NC State football survives Pirate scare, scrapes by ECU in season-opener

Greenville, N.C. — Whew.

That was the sound the Wolfpack nation collectively made as East Carolina kicker Owen Daffer missed what would have been the game-winning field goal for the Pirates. Instead, Daffer sent it wide right and the No. 13  NC State football team eked out a 21-20 win at Dowdy-Ficklen stadium on Saturday, Sept. 3.

“He just missed right, thank God,” said redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary. “Sometimes that’s how football is. But we’re not satisfied at all with that win.”

After all the hype it received in the offseason, the Wolfpack (1-0) put forth an underwhelming performance, scoring zero points in the second half as the Pirates (0-1) nearly came back from a 21-7 halftime deficit.

However, the football gods decided to be kind to NC State for once in Greenville. After the Pirates scored a touchdown that should have tied it up, Daffer missed a chip-shot extra point that kept it a one-point game. Moments later, following an interception by Leary on the ensuing possession, Daffer once again missed the game-winning kick — a crucial 41-yard field goal attempt with five seconds left.

The Pack got off to a bit of a slow start in the first half, going three-and-out on its first offensive possession after an interception by senior nickelback Tyler Baker-Williams on the second play of the game, and again going three-and-out on its next possession.

Unable to capitalize on its opportunities, the Pack surrendered the first points of the game to the Pirates, who marched down the field and scored on a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Holton Ahlers to receiver C.J. Johnson, making the score 7-0.

It wasn’t until near the end of the first quarter that NC State scored its first points of the season, and when the points came, they came in a hurry. With just over two minutes left in the quarter, Leary found graduate receiver Thayer Thomas for a 12-yard score, and after forcing the Pirates into a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, redshirt junior receiver Jasiah Provillon blocked an ECU punt, which was scooped up in the endzone by redshirt freshman safety Sean Brown to give the Pack a 14-7 edge.

The Wolfpack’s success on special teams was not limited to that one blocked punt. The Pirates’ first few returns boded well for them, gaining 68 of their 91 yards on kick and punt returns, respectively, in the first quarter alone. However, NC State quickly adjusted to bottle up the Pirates’ return game for the rest of the afternoon.

“I’m really happy with them, said head coach Dave Doeren. “[Redshirt sophomore kicker] Colin Smith and [graduate punter] Shane McDonough’s first game with us. They did some good things. Sean Brown had a huge tackle. Jasiah blocked a punt, Sean Brown recovered for a touchdown, those were huge plays. I’m very proud of these guys.”

This game was the coming-out party for sophomore running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, who made his presence felt early in the game. With 1:34 left in the first half, Sumo-Karngbaye scored his first NC State touchdown on a 24-yard run to put the Pack up 21-7 heading into halftime.

Leading by 14 at the break, some may have expected the Pack to come out and put the Pirates away in the second half, but it was not that easy. After NC State’s first drive of the half stalled, the Pirates went on a 12-play, 79-yard drive down the field, culminating in a one-yard touchdown pass from Ahlers to Shane Calhoun and making it a one-score game at 21-14.

What happened next was an excruciating couple of possessions for NC State. After the offense got the ball all the way to the ECU two-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter, junior running back Jordan Houston fumbled the ball at the goal line, giving it back to the Pirates. Then, after a great punt return by Thomas, Sumo-Karngbaye had an unbelievable run to get it back to the goal line.

That’s about as good as it got for the Pack. Four plays and four runs later, NC State was stuffed on the goal line. State fans had reason to be angry at this series of events as two fourth-and-goal attempts that would have been touchdowns were blown dead by the officials, but the Pack didn’t do itself any favors by running a draw play from the one-yard line.

After the next ECU possession stalled, Leary threw an interception on the following drive, giving the Pirates a golden opportunity from the NC State 27-yard line. Five plays later, Pirates running back Rahjai Harris ran for a three-yard touchdown, a score that would seemingly tie up the game barring the extra point.

But just when you think you know what’s about to happen next, college football pulls a surprise. Having experienced its fair share of bad luck on kicks in recent years, the Pack finally caught a break when Daffer missed the PAT.

Needing a stop, the Pirates forced the Pack off the field, giving them the ball back with 2:27 left. A 37-yard pass play from Ahlers to Keaton Mitchell put ECU in field goal range, and with nine seconds left, all NC State could do was pray for a miss. Apparently, those prayers were answered.

“I don’t think we played up to our expectations,” said redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chris Toudle. “I feel like we’ve got to get better offensively, turn the ball over less. Also, [we need to] support our defense. When they put us in good field position and everything, I feel like we’ve got to help them out.”

The Pack also allowed ECU to stay in the game through NC State’s lack of execution on third down. Overall, the Pirates converted nine of 17 third downs, while the Wolfpack only went four for 13. These rates stayed mostly consistent across all 60 minutes, with the Pack notching two third-down conversions in each half and ECU converting four in the first and five in the second.

Additionally, the Wolfpack defense struggled to put its opponent away by allowing the Pirates to stay in striking distance of the first-down marker. On average, ECU needed 5.6 yards to convert on third down while NC State needed 7.3 yards to move the chains.

Whether in offensive execution or defensive fortitude, the Wolfpack will get a chance to recuperate at its home opener against Charleston Southern on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.