University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss-East Carolina Postgame Quotes
10/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 28, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Postgame Quotes -
Southern Miss Head Coach Jeff Bower
On the game:
"I thought the defense played hard, but they were on the field too long. They gave an outstanding effort. For the last four and half minutes, we just couldn't stop East Carolina. You have to give them credit. They made plays when they needed to and won the game. We didn't play well on offense and couldn't get anything going."
On the final play of the game:
"We got a big play out of that (same play) early and had single coverage in overtime. I thought Shawn had possession of the ball early, and then when, he was coming down, their guy just took it away from him."
On Damion Fletcher's play:
"I thought he did okay, but I would have to look at the tape. We just didn't do anything consistently offensively. We went backward on first down a few times in the second half."
Damion Fletcher, RB
On how the team played:
"Tonight, I didn't think we played very well at all. We didn't play to our potential. I think some of it was mostly our fault because we didn't execute like we needed to."
On his injured knee:
"It didn't bother me at all during the game."
On the loss:
"This was a very tough loss for us. If we win this game, then we are in the driver's seat as far as the league race goes. We just have to play out and keep working hard."
Jasper Faulk, DB
On the defensive performance:
"We just have to play better. Our defensive style has always to play nasty, and it just seems that we have been bending but not breaking defense. We didn't make plays when we needed to, and they made plays. So you have to give them a lot of credit."
Eddie Hicks, DB
On the interception return for the touchdown:
"It was just a great set up by everybody on defense. We did a great job in how we set up and didn't show that we were in man to man. I just made a break on the ball and made the play."
Jeremy Young, QB
On the loss: "It was a tough loss for us, especially with all the goals that we want to accomplish. To have them come into our home and steal a victory from us, that's tough. I'm down about it, and our whole team is down about it."
On the offensive performance: "You have to give East Carolina a lot of credit with how they prepared defensively. They stopped the run, and that is something that we had been able to do in some of other games."
East Carolina Head Coach Skip Holtz
Winning on the road:
"Huge. Huge. Especially since four of the last five are on the road. If we're going to do anything special this season, we're going to have to win on the road. We've got to be road warriors. I said earlier this week that we had broken down this season - phase one, the first two on the road, phase two, the five games at home, and phase three, four of the last five being on the road. We talked about how we were going to approach it, how we were going to address it. We've been hard on these players, we've talked to them about staying humble, learn how to handle a little success last week. This is big, winning here. There's not too many that can come into Southern Miss and win here."
On how being a hunted team in the division: "It's still one step at a time. We hadn't even got to where we were in the hunt, let alone been the hunted. This game was big, there's no doubt. We talked to our team all week about, this was not a big picture game. This was a game about us and Southern Miss. This was a game about how we had been beaten 84-17 the last two years, 51-10 the last time the seniors came down here. This was a game of us against Southern Miss' program. This was just one at a time, focus on what we've got to get done out here, and they found a way to win. I can't say how proud I am of these players enough."
On conference play: "Now you're playing for the conference. I read all week, the road to the conference championship had to come through Hattiesburg. They've got a great program. Coach Bower does an unbelievable job with this football team. They're physical, they're hard-nosed, they play great defense, they've got a secondary that can get in you. This was a huge win from a conference standpoint."
On the Southern Miss-East Carolina rivalry:
"Tonight was one heck of a football game. It was a competitive game across the board. Both teams were hard-hitting and physical, had good defense. It was about two stubborn programs that were going to keep running the ball and wait to see who would make the last mistake. I thought it was a hard fought, well played game by both teams. This series has some great rivalry eras in it. There have been times when this has been a great rivalry. I certainly don't expect Southern Miss to look at this as a rivalry game, they've won 84-17 and won five years in a row. To them I'm not sure it's been the rivalry game that it is to our players. We understand they're the Beast of the East, and that we were going to come in here and this would be a great measuring stick for us."
Travis Williams
On the Interception to End the Game
"Coach said we'll get the field goal and a turnover. We knew they were going to try to hit the franchise tight end and I made a play and did it for my seniors.
"I went up and the ball hit my hands and he had his hands on it too. I just wanted it more."
On Defending Shawn Nelson
"Last year before halftime he had a big play. We knew we had to take him out the game and we did."
On Winning for the First Time on the Road
"It means a lot. The coaching staff, the players - no one really knows what we go through in the offseason. I'm just happy right now."
James Pinkney
On the Conference USA Race
"We have to stay focused, stay hungry and stay humble. It's the biggest win since I've been here. It puts us on top of the conference on our side. We can't let down."
"It's what we've worked for; this is what we want. We never quit. Even after the interception the boys came over and kept me up."
