East Carolina Pirates robbed by Knights, 32-30
Last night, the East Carolina Pirates lost their season finale to the Central Florida Knights in front of a home crowd in Greenville. In many ways it was the exact same story as the story of the season. The Pirates got so close to doing big things, but watched it slip away in the last instant. Whether it was turnovers against Temple or defensive breakdowns against Cincinnati, the Pirates never quite put their foot on the throat of the season.
East Carolina Pirates vs UCF Knights Game Summary
This time it was Knights quarterback Justin Holman throwing a fifty-one yard touchdown pass in the final seconds to beat the Pirates. It was the fitting ending to a really good competitive game.
In the first quarter, the Knights scored two field goals. In between, East Carolina’s Marquez Grayson lost the football and found it again to score a touchdown. That left the score 6-6.
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The second quarter saw another issue of ECU’s season. They allowed the Knights to go up big and thus create a hole for themselves to crawl out of. Halftime saw the score balloon to 23-9 and the third quarter saw it only get worse. Another field goal stretched the score to 26-9.
On cue, the Pirates offense began one of those lightning comebacks that they have delivered. First quarterback Shane Carden found Cam Worthy for a score. Then he found Grayson for another. Finally he dinged Justin Hardy for the score that would have been the perfect capstone to Carden’s and Hardy’s time at East Carolina. However there was still 2:50 to go in the game. Too much time in this era of college football.
Dec 4, 2014; Greenville, NC, USA; Central Florida Knights wide receiver Breshad Perriman (11) catches the game winning touchdown pass against East Carolina Pirates linebacker Dayon Pratt (1) and defensive back Domonique Lennon (31) during the 4th quarter at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Central Florida Knights defeated the East Carolina Pirates 32-30. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
So it was that Holman found Breshad Perriman to snatch victory away from the Pirates. The Pirates will be going bowling for sure, so it does not have to end this way.