University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Host East Carolina in Final Game of Season
11/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Golden Eagles Host East Carolina in Final Game of Season
The regular season is coming to an end for the Golden Eagles who are looking to overcome a 31-10 upset loss to Tulane last week. Southern Miss (6-5, 4-3 in Conference USA) plays its final home game against East Carolina (4-6, 4-2) on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 2 p.m., central time. The game will not be televised.
This is the 27th meeting between the two schools. Southern Miss leads the series, 20-7, after winning a 28-21 contest in Greenville last season. The Golden Eagles are looking to end a two-game losing streak, while the Pirates want to capitalize on their 31-28 upset win over 22nd-ranked and conference-title contending TCU.
Quarterback Micky D?Angelo leads the Southern Miss offense, making his third start since replacing Dustin Almond and eighth start overall. The redshirt sophomore has completed 110-for-209 passes for 1,439 yards and six touchdowns.
Senior Derrick Nix makes his final appearance in M.M. Robert?s Stadium. Last week, he reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season, which is his third season to accomplish that feat at Southern Miss, and he is the only runner in Golden Eagle history to rush for 1,000 yards in three different seasons.
He now has 3,445 career rushing yards, leaving him 150 yards behind all-time leading rusher Ben Garry (3,595). Nix?s 10 rushing touchdowns on the season improve his career totals to 29 and ranks him fourth all-time in the Southern Miss record books.
Three Golden Eagles spotlight the receiving duties. Chris Johnson has been the hot receiver in the past three games. Highlighting the sophomore?s accomplishments is his first career 100-yard receiving performance, against Louisville with eight catches for 141 yards. He now leads the Eagles with 40 catches for 503 yards and two touchdowns.
LeRoy Handy and Marvin Young each claim 35 receptions. Handy has 478 receiving yards, a 13.7 yards per catch average, and Young leads the squad with 533 yards, 15.2 yards per catch, and six touchdowns.
Defensive stalwart Rod Davis continues to make his presence known on the field. The linebacker is a candidate for the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year Award, leading the league with 134 total tackles. He also leads the team with 20.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks.
Micheal Boley follows Davis in tackles with 122. His is second on the team in tackles for loss with 15.0 and third on the team in sacks with 7.5.
Etric Pruitt, a Jim Thorpe award semifinalist, is third on the team in tackles with 117 and has six tackles for loss. His numbers include a team-best six interceptions, 12 pass breakups and two fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and two blocked punts.
East Carolina features a balanced offense, with Paul Troth at the controls. The quarterback has completed 151-of-301 passes for 1,978 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Art Brown is a dominant runner in the Pirates? backfield. He has 1,029 rushing yards on 214 carries and 14 touchdowns. Four ECU receivers have made 26 or more receptions this season, with Torey Morris making a team-best 33 catches for 474 yards.
Kelly Hardy leads the Pirates? defense with 91 tackles. Christshawn Gilliam tops the tackles for loss chart with 10, and Hosea James leads in sacks with four.
