University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Entertains East Carolina This Weekend at The Rock
10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 26, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss faces an important football showdown this weekend in the race for the Conference USA East Division title, when they take on East Carolina in a 6:30 p.m. contest Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
The game will be broadcast live nationally on CSTV and former Southern Miss quarterback Brett Favre is expected to call in during the broadcast.
The Golden Eagles (4-3 overall, 2-1 C-USA) have dominated the series with the Pirates (3-4, 2-1), winning five straight and nine of the last 10 games over ECU en route to a 24-7 overall advantage in the series.
Southern Miss has beaten ECU three of the last four times in Hattiesburg, including a 51-10 decision during the 2004 campaign in the Pirates' last trip to The Rock.
Returning home this week, the Golden Eagles look to rebound from their 36-6 loss at Virginia Tech last weekend.
Junior quarterback Jeremy Young will make his eighth career start for the Golden Eagles as he has thrown for 939 yards this season on 79-of-146 passing for a 54.1 percentage. His numbers include five touchdown passes with only four interceptions thrown. On the ground, Young has rushed for 137 yards on 44 carries and two running scores.
After missing last week's game, freshman Damion Fletcher should see some action in the backfield this weekend. Fletcher leads the team in rushing with 681 yards on 131 carries for a per rush average of 5.2 yards. Senior Conrad Chanove also will be in the Southern Miss backfield, having rushed for 144 yards on 34 carries this season.
As for the receivers, sophomore Shawn Nelson has team highs in both catches (18) and yardage (244), as four different Golden Eagles have caught at least 10 passes in 2006, including 15 each by senior Josh Barnes and freshman Rodney Gray, along with 13 from senior Damion Carter.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles have been led by junior Brandon Sumrall, who has 42 total tackles (28 solos) to go along with a team-best two interceptions, three forced fumbles and a pair of sacks. Sophomore Ladarius Webb is next with 36 stops, to go along with five pass breakups, while Jerome Lyons has 34 tackles and Robert Henderson has 32. Junior Martavius Prince has 25 stops for the Golden Eagle defense, including eight for loss, which ranks tied for 49th in nation.
The Pirates will counter with their senior quarterback James Pinkney, who threw for 391 yards last week in a 38-21 victory over SMU. For the year, Pinkney has accounted for 1,753 yards passing, which includes seven TD throws with only four interceptions on 143-of-236 attempts.
Pinkney's biggest target is Aundrae Allison, who has 32 receptions for 402 yards and three touchdowns, while Phillip Henry has totaled 22 catches for 314 yards and a score.
Running back Brandon Fractious leads the ground game for the Pirates with 255 yards on 68 rushes, while kicker Robert Lee is a perfect 13-of-13 on extra points and 6-of-11 on field goal attempts this season.
Quentin Cotton headlines the ECU defense with 50 tackles, along with an interception and a forced fumble, while Jamar Flournoy, is next with 46 stops (25 solos) and Fred Wilson has 35.
Golden Eagle fans that have ECU football tickets can show their ticket at the Reed Green Coliseum Ticket Office that day to receive a free basketball ticket to the 2 p.m. men's exhibition contest against Lithuania Academy.
Tickets for the ECU game are still available and can be purchased at the Southern Miss Athletic Ticket Office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or by calling 1-800-844-TICK.
- SouthernMiss.com -
