Forced turnovers help Tar Heels topple ECU

GREENVILLE — East Carolina quarterback Dominique Davis had been targeting North Carolina cornerback Tre Boston’s side of the field in the Pirates’ first drive on Saturday.

In the five-play drive, three passes and one Reggie Bullock rush went to Boston’s side of the field as ECU chewed up 51 yards in less than two minutes. But just when the Pirates thought they had something good going, Boston stepped up.

A Davis pass to Danny Webster went for 11 yards down to the UNC 18-yard line, but Boston made no apparent attempt to tackle Webster after breaching the red zone. Instead, the sophomore corner exerted all his effort into stripping the receiver of the ball and eventually forced and recovered the fumble.

“You have to have those when you play this kind of offense,” said interim coach Everett Withers, a former defensive coordinator. “The way to beat this team is to take the ball away from them. We’ve got a saying in our building, ‘The ball’s the issue.’ And if you can get the ball, they can’t score.”

The message from inside the Kenan Football Center traveled with the team two hours to Greenville. The Tar Heels forced four turnovers — two interceptions and two fumbles — in the first half that eventually led to 14 points for the offense in the 35-20 win against the Pirates.

Though UNC couldn’t turn the Webster fumble into points, ECU’s next giveaway less than three minutes later would put the Tar Heels in great field position.

Freshman cornerback Tim Scott tallied his first career interception after a tipped Davis pass fell into Scott’s hands at the ECU 17-yard line. Two plays later, UNC had a 7-0 lead.

ECU’s spread offense was a stark contrast to what the Tar Heels saw the previous week against Georgia Tech, the nation’s top rushing offense. The Yellow Jackets rushed for 312 yards against UNC, but the Pirates could only muster 73 yards on 21 attempts while Davis passed for 417 yards in the air.

“We knew they were throwing the ball a lot, so we tried to get in a three-man front and get more people out in space to slow the pass a little bit because we knew we could stop the run,” UNC linebacker Kevin Reddick said.

The Pirates gave away the ball in the red zone a second time in the first quarter after defensive lineman Tydreke Powell jarred the ball loose from Bullock. Reddick fell on top of the ball at the North Carolina 21-yard line although he was later hounded by teammates for not picking it up and running.

UNC quarterback Bryn Renner and receiver Erik Highsmith gave Reddick an ‘I told you so’ when they connected on a 75-yard touchdown three plays later for a 14-0 lead.

“We rely on our defense so much for that,” Renner said. “Putting points on the board is just huge in a road game, especially early, to get the crowd out of it. Because it’s a very good stadium, it’s a very good atmosphere to play in.”

As ECU put together a final-minute first-half drive, Sylvester Williams, a 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive tackle, made a diving one-handed interception after a Donte Paige-Moss tip that killed the Pirates’ drive and sent the Tar Heels into the locker room with a 28-3 advantage.

Potentially no one enjoyed the moment as much as senior defensive end Quinton Coples, who is from nearby Kinston. Coples racked up five tackles and a half-sack in a victory that tasted especially sweet for him.

“Oh it definitely feels a little better against a rival,” Coples said. “But I think after this one we’re not going to call it a rivalry anymore. We’re just going to call it another game.”

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