The Pirates looked like they had a real battle on their hands on Saturday, as the Huskies scored on their first three possessions to lead 21-14 with 11:16 left in the second quarter. But the East Carolina defense locked in at that point, preventing Connecticut from setting foot in the end zone again, while the Pirate offense had its way, scoring 41 unanswered points for a 55-21 victory on Senior Night. The ECU defense, which has shown both signs of improvement and regression at different points this season, neutered the Huskies, holding them to just 274 yards of total offense. The Pirate offense was also at peak performance, putting up 657 yards of offense, making Saturday’s win ECU’s most complete performance of the year.

IMPACT PLAYERS

Spearheading the Pirate defense on Saturday was senior Nate Harvey. The defensive end was a disruptive force, recording three sacks and forcing and recovering a fumble on of them deep in Husky territory that set up an ECU field goal. With his three sacks, Harvey has 24 tackles for loss on the year, setting a new record for both ECU and the American Athletic Conference. Harvey’s dominant night earned him AAC Co-Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors.

In what has become the norm ever since he was named the starter earlier this year, true freshman quarterback Holton Ahlers was the offensive leader for the Pirates. The Greenville native ran for 130 yards, becoming the second ECU quarterback ever to rush for at least 100 yards in a game, joining David Garrard, who did it in 2000. Ahlers also ran in a score and threw a career-high four TD passes on his way to putting up 242 passing yards. Ahlers’ exploits in the air and on the ground saw him named AAC Offensive Player of the Week.