Hurricanes Stunned By East Carolina, 27-23
Sept. 25, 1999
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – With all that East Carolina has been through in thelast six days, a 20-point deficit didn’t look all that daunting.
David Garrard’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Keith Stokes with 4:51 left cappeda fourth-quarter rally and led the hurricane-battered Pirates to a 27-23 upsetof No. 9 Miami Saturday night. It’s the highest-ranked team East Carolina hasever beaten.
The Pirates (4-0) remained unbeaten despite having not been home in morethan a week because of flooding and associated problems caused by HurricaneFloyd. The game was moved to Raleigh, 85 miles west of the East Carolina campusin Greenville. There were no classes last week and the school may not reopenuntil Wednesday.
“There is a lot of tension from the long week,” East Carolina coach SteveLogan said, “but we turned that tension into passion in the second half.”
Garrard helped awaken the Pirates in the second half, completing 20 of 27passes for 222 yards.
“I really wanted to get a win to go home with because I knew it’s going tobe a lot of troubles … when we get back there,” Garrard said. “This willhelp build us a little bit and the guys will be a little more happier goingback home.”
Miami (2-2) led 23-3 following Andy Crosland’s 47-yard field goal with 12:13left in the third quarter. That’s when East Carolina took over.
Jamie Wilson, whose earlier fumble led to a Miami touchdown, ran 23 yardsfor a score with 9:43 left in the period. Wilson then capped an 84-yard marchwith an 18-yard touchdown run with 11:59 to play, closing the gap to 23-17.
Kevin Miller added a 39-yard field goal with 9:30 left to draw the Piratescloser. By then, the Hurricanes showed no semblance of the offense that had runup 301 yards through three quarters.
“They didn’t do nothing different,” Miami wide receiver Reggie Wayne said.”We just didn’t come out and play. They got the momentum going on their sideand that’s all it took.”
East Carolina capped the comeback with a 79-yard, 10-play drive that ended atough week. When time ran out, fans ignored pleas to stay off the field andtore down both goal posts. Security officers kept overzealous fans from takingboth sets of uprights and crossbars out of Carter-Finley Stadium.
“This will be a big win if we go ahead and validate it the rest of theseason,” Logan said. “That’s why I tried to get the kids to come down almostimmediately and not get carried away.”
The victory overshadowed a stellar night by reserve running back ClintonPortis, who ran for 147 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Portis replacedJames Jackson, who was held out to allow an ankle sprain to heal. Portisresponded with 133 yards on 22 carries in the first half, including a 4-yardscoring run in the second quarter. Before Saturday night, Portis had ninecarries for 19 yards, all against Florida A&M.
Kenny Kelly had a first-quarter scoring pass to Reggie Wayne for theHurricanes, who lost for the second straight week by the same score. It’s alsothe second straight loss to East Carolina in the series.
“I can’t even describe. I don’t even want to describe it. I don’t think Ican describe it,” Kelly said. “If I was to describe how I feel, the NCAAmight fine me.”
Miami blocked Andrew Bayes’ punt and cashed it in for Andy Crosland’s34-yard field goal with 6:06 left in the first quarter.
Wilson’s fumble late in the first quarter led to Portis’ scoring run.
The Pirates didn’t cross midfield until late in the first half, when EastCarolina marched from its 15 to the Miami 21 and got a 38-yard field goal fromMiller with 1:37 left before halftime.
