East Carolina came into Saturday needing a response after that tough 41-34 loss at Memphis. Freshman defensive back David Coleman Jr. was part of the young secondary trying to help deliver it, but his afternoon, and maybe his season, changed in an instant. At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, an official slipped while moving across the field and slid right into Coleman’s right leg. The freshman couldn’t put any weight on it and had to be helped off by two people.
A Freak Incident Shakes ECU’s Defense
Head coach Blake Harrell was visibly shaken, telling reporters after the game that an X-ray at halftime confirmed a fractured fibula. “DC got an X-ray at halftime, fractured his fibula there. Our thoughts and prayers are with him,” Harrell said. He called it “one of those things, kind of wild it happens. I’ve never seen that from an official , a few things happen in the ballgame that I’ve never seen , and unfortunate for DC.” Reports indicate the referee tried to go around Coleman, but the freshman didn’t see him and stepped right into his path. It was a total accident, and the official checked on the player immediately. But man, the damage was done.
No recovery timeline has been announced yet, but this puts the rest of Coleman’s freshman season in serious doubt. He had already racked up six tackles coming into the game and added one more before the collision, giving him seven for the year. It’s just brutal. The fan account @ECU_NoQuarter summed up the gut punch perfectly in a post that read, “A referee just broke one of our players legs. You can’t make this up.” You really can’t.
Pirates Fight Back, Keep Bowl Hopes Alive
Even with that wild injury and the emotional hit, the Pirates still had a game to finish against Temple, and they needed to show up. They went back to Mitch Griffis at quarterback after Emory Williams had been starting for the past few weeks. Griffis completed 17 of 30 passes for 130 yards with one interception, but the real story was the ground game and a stout defense stepping up big time.
TJ Engleman Jr. absolutely went off, running for 107 yards and punching in a touchdown. Ashton Gray added another score on the first drive to get things rolling. Brock Spalding even made his season debut, which is always cool to see. The defense, though, they sealed the deal in the 17-9 victory, snagging three interceptions, with two of those coming in the crucial fourth quarter. Temple only managed three field goals from kicker Carl Hardin and fell to 2-6. Coach Harrell wasn’t playing it safe either, going for it on fourth down four times and converting two of them. That’s gutsy! This win snapped a two-game skid, pushing ECU to 4-4, and most importantly, it kept their bowl hopes alive. The Pirates, now 2-2 in conference, resume that bowl push on Friday night. You know they’ll be playing with extra fire for Coleman, too.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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