Eight gamers have been ejected and an official was bleeding from a reduce on his face following a late scuffle between East Carolina and NC State in Saturday’s Navy Bowl, which the Pirates gained 26-21.
In the course of the altercation, an ECU participant shoved an NC State participant from behind, and the NC State participant’s helmet hit the ref within the face, inflicting the reduce. The official, umpire Rod Tucker, used a towel to wipe himself off, and a crew coach checked out him.
Right here is the important thing to the ugliness at finish of ECU-NCST. ECU participant takes an inexpensive shot at NC State participant, shoves helmet from behind. The helmet hits ref within the face. pic.twitter.com/So8sOZCuAh
— Cork Gaines, Ph.D. (@CorkGaines) December 29, 2024
The drama across the recreation’s in-state matchup constructed within the weeks main as much as the competition, because the groups and their fan bases traded barbs. ECU followers have lengthy felt disrespected by the state of North Carolina’s Atlantic Coast Convention colleges and have seized upon the infrequency with which these colleges have scheduled the Pirates since ECU gained six straight video games towards ACC opponents from 2013 to ’16, together with two victories every towards NC State and North Carolina. NC State and East Carolina have performed 4 occasions within the final seven seasons and can open the 2025 season towards one another in Raleigh.
WATCH: ECU Soccer Coach Blake Harrell after the victory over NC State within the Navy Bowl “I don’t suppose you may take a look at our followers and inform them it isn’t a rivalry. And it is an hour and quarter-hour up the highway. And there is a couple different colleges about the identical distance. And… pic.twitter.com/H4kRC2g4O1
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) December 29, 2024
ECU led 20-7 getting into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s recreation, however NC State scored two fast touchdowns to take a 21-20 lead.
ECU appeared to return a fumble for a landing and the lead with simply over two minutes to play, however officers mentioned the NC State runner was down after which that his ahead progress was stopped, although replay confirmed he wasn’t down and a whistle hadn’t blown.
On ECU’s ensuing possession, operating again Rahjai Harris took a handoff 86 yards for the go-ahead landing. The Pirates intercepted an NC State move on the subsequent drive to safe the win.
When ECU ran the ball on its final drive to expire the clock, two gamers behind the play started wrestling with one another. Each sidelines cleared and a number of scuffles broke out as coaches and officers tried to maintain them aside.
5 of the ejected gamers have been from NC State, whereas three have been from East Carolina. The penalties offset, and a closing kneeldown ended the sport.
“An amazing recreation, hate that it ended that approach,” ECU head coach Blake Harrell mentioned. “We’ve obtained to be smarter to complete the sport. However an enormous win for the Pirates.”
These groups will subsequent sq. off on the Wolfpack’s Carter-Finley Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. NC State leads the all-time sequence 19-14, which dates to 1970.
(Photograph: Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Pictures)
