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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, November 24, 2008
By Brian Bailey |
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Stage set for more
ECU-USM drama
By
Brian Bailey
©2009 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Coach Skip Holtz doesn’t
know if the folks in
Hattiesburg consider it
a rivalry.
“It’s been so one-sided,
“ said Holtz of the
history of the history
of the East
Carolina-Southern Miss
football series. “I know
how we feel about it.
But I wonder if they
really think it’s a
rivalry.
Conference USA's East
Division title and a
berth in the league
championship game will
be on the line when the
teams renew the rivalry
on Saturday in
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Southern Miss has owned
East Carolina over the
years, especially on the
Pirates' home turf. The
Golden Eagles lead the
all-time series 26-8,
and they're 15-2 in
Greenville.
The series is also rich
in history. Coach Holtz
got a taste of that in
the
20006 game in
Hattiesburg.
In overtime, the Pirates
kicked a field goal to
go up three. Southern
Miss then went for the
bundle on its first
offensive play.
Golden Eagles
quarterback Jeremy Young
went deep to his big
tight end, Shawn Nelson.
The ball seemed to float
in the air forever.
Travis Williams went up
for the interception.
Nelson did all he could
do to get some type of
possession of the
football. Both players
came down with what they
hoped was a victory.
The referees ruled it an
interception on the
field, and the Pirates'
celebration began. But
with instant replay, the
game wasn’t over yet.
It took forever, but
finally the officials
came out and said the
ruling would stand, good
for a rare East Carolina
win in the series.
The Pirates got another
weird win in the 1995
game. That game featured
perhaps Steve Logan’s
greatest call as the
Pirate coach.
In Hattiesburg, East
Carolina trailed 34-33
and had the football
with time for only a
couple of plays at most.
Struggling Chad Holcomb
lined up for a long
field goal to win the
game.
I don’t think anyone
really thought Holcomb
could make the field
goal, but what other
option did the Pirates
have?
Coach Logan decided to
snap the ball directly
to Holcomb, who rolled
to his left and fired a
high-arcing, long pass
to Scott Richards.
Richards was mugged on
the play. Flags littered
the field at Southern
Miss, and the Pirates
moved 15 yards closer
for the winning field
goal courtesy of an
interference call.
Holcomb’s kick from 29
yards out was true on
the final play. That
Pirate team would use
that win as a catalyst
toward a return trip to
the Liberty Bowl,
beating Stanford 19-13.
The Southern Miss
defensive coordinator
for that game was none
other than John
Thompson, who would
later have a short stint
as the head coach
of the Pirate program.
I got my first taste of
the craziness of the
series back in 1986.
I’ve written about it
often and I remember the
events of the day like
it happened yesterday.
In a nutshell,
quarterback Charlie
Libretto had just led
the Pirates to a late
touchdown and a
two-point conversion.
The sparse crowd at
Ficklen Stadium was in a
frenzy as the Pirates
led 24-23 with just
seconds to play.
Southern Miss
quarterback Andrew
Anderson heaved a “hail
mary” pass that was
somehow caught by Lyneal
Austin. Austin was
tackled at about the
ten-yard line, but he
threw a forward pitch to
Randolph Brown who
scored a touchdown as
time ran out.
The officials threw
flags, ready to penalize
the Golden Eagles for an
illegal forward pitch.
The problem was that, as
the rules at the time
stated, the Pirates' two
options each benefitted
the offending team,
Southern Miss.
The Pirates could have
taken the play, which
was a Golden Eagle
touchdown, or the
penalty, which was
marked off from the spot
of the foul.
The rules said the game
couldn’t end on a
penalty, and Southern
Miss kicker Rex Banks
booted the winning field
goal on an untimed down.
As the officials ran off
the field, an ECU fan
ran on the field and
tackled one of the
officials from behind.
Another official started
hammering the man with
roundhouse punches until
the melee was broken up.
I was trying to find out
what happened, and was
among the first to get
to the fight, and did
what I could to break it
up.
Later that day, I went
to the hotel and
interviewed the head
referee, Paul Schmitt.
Schmitt wouldn’t go on
camera, but he did
explain the call.
That next week rumors
around town circulated
that the NCAA might
reverse the call and
give East Carolina the
win.
Oscar Edwards, the
Supervisor of the
Southern Independent
Officials Association,
held a press conference
at the old Pirate Club
building.
“The player, having
touched the ground as he
did, consummated the end
of the play,” said
Edwards. “It should have
been ruled as such. It
was a dead ball at or
near the ten-yard line
and the game should have
ended there.”
Edwards continued,
“There are no provisions
in the NCAA regulations,
rules or otherwise, that
can reverse it.”
Those were the days
without video and the
Internet, without
message boards and
twitter. Rumors of a
Pirate victory ended up
being just that, rumors.
This week, a shot at a
conference title is on
the line. I wonder what
this chapter in the
series will bring.
BB
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