GREENVILLE, N.C. – With four consecutive wins under its belt, East Carolina closes out the regular season on Black Friday with a home contest versus American Athletic Conference opponent Navy.
 
Kickoff at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN with Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline) handling the broadcast.
 
The Pirates (7-4, 5-2 AAC) are under the direction of newly anointed head coach Blake Harrell who was officially named to the position Wednesday (Nov. 27). Harrell had served as the program’s interim head coach since Oct. 20.
 
Last Time Out
East Carolina 40, North Texas 28
(Nov. 23 @ DATCU Stadium, Denton, Texas)
East Carolina showed up late to an anticipated shootout between two prolific, quick-striking offenses on Saturday at DATCU Stadium, but the Pirates made an emphatic statement once they arrived. After a sluggish start marred by turnovers and penalties, ECU scored on six consecutive possessions bridging the two halves to storm back from a 21-0 deficit for a 40-28 win over North Texas. The Pirates, down 21-7 at the half, found their rhythm on offense while cranking up the pressure on defense in reeling off 24 third-quarter points – their fourth quarter of at least 20 points this season — on the way to their fourth-straight win under interim head coach Blake Harrell. An offense spearheaded by senior running back Rahjai Harris, sophomore quarterback Katin Houser and the Smith boys (Yannick and Anthony) eclipsed 500 total yards for the fourth-straight game, finishing with 553. The defense, meanwhile, created a momentum-shifting fumble on the opening series of the third quarter, blocked a field goal, held North Texas to 188 yards in the second half and did not allow the Mean Green to convert a third down (0-for-7) or fourth down (0-for-3) in the final two quarters. The result: a guaranteed third winning season in the last four years. ECU heads into its regular-season finale at home against Navy with a 7-4 overall record and 5-2 in the American Athletic Conference. North Texas (5-6, 2-5 AAC) dropped its fifth consecutive game and saw its string of four straight Senior Day victories come to an end. Things looked bleak on a sunny and breezy Saturday afternoon after ECU came up empty on its first five possessions and trailed 21-0 with 3:01 left before halftime. But ECU pieced together a 14-play, 67-yard drive with Harris plunging in from the one for the first of his career-high three touchdowns. A renewed energy fueled a run of 24 consecutive points in the third quarter and vaulted the Pirates in front 31-21. A staggered North Texas, which came in ranked third nationally in total offense, did not have an answer. Harris, whose two touchdowns in the fourth quarter last week rescued the Pirates, brought the juice to the offense once again. The determined senior ground out 128 yards on 24 carries to register his the fourth 100-yard game of the season and ninth of his career, but the highlight came when he emerged from a mass of players and sprinted for a 39-yard score to get ECU within 21-14. Despite being limited to 58 yards in the first half, ECU surpassed 220 yards rushing for the fourth consecutive game and finished with 255. Penn State transfer London Montgomery contributed 65 yards on 15 carries, and Marlon Gunn Jr. added 42 yards on nine attempts. Houser, making his fifth start, overcame a slow beginning to the contest in which he completed six of 12 passes with his seventh interception by connecting on 10 his last 11 throws for 298 yards, finishing just shy of a third straight 300-yard game. NC State transfer Anthony Smith, who had four catches for a career-high 121 yards, and freshman Yannick Smith, who set career bests with seven catches for 112 yards, each had a touchdown catch and gave ECU a pair of 100-yard receivers for the second game this year.
 
About Navy
The Midshipmen (7-3, 5-2 AAC) have lost three of their last four games, including a 35-0 setback to Tulane in their most recent outing back on Nov. 16. Navy is 3-1 on the road this season with wins over UAB (41-18), Air Force (34-7) and South Florida (28-7) as well as a loss to Rice (24-10). The Midshipmen check in at seventh in the league in scoring offense, putting up 32.1 points per game while they are fourth in scoring defense (23.5 points allowed per game). Navy is also second on the circuit in rushing offense at 243.2 yards per contest. Quarterback Blake Horvath is fourth in the conference in rushing offense (89.5 yards per game) and has scored 13 touchdowns on the ground. Brian Newberry is in his second year as Midshipmen head coach and has been with the program for six seasons – the first four as its defensive coordinator.
 
