A season worthy of reflectionRoller coaster season ends on high note

January 15, 2008

Greenville, NC (UWIRE) -- Four years ago the Pirates were one of the worst football teams in division 1-A.

Now, ECU [8-5,6-2] will long be remembered for the 2007 squad that came together to not only hoist the Hawaii Bowl trophy for the program's first bowl win since the 2000 GalleryFurniture.com Bowl, but also for solidifying the program's statue as one of the best non-BCS football schools in America.

The schedule did ECU no favor when Virginia Tech was slated to be the Pirates' first opponent last spring, but after the massacre that took place on April 16 that killed 32 people and wounded many more, the game was vaulted onto the national radar.

ESPN picked up the contest in wake of the massacre and the game looked as if it would be a blowout leading up to the contest after Pirates' starting quarterback Rob Kass was suspended the week of the game for a DUI.

The Pirates, who were 27 ½ point underdogs on the road, didn't have much to lose and actually lead 10-7 for a short while before a Brett Clay interception was returned 17 yards for a touchdown that would put the Hokies up for good.

During what would eventually become a 17-7 loss for the Pirates, a new star emerged. Junior quarterback Patrick Pinkney exploded onto the scene in Blacksburg and proved to be a burden to the talented Hokies' defense, as he was able to run for 48 yards and also go 14-of-25 for 115 yards through the air.

"This team is not afraid of contact, and this is a very physical team," Holtz said after the game. "We played Virginia Tech and we challenged them, told them we we're going to have to make it a physical game and they didn't shy away from it. I was proud of the way they came out here and competed."

After going toe to toe with one of the best teams in the ACC, ECU returned home to face another foe from the conference and in-state rival North Carolina in each program's second contest.

Also exploding onto the scene was senior running back Chris Johnson, who racked up 136 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The explosive senior had 258 all-purpose yards against the Heels.

But even these two couldn't seal the deal for the Pirates. The victory rested on a foot of a kicker, Ben Hartman, who was 1-of-4 before nailing the game-winner.

"You just have to block out everything that has gone bad," said the Pirates' kicker. "I knew it was going to come down to me and I just said, 'forget about the other three and make this one; this one counts.'"

And with the stands in Dowdy-Ficklen deafly silent, Hartman's kick sailed through the uprights and the Pirates defeated UNC for the first time since 1975.

"We're growing, we're moving in the right direction," Holtz said after the victory. "We still have a long way to go but I couldn't be more pleased with the attitude, the way these players are working and the commitment level that they have."

The next two weeks would feature heart-breaking losses, as the Pirates fell to rival Southern Miss, 28-21, in the opener of C-USA play and then to national powerhouse West Virginia, 48-7.

"We have to get ourselves off the ground and brush off," Holtz said in the week leading up to the pivotal Houston game. "I told the team that nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems. Reality falls somewhere in between and I think things are not as bad as they seem right now. We have to step up because life is a series of battles. You will rarely, if ever, be on the very top or bottom."

ECU would answer all of the questions surrounding the program with a 37-35 road victory over Houston that many Pirates would simply make down to good luck.

The Cougars missed all three of their field goal attempts, two of which came with less than two minutes left in the game, and the Pirates made their only attempt, which was the difference in the game.

Surprisingly, the game marked Johnson's first 100-yard rushing game of the season, as the playmaker ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns.

"We got the rushing game going," said Holtz. "I thought Chris Johnson had an excellent game; he ran hard, ran physical and really did a nice job with it."

Also, redshirt sophomore Rob Kass played the entire second half for the Pirates and threw for 110 yards and one touchdown in his first significant action since being suspended prior to the season opener against Virginia Tech.

The win over Houston was the first over three-straight crucial conference victories for ECU.

In the 52-38 victory against UCF, Johnson continued his dominance as he set the ECU record for all purpose yards in a game with 372.

Johnson took a kickoff back for a touchdown, rushed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass in an astonishing display of his set of skills.

