’ with the sophisticated pass game and the variety of receivers, _ would have made the Pirates at least an even-money bet to score big against any defense, even Mi- j ami’s. As for the moot issue of the Heisman Trophy, there simply can be no debate. Blake deserved it, hands down. Michigan’s Des- mond Howard, the recipient, cer- tainly had a great season, and na- tional exposure willremainthe | key to a successful Heisman cam- paign. But there’s no way Howard had a season to match Blake’s. Neither did Florida State’s Casey Weldon, nor Miami’s Gino Toret- ta, nor any of the other top con- tenders. When you think it over careful- ly, Blake and the Pirates did what nearly 100 percent of the college football world said was impossi- ple. And they did it from the first game of the season, at Illinois, to the last seconds of the final game. Inside @ Racing 3C Johnson make their alliance official. ms Scoreboard/Radio-TV 4C # Cityline: 549-5100 Bill Elliott and Junior ~ The Daily Reflector Saturday, January 4, 1992 MIKE GRIZZARD Bring back series Ah, to think what we’ve been missing. Four years without East Caroli- na vs. N.C. State. The state’s two best teams and no game between them. It took the Peach Bowl to get these two old rivals together. Left eastern North Carolina a virtual ghost town and pumped about $35 million into the pockets of Atlanta businesses. Think they were glad to see about 45,000 giddy North Caroli- nians in town for the holidays? The game came off without a hitch. A frenzied Fulton County Stadium, with purple-clad-saber- slashing Pirates and red-clad- towel-waving Wolfpack fans, was rocking. Started two hours before kickoff and didn’t stop until well after East Carolina’s improbable 37-34 comeback win. This was just good, clean fun. I guess you can have a game without exchanging a few punches or tearing down goalposts. Doing a little postgame landscaping, well Peach Bowl officials were all smiles. They had a record crowd of 59,322 and easily the most dra- matic finish in the New Year’s Day bonanza. School officials were also delighted. ‘“‘What occurred during the game was outstanding,” ECU athletics director Dave Hart said. “‘T have also said the State-KCU rivalry is one of the best in the na- tion and some people used to snicker, but the crowd support (Wednesday) cannot be denied.” Now, if we can only get toa point where these schools can sit down, iron out some kind of agreement and give the fans what they want. Make that what they deserve. A rivalry like this is what the state needs. Look around. There’s Clemson-South Carolina, Georgia-Georgia Tech and Virgin- ia-Virginia Tech. They don’t exchange Christmas gifts, but they do manage to keep a place on the schedule open for a little yearly get-together. It’s not likely ECU and State will play any time soon unless someone is willing to compromise. Hart and State AD Todd Turner spoke only socially in Atlanta. Discussions of the series never came up. Weren’t intended to. But all was not lost. What hap- pened on the field makes a bold statement. “T think what this does is it knocks down some potential bar- riers of excuses, excuses from ei- ther side,’’ Hart said. Ideally, ECU would like a home-and-home arrangement. A 2-for-1 deal would be considered. Money should not be an issue. Hart said his proposal allows N.C. State to keep its gate for its home game and for ECU to do the same for its home game. With Florida State entering the ACC, scheduling is an obstacle for the Wolfpack. Both sides have to givea little and take a little to set- tle the issue. Until then, guess who loses? “The biggest loser is the student bodies and the fans of the two in- stitutions involved,”’ Hart said. If it were left in the hands of the head coaches, the series would be resumed as soon as possible. Said East Carolina’s Bill Lewis: _ “T think it’s something that would be very positive for the game of football in the state of North Caro- lina. I think that both football pro- grams and all the people that fill- ed that stadium from both schools proved the series can be done in a class manner and it can be played in the spirit of sportsmanship at the highest level. “The level of competition, I don’t think it gets any better than that. We came out on the good end of it, but that was great football game for those two schools and for the two programs and all the peo- ple associated with it. I’d like to see us have an opportunity to do it ona regular basis. Whether it’s every year would not be impor- tant, but on some regular basis.”’ And N.C. State’s Dick Sheridan: “My stance is what it has always been and that is I would like to see the series renewed. I thought the game was well-played, well-sup- ported and everything surroun- ding the game was fine.” ’ rag thhg Al, acreage me ere oe ren 2 nde g tes et sceemmeemenc tent . - Ane eee sree eth Daft ~ hme Po fee mc ae A season ECU will remember By A.J. CARR Staff writer GREENVILLE — Bring Jeff Blake back onto the field and let him spiral one more pass. Robert Jones and ask him to deliver another jarring tackle. Play it again Pirates, and again and again. East Carolina’s season was something to savor. As long as ECU football is discussed, there will be talk of the ’91 team, of its comebacks and conquests un- matched by any previous Pirate eleven. Besides providing a zillion thrills, these Pirates proved three pertinent points, Coach Bill Lewis said. @East Carolina can have a winning team. @ It can go to a New Year’s Day bowl. @ Its players can gain national recognition. This ECU can-do team took Pirate football to that higher level Athletics Director Dave Hart Jr. envisioned when he hired Lewis three years ago. But already, even amid the euphoria of an 11-1 season and dramatic 37-34 Peach Bowl victo- ry over N.C. State, two questions arise: Can the Pirates sustain success, and can they keep their coach? “T think we broke down some barriers with this team,” Lewis, a strong candidate for the Georgia Pirates made record climb to 11-1 Opponent at Illinois Memphis State at Central Florida South Carolina at Syracuse Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech at Cincinnati Tech coaching vacancy, said dur- ing a pre-bowl interview. ‘‘The next level is to do it consistently. We have a simple goal, to have another winning season. The nu- cleus for a good, solid team is there.’’. But will Lewis be here to keep it going — or will he be at Georgia Tech? And what will the Pirate offense look like without Blake, who finished seventh in the Heis- man voting, and what will the defense do without Robert Jones, who made seven first-team All- America squads? “It will be different, but I think we'll be pretty good,” co-offensive Dennis Rogers For Pirate fans, glow continues Letters and leftovers: Not all East Carolina University fans live Down East. I’ve seen them coming out of the woods here in the Triangle now that East Carolina has won football brag- ging rights for this year, at least. Barbara Jones Smith, a language arts teacher at Raleigh’s Carroll Middle School is a proud Pirate, even more so now that the Purple and Gold triumphed in the Peach | Bowl. She writes: “1’m writing to thank you for capturing so eloquently what I feel about East Carolina winning the Peach Bowl. ‘‘Yes! I’m an Easterner. Wash- ington, the original, of course, is my hometown. I have also lived in Greenville and Goldsboro. I have one year of college from East Carolina University and three from UNC-Chapel Hill, where I graduated. ‘‘But once you’ve been dipped in the Pamlico, it is hard to stay away too long. Also, the implica- tion that the East was the state’s ugly stepsister was always real, just as you said. ‘“Therefore, and for all the rea- sons you gave, the game wasn’t just a game. It really was our part of our state receiving some long overdue recognition. I thank you for saying it so wonderfully.’ Before I make somebody else mad, and to bask just a bit longer, let’s hear from Keats Sparrow, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at ECU: “‘You’re cer- tainly right that recognition is a long time coming to East Carolina University and to Eastern North Carolina (of which I am a native son, from Kinston). ECU’s top- ranked Pirates, highly acclaimed medical school and nationally fa- mous cultural offerings in music, drama and art have helped con- siderably, as you say. ‘‘But it should also be noted that for more than 80 years East Caro- lina’s excellent academic pro- grams and faculty have contribut- ed more than any other force to the advancement of what is still, as you correctly describe it, ‘a ne- glected and laughed at part of the state.’ “‘Thousands of young people from the small towns and country roads of the East have had oppor- tunities for a better life only be- cause of the proximity of these programs and ECU’s scholars, writers, musicians, artists and coaches. Over the decades the University’s uplifting influence on coordinator Steve Shankweiler said. “‘All we needed to do was get over the hump. I can’t say we will go 11-1, but we will have a winning pee came program from here on out.”’ The Pirates lose seven starters off their potent offense — standout receivers Hunter Gallimore, Luke Fisher and Dion Johnson, fullback David Daniels, and linemen Keith Arnold and Mike McCalop in addition to Blake. Finding a quarterback to re- place Blake is like trying to find an artist to replace Picasso. Blake threw for more than 3,000 yards and performed mini-miracles. Michael Anderson, a 6-4, 226- pound redshirt freshman, is wait- ing in the wings. Sean McConnell also will get a strong look. “We feel very good about our quarterback situation,’ Shank- weiler said. ‘Both are very intelli- gent. Michael has an excellent arm, and his size presents a different picture. He can stand in against the rush and see things over the middle of the field. “He doesn’t have the open-field speed Jeff had, but he will be difficult to tackle. He has a very, very bright future. In a lot of ways he’s ahead of Blake at the same stage. Sean is very bright, and he does not make many mistakes.” The Pirates are solid at tailback with Cedric Van Buren, Junior Smith and Charles Miles return- ing. And Shankweiler said ECU expected to sign a couple of wide receivers who could make an immediate impact. Clayton Driver, who has a flair ‘for the spectacular, and Ronnie Williams, another key receiver, also are back. Carlester Crumpler is an able tight end. “Carlester is different from Luke, but the kid has a world of talent,’’ Shankweiler said. “With the opportunity to start, I expect him to be really effective for us.”’ Up front, the Pirates are uncer: tain who will fill the void left by Arnold, a three-year starter and academic All-America honoree. Defensively, five regulars de- part. Jones and cornerback Chris Hall leave crater-size voids. “You will not replace Robert, and you will not replace Chris,”’ Shankweiler continued. ‘But most of the kids are back. Our defense will be really good.” Other key losses include veter- an inside linebacker Ken Bur: nette, tackle Greg Gardill and cornerback Richard Wright. Among the returnees are ends Jerry Dillon and Bernard Carter, free safety Greg Grandison, strong safety Fred Walker, nose guard Zaim Cunmulaj and tackle Derek Taylor. Several other players also must emerge to prevent a decline after the amazing rise in ’91. But it’s seven months until they kick off the ’92 season. Let the Pirates revel in the glory of their miracle year for a few more days. Staff photo by Chris Seward | Bill Lewis in August, when it was all just a dream game for the ages One of the television announcers covering yesterday’s Peach Bowl, after reeling off the vital statistics of N.C. State and East Carolina, noted that some viewers might be saying of ECU, ‘‘Who are they?’’ Now they. know. Now everyone knows. ‘‘They’’ were the victorious half of a partnership that construct- ed a masterpiece in Atlanta’s Ful- ton County Stadium before 59,000 in-person fans, millions more around the country and, in these parts, just about everyone with electricity and a television set. It will be some time before those dents on the backs of thousands of pairs of thighs fade away — tangi- ble proof that this was one where seat backs didn’t get much wear and tear. _ The final tally was 37-34, and yes, it was as exciting as it sounds. Both sides proved their mettle, both deserved to win, both earned doffs of the purple and gold (or red and white) caps their fans wore. And those fans, their teams estranged since a nasty melee at Carter-Fin- ley stadium put an end to NCSU- ECU regular season meetings, ap- peared to get along fine. Sure, they’ll be singing ‘“‘Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?” in poet hid ang there will be the periunctory bragging rights, but that’s part of Toast dpi part, many of the players embraced after the game, smiling, congratu- the region has benefited hundreds of thousands in one way or anoth- er. ‘“‘Hasterners have come to real- ize that ECU represents the area’s intellectual, cultural, medical, economic and ecological promise for the future. They have begun to rally behind the University as the hope of the East. Their ‘We Be- lieve’ slogan is not just about ECU’s football team. It is also about what ECU can do for East- ern North Carolina and, hence, for North Carolina and the nation. “Your column plays no small part in letting Tar Heels every- where in on one of our state’s best kept secrets — that East Carolina University is indeed another ma- jor North Carolina university and the one that is steadily leading this beautiful and wonderful, albe- it neglected, part of the world into better times. I doff my hat to you, sir, for a most insightful and fair- minded column and for your part in advancing our cause.”’ RERSONALLN, 1/M GETTING SICK AND TIRED OF CoscRoves ZEST FOR LIFE! off. lating one another — doubtless. relieved the pressure was finally But speaking of pressure... It now falls to athletics officials from these schools to continue to work on putting together a renewal of this rivalry for regular football seasons to come. The fans want it, and the quick sellout of Peach Bowl tickets — along with the peaceful cohabita- tion of the stadium — is ample evidence that this is a success waiting to happen. It is time for the separation to end, for the marriage to be patched up. If the Peach Bow] is an example — and it’s a dandy one — these folks have proved they can make beautiful music together. The News & Observer | Mickey 2 McCarthy Lewis’ address in °92. uncertain Mave those tears, East Caro- S lina, if the football coach de- “ parts. You’ve had three great seasons. Bill Lewis is a man who thrives on challenges. That’s why he took the Pirate post on a December day in 1988. Now his handiwork is there for all to see. He started slowly, building block by block. There was a 5-5-1 season, followed by a 5-6 mark. Then he hit the jackpot. He took a tiny independent, pinched by money woes, branded with a difficult schedule, to the top of the college football world. ECU, a nobody, became a some- | body, capping a spectacular 10-1 regular season with an electrify- ing victory in the Peach Bowl. The pollsters accorded the Pirates their due, voting them the ninth- best team in the land. With success, comes attention: And with attention, comes a pant- ing list of suitors. Bill Lewis, as they say, is hot. Now, reasoned his colleagues, would there ever be a better time to make a career move. Maryland bid first. Lewis said no. | The next beau was Georgia Tech. This one is serious. The Jackets likely have made their pitch. They have a lot to offer. Lewis, 50, may be facing the — most difficult decision of his coaching life. He is not an impulsive man. It’s not his style to job hop for a few more dollars a week. There are only a handful of job offers he would consider. And this may he one of them. Lewis would have to feel comfortable with the surroundings and feel he has the tools to succeed. But EGU need not despair yet. Theré are a lot ef pluses in Greenville. Breaking up with the Pirates would be a hard thing to do. Lewis was deeply affected when his boss, AD Dave Hart, turned down a more lucrative of- fer to go to Pittsburgh. His family likes living in Green- ville. Lewis is a family man first, then a football coach. His staff en- joys the laid-back lifestyle. And, let’s face it. Lewis loves this 1991 football team. Most times, he’s not a man giv- en to emotion. But that resolve be- trayed him this year. As the splen- dor of the season increased, Lewis admitted that he had become very — attached, very emotional about these Pirates. It came as no surprise last week when the highly successful Bobby Ross bolted Georgia Tech for the NFL. Tech people thought Ross had tired of the college grind, of baby-sitting 100 or so athletes. And it is no surprise that the Jackets are eyeing Lewis. He once was an assistant there, and he al- so coached at rival Georgia for nine seasons. His coaching cre- dentials are irrefutable. When Lewis accepted the ECU post, one of his strongest recom- mendations came from Homer Rice, the same Homer Rice who is Tech’s athletics director. Should Lewis be the man, he would be inheriting a high profile program that captured a national championship a year ago. Tech is in a big time conference, rests in the bosom of booming Atlanta and boasts solid academics. The canny Rice has overhauled the facilities and given the Jack- ets a splendid chance to succeed in all sports. One problem for Lewis would be getting the upper hand on state ri- val Georgia. The Bulldogs annual- ly harvest one of the country’s best recruiting classes. Keeping top jocks away from the attrac- tive state school always has been a problem. But this man Lewis can coach. We know that. What we don’t know is his ad- dress in 1992. The purple and gold is fervently hoping that the coach stays home. He’s ‘good folks’ as they say. . ECU vs. Tech. The battle is on. The Daily Reflector Monday, January 6, 1992 By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR East Carolina head football coach Bill Lewis has talked informally with Georgia Tech officials and was expected to meet with a nine-member selection committee Sunday night or today. Lewis is among three candidates being considered to succeed Bobby Ross, who re- signed Tuesday to become the head coach of the San Diego Chargers. Tech athletics director Homer Rice said late last week that he would like a head coach in place by Tuesday. Two members of Ross’s staff — offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen and defensive coordinator George - O'Leary — have also expressed interest in the job. ECU’s Lewis to in Jacket players. / Rice, the spokesman for the selction committee formed by school president Pat Crecine, could not be reached for comment Sunday night. Crecine, Lewis and ECU athletics director Dave Hart also could not be reached. Hart is in Anaheim, Calif., for the annual NCAA convention, which begins Tuesday. Lewis and his assistants are scheduled to at- tend the American Football Coaches Asso- ciation national convention, which runs to- day through Thursday in Dallas, Texas. Lewis, 50, has a four-year contract with East Carolina that renews itself each year. Any school that hires him will have to pay $380,000 to buy out the contract — four years at a base salary of $95,000. : Ross had a base salary of $150,000. In December, Lewis was mentioned as a possible candidate for an opening at Maryland, but said the timing wasn’t right and withdrew his name from consideration. He did say, however, that he would not have a closed ear to other offers. Georgia Tech could be attractive to Lewis given its membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference, a recent national championship and some personal ties to Georgia and the Atlanta area. _Lewis spent two years (1971-72) as defen- sive backfield coach Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets earned a bowl bid each year. After his only other job as head coach, a three-year stint at Wyoming, Lewis joined the staff at the University of Georgia where he was an assistant for nine years. During his years in Athens, the Bulldogs e Comics ¢ Entertainment _ © Classified age appeared in nine bowls and won a national championship. Lewis was hired by East Carolina on Dec. 3, 1988 and posted 5-5-1 and 5-6 records his first two seasons. His third team won its last 11 games, including a 37-34 victory over N.C. State in the Peach Bowl last Wednes- day, to finish 11-1 and ranked ninth in the nation. at Lewis leaves for Tech, Pirate co-offen- Sive coordinator and quarterback coach Steve Logan is among the top candidates as a successor. Logan, in his third year as an assistant, helped groom Jeff Blake into one of the nation’s best quarterbacks this sea- son. _Logan’s offense helped East Carolina finish as one of only three teams in the na- tion this season to score more than 20 points in each of its games. ous ERIE MoD aed SPECS DERN KS Bo bec” ee cence & o ~ Fe, oy 55 Sse Cc - _ Py i , oe > bs ve ogee © yeee 6 . oe AR " ~* sy CEE AS NOES IS ASIOSS SSR SEO LS DOS SNA bea Tuesday January 7, 1992 Curlers are back A soft roll replaces the spiked look See D-1 terview with Tech O’Leary reportedly is the choice of Yellow, BILL LEWIS »nville Bill Lewis leaves ECU to become head coach at Georgia Tech By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR On New Year’s Day in Atlanta, Bill Lewis spent perhaps his hap- piest day as a head football coach. Monday, he was back in the city to take the biggest step in his ca- reer. Five days after leading his East Carolina Pirates to a 37-34 win over N.C. State in the Peach Bowl, Lewis returned to Atlanta to re- sign his position at ECU and an- nounce he will become the head football coach at Georgia Tech. Lewis succeeds Bobby Ross, Lewis leaves ECU (Continued from A-1) — tion and there will probably be some people upset, but when you make a career decision there is a certain amount of selfishness in- volved. “T had.to be concerned about what was best for me and what was best for my family ... The people that know me known how much I love East Carolina and those players and the people in- volved with that program.’ Lewis was chosen from a list of ‘four finalists that also included Tech defensive coordinator George O’Leary, Tech offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen and Florida “A&M. head coach Ken Riley. Lewis spoke at length with Tech Athletics Director Homer Rice on Friday, then met with a_nine- member selection committee Sun- day evening. The offer was made ‘Monday morning, Lewis accepted ‘and his appointment was confirm- ed» by vote of trustees of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association ‘ata 5 p.m. meeting. ‘Bill has an outstanding football - background,’’ Rice said. ‘“‘His re- e ECU players say they’re not surprised — Page C-1 who stepped down at Tech last week to become the head coach of the NF'L’s San Diego Chargers. Lewis was officially introduced at a 6 p.m. press conference in At- lanta. “This is one of the happiest days of my life,’ Lewis said. ‘‘This op- portunity is one of the remaining goals of my career, to coach at an cord speaks for itself, but what really sold me on him is his ability to communicate.”’ Lewis, 50, compiled a 21-12-1 re- cord in three years at East Caroli- na. His only other experience as a head coach was at Wyoming (1977-79) where he had a 14-20-1 record. Lewis has been an assistant at his alma mater, East Stroudsburg State (1963-65), Pittsburgh (1966- 68), Wake Forest (1970), Georgia Tech (1971-72), Arkansas (1975) and Georgia (1980-88). Rice said Lewis’ reputation for hard work, discipline, organiza- tion and a devotion to family made him an attractive choice. ‘Although I have known Bill for many years and have admired his work on and off the field, I did more research on his 29-year ca- reer than anyone I’ve ever been associated with,’ Rice said. ““He has an impeccable background of integrity. He is a family man and a man of high principle. He re- ceived only the highest *marks from his peers.” Lewis received a five-year rollover contract — a contract that renews itself each year. The non chptiie tibet arty 0: job to head Georgia Te institution that believes in the concept of the student-athlete. “Georgia Tech has been a na- tional leader in that area for a long time and I believe that col- legiate athletics in the 90s are headed in that direction.” Lewis, who by his own admis- sion got emotionally attached to this year’s ECU team, said his decision to leave was not easy and added he hoped the move to Tech would be his last. “Tt was a career decision,” Lewis said. “It was not an easy decision. There was a lot of emo- (See LEWIS, A-5) BILL LEWIS On the ECU sidelines base salary was not disclosed. Ross had a base salary of $150,000, but radio, television and other interests put his earnings in excess of $350,000. At ECU Lewis had three years remaining on a four-year rollover contract with a base salary of $95,000. Either Tech or Lewis would have to settle a buyout clause for the remainder of the contract for Lewis to be released. Lewis said he assumed a loan to buy out the contract. He did not disclose the amount, but Henry VanSant, an associate athletics director for administration at ECU, said ‘‘I can guarantee the buyout clause of the contract was enforced 100 percent.”’ The three years remaining would stick Lewis with a bill of $285,000. “T would not expect (Tech) to do that,’ Lewis said. “It’s my total responsibility. It’s going to be a burden, but it’s a decision my wife and I talked about and were will- ing todo.” During the Lewis era, ECU posted its first winning season since 1983 and made its first bowl appearance since 1978. The 1991 team, which finished 11-1, set a school record for wins and finish- ed ranked ninth in the country. ‘We appreciate all the contribu- tions Coach Lewis has made to the football program and we wish him the best in years ahead,” ECU Director of Athletics Dave Hart said. ‘‘The players in our football program have reached the next level and they remain my number one priority. We can look forward to continued success under new leadership.” The search for a new coach at ECU will begin immediately, Hart said. A selection committee will be announced Friday. Without mentioning any names, Lewis recommended a member of his staff be his successor. He plans to keep two members of the Tech staff — running back coach Danny Smith has already been hired — then see which ECU assistants want to join him. Despite who the next head coach is, Lewis believes the ECU pro- gram is on firm ground. “‘There’s so much ahead for that program,” Lewis said. ‘“‘We took one of the first big steps, and there is so much left as far as continuity Pirate fans say they understand __ By Tom Morris THE DAILY REFLECTOR The news that Bill Lewis was leaving East Carolina Universi- ty hit Pirate fans hard Monday, but many supporters seemed to understand why he took the job as Georgia Tech’s head football coach. “Basically, | can’t blame him a bit, said Pirate fan David Scott. ‘It’s an offer he can’t refuse. He’s 11-1 and extremely marketable. Next year, he could be 2-9 and not go any- where. It’s a major loss for ECU.” Lewis guided the Pirates to the most successful season in school history in 1991, including an 11-1 record and a 37-34 win (See PIRATE, A-5) and consistency. “Youre not to win 11 games every year — very few teams do — but the foundation and the base is there to be successful.” Lewis met with his new team Monday night. He plans to spend Tuesday in Atlanta, then return to ch’s football program Greenville on Wednesday to clean out his office. He is scheduled to attend the final day of the American Football Coaches Association convention on Thursday, then return to Atlanta on Friday to meet with Tech recruits. (Continued from A-1) over North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day. The season was an unex- pected delight for ECU fans, who hadn’t had a winning sea- son since 1983 and hadn’t been to a bowl game since 1978. The Peach Bowl drew close to 30,000 Pirate fans to Atlanta for one of the biggest wins in school histo- ry and one of the most exciting games in college football. Less than a week later, the ECU fans who were riding high in Atlanta are in the doldrums over Lewis’ departure. “Tf you fall in love with your university, you will build a pro- gram,” said Chris Fuller, a Washington resident who is the president of the Pirate Club. “If you fall in love with a coach, it can break your heart. “T feel like the foundation is there to continue the success we’ve encountered if the fans can continue their support, and I know they will.” The move to Atlanta is a homecoming of sorts for the 51-year old Lewis. He was an assistant at Georgia Tech from 1971 through 1972 and later spent 1980 through 1988 at the nearby University of Georgia in Athens. It was after his stint at Georgia that Lewis came to ECU. Lewis helped rebuild the ECU program in three years. At Tech, he takes over an estab- lished program that is coming off a 18-17 win over Stanford in the Aloha Bowl. “It'll be a whole lot better for him,” said Charles Davis, an ECU fan from Greenville. ‘It’s / Pirate fans sad making more money. “He put a whole lot of spirit in the football team here. He’s really done something in my opinion.”’ Georgia Tech was not the first school to come after Lewis during his time at ECU. In December, the University of Maryland contacted Lewis about its football coaching vacancy, but Lewis asked that his name be removed from con- sideration. That move prompted some to believe the coach would stay at ECU a lit- tle longer. Fuller said he was also sur- prised. “I’m surprised that anyone would ever want to leave East Carolina,” he said. “First of all, I’d like to wish coach Lewis the best of luck in the future. I’d like to challenge the 30- 40,000 Pirate fans in Atlanta to rally behind the university be- cause it’s the support of the fans more than anything else that takes us to the next level. Fuller said Lewis’ successor was not a matter of concern for the Pirate Club, though. “The focus of the Pirate Club is to raise funds, to provide scholarships for student athletes,”’ he said. ‘“The Pirate Club is not in the business of hiring and firing coaches, athletic directors or chancellors.’’ Scott said he thought most ECU fans would take the news well and understand why Lewis was leaving. “Just in the last four hours, I haven’t heard one negative thing,” he said. “I think it’s great. People should respect that.”’ ete ECU football program to start new era Search for a new coach will begin immediately By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR East Carolina athletics director Dave Hart wants to move quickly to find a successor for head coach Bill Lewis. The success of this season should only help the search. “This position is certain to at- tract high-quality candidates,”’ said Hart, who is Anaheim, Calif., for the annual NCAA convention. - “We will begin a search for a head football coach immediately. ‘“‘Due to the timing of the transi- tion, we will move as quickly as possible to name a head coach.” Lewis, 50, announced Monday that he is resigning to become head coach at Georgia Tech. He replaces Bobby Ross, who stepped down at Tech to become head coach of the San Diego Chargers. East Carolina finished 11-1 this season, including a 37-34 win over N.C. State in the Peach Bowl. Among the candidates to replace Lewis are ECU co-offensive coor- dinator Steve Logan, former Ari- zona State coach Larry Marmie, former ECU offensive coordinator and Florida State quarterback coach Mark Richt, Marshall head coach Jim Donnan, William & Mary head coach Jimmye Laycock and Miami Dolphins quarterback coach Gary Stevens. Lewis said he would like to see a member of his former staff to get the job. ‘“‘What I would like to do is see that opportunity given to someone on our staff,’ Lewis said. ‘But that will be Dave Hart’s responsi- bility. “T don’t know which members are interested or which ones will apply.” (See SEARCH, C-6) “Everybody unders- tands this is a business and he made a business decision. He did what he could do at East Carolina and now it’s time that he moves on.”’ —Clayton Driver ig Decision doesn’t shock Pirate players By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR The official word that head foot- ball coach Bill Lewis is leaving for Georgia Tech doesn’t come as a shock to East Carolina players. But it is news they really didn’t want to hear. “T feel sad ... I feel really sad,’’ said sophomore cornerback Greg Floyd from his home in Anderson, S.C. ‘“‘After having a season like we had and to have Coach Lewis leave kind of puts a damper on things ... He’s going to do well there and I wish him all the luck.”’ Lewis, a candidate for national coach of the year, was named on Monday as the successor to Bobby Ross, who resigned last week to become the head coach of the San Diego Chargers. Speculation that Lewis was high on Tech’s list began last week while East Caro- lina was in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. ECU FOOTBALL The Pirates defeated N.C. State 37-34 to finish the season with an ~ 11-1 record. The record, along with a No. 9 national ranking, are the best in school history. Clayton Driver, reached at his home in College Park just outside Atlanta, said he realized a chance to coach in the Atlantic Coast Con- ference may have been attractive for Lewis. The Yellow Jackets won the UPI national champi- onship in 1990. “‘T understand the opportunity at Georgia Tech might be a little bet- ter than that in Greenville,” Driver said. ‘‘He will be in a con- ference and have all the privileges that go along with a conference. “Everybody understands this is a business and he made a business decision. He did what he could do at East Carolina and now it’s time that he moves on. I just hope that he does as good a job at Tech as he did here.”’ Added redshirt junior wide re- ceiver Peter Zophy: ‘“‘Everyone on the team wasn’t really sure what he was going to do. Since we had such a good record, we kind of ex- pected some schools would talk to him. “I just hope that we can keep our same staff, the same coor- dinators. We’ve had the same coaches for three years and it’s taken three years to learn the of- fense. If we got new coaches, we would have to go through a whole new offense. That’s the main thing I’m worried about.”’ Henry VanSant, associate athletics director for administra- tion, said a timetable to name a new coach had not been set. A top candidate for a successor is East Carolina co-offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Steve Logan. But Logan said last week that if Lewis left, he ‘‘would bounce on his tongue to follow him.” comment Monday. “T would love to see Coach | (See PLAYERS, C-6) Players (Continued from C-1) . Logan get it, not just because he’s my coach, but he and Coach (Steve) Shankweiler were 95 per- cent responsible for what we did on offense,” redshirt junior quar- terback Sean McConnell said from his home in Downey, Calif. ‘‘This is not the easiest offense to learn. If they stay, the offense can only get better.” The entire coaching staff return- ing intact was critical to this sea- son’s success. Having to start over with an entirely knew staff would bea major setback, Zophy said. ‘““As long as they don’t clear out the whole coaching staff then we can continue what we were doing this year offensively and defen- sively,’ Zophy said. ‘“‘We’ve been together three years and everyone seemed comfortable with their role on the team.”’ Floyd said he felt the program was at.a level where it could sur- vive the loss of its head coach and still compete at a national level. “With the type of players that we have we'll be able to pick up and keep right on going,’ Floyd said. ‘‘Coach Lewis would want us to continue and keep winning. “He put us on the map so to speak. We just have to carry on.” Recruiting will be the biggest area affected by the departure of Lewis. Several recruits are sched- ule to visit this weekend. “Tt’s the the middle of recruiting season,’’ Driver said. ‘“‘I was just sitting here thinking, we’re sup- posed to have 16 recruits this weekend and who are they going to talk to?”’ Floyd and junior running back Cedric Van Buren said the things Lewis established, such as the slogan “I believe,’’ will live on. ‘“‘Coach Lewis was a motivator,”’ Floyd said. ‘“‘Not only was he a motivator, he was aggressive and because he had that aggressive in- stinct and was able to motivaie people, he made everyone around him aggressive. ‘He wanted the whole kit and kaboodle. When we beat South Carolina, when we beat Syracuse, he didn’t sit back and say ‘OK that’s it.’ He wanted the whole thing and 11-1 is what we did.”’ The Associated Press Former East Carolina head coach Bill Lewis is the new head coach at Georgia Tech ‘Monday, but said last wee Search (Continued from C-1) Logan has been mentioned as the top candidate and has been endorsed by several players. He could not be reached for comment “he would bounce on his tongue to follow (Lewis)”’ if Lewis left. “I think Steve would (be a good choice) and other members of the staff,’’ Lewis said. ; “Steve Logan certainly will be considered,’’ said Henry VanSant, ECU’s associate athletics director for administration. ‘ Lewis is expected to have sev- eral openings on the Yellow Jackets’ staff. He said he had hired running back coach Danny Smith on Monday and would like to retain one more assistant, © Lewis added he would like to complete his staff with members from his ECU staff. Hart said a selection committee will be announced Friday. Sixteen recruits are scheduléd to visit the ECU campus this weekend. SESE SSS SES SARS SSS SS The News & Observer Logan could not be reached for Hayden waits for telephone call (Continued from B-1) never heard of that can throw the ball a million miles.’ ‘And look, Jeff Blake went out and did just that. Dick Sheridan called me just before the Peach Bowl. I told him, ‘Don’t play soft on their receivers. Blake will eat you up.’ Look what happened. ef Speculation about Fox’s interest in the job was sparked by a report by ESPN’s Lee Corso. “There’s no way in this world Hayden Fox will even be tempted to come to East Carolina,’ Corso said. ‘Check my track record. Lava T ever been wrong before? If there’s one place where I know my stuff, it’s with Eastern Carolina. My sources there say Hayden Fox has already turned them down.” That was denied by Fox’s daughter, Kelly, who said her dad hasn’t officially been contacted by ECU officials. ‘My dad is still very much in- terested in that job, despite what you read or hear,’ she said. “From what I understand, Luther rented a plane and is planning to fly Daddy down there within the week so that he can show ECU how very interested he really is.”’ Fox is a natural for the ECU job. He’s a high-profile coach who is a strong communicator and a good problem solver. ‘Heck, it seems like each week a new problem comes up and I usually take care of it within 20 minutes, not counting commer- cials,’’ Fox said. ‘I’m not perfect. Most of America knows that. But I’m pretty darn close. “Plus, I love barbecue.”’ Morris writes about East Caro- lina University for The Daily Reflector. He recently covered the Peach Bow! from Atlanta. Staff writer Tom Morris had an imaginary conversation with TV character Hayden Fox of the se- ries “Coach” this week about the vacant head football coaching spot at East Carolina University. Hayden Fox has never been known for beating around the bush, so take him at his word when he says wants to be the next head football coach at East Caro- lina University. The well-known coach at -Min- nesota State, Fox said he’s waiting by the phone, hoping ECU officials will call soon. “Heck, I‘d jump at the chance to go down there,” Fox said from his office at ABC. “I’ve talked to Luther and Dobber and they both think it would be a good move. Let me stress, I’ve had no contact Searching for Phil Fulmer _ Tennessee offensive coordinator Larry Marmie Former Arizona State coach Arcee irginia linebacker coach ‘Former Clemson coach Fforida State quarterback coach TOM MORRIS with anybody from ECU. But I know they’re looking for a coach and hey, I’m available. “I’ve done all I can do up here at Minnesota State, plus it’s cold as hell here and I’m tired of snow.” There has been a great deal of Speculation about candidates for the position since Bill Lewis, the national coach of the year, re- By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Tennessee offensive coordinator Phillip Fulmer, former Arizona State head coach Larry Marmie and Virginia linebacker coach Mike Archer have not been con- tacted about possibly succeeding Bill Lewis as East Carolina’s head coach, but they’re definitely inter- ested. “‘No question at all that I would have an interest,’ Marmie said from the American’ Football Coaches Convention in Dallas. ‘“‘I would pursue the job. I would be less than honest if I didn’t say that.” Fulmer also said he would like to talk about the job with ECU. “‘I certainly would,”’ Fulmer said. Archer, a former head coach at LSU, has also expressed interest. He had checked out of the Loews Anatole hotel in Dallas Wednesday afternoon and could not be reach- ed for comment. Fulmer, Marmie and Archer are e 6 Hayden believes! ; Coach’ wants spot on Ficklen’s signed to take the Georgia Tech job Jan. 6. But Fox said he wouldn’t put much stock in those reports. “That’s just bull, a bunch of sportswriters sitting. around trying to outguess themselves,” he said. “T’m the real thing. I want the job and I know they’ll want me. My record speaks for itself, except for the negative stuff. “When I think of East Carolina, I think of all the things that are good in college football — a pack- ed stadium, a bunch of pretty cheerleaders, guys mashing the stuffing out of each other and a rollover contract — gosh darnit, that’s football. “Td be proud to coach at an in- stitution that believes in the con- cept of the student-athlete. I might as well go ahead and say it now, I Believe!”’ Fox should be familiar to col- lege football fans. Like Notre Dame, he seems to show up on television every week. He bears a Striking resemblance to actor Craig T. Nelson and is known as a player’s coach. He took over a football program that appeared almost non-existent Just a few years ago and turned it into a winner ... well, at least in the Neilsen ratings. _It was his first coaching posi- tion. That inexperience was no problem for Fox, who quickly won the hearts of the administration, the alumni and the network brass. ‘Well Hayden, gosh, he’s just the greatest coach that ever liv- ed,” said Luther, his faithful as- sistant coach and best friend. “‘I’d Fulmer, Marmie, Archer are definitely interested only three of the candidates being mentioned as successors to Lewis, who resigned Monday to become the head coach at Georgia Tech. Among the other names surfacing during early speculation are Steve Logan, co-offensive coordinator at East Carolina; Les Herrin, defen- sive line coach at Clemson; Mark Richt, quarterback coach at Florida State; and Danny Ford, former Clemson head coach. East Carolina athletics director Dave Hart will announce a selec- tion committee on Friday. Hart has been in Dallas the past two days, but Fulmer and Marmie said they had not been approached concerning the ECU vacancy. “T haven’t been in contact with anybody at East Carolina,’. Fulmer said. Logan has the support of East Carolina fans and players. Just walk by the back of the Sports Medicine Building and you'll see a sign that reads ‘‘We believe in Steve.”’ He also has the support of Bill Lewis. Lewis has added six ECU assistants to his staff at Tech, but has endorsed Logan for the ECU job. Logan is not talking about his in- tentions. But Lewis said Wednes- day if Logan is offered the job, he would accept it. Of course, Hart will have the final word. ‘“‘T have had some conservations with Dave,’ Lewis said. ‘‘My ini- tial opinion was that the job should go to someone on the staff, but when I saw that Steve Logan was the only candidate, I gave him my full support. crawl across my belly on glass to be with him down there at ECU. I'd bounce from Minnesota to North Carolina on my tongue to stay with him.”’ Fox said he’d be willing to come to Greenville any time for an in- terview, with the exception of Tuesday nights from 9:30 p.m. un- til 10 p.m. due to a previous com- mitment. “Believe me, any other time I can, come,” . Fox’: said’? “T’ve followed them all year. What a _ team, the wide-open passing, the come-from-behind wins, MAN I want to be a part of that. “T remember telling people two years ago at the coach’s conven- tion: ‘Watch ECU in ’91. They’ve got a quarterback who you’ve (See HAYDEN, B-2) ‘I think he would be outstand- ing. If I had a vote, I’d vote for Steve Logan.”’ If Logan, who played a key role in the design of the Pirates’ high- powered offense this season, is not offered the job, he will join Lewis at Tech. “TI told Steve he has as much time as he wanted,’’ Lewis said. “If Dave does not select Steve Logan, I hope he will select some- one that has a mind toward a wide-open offense.”’ Fulmer, 41, fits the mold of an offensive-minded coach. He has been at Tennessee since 1980, the last twop of which he has spent as the Vols’ offensive coordinator. Fulmer said the position of head coach at East Carolina has become attractive because of the success of this past season. Under Lewis, the Pirates finished 11-1 and ranked ninth in the nation. “T think it would interest a lot of people,”’ Fulmer said. ‘‘I think it would be an out$tanding job for whoever follows PAll Lewis. Sideline CRAIG T. NELSON Plays role of coach Logan endorsed by Lewis, ECU players ‘‘Hast Carolina has a lot of great things going for it. It’s a team that is certainly on the move and there is great support in the area.”’ Marmie has coached college football since 1968. He was defen- sive coordinator at Arizona State from 1985-87 before taking over as head coach. Marmie was fired at the end of this season, finishing with a 22-21-1 overall record. He also likes the opportunity ECU presents. “The first thing you look at is the recent success that they’ve had,’ Marmie said. ‘‘You’re talk- ing about a football team that just finished in the top 10 in the coun- try. “Certainly there has been a tremendous amount of growth and building that has been done in that program. As I look at it, it looks to me like it’s a program that is in a position now where you're going to strive for a situation where you can win on a very Consistent basis.”’ , McCarthy Next ECU coach to face the heat P ity the next East Carolina football coach. My advice: Rent, don’t buy. Get an unlisted telephone number. Watch for moving vans. Grow a thick skin. Keep an updat- | ed resume. But then again, maybe the new guy will win 11 games and knock off N.C. State in the Domino’s Piz- za Copper Bowl. If he does that, the cry might be, ‘*Bill Who?”’ As you know by now, Bill Lewis, Greenville’s 1991 Man of the Year, is a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket. He was sworn in Monday evening in Atlanta. The Pirates are in the market for a coach, not any coach, mind - you, but one who can do as Lewis did. ~The school soon will form a search committee, a so-called democratic process to conduct a coaching hunt. Don’t be fooled by that fancy title. Dave Hart Jr., the athletics director, will make the call. And no matter whom Hart chooses, Knute Rockne IV or Steve Logan, the man will face an uphill scramble. ECU fans are in a terrific mood, still delirious over the conquest of N.C. State in the Peach Bowl. And they’ll continue to hoot and holler until the Pirates lose a few next year. You see, football fans are a fickle lot. Bill Godfrey, an SEC fullback from years ago, Said it best: ‘‘Ain’t fans the nicest to you when you win.” His words are true to- day. The next ECU coach will feel plenty of heat. Let’s face it, ECU fans have been spoiled. No longer will a 6-5 or 5-5-1 sea- son be good enough. The Pirates have tasted a slice of the big time, and they loved it. The result is called expecta- tions, and many a coach has walked the gangplank for not meeting them. Lewis is a fine coach, but I doubt he would win 11 games next season. In fact, think he would be fortunate to win five or six. Don’t forget who else is leaving town. Jeff Blake, Robert Jones and Luke Fisher, among others. What Lewis leaves isa legacy of hard work, positive thinking, a feeling of goodwill. And there should be no rancor at his departure. Instead, ECU should build on what he accom- plished. Thanks to Lewis, the college football world knows a little some- thing about the Bucs. Better ath- letes are finding their way to Greenville, the once-fragile pro- gram is a mite stronger. And Georgia Tech was a natural for Lewis. He coached there once before, as an assistant in 1971-72. He. was an assistant at Georgia for nine years. He knows the state, loves Atlanta. Football people at Georgia aren’t among those applauding. He will give the Dawgs fits. Geor- gia may have the better players, but Tech will have the upper hand on the sidelines. There is enough talent on hand for Tech to make some noise in the ACC. Florida State and Clem- son will be the front-runners, but Shawn Jones and several key per- formers return. And Lewis will be encountering a little bit of this expectation game, too. Bobby Ross, the de- parting coach, won a national championship in 1990. He was the first coach to remind anyone of the great Bobby Dodd, who posted Hall of Fame numbers for a quar- ter of a century. Those who followed Dodd — Bud Carson, Bill Fulcher and Pepper Rodgers — never gained the true affection of Tech fans. Ross came close. Lewis may not be the next Dodd, but he is a good one. Tech was lucky. It got a coach and a gentleman, a tough combi- nation to beat. I believe, if I may borrow a phase, the Jackets got the right man. — Now let’s hope the expectations don’t get him. And his successor at ECU. Let’s give ’em a chance. Tobacco and turmoil Growers feeling heat of anti-smoking forces sunday epiragee Shaye $1.00 January 12, 1992 605 FARMHURST DR. #9 Greenville CHARLOTTE: NC #8247 es a It’s time ORR ECU c a By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR After a week of uncertainty and speculation, East Carolina’s foot- ball program once again has something to smile about. Steve Logan, the sentimental favorite to succeed Bill Lewis, was named Saturday as head football coach at ECU. Logan, appearing with his wife Laura and sons Vincent and Nathanael, received a_ standing ovation of nearly a minute from a large gathering of administrators, media and fans at a press con- ference called by Athletic Director Dave Hart to announce his ap- pointment. The Lawton, Okla., native takes the position left vacant when Lewis resigned on Monday to become the head coach at Georgia Tech. Logan was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterback coach on this year’s ECU team, which beat N.C. State in the Peach Bowl, finished 11-1 and was ranked ninth in the nation. © “The last 11 days have been a roller coaster for everybody from the football game (Peach Bowl), from the football season, to the re- cent things that have happened,”’ Logan said. “‘I would like to invite everybody now to come together and heal and get back on top, feel good, feel good about where we’re headed and get back to enjoying what was so wonderful and to see if we can go on to that next chal- lenge — which is a greater chal- lenge — which is to stay on top. Getting there is one thing, but eLogan: Offense will not suffer —Page C-1 staying on top is really the biggest challenge of all.” Hart, who announced a 10- member advisory committee in a Friday press conference, said he had planned to interview three more candidates, but came to the conclusion Saturday morning that Logan fit all the criteria to take over the program. “This decision that was made today, which I feel so very good about, really began about 3 o’clock in the morning,” Hart said. ‘I phoned the chancellor (Dr. Richard B. Eakin) this morning a little before 7 and told him that I felt like I was ready to give him a recommendation on the head coach at East Carolina. “T told him I felt very strongly that we had the best man for the job right here in Greenville in Steve Logan.” Eakin and Logan met Saturday morning and the deal was com- pleted around noon. “TI said to someone, ‘I don’t know when I’ve been as pleased with an appointment as I am with this one,’’”’ Eakin said. ‘‘I don’t believe we will miss a beat.”’ Logan received the same con- tract as Lewis — a four-year deal with a base salary of $95,000. The contract, which renews itself at the end of each year, also includes a buyout clause. (See ECU, A-9) ECU names Logan head coach (Continued from A-1) Lewis had to pay in excess of $260,000 to be released from his contract. 5 Logan will now turn his focus to recruiting as well as_ putting together a staff of assistant coaches. He would not comment on the possibility of the return of any of the six assistants that - followed Lewis to Tech. Only assistants Bob Slowik and Jeff Jagodzinski remain from Lewis’ staff. “T think it would be best to let the next three or four days beg played out,’’ Logan said. ‘‘They’ll be good men. They’ll be men that will be investing here for the long term. I’m interested in people that want to be at East Carolina.”’ Logan was a key figure in or- chestrating an ECU offense that mixed the option and the pass for an average of 34 points a game this season. Although his respon- sibilities will broaden, Logan said he expects to remain involved with the offense. One of his selling points to Hart, Logan said, is what he has accom- plished in his role at ECU. ‘A man will do with much what he does with little,’ Logan said. “What (Hart) saw me do with a little responsibility as an offensive coordinator and dealing with the academic people. I think he can count on me doing that with a lot of responsibility.” Logan emerged from a handful of candidates that counted a cou- ple of profile names, including former LSU coach and current Virginia linebacker coach Mike Archer. Also considered can- didates were Tennessee offensive coordinator Phillip Fulmer and Louisiana Tech head coach Joe Raymond Peace. | ‘Tam not a pedigree guy in this profession,’ Logan said. ‘I’m a boot-strap guy in this profession and I’ve pulled myself up through this thing for this moment and this opportunity. My intention is to do the very best job I can do — here, now — for as long as I can do it.”’ Logan, 38, has coached on the college level for 18 years, the last three at ECU. He also has been an assistant at Oklahoma State (1980), Tulsa (1983-84), Colorado (1985-86) and Mississippi State (1987-88). ‘ Logan’s only other experience as a head coach came at Hutchin- son Junior College in 1981-82. He said that brief experience opened his eyes to exactly what the job of a head coach entails. - “T have a true understanding of the enormity of this job,’ Logan said. “I know there will be a tremendous demand on me and my time and my family, but I’m ready for that. “T’ve been working for this mo- ment 18, 20 years. This opportuni- ty doesn’t come along very often and I’m ready. I’m very ready.”’ After a formal interview on Thursday with Logan, Hart came to the same conclusion. “T had a chance to get to know Steve Logan in the last 24 to 48 hours,’’ Hart said. ‘‘We’ve spent an awful lot of time together and Steve Logan convinced me through our conversations that he was ready, that he had all the at- tributes that we were looking for and that he could truly take this program where we want it to go.” Now that the decision has been made, Logan said he can go back to what he really enjoys. “The thing that I do best is recruit young men and coach young men,’ Logan said. “I haven’t been able to do that for the last 11 days.” EGR ba The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Jan. 27, ees hooses offense expert Steve Logan as head football Cc ach ctor/Michael Hall ECU coach Steve Logan will head Pirate football program. 2 Sey WAST ERE Ne Btn OLAS Pirate players happy with Logan By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR East Carolina football players are relieved to have a head coach in place. The fact that it’s Steve Logan is just another reason to breathe a little easier. Logan on Saturday was named as the successor to Bill Lewis, who resigned to become the head coach at Georgia Tech. Logan has been at East Carolina three years, | the last two of which he has handl- ed the duties of quarterback coach and co-offensive coordinator. “He was pretty much the players’ choice,” freshman defen- sive tackle Tony Howard said. “Coach Logan knows the program and we know what his expecta- tions are going to be of us. We’re accepting him with open arms.”’ Added junior wide receiver | Ronnie Williams: ‘I’m happy it worked out this way. The players on the team know what kind of guy Coach Logan is. ‘“‘He expects a lot because he gives.a lot. It’s unfortunate that we have to lose Coach Lewis but he had to do what he had to do.”’ Williams, along with other returning players on the offensive side-of the ball, had more than just a casual interest in who the new coach would be. After learning a complicated and explosive of- fense, they were not thrilled about the possibility of a change. Logan said he plans to continue to have a big influence on the of- fense. “T’m ecstatic about having the same offense,” Williams said. ‘“He’s a mastermind, a Bill Walsh, Jr. It’s his offense and we’re not going to miss a beat.” Also pleased with the decision are incumbent quarterbacks Michael Anderson and Sean Mc- Connell. Under Logan’s tutelage, Jeff Blake developed into one of the nation’s best passers. Blake passed for 3,395 yards during his senior season and set 32 school records. (See PLAYERS, B-2) vi nd enjoin those who direct the paper in the temo dvocate u a ali | would wish it always to be “the tocsin’’ and to devote d justice to the underprivileged. If the paper should at any for personal profit or preferment. itself to the policies of equality an time be the voice of self-interest or become the spokesman of rrows never to advocate any cause privilege or selfishness it would be untrue to its history. — JOSEPHUS DANIELS, Editor and Publisher 1894-1948 No ‘legislated’ ECU series The General Assembly has enough trouble dealing with those aspects of state government for which its members are directly responsible without getting into an area that is none of its business..So it is with the possible rebirth of the football rivalry between East Caro- lina University and N.C. State University. | Th the wake of a sold-out Peach Bowl. game between the. schools, there is a stirring, particularly among ECU alums, to renew: a football series that ended after a 1987 contest prompted a post-game melee. Some lawmakers are talk- ing about taking the football sched- ules of the schools into their own hands. Rep. David Diamont of Pilot Mountain, a high school football coach himself, hints that the law- makers might force the schools to play. Diamont notes that the Peach Bowl drew millions of Tar Heel dollars to Atlanta, dollars that could have been spent in Raleigh or Greenville. The logic of having. the game may. be sound, but the idea that the legislature should stick its nose In the scheduling business is prepos- terous. That is a matter for athlet- ics officials at individual univers!