East Carolina Records, Streaks and Trends

• The Pirates can win eight games in the regular season for the first time since 2014 when they finished at 8-4 before falling to Florida in the Birmingham Bowl. They can also record five home victories in a single season for the first time since that same 2014 campaign.
• ECU can secure its first five-game winning streak since 2014 when it defeated Virginia Tech (28-21), North Carolina (70-41), SMU (45-24), South Florida (28-17) and Connecticut (31-21) consecutively from Sept. 13-Oct. 23.
• With its win over North Texas, East Carolina cemented a winning AAC record for just the third time since joining the conference prior to the 2014 season (2014, 2021 and 2024).
• The Pirates erased a 21-0 deficit against the Mean Green, marking the first time since 2010 at Southern Miss that ECU has rallied from a deficit of 20 or more points in a victory.
• East Carolina rushed for 255 yards at North Texas – the Pirates’ fourth-straight game with 200 or more rushing yards.
• ECU has registered 500 or more yards of total offense in four-straight contests.
• The Pirates established a program single-game record for yards per play versus Florida Atlantic (10.4), besting the previous standard of 9.7 set against Western Carolina in 2016.
• East Carolina scored a season-high 35 points in the first half of the FAU game which were its most in a first half since netting 41 opposite South Florida in 2022 (contest played in Boca Raton).
• The Pirates produced a modern-day program record for points in a quarter with 29 in the third versus Temple.
• ECU tied a program record with eight different players (seven offense) scoring a touchdown against Temple.
• The Pirates racked up 418 yards of total offense in the first half versus FAU – the most since collecting 459 against North Carolina in 2014 (ranking first and second in program and Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium history).
• East Carolina owns 13 offensive scoring drives of 44 seconds or less this season.
• ECU ranks 10th nationally in tackles for loss per game (7.5), 25th in total offense (440.9 yards per game) and 28th in scoring offense (33.6 points per game).
• Twenty-five (25) different Pirate defenders have recorded at least a half tackle for loss. East Carolina has tallied 83.0 tackles for loss this season for minus 263 yards.
• The ECU defense has forced at least one turnover in 58 of the last 69 games since 2019.

 
The Series
Navy leads the all-time series with East Carolina by a 9-2 count. The Midshipmen posted 28-23 and 76-35 victories to open the series in 2006 and 2010, respectively, before the Pirates used Dominique Davis’ record-setting 40-of-45 passing effort to post its first win in 2011. Navy has won six of seven matchups between the two teams in American Conference play (’15, ’16, ’19, ’20, ’22, ’23). Three years ago, Owen Daffer’s game-winning 54-yard field goal as time expired, gave ECU its first AAC win over Navy.
 
Last Meeting
Navy 10, East Carolina 0
(Nov. 18, 2023 @ Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.)
East Carolina’s stout defense contributed its part to a bid for a second straight win, but season-long struggles on offense led to a 10-0 loss to Navy on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. ECU finished with 189 total yards, committed three first-half turnovers and also gave up the ball in its territory when Luke Larsen dropped the ball while attempting a rugby-style punt. The Pirates failed to piece together more than a five-play drive in their first 12 possessions and did not amass more than 29 yards on any series until their last (39 yards). Alex Flinn started again Saturday and never found a rhythm against Navy’s constant pressure, completing 24 of 38 passes for 151 yards and a pair of interceptions. Flinn led ECU in rushing with 41 yards on 12 carries. Javious Bond, Gerald Green and Rahjai Harris netted a mere 16 yards on six carries. All told, the Pirates had a season-low 34 yards on the ground and rushed for less than 100 yards for the sixth time this season. The Pirates’ defense, meanwhile, kept Navy in check in a sloppy game that featured almost as many tackles for loss (20) as first downs (22), five turnovers, one missed field goal, one blocked field goal and 14 punts. Senior Xavier Arline, Navy’s fourth starting quarterback this season, completed 10 of 11 passes for 155 yards and rushed for 68 yards on 18 carries but also fumbled twice. His 39-yard scamper in the first quarter set up the game’s only touchdown.
 
