Football Falls at East Carolina

Oct. 23, 2010

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Jon Williams ran for 111 yards and a touchdown to help East Carolina stay perfect in Conference USA by beating Marshall 37-10 on Saturday.

Dominique Davis threw for 208 yards and two scores for the Pirates (5-2, 4-0), who are off to their best start in league play since going 5-0 in 2001. The two-time defending league champions have won 10 straight against C-USA opponents, including last season's win against Houston in the title game.

East Carolina has also won three straight overall since consecutive road losses to Atlantic Coast Conference teams Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

East Carolina shook off a sluggish start by scoring twice in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the first half to take a 20-10 halftime lead. The Pirates then scored on their first three drives of the second half to blow the game open against the Thundering Herd (1-6, 0-3).

Marshall opened the game with a dime formation that seemed to keep the Pirates off balance for most of the first half. Marshall was able to limit ECU's high-powered offense to only 167 yards of offense in the first half. The Thundering Herd recorded 186 total yards of offense and actually recorded 15 first downs to the Pirates 10. However, ECU took advantage of three Marshall turnovers to post a 20-10 lead at the half.

Marshall Quarterback Brian Anderson was intercepted three times in the first half and all three turnovers led to ECU scoring drives. The first interception at the 1:28 mark came deep in ECU territory and was returned to the 50-yardline where ECU managed a field goal. The second came with 3:30 to go in the half and led to a Jon Williams 29-yard touchdown run just seven plays later to put the Pirates up 17-10. Anderson had a third pass deflect off of an offensive lineman that was picked out of the air by defensive lineman Michael Brooks. That play led to an ECU 40-yard field goal to close out the half.

The Pirates were able to make several adjustments at halftime and they went on to out-score the Herd 17-0 in the second half to post the 37-10 win.

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Players Mentioned

Brian Anderson

Marshall University Athletics