- ties to address — and a matter for them only. Certainly the momentum is build- ing for a renewal of the series. And the financial benefits are no small matter. The games would be sell- outs no matter where they were held, and if the Peach Bowl is any . indication — and it is — such a game would grab the entire state's fancy. Though school officials have been talking, NCSU has in the past hesitated over agreeing to play some games in Greenville, where the stadium is much smaller than Carter-Finley. ECU, predictably, feels the schools ought to take turns . hosting. ECU has logic on its side. And its alumni can’t be blamed if they feel N.C. State is hesitating to renew the series because the ECU Pirates are a threat, by no means a guaranteed win.. While. Wolfpack coach Dick Sheridan supports the idea of a game, there are some NCSU sup- porters out there who don’t relish the risk of getting beaten by a | school they once called SACTCH But given the size of the crowds at past games, and the Peach Bowl, the momentum to restart this se- ries isn’t likely to slacken anytime | soon. Officials and supporters of the schools ought to push for a | rebirth of a rivalry that once was the talk of the state. And for that matter, it would be fitting if ECU regularly played the University. ol North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which has the only. other. Division L-A football program. in the UNC | system. Nothing beats an in-state rivalry for intensity — and convenience. Surely athletics officials can see this, and push this ball over the goal. While the legislature stays on the sidelines. Fr om Page One Players (Continued from B-1) “This is the best thin g that co have happened,” said epee if Lapa this is recovering from r Clive knee — sur Everybody knows sane wh est ae all about.”’ ear. aid Anderson: “It’s gr the offense, and great ieee quarterback. He deserved the job et than anyone in the country.”’ é Teshman running back Junior Se Is also glad he will not have 0. ao a A ibe offensive scheme ce I’m a freshman, [’vye ; coe the system,”’ Smith ae : nd I think it’s great to have the ame coach andthe Sa System.”’ ay (Sports Editor Wood Peele cop- to play ECU ow that the weather has cooled off, at least for a while, what better time to talk college football. After all there are only 76 days until the North Carolina Tar Heels kick off against Southern Cal in the Pigskin Classic. For all of you en- amored of lists, here’s a bonus: 191 days left to shop for Christmas. OK, McCartHY — enough for lists and St. Nick. Lets’s talk. It’s time for the ADs at N.C. State and East Carolina to give the people what they want, an annual football game between the two schools. They used to play each other in a dandy series. Then, at the end of the 1987 game, a celebra- tionturnedugly. — ECU was held accountable, and the series was put on hold. Six years later, it’s still on hold. These kind of incidents are in- excusable. Perhaps a moratori- um was in order. But, perhaps, righteous officials conveniently forgot State and Carolina have also had their raucous break- — downs on Hillsborough and Franklin streets. Let’s grant everyone a par- don. Let’s re-start the state’s No. 1 football game. We don’t need the politicians to do it. The men to do it are Todd Turner of N.C. State and Dave Hart of East Carolina, the two athletics directors. I hear the two are pretty good friends and golfers. I suggest they hold a summit in Wilson, get their golf in, eat lunch and then get down to business. I am tired of excuses, and so too, I think, are the football fans of the state. ; At the risk of losing my honor- ary membership in the Wolf- pack Club, I am going to side with ECU. I believe it’s State that won’t put the show on the road again. Hart and ECU are ready. ' The biggest hang-up is the Wolfpack won’t play alternate games in Greenville. Bill Lewis, when he was coaching ECU, said he’d play anywhere. But times change _and now ECU has earned enough clout to play home and home. The excuses from State are many: eight conference games, guarantees, not enough home games, contracts, money, im- passes, etc. Purdue, Texas Tech and Mar- shall are the 1993 non-ACC games. Now, please be honest, would you rather see the Wolf- pack play the Pirates instead of one of the aforementioned three? Of course, you would. _ North Carolina has even less of a defense. The Heels’ Big Three out of the conference are Ohio, UTEP and Tulane. - But State-ECU is the game, the only one to engender any passion. The State-Carolina foot- ball game is a just a pleasant warm-up to basketball season. It took a bowl game, out of state, with a lot of money, to get the Pack and Pirates together on the field. The Peach Bow! of 1991 performed the miracle. And, yes, it was quite a game, ECU winning with a remarkable rally, 37-34. But talk of reviving the series last year feel through. _ ECU has won four of the last six meetings so maybe State wants to even things up. Turner and Hart are young, smart, wise in the ways of marketing and business. ADs are forever whin- ing about runaway expenses. Seems to me if you could ar- range a football game every year that sold out, with minimal travel expenses, you would have a winner. No excuses — let’s play — in Greenville one year, in Raleigh the next. 4 The Daily Reflector Sunday, January 19, 1992 MIKE GRIZZARD East Carolina made even Corso a believer Lee Corso isn’t one to shy away from predictions. - Some are right. Some are wrong. Example: East Carolina will not beat Virginia Tech. Wrong. ‘Example: East Carolina will never play in a New Year’s Day bowl. Wrong. Example: Bill Lewis will be the next head coach at Georgia Tech. Bingo. Right or wrong, Corso, a college | football analyst for ESPN, caught the attention of ECU football fans this season. Saturday, before he spoke at the annual Pirate Foot- ball Appreciation Gala, he offered a few more opinions on ECU foot- ball: On the Virginia Tech game: | was shocked that they beat Virgin- ia Tech in Blacksburg. I never thought they could beat Will Furrer. Virginia Tech is a good football team and Furrer is a tremendous quarterback. He didn’t play. . . that really helped East Carolina. That was the toughest game they had to win all year. ; On a New Year’s Day bowl: I was amazed they got a New Year’s Day bowl bid. I didn’t think any television network would take a chance at them because of the name, East Carolina. I’ve heard of North Carolina and I’ve heard of South Carolina, but I’ve never heard of a state called East Caro- lina. Greenville, I always thought, was in South Carolina. With all those things going (against) them, I didn’t think they could do it. I was wrong. . . | was really wrong. On the Peach Bowl: I believed they were going to win the ball- game because of Blake and what they had done in the past. When you’ve had success in the fourth quarter, coming from behind like they did, there was no question in my mind they were going to win the ballgame. On Lewis going to Georgia Tech: I think it was a good move. He’s 50 years oid, it’s his last chance to go into what you calla “big-time program.” Everybody wins. You get Steve Logan, who’s a good young football coach. Lewis gets his opportunity. On Jeff Blake: The guy’s a great quarterback, the most valuable player in the nation in my opinion. He’s as good if not better than (Florida State’s) Casey Weldon. I’m not so sure he can throw the ball as well as (Florida’s) Shane Matthews, but I’drather have him { than Shane Matthews or (Miami’s Craig) Erickson. I’d rather have him than any of the quarterbacks in the state of Florida. I’m not saying that because he only lives five minutes from where I live in Florida. On Blake’s future: I would think he would be drafted by a team with an established quarterback, somebody that’s maybe 28 to 30 years old so Jeff could go in and learn the system. I would take him ina heartbeat as a backup quar- terback. No matter what he does, he’s a winner. On Robert Jones: I don’t know if he’ll go in the first round, but he’s a good-looking physical specimen. There’s no question he’s going to be a top prospect. On ECU’s future: Success breeds success. I think East Caro- lina’s got that now. They know what it takes to be a Top 10 team. East Carolina, I think, is in the same situation Florida State was about eight years ago. On conference affiliation: Why? They’ve got nowhere to go but downhill if they join a conference. They should stay right where they are right now, let things settle down then sooner or later someone will come and ask you. Then you’re ina bargaining position. On feedback from ECU fans: I got a lot of phone calls and letters. One of the trustees sent mea black crow and said ‘How about munching on that mother.’ I couldn’t eat that plywood but I brought it with me. On television exposure: If they don’t take a look at them now after what they did against North Carolina State, then they’re crazy. I’d move a game to Thursday night and play it here, so that I could get on national television by myself. Nobody else televises games on Thursday night except for (ESPN). \ Don Harvey and his daughter, Abby, 3, enjoy the parade. riralgs . The Daily Ref Pirates’ believers say ‘Thank you’ East Carolina quarterback Jeff Blake, clutching the Pirates’s trophy as Peach Bowl champions, grins at some of the thousands of people who turned out for a Shannon Wolfe “thank you” celebration for the football team Saturday. ECU finished the season 11-1 with the bowl victory over N.C. State. Details of the celebration are on B-1. Fans come out to honor squad Thousands crowd parade route to cheer ECU’s football team By Lane Dunn THE DAILY REFLECTOR Pirate football fans haven’t calmed down yet. Nearly three weeks have passed since East Carolina capped off its ‘ best season ever with a. come- from-behind win in the Peach Bowl, and much has changed for the program. But thousands of purple-clad, saber waving people turned out for the victory parade Saturday to wallow in the success just a little more. “I thought I would see it some- day and I was just hoping I would live to see this,’ said Ken Tippette of Greenville who has been a Pirate fan for a dozen years. That’s only a few winning seasons. “This is fantastic enthusiasm,”’ he added. ‘“‘This is great for the program. It goes to show, other parts of the country that there is support for the Pirates.” The Daily Reflector/Shannon Wolfe East Carolina finished the sea- JOHNSON GALLIMORE FISHER son 11-1 with the New Year’s Day “This is great for the program. It goes to show other parts of the country that there is support for the Pirates. ’’ bowl win in Atlanta over nearby rival N.C. State University. The next day the Associated Press poll said Greenville could boast the ninth best football team in the na- tion. The parade to honor the team started on Elm Street and snaked up Fifth Street to downtown before ending at Mendenhall Student Center on the ECU campus. Cars parked on side streets along the route flew purple flags — many a little tattered from the thousand-mile trip to and from At- lanta. Banners and signs along the way told the football team that the now-familiar ‘‘We Believe’’ message is still alive and well. — Ken Tippette, Greenville Pirate fan Coach Bill Lewis, who or- chestrated the season and _ in- troduced ‘‘I Believe’ to his team, left Greenville for Georgia Tech just a few days after the Peach Bowl. Pirate fans were stunned, and while they couldn’t blame Lewis for the career move, many were a bit upset. ECU has since hired Lewis’ of- fensive coordinator Steve Logan for the top job with the Pirates. Lewis did not return to Green- ville to be with the team he coach- ed for three seasons. But all of that faded into the background Saturday. The horns of the ECU Marching Pirate band blared and firetruck Corso eats crow as Pirates feast and honor their best By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Memories of East Carolina’s dream football season that climaxed in a Peach Bowl victory were relived Saturday night during the annual Pirate Football Appreciation Gala. A turnout of more than 600 gathered in Minges Coliseum for the elegant affair, which featured ESPN analyst Lee Corso as the featured speaker. Corso, who predicted the Pirates would not beat Virginia Tech and would never play in a New Year’s Bowl game, was (appropriately) delivered a crow from senior quarterback Jeff Blake before the evening’s dinner. But at the conclusion of his address, Corso removed his jacket, tie and shirt to reveal a pur- ple East Carolina T-shirt and proclaimed “TI believe.” The “I believe’ motto originated early in the season and carried through ECU’s 37-34 win over N.C. State in the Peach Bowl. The Pirates finished 11-1 and ranked ninth in the nation. Corso challenge next year’s team to build on what was accomplished this season. ‘““You’ve got to do it again,”’ he said. ‘‘Success is fleeting. Excellence is doing it over and over again.” During the awards ceremony, Blake was named the most valuable defensive player and Robert Jones was named the most valuable defensive player. Blake, a senior quarterback from Sanford, Fla., set 32 school records this season and finished sev- enth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Blake passed for 3,017 yards and 28 touchdowns during the regular season and capped the season with 378 yards and four touchdowns in the Peach Bowl. Blake participated in the Japan Bow] last week. Jones, a senior inside linebacker from Blackstone, Va., was a unanimous choice on every FER SSIES IST PS CITRATE STEYR MS CCAS SOU RIN MRTG TON OL SRR Oe aC Wa Uae Ce MGT major All-America team and was a finalist tor the Butkus Award. For the regular season, he had a team-high 151 tackles and added 16 tackles in the Peach Bowl. Jones and senior tight end Luke Fisher will play in today’s East-West Shrine Game in Palo Alto, Calif. (4p.m., ESPN). Other award winners as selected by the 1991 coaching staff: MOutstanding Special Teams Player: Dion Johnson (senior wide receiver/kick returner, Newport News, Va.) on offense; Charles Howard (senior, Sanford), on defense. MJanet Overton Outstanding Senior: Fisher (senior tight end, Medford, N.J.). @ Swindell Memorial Award (BIG TEAM, Little Me): Cedric Van Buren (junior running back, Charleston, S.C.) on offense; Chris Hall (senior cornerback, Fort Dix, N.J.) on defense. @ Most Valuable Offensive Blocker: Tom Scott (junior offensive tackle, Rose Hill). ME.E. Rawl Memorial Award (Character, Scholarship and Athletic Achievement): Keith Ar- nold (senior center, Kennesaw, Ga.) MJerry T. Brooks Academic Achievement Award: Deke Owens (freshman place-kicker, Jacksonville). BJames E. Jones Scholarship Award (Business School): Ken Burnette (senior linebacker, Spruce Pine). @Rick Bankston Memorial Award (Outstanding Scout Team Player): Derek Hall (freshman quar- terback, Tallahassee, Fla.) on offense; David Crumbie (freshman cornerback, Tallahassee, Fla.) on defense; Carlos Blake (freshman running back, Macon, Ga.) on special teams. Most Improved Player: Hunter Gallimore (senior wide receiver, Wilson) on offense; Greg Gardill (senior defensive tackle, Johnstown, Pa.) on defense. MOutstanding Newcomer: Greg Grandison (junior safety, Pensacola, Fla.) and police car sirens screamed to introduce the 1991 ECU football team. “This puts the icing on the cake,’ senior defensive end and special teams standout Stephen Braddy said in the midst of a small autograph session. “It’s a great feeling to get out here and see this kind of support. We’ve had it since the beginning of the sea- son.”’ After the parade the Pirate se-’ niors planted a victory tree — a each, of. course — .near Mendenhall Student Center. The tree was donated by Releaf, a Greenville group that promotes the planting of trees around town. ECU fans know it will be hard to top the past season so they enjoy it while they can. But some say the team will have its share of support again next year no matter what kind of per- formance it turns in. “Tye never given up on them yet,” Tippette said. ‘And we’ve had some lousy seasons.”’ 8 The Daily Reflector, Greenville, N.C. Seth Monday, January 6, 1992 CAROLINA EAST MALL PRESENT ‘Headlines Worth Rep U erases 1 de defeat Hokies, Grandison’s score proves turning point aponneconcenes ECU ends year 9th in nation Congratulations to the nation's most exciting college football team on New Year's Day 1992; and to the players and coach who made ECU's record breaking season possible. To join in the excitement of — Pirate Football next season CALL THE PIRATE CLUB 757-9540 In the meantime the headlines above should keep you warm all winter long. Thanks for the excitement. Cu Utty Harvey Lindsay, General Manager Jill Ditty, Marketing Director CAROLINA EAST MALL 264A Bypass on Highway 11, Greenville FOR THE STYLE OF YOUR LIFE ee Es ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARDS Blake, Byner, Neill tabbed Carolinas best By LIZ CLARKE Staff Writer East Carolina football drew the acco- lades Monday as two . Pirates athletes — quarterback Jeff | Blake and former | fullback Earnest |} Byner — received | Carolinas Athlete of | the Year Awards in the college and pro categories respec- tively. Charlotte’s Ste- phanie Neill, former Blake Charlotte Country Day golfer, won the award for out- - standing high school athlete, given for achievements in 1991. Neill is a fresh- man at Wake Forest. Neill, who finished first or second in the first four collegiate tournaments this season, had been nominated with Spar- tanburg quarterback Steve Davis, con- sidered one of nation’s most outstand- ing football players, and former Garner basketball player Donald Williams, a freshman at North Carolina. Blake edged out Duke’s Christian Laettner and Wofford quarterback Shawn Graves for the college award. “We started low-man on the totem © pole,”’ Blake said, ‘‘and now, I think I'm Byner, a running back for the Wash- ington Redskins, won the pro award over golfer Davis Love III, a Charlotte native, and Bryan Harvey, a relief pitcher for the California Angels, who graduated from Bandys High and played one season at UNCC. The awards, celebrating their 20th anniversary, are presented by the Tower Club and the Char- lotte Athletic Club in [ honor of outstanding athletes with ties to North and South Car- olina. About 500 attended the cere- mony at Charlotte’s Omni Hotel, includ- ing past recipients Gaylord Perry and David Thompson. Byner the 1992 nomi- : nees, Neill, Blake and Graves were on hand. Atlanta Falcons coach Jerry Glan- ville, who provided the keynote speech, opened by voicing his support for Charlotte’s NFL bid, which drew a hearty round of applause. “Don't tell the league I said that because anything I want to do they usually go the other way,” Glanville LAURA MUELLER/Staff High-school winner: Stephanie Neill won Carolinas Athlete of the Year honors for her accomplish- standing at the top.” said. ments as a Charlotte Country Day golfer. After the most successful year in the history of East Carolina football, the season has come to an end. Many things have been written about the 1991 season which included the Pirates’ first ever top-ten national ranking, a 37-34 win over North Carolina State in the New Year's Day Peach Bowl, a school record 11-1 season, 11 straight wins and over 100 new ECU records. As 1992 begins and ECU looks toward August and the beginning of another football season, we thought readers would enjoy Jeff Charles’ popular “From the Booth” and his look at the 1991 season. Where do you start? This column can’t begin to recap the incredible story of the 1991 Pirates. Rather than try to review the season, here’s one reporter’s memories that will remain for a lifetime. e Luke Fisher’s winning touchdown catch in the Peach Bowl... Steve Logan, who has directed East Carolina’s high-powered offense the last two seasons, has been named as the Pirates’ 17th head football coach. “When this position came open, I told Steve that I was looking for the best per- son for the job,” said Dave Hart, ECU Director of Athletics. “It became apparent that Steve was that person. Steve is a per- son of high intelligence, a thinking man’s coach. He has the ability to hire good people and he’ll keep our offensive scheme intact.” Logan, 38, succeeds Bill Lewis, who resigned Jan. 6 to become the head foot- ball coach at Georgia Tech. “I have been working for this moment a. ¢ Jeff Blake’s unbelievable poise... ¢ Dion Johnson's explosiveness... e State’s decision to go for a tie, and the missed field goal... e The terrific Pirate fans in Atlanta... e Robert Jones, the heart of the defense... e Atlanta Fulton County Stadium’s final football game... ¢ The caravans of Pirate supporters on I-20 and 1-85... ¢ Lee Corso of ESPN a real believer... e The poor call at Illinois... e 36,000 fans at Ficklen for Pittsburgh... for 18 years to have this opportunity. It does not come along very often. I am very ready for this,’ said Logan. “I am very ex- cited but yet I’m very calm because I do have both feet on the ground. I know it’s not a joy ride. It’s not just getting to call the plays and getting to design the of- fense. When things go wrong, my phone is going to ring. When they go right, | hope to be man enough to deflect those things to the people who deserve it.” Logan served as ECU's co-offensive coordinator and quarterback coach during the past two seasons. He has been an assistant coach on the ECU staff for three seasons. His first season, Logan STEVE LOGAN'S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Education: Tulsa, Physical Education, 1975 At ECU: Served as running backs coach during 1989 season; co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during 1990 and 1991 seasons In Coaching: Has been in coaching 17 seasons, 12 in the collegiate ranks Birthdate: Feb. 3, 1953 in Lawton, Okla. Coaching Experience: 1975-79 Union High School, Tulsa, Okla. (Assis- tant); 1980 Oklahoma State Univer- sity (Tight Ends); 1981-82 Hutchin- son Junior College (Head Coach); 1983-84 Tulsa (Offensive Coordina- tor); 1985-86 Colorado (Running backs); 1987-88 Mississippi State (Quarterbacks); 1989 East Carolina (Running backs); 1990-91 East Carolina (Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks); 1992-East Carolina (Head Football Coach). ¢ Jeff Blake’s two point conversion to beat Pitt... ¢ Hunter Gallimore’s 21-yard touchdown against South Carolina... ¢ Greg Grandison’s 95-yard touchdown interception return vs. Virginia Tech... e Clayton Driver’s fade pattern touchdown receptions... ¢ Cedric Van Buren’s work ethic... ¢ Tom Scott’s blocking vs. Memphis DEAE... ¢ The Pirates finally beat Southern Miss... ¢ David Horn’s production of the Pirate served as running backs coach. For the last two seasons, Logan has been the personal mentor of quarterback Jeff Blake. Blake, a senior, who played in the Japan Bowl, broke 32 school records, in- cluding most passing yards in a game, season and career. Blake was also named the 1991 ECAC Player of the Year. In 1991, the Pirates finished 11-1 and ranked in the top ten in most major polls. ECU defeated North Carolina State, 37-34, in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1. The Broken Arrow, Okla. native, came to East Carolina after serving as quarter- back coach at Mississippi State for two seasons. As a major college assistant coach, Logan has seen his teams participate in three post-season bowls. While at Colorado, the Buffaloes participated in the 1985 Freedom Bowl and the 1986 Bluebonnet Bowl. While at Hutchinson Junior College, he was the Jayhawk Con- ference Coach of the Year in 1982. Logan's coaching career started in 1975 as an assistant coach at Union High School in Tulsa. He began in the col- legiate coaching ranks in 1980 as a tight end coach at Oklahoma State and moved to Hutchinson Junior College the fol- lowing year. In 1983, he became offensive coordinator at Tulsa under John Cooper, who is currently the head coach at Ohio State. While at Tulsa, Logan coached Steve Gage, who played three years with the Washington Redskins. Logan left Tulsa for Colorado in 1985 and coached the Buffalo running backs for two years before going to Mississippi State. Logan and his wife, Laura, are the parents of two sons, Vincent (9) and Nathanael (7). Mix songs on WCZI... ¢ Kevin O’Brien’s photography on WNCT Channel 9... e The Saber Slash... ¢ U.B.E. in downtown Greenville, an exciting place Saturday’s on WDLX... ¢ The perfect Pirate, Brian Bailey's creation...Bill Lewis... ¢ Gov. Jim Martin’s remarks on WCZI that State should play in Greenville... ¢ Looking forward to the top 25 poll each week... e¢ John Moore on the Ficklen Stadium PA...First Down, PIRATES”... ¢ The unbelievable ticket response for the Peach Bowl... ¢ Leaving the Marriott Marquis at 7:00 a.m. for the game... e Car flags still on vehicles in mid January... e The pride ECU people feel... ¢ The hard work that finally paid off... ¢ The welcome home committees at the Kinston Regional Jetport... ¢ The police escorts back to campus... e ECU gaining national exposure... ¢ Number nine in the nation... e We believe when it was State 34, ECU EZ. ¢ Feeling fortunate and grateful for being a small part of it... e Thanks for the memories... College Football eScoreboard eOutdoors The Daily Reflector Refiecior Orts Pirates feast on Gamecocks Win 56-42 shootout By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR COLUMBIA, S.C. — East Carolina kept scoring and scoring Saturday. South Carolina couldn’t quite keep up. Oh, the Gamecocks tried. But the Pirates had the final say in this game of can you top this, winning 56-42 before a stunned Williams-Brice Stadium homecoming crowd of 70,075. A 54-yard run by Jun- ior Smith on a fake reverse with 1:37 left finally put it out of reach. “I knew that we could score some points but I didn’t know we were going to score that many,” Smith said after East Carolina’s third win over the Gamecocks in four years. “It was a long ball game. oe id &. & @ @ & te * ® id © @ & @ @ od ® a @ ® ® we * sd ® ® ae @ @ cs e a @ oF 6 & & id @ & oF * ee * @ cd oe South Carolina’s Terry Cousin, right, grabs the face mask of East Carolina running back Junior Smith (35) during the Pirates’ win Saturday. Tar Heels keep Jackets reeling THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHAPEL HILL — Jason Stanicek wasn’t going to let this one slip away, and Leon Johnson made sure it didn’t. Johnson ran for two touchdowns, including 4 , the tie-breaking score We've got to with 2:27 left, as 14th- the best 1-4 ranked North Carolina be . fought off Georgia Tech football team in Saturday >" the country. . .” Jee, felling the Tommy Luginbill Tech QB players ‘You're not tired!” Stanicek said before he guided the team on its clinching drive. ‘I was asking them if they were tired and they said ‘No, we ain’t tired!’ I knew we were going to score just because of the attitude we had.” Leon Johnson was nursing some sore hips, but some halftime treatments and the urgency of the situation helped him forget the pain. “Jason is a leader. When he got into the huddle, he was motivating us that we had to play and we had to do it right now,” Johnson said. ‘With that, with everybody ready to play and all the support from the sidelines, we played real aggressively and drove the ball down.”’ Both the Johnsons ran well for the Tar Heels (4-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Leon Johnson ran 22 times for 110 yards, and Curtis Johnson added 111 Attention on Earnhardt at Mello Yello 500 | The Associated Press UNC running back Leon Johnson (12) looks for running room against Georgia Tech’s defense. yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. They were nearly upstaged, however, by Georgia Tech quar- terback Tommy Luginbill. Luginbill completed 24-of-39 for 313 yards, all sea- son highs. He hit Jeff Papushak on a 1-yard scoring pass with 12:49 left to play to tie the score at 24, and (See HEELS, C-10) We had to keep scoring. “Our goal was to have a killer instinct and go out there and score again, score again until the game (See PIRATES, C-8) 98 points: You're kidding me COLUMBIA, S.C. — Unbelievable. There’s really no other way to sum up what hap- pened here Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. A 17-13 game would have been something we could buy. Even 24-20. But East Carolina 56, South Carolina 42? : No way. We had no warning. These’ two teams. have been living on defense all year. East MIKE GRIZZARD Carolina gives up 14.5 points a game. South Carolina a measly 11.2. Their offenses have been less than explosive. The The Associated Press Pirates average 22.5 points, the Gamecocks 21:4 (See GRIZZARD, C-8) Miami continues mastery of FSU No. 13 ’Canes keep title hopes alive with 34-20 victory THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MIAMI — Hold those Miami obituaries. As Florida State learned Saturday night, the Hur- ricanes are very much alive, especially at the Orange Bowl. James Stewart ran for two touchdowns, backup quarterback Ryan Collins threw a 1-yard TD pass on his only play and Carlos Jones scored on a 16-yard inter- ception return as the 13th-ranked Hurricanes continued their mas- tery of No. 3 Florida State with a 34-20 victory. There were widespread reports of Miami’s demise after the Hur- ricanes had their record 58-game home winning streak snapped by Washington two weeks ago. But their eighth victory over Florida State (4-1) in 10 years showed they are still a top team and kept alive their hopes of a fifth national championship. Three interceptions off Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell were a key for the Hurricanes (4-1). The first, by Malcolm Pearson in the Miami end zone, halted an early scoring threat by the Semi- noles. The second, a momentum 38th starting spot will test NASCAR points leader’s ability to work traffic By Tom Higgins KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS CONCORD — The natural Be Tos ; ; Top 10 dri inclination for racing fans is to es second. —Started 27th in the Southern 900 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Finished second. —Started 37th in the Splitfire Points | 200 at Dover (Del.) Downs. Fin- watch the front of the field and the einer battle for the lead. Many spectators at the Mello Yello 500 Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway undoubtedly will direct their attention further back in the pack, at least initially dur- ing the race (televised on TBS, 1 p.m. ET). Way back is. where six-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series . Mark Martin Ricky Rudd . Jeff Gordon . Bill Elliott SHOONAOAWND — a . Dale Earnhardt 4,121 . Rusty Wallace 3,913 | season’s 31 races, Earnhardt ished second. is Going into the 28th of the 3,698 | leads Rusty Wallace by 208 points . Ken Schrader 3,575 | in what has evolved into a two- 3,537 | driver duel for the $1.25 million . Morgan Shepherd 3,407 | Winston Cup championship. 3,328 If Earnhardt escapes starting 3,286 | so far back and finishes well, it’s . Terry Labonte 3,243 | unlikely Wallace can deny his . Darrell Waltrip 3,217 | rival a seventh title that would tie champion Dale Earnhardt will start his Chevrolet, taking the green flag from 38th position in a 42-car field. Earnhardt is rated a master at working traffic — perhaps the sport’s best ever — and his effort to get to the front should spice the show, just as it has in several AP previous races this season. A sampling: —Startéd 24th in the Food City 900 at Bristol (Tenn.) Raceway. Won. —Started 24th in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Finished retiree Richard Petty’s record, once considered unapproachable. Wallace, the season leader in victories with eight, starts 15th. “Rusty qualified a lot better than we did, but it seems like we’ve been finishing pretty close to each other lately, so it’ll prob- ably end up that way again,”’ eet e, Earnhardt said Saturday. ‘‘The car was pretty good in practice this morning. “I don’t know how the weather will get for Sunday, but it would be better for us if it’s really sunny. I think that might work in our favor.” That’s because he also is con- sidered a master on a slick track. Asked to name the favorite in the 334-lap race, Wallace was characteristically optimistic. “I hope I’m the only son of a gun out there,”’ he said. ‘‘I hope I’m 50 yards ahead of ’em all day long, and there’s a good chance we could do that.’’ Rookie Ward Burton has the pole in a Chevy after qualifying Wednesday night at a track record 185.759 mph. Sixteen other drivers also bet- tered the previous mark — Joe Nemechek’s 181.519, set in May (See EARNHARDT, C-10) Saaaeeeiniee ee emma eeeatiee Louisville hands Wolfpack first defeat C-2 shifter by C.J. Richardson, came two plays after a botched Miami punt and set up Stewart’s first TD run. The third, returned all the way by Jones, broke the game open, giving Miami a 31-17 lead late in the third quarter. Florida State coach Bobby Bowden yanked Kanell after that play and sent in Jon Stark, but he couldn’t rally the Seminoles. Scott Bentley’s 34-yard field goal with 12:14 left made it 31-20 and Florida State quickly got the ball back on an interception by Derrick Brooks, but Stark fumbled two plays later and Miami recovered to put the game away. Florida State beat Miami last year 28-10 in Tallahassee and went on to win its first national title. But the Seminoles’ hopes of repeating were dealt a serious blow by the Hurricanes, who have handed Florida State seven of its 13 losses since midway through the 1986 season. Miami quarterback Frank Cos- ta, who was benched after last year’s loss to Florida State, was 18-of-32 for 177 yards with two interceptions. Kanell, who had been 5-0 as a starter, was 13-of-28 for 153 yards. Stewart carried 16 times for 95 yards, including TD runs of 2 and 5 yards. Dane Prewitt kicked two field goals for the Hurricanes, giving him seven straight this season. : Zack Crockett had two TD runs for Florida State, and Bentle added two field goals. ’ Stewart fumbled on Miami’s second play from scrimmage and Florida State recovered at its 47. The Seminoles drove to the Miami 12, but Pearson halted the drive by intercepting Kanell’s pass in the end zone. Miami then drove 80 yards in nine plays, scoring on Stewart’s 2- yard run around left end. A bad snap by Tremain Mack on an attempted Miami punt helped Florida State score a touchdown later in the period. Mack, who twice sent the ball over the head of Miami’s punter earlier in the sea- son, snapped it high again to Mike Prissy, who tried to run but was tackled on the Hurricanes 14. Mello Yellow 500 TRACK LENGTH: 1.5 miles RACE LENGTH: 334 laps, 500 miles DEFENDING CHAMP: Ernie Irvan RACE RECORD: Ernie Irvan, 154.537 mph, 1993 QUALIFYING RECORD: Alan Kulwicki, 179.027 mph, 1992 Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte, FOOTBALL CONTINUED FROM PAGE TA would have ECU playin S each year beginning in 1998 Popo and the Tar Heels playing the Pirates Sporadically. Each team would make one trip to Greenville during the 10-year stretch. _ “N.C. State has always been interested in trying to play East Carolina,” Turner said Tuesday. He said he and Hamrick “hope to visit again soon. We hope to find common ground and m ahead.”’ wig Athletics officials at UNC . State have been posed in m 6restarting the ECU rivalry on a home-and-home basis, citing bud- ‘get concerns and their football programs’ need for more national] exposure. Swofford and Turner ‘both would like to schedule Six home games each Season, and both prefer that their non-confer- ence schedules include intersec- tional games that might attract television interest and more mon- ey. ECU officials, meanwhile wanted to start the series ae nc but only if some games would be played in Greenville. ECU has plans to expand Dowdy-Ficklen _ Getting the teams back field has required ednsiderahie political pressure. Two weeks ago, Senate President Pro Tem oo ea a Manteo Demo- , Called Swoff to his office. ie yi Wasi “It’s not right and proper tt We pass a bill telling ott taitveser ties they must do this or do that, fr or that they play some certain team in athletics,” Basnight said. But I must admit I don’t under. Stand why they can’t do this.” In the Senate, the proposal to N. put ECU on the State and Carolina Schedules was pushed by Conder.. the Majority leader, and by Dem- ocratic Sen. Ed Warren of Green- ville. Both are ECU alumni. oan Bigeye hinted that the € of officials. at. cae Icials at UNC and deal would ha ir insti rie rm their institu- “There are aspects of this th at g0 beyond the athletic program,”’ UNC’s Sworxford Said Tuesday. would have on our athletic depart- ments, and the representatives _ Sot a better understanding of the football issues, such as schedul- _ Ing,” Turner said. “On their part : wea se hs es the universities at’s , — Carats s: iy i ihe ichols, a Republican legi om New Bern, said pia 08 got Involved because the universi- ties ignored fans, taxpayers and alumni who asked repeatedly that the schools play each other. v. State felt pressure because the university wants the legisla- plete the funding of its $22 million for the ent and Sports Arena, pledge of Entertainm to be built near Stadium in Raleigh... . : In the past, bot} to seriously discuss such a_ State pl as ee moe UNC and N.C the State-East Carolina rivalry eveloping into the fiercest in North Carolina. attracted 58,650, the largest crowd PRUNE race ayg re a an Carter-Finley regularly, with The 1986 game Business: Canadian Mounties will let Disney do the licensing / 9C THE News & OBSERVER THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 1995 Slower parade: Hale Irwin, describing the dif- ference between the PGA’s regular tour and senior tour: ‘On the regular tour, you miss a shot and 50 guys go by you. Miss two and a hundred go by. Here [the seniors ], at least, you can count the ones who go by you.’ A hard day's night: Mary Pierce’s first Wimbledon appearance didn’t last long — She lost to countrywoman Nathalie Tauziat, left. Chanda Rubin’s match, however, lasted a record 58 games. Tennis — Page 5€ formats soon, when WYLT (850-AM) In search of ratings: One of the Triangle’s quirkiest radio stations will change _ ‘ 2:10 4:00 7:30 abandons its current easy-listening format.in favor of news-sports-talk. Radio — Page 7C HIGHLIGHTS 9 a.m. Tennis: Wimbledon (HBO) Baseball: St. Louis-at Chicago (WGN) Golf: U.S. Senior Open (ESPN) Extreme Games. (ESPN) Complete listings on Page 4C By RICK DORSEY STAFF WRITER It took lobbying, legislation, leverage and plenty of long- distance phone calls. Now, it’s a matter of logistics. North Carolina and N.C. State grudgingly announced plans Wednesday to schedule East Carolina for a two-game, home- and-home football series. No The Daily Reflector Sunday, January 1, 1995 pais dates are set, but the games will be played no sooner than 2000. ECU athletics director Mike Hamrick spent Wednesday night in Chapel Hill and will meet with UNC athletics director John Swof- ford today, calendars in hand, as the two hope to agree on the dates. N.C. State’s Todd Turner, at- tending an NCAA meeting in Maine, said in a written release that a possible third game in its series against ECU could be played at a neutral site — Char-., lotte’s new football stadium. “If this is true, and these rivalries are renewed, then it is a reason for anyone who cares about ECU athletics to feel good about the program,” said former East Carolina AD Dave Hart, who now holds the same job at Florida Said ECU football coach Steve Logan: ‘‘The winners are the fans who get to see all programs in the state play against each other. As, far as an immediate impact for us, sure, it will help our recruiting in the state, and our season-ticket Sales should increase.” ECU’s last regular-season game with the Wolfpack was in Sports A nightmare in Memphi in Carter-Finley Stadium hist ory. But in 1987, jubilant ECU fans rushed onto the field after a 32-14 Pirates win over the Wolfpack, Causing thousands of d i damage and s eis dear “While we want to do th a! e b thing for the athletic ON a we’re only part of the university. The been ad best interest is - important, and the state’ best interest is more important.” Turner, the NCSU athleti i apt asl cs di- nou : a ee rector, said the meeting in Pas. the oman hos dliscontinuing night’s office was cordial. John [Swofford] and I ex- plained the impact the game Stadium to 50,000 seats b of the decade. omens THE News & OBSERVER FriDAY, JUNE 30, 1995 Staff writer Joe De i W CO : ed tdhiS storys eS sibs FROM PAGE ONE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1C series was reached before a pro- posed bill requiring it was acted upon by the state legislature. The bill was being pushed by Senate Majority Leader Richard Conder, D-Rockingham, and Sen. Ed War- ren, D-Greenville, both ECU I advise and enjoin those who direct the paper in the tomorrows never to advocate any cause for personal profit or preferment. I would wish it always to be "the tocsin" and to devote itself to the policies of equality and justice to the underprivileged. If the paper should at any time be the voice of self-interest or become the spokesman of privilege or selfishness alumni. “Obviously, there’s been more legislative interest in this, much more so than anything I’ve seen in my 16 years as athletics direc- tor,’ Swofford said. ‘I would prefer if the scheduling of athlet- it would be untrue to its history. — from the will of Josephus Daniels, Editor and Publisher 1894-1948 Offside, interference Legislators who brokered a deal for East Carolina to get a place on the football schedules of N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill should have stayed out of the game. This is an embarrassment. or those who always won- dered where the line was between a matchmaker and a busybody, look no further than the General Assembly. And then look behind those legislators who apparently forced the schedul- ing of football games between East Carolina and the Wolfpack of N.C. State and the Tar Heels of UNC- Chapel Hill. We say look behind the legisla- tors, because they unfortunately have crossed the line. It appears the deal is done, the ink drying. Thanks to some _ well-connected ECU alums on Jones. Street, the Pirates apparently will get home- and-home series with N.C. State and Carolina, and fairly soon. It’s considered a coup for ECU that the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels would travel to Greenville for a game. If this kind of stuff were being done, say, in Alabama, we’d all be laughing: Look at that. Legislators trying to schedule football games. Instead, this time, North Carolina is the ‘‘laughee”’ thanks to some legislators who apparently have so little interest in the serious con- cerns before them that they prefer the frivolous. Legislators simply shouldn’t be messing with football schedules. That should be the purview of the departments of athletics at individ- ual campuses. To be fair, while the ECU-NCSU series in the past has had some troubles (notably a riot in 1987), it’s worthwhile to promote in-state ri- valries, even if it means that N.C. State and Carolina lose the opportu- nity to play a big-name national power and pull in more money and prestige. The Triangle schools should have worked harder at this, and they most certainly should have understood that if they didn’t, the