Kass was effective once again as he was 12-of-23 for 201 yards and three touchdowns against UCF.

In the wildest of college football seasons, no one would have suspected the ending to the Pirates' 45-42 overtime win against UTEP.

With time seemingly against ECU, Kass sent the game to overtime with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Juwon Crowell as time expired.

Then in the extra period, Kass took a quarterback keeper up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown and a victory as the Miners only came away with a field goal in their only overtime possession.

Dwayne Harris was the star for the Pirates as the freshman broke open the third quarter scoring.

First the ECU wide receiver took a handoff on a reverse and dashed 57 yards for a touchdown to give ECU a 25-22 lead. Harris then took a handoff on a double reverse and hit a wide open Jamar Bryant on an 80-yard touchdown pass, giving the Pirates a 32-22 lead.

"This was a really big game for our morale and for our players," said Holtz. "Just to see their attitude, their sigh of relief, their smiles, their excitement and enthusiasm in the locker room after the game was a lot of fun."

ECU would follow up the miracle in El Paso with a flat performance in a 34-20 loss at home to archrival NC State.

Just about anything that could go wrong went wrong for the Pirates, and after the loss to NC State snapped a three game winning streak, the Pirate Nation was once again searching for answers.

The perfect remedy to the disaster against the Wolfpack was a homecoming date against an overmatched UAB team.

In the 41-6 ECU win, Pinkney emerged from the Pirates' bench as has been the case most of the season. Pinkney was 6-of-7 for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Sophomore Jamar Bryant also had a break out game in catching six passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.

The momentum gained by the Pirates' destruction of the Blazers carried into the next contest on the road against Memphis.

The Pirates again dominated their competition behind Chris Johnson's career day. Johnson rushed for 301 yards and four touchdowns on only 20 carries.

Patrick Pinkney also ran for 94 yards and a touchdown, in addition to throwing for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

ECU seemed to be rolling once again and needed to win its last two games to clinch a conference title game berth.

But Marshall didn't seem to get the memo.

The Pirates were embarrassed and surprisingly beaten by the Thundering Herd in Huntington, 26-7.

The Pirates had the following week off to reflect on the opportunity that they had lost, as the bye week finally came before the regular season finale at home against Tulane.

Tulane would prove to be no contest to ECU as the Pirates easily won, 35-12.

After playing the waiting game to see their postseason destination it finally became clear that ECU would be heading to Hawaii to take on No. 24 Boise State.

Behind Johnson's NCAA Bowl record 408 all-purpose yards, ECU captured the Hawaii Bowl title, 41-38, after a game-ending 34-yard field goal from Hartman.

Johnson finished the day rushing for 223 yards and one touchdown. He also had three receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown.

"What the rest of country saw is what we've been watching for three years," Holtz told the Associated Press. "I'm the president of the Chris Johnson fan club. I am his biggest fan. He is one of the hardest workers on this team. He's humble. He works his tail off."

Pinkney, who played most of the game, went 12-of-19 for 118 yards and a touchdown. Kass only had one pass completion, but it was very meaningful, as it put ECU in field goal range for the game-winning kick/

The Pirates led 38-14 with 9:02 left in the third before Boise State mounted a comeback for the ages.

With 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, Johnson's second fumble of the year was taken back for the tying score.

The game didn't remain deadlocked for long, as Kass came in to direct the Pirates down the field in position for Hartman's game winner.

"I think we learned a lot from that game," Holtz told The Daily Reflector. "We got on them the first day they were here in Hawaii to really bring them back in. We tried to draw the line and say this is one of the best bowls in the country. I thought those players believed that, and these players were focused."

With the season over, Holtz and his staff will turn their focus towards the 2008 season with spring practice looming.

But rest assured, the 2007 squad will never be forgotten for bringing ECU and the Pirate Nation back to national prominence.

(C) 2008 East Carolinian via UWIRE