Harrell Starts Head Coaching Career 4-0
Harrell is the first coach in program history to start his head coaching career 4-0. He has guided the Pirates to 183 points (45.8 ppg), which are the most by any coach through four games. Bill Lewis (147 in 1989) is second followed by Ruffin McNeill (144 in 2010), Scottie Montgomery (117 in 2016) and Steve Logan (105 in 1992).
 
Non-Saturday Exploits
East Carolina is 25-31 (.446) in non-Saturday games since 2000. Somewhat surprisingly, the Pirates have fared better on the road (16-15; 8-16 at home). In terms of days (including bowls), ECU is 5-1 on Sundays, 1-1 on Mondays, 3-1 on Tuesdays, 0-3 on Wednesdays, 9-13 on Thursdays and 6-12 on Fridays. Most recently, ECU is 14-16 when deviating from the normal Saturday routine since 2010. The Pirates, 2-0 this season, had one non-Saturday game in 2023 hosting SMU on Oct. 12 (loss/31-10). In 2022, ECU played three non-Saturday contests posting a 2-1 ledger (win at BYU/27-24, win vs. Coastal Carolina/53-29; loss at Cincinnati/27-25). With their win in Tulsa, Okla. the Pirates became bowl eligible for the third time in the last four years.
 
At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
East Carolina’s all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 205-119 (.633). The Pirates opened the facility on Sept. 21, 1963, with a 20-10 win over Wake Forest in front of 17,000 fans, celebrated the stadium’s 50th anniversary in 2013 and recently hosted their 300th game vs. Tulane in 2020. ECU played seven home games in 2022, posting a 4-3 record. Before a 4-2 clip in 2021, a 1-3 record two years ago and a collective 13-19 mark from 2015-2019, ECU was 5-1 in 2014, 2013 and 2012 (15-3) and won a combined 10 of 12 home matchups in 2009 (6-1) and 2008 (4-1). With its 49-14 won over Florida Atlantic (Nov. 7, 2024), East Carolina has posted 42 winning campaigns at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium since 1963.
 
The Pirate Nation – Over 9 Million Strong
East Carolina has usually been able to claim plenty of hometown support when playing at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium – establishing itself among conference attendance leaders on a near annual basis. A total of 9,815,600 fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963, and since the completion of a 7,000-seat expansion project in 2010 (to push capacity to 50,000), the Pirates have drawn 3,544,311 fans.
 
For Starters
DL Chad Stephens enters the Navy contest having started 30 consecutive games as a member of the defensive unit. OL Hampton Ergle currently has the longest starting streak on the offense at 24 prior to Thursday’s game. ECU has had 17 first time starters in a Pirate uniform this season: LB Zakye Barker, OL Darius Bell, LB Ryheem Craig, LB Samuel Dankah, QB Jake Garcia, DB Gavin Gibson, QB Katin Houser, TE Casey Kelly, DB Devon King, OL Jimarion McCrimon, OL Emmanuel Poku, DB Ja’Marley Riddle, WR Anthony Smith, WR Yannick Smith, LB Dameon Wilson, DB Andrew Wilson-Lamp, WR Winston Wright Jr.
 
2024 Graduates
OL Hampton Ergle, OL Dustyn Hall, DS Alex Harper, RB Rahjai Harris, LB Noah Holmes, DB Jordan Huff, TE Casey Kelly, P Luke Larsen, Dl Jaden McKenzie, DB Kingston McKinstry, OL Parker Moorer, TE Tyler Savage, DL Chad Stephens and WR Winston Wright Jr. each have earned their degrees heading into the 2024 season.
 
Up Next
East Carolina’s bowl assignment and opponent will be revealed in the coming weeks.