NC State football defeated ECU by a score of 34-6 on Saturday in the team’s opening game of the season. The Pirates (0-1) put up more of a fight than they did last season, but they were still no match for the Wolfpack (1-0).
The biggest question for the Pack coming into the game was if redshirt sophomore Matthew McKay could lead the team from under center. McKay performed well in his first test, going 25-37 for 308 yards and a touchdown in the air. He also rushed for two touchdowns and 35 yards on six attempts. McKay became just the third NC State quarterback to throw for 300 plus yards in his first start, the first two being Philip Rivers and Harriston Beck.
‘’As practice went on throughout the week, you could see him getting more and more confident,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “On Thursday, he had his best practice that I’ve seen since he’s been here. I told the guys ‘If he throws like that, we’re good Saturday,’ because he was throwing dimes. He was very confident; he was very calm.”
Apart from McKay, on the offensive side of the ball receivers junior Emeka Emezie, redshirt sophomore Thayer Thomas and graduate Tabari Hines all impressed with the trio combing for one touchdown (Hines) and 227 yards on 17 catches.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior corner Chris Ingram, senior corner Nick McCloud and sophomore safety Tanner Ingle all impressed with nine, seven and eight tackles respectively with Ingram snagging an interception and Ingle forcing a fumble.
It was clear from the first play onward that the Wolfpack would be lining up in a 3-3-5 defense, which new co-defensive coordinator Tony Gibson brought with him.
“Every year I’ve been here, we’ve played odd on third down,” Doeren said. “So we’ve always had it. Last year, we played ECU in three down the entire game. When Tony [Gibson] got here, we are kind of bridging the gap from third down to being able to play it on first and second.”
The defense did a good job of containing ECU’s quarterback Holton Ahlers and forced him to throw the ball, but Ahlers proved he was more than able to do so going 6-6 for 47 yards on the opening drive. The Pirates marched the ball down to inside the Wolfpack 10-yard line. Ahlers then attempted to make a break for the end zone but Ingle forced the QB to fumble and the Wolfpack recovered in the end zone.
The Wolfpack offense took over and wasted no time getting to the Pirate’s end zone with freshman running back Zonovan “Bam” Knight rushing for a 9-yard touchdown on the sixth play of the drive. McKay also looked fantastic on the drive going 2-3 for 37 yards, both completions were to Thomas.
“It felt pretty good,” Bam said. “It was my first game, so I went out there a little nervous, but after my first play I scored, all the fears went away.”
The Pirates and the Pack traded drives for the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, but the Pirates were the only ones able to draw blood. ECU’s Jake Verity nailed a 47-yard field goal with just over six minutes left in the first quarter.
The next scoring drive for the Wolfpack came at the 10-minute mark in the second quarter. Sophomore kicker Chris Dunn hit a 27-yard field goal to put the Wolfpack up 10-3. The field goal came at the end of a solid drive for the Wolfpack which saw Hines break out for 34 yards on an end around.
‘’Obviously, last year wasn’t the year I had planned,” Hines said. “It was a long time coming. It’s been a while since I played football. To have my first carry and be that wide open, it was surreal. I kinda got too anxious, I feel like I probably should have scored, but it was a good opportunity to change the field position, get my feet up underneath me.”
The Pack added one more touchdown before the end of the half. McKay ran the ball into the end zone but that was not how the play was drawn up. The QB looked to his left in an attempt to hand the ball off but there was no running back to be seen, so McKay tucked it and rushed towards the end zone, where he was pushed across the line by a few teammates. Dunn nailed the extra point and the Pack made it 17-3 with less than a minute left in the half.
“There was a little signal issue,” McKay said. “I think Ricky [Person Jr.] thought it was in the back. I should have corrected him so I put that on me. Then I just was thinking, ‘Let me just follow my blockers and go into the end zone’ and they pushed right into there.”
Hines continued his solid day with a 48-yard touchdown reception to start the Wolfpack’s scoring in the second half. Hines made a great break towards the sideline and was wide open when McKay found him. The reception was the second in a row for Hines on the drive which lasted just four plays and went 70 yards in a minute and 40 seconds.
The Wolfpack put the game out of reach for ECU towards the beginning of the fourth quarter with McKay scoring his second rushing touchdown of the day and third overall. The play was drawn up brilliantly drawing nearly the entire defense to the right side leaving just one man, who was blocked by redshirt junior tight end Dylan Autenrieth, to try and stop McKay.
Dunn added another three points to round out the day for the Pack with a 34-yard field goal with just over four minutes on the clock. The two field goals against ECU put Dunn at 17 field goals scored in a row without missing.
The Wolfpack will be back in action at Carter-Finley Stadium on Sept. 7 to take on Western Carolina. The kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.
Redshirt sophomore Matthew McKay practices a throw on the sidelines of Carter-Finley Stadium during a timeout, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. The Wolfpack won the first game of the season against the East Carolina University Pirates, 34-6 in regulation, and will return to Carter-Finley Saturday, Sept. 7 to face Western Carolina University.
