SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 5, 2013
East Carolina 24, Middle Tennessee 17: Shane Carden was 43-of-57 for 365 yards and a touchdown and added a rushing score as the Pirates fended off the host Blue Raiders.
Justin Hardy caught eight passes for 85 yards and a touchdown and Vintavious Cooper rushed for a score for East Carolina (4-1, 2-0 Conference USA), which piled up 511 yards of total offense. Carden guided an 11-play drive over the final 5:16 and completed three third-down passes to seal the win.
Logan Kilgore passed for 245 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice, including with 5:16 left to set up the Pirates’ game-ending drive. Jeremiah Bryson added a rushing touchdown for Middle Tennessee (3-3, 1-1).
Cooper and Bryson traded 1-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter before Carden’s 1-yard rush in the second gave East Carolina a 14-10 lead at the half. A 25-yard field goal by Warren Harvey early in the third made it a 17-10 gap.
Kilgore drew the Blue Raiders even with an 80-yard drive later in the third, hitting Tavarres Jefferson with a 26-yard touchdown. Lance Ray returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards into Middle Tennessee territory, and Carden needed only four plays to find Hardy for the go-ahead 21-yard touchdown early in the final quarter.