UNC’s Antonio Williams explains the hit that got him ejected from the ECU game

North Carolina running back Antonio Williams has watched the play “a million times,” he said.

That play — the one where he led with the crown of his helmet as he tried to block Pirates’ defensive back Colby Gore — got him ejected from the Tar Heels’ game at East Carolina. After the hit, Gore lay motionless on the field as trainers cared for him. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to the hospital, where he was later released.

When Williams, the 5-11, 210-pound Ohio State transfer, thinks about the play, he cringes. He said he was just trying to make a block for his teammate.

“I think it was the right call,” Williams said of the ejection. “I did hit him with my head. It happened. It was very unfortunate. I hope the guy is OK. I think he is OK, from what I’ve seen. And I’ll try my best to not let it happen again, because I never want to intentionally hurt someone.”

In the second quarter of UNC’s 41-19 loss to ECU (1-1) on Sept. 8, the Tar Heels (0-2), trailing 14-13, were driving down field. Williams said he was running a flat route when junior quarterback Nathan Elliott threw the ball down field and found junior wide receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams. Antonio Williams, a junior, immediately ran down field to block for his teammate.

As he got closer to the action, ECU freshman linebacker Delvontae Harris tried to tackle Ratliff-Williams but missed. He landed in front of Gore, who tried to jump over him.

That’s when Williams tried to block Gore and hit him.

“I guess somebody fell and (Gore) jumped,” Williams said. “So I just tried to peel back and not kill him, but knock him back a little bit. And when he was in the air, that’s when everything happened. My head hit his head.”

As the two made contact, Gore fell flat on his stomach with his face in the ground. He did not move. The game was stopped for about 10 minutes before he was taken off the field on a stretcher.

Officials, after watching the replay, ejected Williams. As he walked off the field into the locker room, ECU fans booed him.

“Unfortunately, it’s part of football,” Williams said. “Like I said a minute ago, I don’t ever want to go out on the field and intentionally hurt somebody.”

“Sometimes it’s so quick you can’t really control what happens. And that was definitely a case that happened against ECU.”

Ratliff-Williams defended his teammate. He said he did not believe Williams was intentionally trying to hurt anyone.

“Of course the coin flips the way you don’t want it to some times, and I prayed for (Gore) after it happened, and I know Antonio did the same,” Ratliff-Williams said.

ECU coach Scottie Montgomery said at a press conference last week that Gore was “doing well” following the injury. He did not go into the injury specifics but said x-rays were negative and he could play soon.

Before Williams was ejected, he had 96 yards on six carries. And UNC’s offense was having success. As a team, they had run for 147 yards in the first half.

But in the second half, without Williams, the offense couldn’t get anything going. The running game was stagnant, and UNC often found itself in third-and-long plays. In the second half, the Tar Heels ran for 14 yards.

“Antonio being out was huge,” Elliott said after the loss.

Williams watched the rest of the game from inside the locker room. He said it was tough watching his team struggle.

“Not being able to play and being in a rhythm that I was in, it kind of sucked because I felt that I was helping the team tremendously,” Williams said.

Williams’ performance in the first half was much different than the first half of the Tar Heels’ first game, a 24-17 loss at California on Sept. 1. In that game, Williams had 47 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

He said both he and the offensive line have gotten better since that game. Williams said practice this past Tuesday was the best he had been a part of since he’s been at UNC.

Against Pitt on Saturday, Williams plans to make sure he stays in the game — and run with the same energy he had in the first half against ECU two weeks ago.

“When the line is doing what they did today in practice, we should be very good in the ACC,” he said.

Pittsburgh at UNC

When: 12:20 p.m., Saturday

Where: Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill

TV: NBC