LYNCHBURG, VA – The East Carolina Pirates (2-2) suffered a 35-24 loss to the Liberty Flames (4-0) in a rain-delayed game that stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning at Williams Stadium.
The game, which kicked off at 6:02 p.m. Saturday, was quickly halted due to weather conditions and didn't resume until 10:45 p.m. It finally concluded at 2:00 a.m., making for a marathon evening of football.
East Carolina started strong, racing to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. Quarterback Jake Garcia opened the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run, followed by a 1-yard plunge from Marlon Gunn Jr. Andrew Conrad added a 35-yard field goal to extend the lead.
However, Liberty mounted a comeback, scoring 28 unanswered points to take control of the game. The Pirates managed one more touchdown in the third quarter when Rahjai Harris found the end zone from 2 yards out, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Flames' offensive surge.
Garcia completed 20 of 36 passes for 204 yards but was intercepted once. Chase Sowell led ECU's receivers with 5 catches for 72 yards, including a 42-yard reception in the first quarter. On the ground, Harris led the team with 47 yards on 13 carries.
Defensively, Omar Rogers paced the Pirates with 11 tackles, while Isaiah Brown-Murray recorded his first career interception and forced fumble.
Despite the defeat, ECU maintained its trend of strong starts, outscoring opponents 50-3 in first quarters this season. The Pirates also extended their streak of forcing at least one turnover to 43 of their last 47 games.
The game set an attendance record for Williams Stadium, with 24,076 fans braving the long weather delay to watch the first-ever meeting between these two programs.
Next Week
The loss concludes East Carolina's non-conference schedule. They'll begin American Athletic Conference play next Saturday when they host UTSA at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
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