GREENVILLE -- Just when Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium got quiet and Southern Miss looked to go ahead, C.J. Wilson, one of East Carolina's large defensive linemen, did the improbable.
Wilson, a 6-foot-4, 278-pound senior, blocked an extra-point attempt that would have put the Golden Eagles up by a point in the fourth quarter, and he then trucked to the end zone, giving East Carolina a 22-20 lead.
East Carolina hung on for a 25-20 win over Southern Miss on Saturday and clinched the Conference USA East Division title for the second year in a row.
The Pirates will host West Division champion Houston, a 73-14 winner over Rice, at noon Saturday for the C-USA title. The game will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.
East Carolina also earned its first victory in Greenville against its longtime nemesis since 1994.
"We said it was going to go all the way down to the end," Pirates coach Skip Holtz said. "We knew it was going to be a competitive game that went all 60 minutes. There were a lot of great individual performances tonight."
The Pirates led 17-7 at halftime, but the Golden Eagles grabbed momentum in the fourth quarter before Wilson came up big.
Southern Miss running back Damion Fletcher completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Leroy Banks, tying the score at 20-20.
But Wilson, a senior, blocked the extra-point kick, and then the ball fell into his hands. He scrambled, amid a pack of his teammates, and rumbled down the field 75 yards into the end zone.
"I still haven't caught my breath," Wilson said after the game. "He was kicking it low the whole game. I was just trying to block it. ... But it happened to fall right into my hands, so I just took off with it."
Pirates field-goal kicker Ben Hartman, who finished 3-for-3 with 49- and 18-yard field goals, kicked a 47-yarder with 4:37 left to put his team up 25-20.
But the suspense didn't end there. The Pirates' defense stopped the Golden Eagles on fourth-and-10 on its second-to-last possession.
Southern Miss got the ball back with 43 seconds left in the game, but on third-and-10, quarterback Martevious Young was sacked by linebacker Steve Spence and Jay Ross and time ran out.
Another of the Pirates' defensive lineman scored in the game, from a push on the other side of the ball.
In the second quarter, Dwayne Harris, who scored East Carolina's first touchdown on a 34-yard run in the second quarter, appeared to roll over the plane for a 5-yard TD later in the quarter. After the referees called him down inside the 1-yard line, the Pirates went to monster defensive lineman Linval Joseph. The 6-foot-6, 322-pound senior dove over the line for the 1-yard touchdown to put the Pirates up 17-7.
The Pirates were penalized 10 times for 80 yards, including a holding penalty that wiped out a 31-yard rushing TD from Giavanni Ruffin on their first drive.
"The penalties keep shooting us in the foot" Holtz said.
Still, the Pirates gave themselves a chance to become the first C-USA team to win two straight championships.
"It means a lot," ECU's Dominique Lindsay said. "We've got our opportunity to break the little code."
ECU 25, Southern Miss 20
Southern Miss | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | -- | 20 |
East Carolina | 3 | 14 | 0 | 8 | -- | 25 |
ECU--FG Hartman 49, 10:40. USM--Parham 17 pass from Young (Hrapmann kick), 4:23.
ECU--Harris 34 run (Hartman kick), 12:56. ECU--Joseph 1 run (Hartman kick), 5:28.
USM--Harrison 41 run (Hrapmann kick), 3:46.
ECU--FG Hartman 18, 10:43. USM--Banks 3 pass from Fletcher (kick blocked), 7:35. ECU--2-point defensive conversion by Wilson, 7:35. ECU--FG Hartman 47, 4:37.
| USM | ECU |
First downs | 19 | 23 |
Rushes-yards | 29-164 | 34-172 |
Passing | 265 | 269 |
Comp-Att-Int | 21-45-0 | 25-41-0 |
Return Yards | 2 | 12 |
Punts | 5-37.2 | 4-50.5 |
Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
Penalties-Yards | 5-55 | 10-80 |
Time of Possession | 28:37 | 31:23 |
RUSHING--Southern Miss, Harrison 8-79, Fletcher 13-60, Young 6-19, D.Brown 1-8, Parham 1-(minus 2). East Carolina, Lindsay 20-98, Harris 3-42, Pinkney 3-18, G.Ruffin 6-15, Joseph 1-1, Dodge 1-(minus 2).
PASSING--Southern Miss, Young 20-44-0-262, Fletcher 1-1-0-3. East Carolina, Pinkney 25-41-0-269.
RECEIVING--Southern Miss, D.Brown 7-145, Parham 5-51, Banks 5-38, Lampley 3-30, Fletcher 1-1. East Carolina, Freeney 8-83, Harris 8-64, Taylor 6-98, Womack 2-21, Lindsay 1-3.
Att.--43,006.
