Duke Suffers Tough Loss to ECU, 38-0

TotalCast Stats

East Carolina's Terrance Copper, front, tries to break away from Duke defenders Ronnie Hamilton (11) and Fred Harris, bottom (AP Photo/Bob Jordan)

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Kelly Hardy returned an interception 28 yards on the third play and Jamie Wilson added a pair of rushing touchdowns as East Carolina beat a young Duke team 38-0 Saturday night.

A sloppy field didn't negate East Carolina's superior speed as the Pirates gained 428 yards and didn't allow Duke to penetrate their 40. The shutout was only the second for the program since 1982. The last occurred in '98 - 31-0 against I-AA Chattanooga.

The young Blue Devils, with 43 freshmen on their roster, had a tough start to the season, committing seven penalties 20 minutes into the game. In addition, Spencer Romine, who separated his shoulder in a 27-9 loss against the Pirates to open last season, threw two first-half interceptions and was sacked twice.

Hardy, making his first start, stepped in front of a sideline pass from Romine and raced untouched 1:29 into the game to give the Pirates a quick 7-0 lead.

East Carolina drove 80 and 83 yards on its next two drives to bolt to a 21-0 halftime cushion.

Backup quarterback Richard Alston led the first long drive a series after Garrard fumbled a snap at the Duke 31. The drive was capped by Wilson's 15-yard run up the middle.

Garrard returned on the next series and completed all six passes to march the Pirates down the field as Wilson scored from the 3 on a fourth-and-1 play.

Kevin Miller added an 18-yard field goal in the third quarter to increase the lead to 24 as the East Carolina defense held Duke to 14 yards on 10 plays in the period.

Garrard added a 42-yard scoring pass to Keith Stokes, who made a great individual play to avoid a tackler at the 25, and raced into the end zone midway through the final quarter and Art Brown had an 8-yard run with 4:55 left.

Duke Suffers Tough Loss to ECU, 38-0

Related News

Related Videos

Duke information