legislature might interfere. But lawmakers were wrong to follow through and use their lever- age. And this has been a back-room deal if ever there was one, with legislative leaders like Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight huddling with the schools’ athletics directors. That’s out of line. If Basnight or other legislators want to take this issue up, they should talk first, and last, to C.D. Spangler Jr., president of the UNC system. Instead, they showed little respect for the authority of his office or the chain of command. This type of freelancing on the part of legislators sets a terrible precedent; it looks ridiculous; and it shows utter contempt for the integrity of the structure of the university system. RALEIGH, N.C. ics remained on campus, but I fully respect their position.” Conder could not be reached for comment. “I spent a lot of hours trying to make an equitable arrangement to continue the ECU-N.C. State football series,’’ Hart said, ‘‘and I told the Board of Trustees before I left that it was clear in my mind that it just couldn’t happen absent the presence of the legislature. “Throughout the country, rival- ries are either started or renewed through political pressure. There are going to be some people who say that’s not right. I’m not one of them.” A major sticking point has been State’s and UNC’s reluctance to play at ECU’s Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, which seats 35,000. Nei- ther ACC school has played a football game in Greenville, and the last ACC team to play there was Wake Forest in 1963. East Carolina plans to expand seating at its stadium to 50,000 by the end of the decade. : ECU already has signed four- game, home-and-home contracts with both Duke and Wake Forest. The Blue Devils will play in Greenville in 1999 and 2002, with the Pirates scheduled to go to Duke in 2000 and 2003. Wake Forest will travel to ECU in 2001 and host the Pirates in 2003. The other two dates have yet to be determined. There is an outside chance East Carolina will line against all four of North Carolina’s Division I-A teams in the same season. “It’s possible, but probably not likely,’ Hamrick said. “I don’t have any preference, really. We want to play these schools at the best time for us.” 1987, when a_ postgame fight among fans led to the series’ cancellation. ECU and UNC last played in 1981. In explaining their opposition to renewing the in-state rivalries, N.C. State and UNC also had cited budget concerns and their football programs’ need for more national exposure. Athletic administrators, partic ularly Hart, had discussed, off and on, the idea of rekindling the rivalries, but it took legislative pressure and worries about funding for the new NCSU multi- sports arena and continued mone- tary support of the Smith Center to ignite the recent talks. The agreement to renew the two SEE ECU, PAGE 5C @ College Basketball @ College Football @ Outdoors rant Sanderlin/The Daily Reflector East Carolina tight end Sean Richardson (88) is gang tackled by Illinois’ Dana Howard (40), Scott Turner (21), Tyrone Washington (4) and an unidentified teammate. 4 Tale of two quarterbacks ECU’s Crandell struggles while Iflini’s Johnson shines By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR Brant Sanderlin/The Daily Reflector East Carolina sophomore quarterback Marcus Crandell gets ready to release a pass during Saturday’s Liberty Bowl. MEMPHIS, Tenn. — This was supposed to be Marcus Crandell’s show. He was the man with the golden arm, the one who had all the cre- dentials as a big-time passer. His comeback from an excruci- ating leg injury had been amaz- ing. For all intents and purposes, he paved East Carolina’s road to the Liberty Bowl. His counterpart, Illinois quar- terback Johnny Johnson, came in as a virtual unknown. He was the unheralded segment of an offense that had good numbers but car- ried the label of run first and throw only when necessary. They provided quite a contrast, Crandell the quiet kid from rural eastern North Carolina (Rober- sonville) and Johnson, the out- spoken product of the big city (Chicago). Their initiative, however, was one in the same Saturday in Packers stifle Sanders, Lions THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GREEN BAY, Wis. — It was the worst perfor- mance of Barry Sanders’ six-year NFL career, and even the Green Bay Packers couldn’t believe it. Sanders, the NFL’s leading rusher this season, carried 13 times for minus-1 yard Saturday as the Detroit Lions were beaten by the Packers 16-12 in an opening-round NFC playoff game. “It’s inconceivable to hold him to negative yards,” Green Bay defensive end Reggie White said. ‘‘He does things that no other back does.”’ “T don’t know if you can play Barry Sanders any better than our defense played him today,” Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren said. Sanders gave credit to the Packers’ pursuing defense for his negative performance. “They did a good job of pursuing,” he said. ‘When we tried to go outside, they were there. They did a good job of fighting off the blocks and closing up the holes. ‘“‘We’ve had a couple of games like that. We’re fortunate they’re few and far between.” While Sterling Sharpe’s absence impaired the (See PACKERS, C-10) a WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 1995 The Associated Press Dan Marino passed for 257 yards in leading Miami to a 27-17 playoff win over Kansas City. sy STATE EDITION - 50 CENTS UNC, NCSU set to resume football rivalries with ECU Legislative pressure leads to negotiations that could have the Pirates back on the Tar Heel and Wolfpack schedules within three years. BY CHIP ALEXANDER AND STEVE POLITI STAFF WRITERS State legislators, with scores of issues hanging over them in the waning days of the session, are spending some time on what had looked like an intractable prob- lem: getting North Carolina and N.C. State to play East Carolina in football. And it may be time to start selling tickets. After behind-the-scenes meet- ings among key legislators, ath- letics directors and university administrators, the Pirates could be playing the Wolfpack or the Tar Heels — or both — as soon as the 1998 season, sources said Tuesday. “It’s close. It’s imminent,”’ said State Sen. Richard Conder of Rockingham, a Democrat who is one of the co-sponsors of a bill that would require UNC and N.C. State to play ECU by the 1999 season. None of the athletics directors — UNC’s John Swofford, NCSU’s Todd Turner nor ECU’s Mike Hamrick — would confirm that a deal has been struck. The universities have discussed resumption of the football rival- ries for years. But it apparently was pressure from legislators — and questions about funding for the new NCSU basketball arena and other projects — that con- vinced administrators to get something done. “This is what it’s all about,’’ said Rep. John Nichols, an ECU alumnus, pulling a wad of cash from his pocket. ‘‘It’s about mon- ey. It’s about who pays the bills. They’ve thumbed their noses at the taxpayers, at people who say, “We want to see this happen.’ ”’ The Pirates have not played the Wolfpack since 1987, when a post- game melee in Raleigh led to the series’ cancellation. The UNC- ECU series ended in 1981 after eight games. “I have had discussions with Todd Turner and John Swofford about the possibility of scheduling football games,’’ ECU’s Hamrick said. “I would like to see it happen, but I can’t speak for N.C. State, I can’t speak for North Carolina.” But others say an agreement is in the works and could span 10 seasons. It is uncertain how many games would be played. One scenario SEE FOOTBALL, PAGE 7A ee he offensive . line did a great job today. | barely even got dirty.” — Johnny Johnson Illinois quarterback Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. It turned into Johnson’s stage as he performed brilliantly in di- recting a 30-0 Illinois victory. Crandell, quite frankly, would like to forget this one. He was in- tercepted four times, the most in one game in his short career, and played much of the second half with a dislocated finger on his throwing hand. “I had time to throw all day and the wide receivers really did a good job,” said Johnson, named the game’s most valuable player after completing 18 of 30 passes for 250 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. “The offensive line did a great job today,” Johnson said. “I barely even,.got dirty. I want to thank them first *ef-all.and the wide re- ceivers made some great catches and some great runs. They really showed that they wanted it.” This was one Johnson wanted also. He lost his starting job after struggling in the Illini’s season- opener then spouted off at the of- fense after a loss to Wisconsin in the final regular season game. All the attention coming in also focused on the matchup of Cran- dell against the Illinois defense. “I think I needed that type of controversy coming in,” Johnson said “to understand how much a competitor I am. “I wanted to come out and show that today. Thanks to my team- mates, I had a chance to do that.” Johnson had touchdowns pass- es of 17 yards to Ken Dilger, 73 yards to Jasper Strong, 5 yards to Jason Dulick and 9 yards to Ty (See CRANDELL, C-8) ECU makes no excuses after bitter bowl loss By Mike Grizzard THE DAILY REFLECTOR MEMPHIS, Tenn. “NO ex- cuses” has been a theme of East Carolina’s football team since the hot days of August. So when a thorough 30-0 whipping was dished out Saturday by Illinois in the 36th annual Liberty Bowl, the Pirates weren’t looking for a scapegoat. “The thing I’d like to say first of all,” ECU head coach Steve Logan said, “is that football team in there played great. They’re a re- ally good football team and they played like a senior-dominated team.” Dominated is an appropriate term. The Illini, fifth in the Big 10 but first on this overcast and drizzly day, had the upper hand where muscle and grit count most, along the line of scrimmage. And it turned what stacked up to be a test of the Pirates’ firepower against a vaunted Illinois defense into a one-horse race. “They pressed the line of scrimmage hard,” ECU offensive guard Ken Carroll said. “I have to give them credit. I didn’t think they could handle our pass like they did, and they handled our run just as good.” The Pirates were limited to 271 total yards — just two yards more than their lowest output of the year (269 against Tulsa). Only 107 came .on .the..ground. . Junior Smith, averaging 109 yards per game, had just 46 yards on 15 carries and was never a factor. “We never really got a chance to get the running game uncorked,” Logan said. “Usually when our running game unfolds is after we’ve gotten some points on the board, and that never happened.” The shutout, in fact, was only the second since Logan arrived in Greenville in 1989. The other was a 35-0 loss at Washington in 1993. “It hadn’t happened in a long time,” Logan said. “But if you hang around long enough every- thing will happen. We got shut out by a good defense.” But even Illinois coach Lou Tepper didn’t expect to see a goose egg from an offense that averaged 27.5 points and 407.5 yards per game. “I’m glad we had six weeks to prepare for them,” Tepper said. “Steve’s got one of the real fine offenses in the nation. He’s got some wonderful skill people. I just think our pass rush certainly helped us a great deal.” The Pirates did have chances, but five turnovers proved to be a (See LIBERTY, C-8) SOC RNRTTON Re at ar aera Rec ae a wm nee Miami eliminates Kansas City Marino wins quarterback duel in Dolphins’ 27-17 win THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MIAMI — To outplay Joe Mon- tana, Dan Marino needed a nearly perfect passing performance. In a shootout between two of the game’s. greatest quarterbacks, Marino threw for two touchdowns and the Miami Dolphins capital- ized on a pair of late turnovers to beat Kansas City 27-17 in the opening round of the NFL playoffs. AFC East champion Miami (11- 6) will play at AFC West champion San Diego (11-5) next Sunday. Kansas City, the lowest seed in the AFC playoffs, finished 9-8. The. first Montana-Marino matchup since the 1985 Super Bowl lived up to its considerable hype. Marino completed 22 of 29 passes for 257 yards with no in- terceptions, and he had four passes dropped. ‘‘That quarterback is ¢Preview of today’s playoff games C-10 extraordinary,’”’ Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer said. ‘‘He hasn’t accomplished what he’s accomplished with mirrors.”’ Marino’s 1-yard touchdown throw to Ronnie Williams tied the game at 17-all, and his 7-yard scoring lob to Irving Fryar made it 24-17. “You feel like you have to score every time you have the ball,” Marino said of the passing duel. “You try not to make mistakes that hurt the team.” p The 38-year-old Montana, play- ing in perhaps his final game, was nearly ‘as good. He hit 26 of 37 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns, but Miami shut out the Chiefs in the second half. ‘Joe is an_ incredible quarterback,’ Marino said, ‘‘and he’s had a great career.” Montana said he hasn’t decided whether to retire. “Asking me that question now is like asking that of a boxer after he’s lost a championship fight,”’ he said. Pete Stoyanovich’s second 40- yard field goal gave Miami a 27-17 lead going into the final period, and Montana tried to mount one of the great comebacks that have been such a big part of his career. But two turnovers doomed Kansas City’s chances. Montana drove the Chiefs to the Miami 5, but his pass to Eric Martin was intercepted by cor- nerback J.B. Brown and returned to the Miami 24. “After I got back to the sidelines,’’ Brown said, “(teammate) Troy Vincent told me, ‘You should get that ball framed, because you just got an (See DOLPHINS, C-10) a — - 7 a ; ‘ < t s * b; ¢ # * % . f 4 _ ‘ pole ¢ ; : y é 3 & { > rs g . iey j 4 \ % . » 7. « Pee e an : ra 1 nue « af ‘ 1 4 2 : $ é “ a. : . > bf y > bd : 3 = f ‘ 4 4 , . 5 % * 4 : is S i : rr 7 3 4 . t bd i > $ ” » . 4 ‘ : ‘ : } ; é é , J * , , ; 4 , : i 4 4 - > } ‘ ; ae e ; ® fy . i * ) i 4 & ‘4 , § a . og: 4 ‘4 m4 ‘i ‘ \ > , ee Es 4 > o ¥ E j fg c _ ‘ ’ . er F * ‘ é i Pie te ¢ ‘ : 7 d ie . < 7 . 1 & a) > ’ 5 t . + zs * 1 “é 5 / é : : « 4 " , i ' : ; * * “A } wy m4 = e ent ea e ff —- —— — 5p eee. Fry east peeneteegesseeepteerseneneeesrersegeetnteessss-xesemmeeertia “ = = ro ae RN SE ggg a i a sn ier hte coe aes RE oe ae a ee oa seen nw pene ana ar wr sae ee == nose vce teen BES ores: ee ~- = eiiieienl a eae _— ots wr ~ ~ : = 3 : Sai = ae ete pe % ate ae: ‘ ss, a . % a i m A é \ { E a i i fe f we é + i i xe * Ca ‘ % phe a % P te 5 fe 2 4 ye * s “ “4 4 * : ‘ i £ é “ : ye 2 3 Z = a . ‘ ~ 3 4 it 5 é 5 > 4 % ‘ = 3 % * 2 i‘ 3 3 ¥ i » P é “ . ~ * ‘ jh BS 98 : 5 5