ECU takes huge lead, then holds off ASU

GREENVILLE

Appalachian State made some adjustments at halftime yesterday.

Offensive lineman Mario Acitelli swore that one of the changes didn't involve teams trading personnel or jerseys.

"We were never wearing purple," Acitelli said.

East Carolina's purple did prevail 29-24, but not until after Appalachian State changed course and turned what could have been a blowout into a climactic nail-biter in the first meeting between the two programs in 30 years.

The Pirates led 24-0 at one point. The Pirates had a 191 to minus-11 lead in total yardage at one point. The Pirates dominated the first 17 minutes.

But the Mountaineers -- sparked by newcomer Travaris Cadet, a backup quarterback -- took charge down the stretch and nearly pulled off a dramatic reversal. "We were down 22 points going into the fourth quarter, yet we were a minute or so away from having a chance to win that thing," Coach Jerry Moore of the Mountaineers said.

"We looked like a young football team in the first half. In the second half, we looked like a team that grew up. I think we have a chance to be a really good football team."

ECU, fatigued down the stretch by a lot of accounts, seemed to be relieved to escape with a win in a game that they totally controlled early. "They gave us fits," Holtz said. "We got into a bend-don't break situation."

The Mountaineers, after a disastrous first quarter in which they were outscored 17-0, outscored the Pirates 17-0 in the fourth quarter.

Cadet, a sophomore who spent a redshirt season as a quarterback at Toledo and played two games at receiver at Pearl River Community College last season, replaced DeAndre Presley with 5:28 left in the third quarter. Armanti Edwards, the Mountaineers' All-America quarterback, didn't dress for yesterday's game. He missed preseason practice with a deep cut to his right foot.

Cadet gave a lift to an anemic offense. He gained 51 yards on 14 carries (aside from losing 16 on a sack), completed 7 of 9 passes for 55 yards and led the Mountaineers on three straight scoring drives that cut the Pirates' lead to 29-24 with 3:24 left.

"He's a little more physical," Moore said of the 6-1, 210-pound Cadet. "He's more like Armanti as far as his running ability. And I thought he threw the ball well."

The Mountaineers were on a final march, with no timeouts and less than a minute left, when the Pirates finally held.

On fourth-and-10 from midfield, Cadet scrambled to buy time, spotted CoCo Hillary in first-down territory and passed on the run. The pass was high, and Hillary couldn't catch it.

"I didn't want to leave the game knowing it was the last play and not getting the ball out of my hands," Cadet said. "We had a shot."

Few in a crowd of 43,279 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium would have thought so after the Pirates enjoyed an early field-position bonanza, were efficient on third downs and scored on four of their first five possessions.

The Pirates' defense, with eight seniors, dominated early, especially up front. And Moore said he was disappointed in the early stages with his defense, which gave up more than 100 yards rushing in the first quarter. Dominique Lindsay led ECU with 105 yards on 15 rushes.

"It was weird," cornerback Cortez Gilbert of the Mountaineers said. "Every time we made any mistake, they'd capitalize on it. We just stopped making mistakes in the second half."

Moore said: "We couldn't get any continuity. We were three and out a lot. That's a credit to them. And I thought our defense would play much, much better. But they're good. They've got good running backs and a big offensive line. They're a little more powerful, a little more physical, than probably what I thought."

But the tone of the game turned dramatically, on both offense and defense. The Mountaineers scored 24 of the final 29 points, and outgained ECU 257-129 in the final 42:21.

Holtz said that his team got a bit fatigued. The Mountaineers took advantage.

"I sensed tightness," said ASU's Jacque Roman, who combined with fellow linebacker D.J. Smith for 24 tackles. "A couple of their guys were catching cramps and we were on the sideline excited. You could see our sideline jumping up and you could look over there and they're dead. I think conditioning was one of the key factors in the second half. I could see the fight in our guys' eyes. Guys were flying to the ball."

Safety Van Eskridge of the Pirates said: "The heat crept up on us a little bit. You know it's been cool here this past week. The heat crept up on us a little bit, and we didn't do a good enough job hydrating during the game."

Holtz said that the Mountaineers made effective adjustments at halftime to shut off Pirates' running game.

■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com

Appalachian State 0 7 0 17 -- 24


East Carolina 17 10 2 0 -- 29

First Quarter

ECU--Jackson 39 run (Hartman kick), 13:19.

ECU--FG Hartman 26, 10:05.

ECU--Willis 27 pass from Pinkney (Ryan kick), 4:31.

Second Quarter

ECU--Lindsay 21 run (Ryan kick), 13:21.

ASU--Presley 3 run (Vitaris kick), 8:12.

ECU--FG Hartman 25, :57.

Third Quarter

ECU--Safety, 7:29.

Fourth Quarter

ASU--D.Moore 1 run (Vitaris kick), 13:47.

ASU--Cadet 1 run (Vitaris kick), 8:41.

ASU--FG Vitaris 43, 3:24.

A--43,279.

TEAM STATISTICS

ASU ECU

First downs 18 18

Rushes-yards 48-102 35-189

Passing 144 131

Comp-Att-Int 14-25-1 12-27-2

Return Yards 72 30

Punts-Avg. 5-33.8 5-44.0

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 6-62 9-109

Time of Possession 33:39 26:21

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Appalachian State, D.Moore 17-37, Cadet 15-35, C.Baker 4-18, Presley 12-12. East Carolina, Lindsay 15-105, Jackson 5-46, G.Ruffin 7-16, J.Williams 4-15, Pinkney 2-5, Harris 1-4, Team 1-(minus 2).

PASSING--Appalachian State, Presley 7-15-1-89, Cadet 7-9-0-55, Team 0-1-0-0. East Carolina, Pinkney 12-27-2-131.

RECEIVING--Appalachian State, D.Moore 4-41, Quick 3-47, Cline 3-24, Hillary 2-16, C.Baker 1-8, Elder 1-8. East Carolina, Harris 4-37, Freeney 3-20, Bryant 2-29, Willis 1-27, Lindsay 1-9, Taylor 1-9.