17,102 (minus the large handful of folks wearing purple) were treated to a three and a half hour party in the Queen City this afternoon. The Charlotte 49ers waxed the ECU Pirates to the tune of a 55-24 final score that wasn’t nearly as close as it sounds.
Charlotte was on one from the jump. True freshman Deshawn Purdie started the third game of his young career and came out swinging. Purdie revitalized his connection with South Carolina (and ECU) transfer O’Mega Blake to set Charlotte up for their first score. A 27-yard connection on a third and 12 in their own territory turned into a Cartevious Norton touchdown within five plays.
Up 7-0, Charlotte forced an ECU three-and-out, and went back to work on offense. After a Pirate penalty set up Charlotte with a first down on their own forty, an explosive Terron Kellman run set the stage for Purdie and Blake to connect again.
The freshman quarterback dropped back and lofted a rainbow down the left sideline that only his veteran receiver could grab. Blake leaped, hauled in the pass, and got not one, but two feet down, coming down with an impressive catch that would have been good on Sundays as well. The play set Charlotte up at the ECU two, and Purdie would cash in with a rushing touchdown three plays later.
Charlotte went up 14-0, and that was just the beginning. East Carolina pulled to within 14-10, but Charlotte relentlessly beat the brakes off of the Pirates from there.
Hahsaun Wilson carved up ECU for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Cartevious Norton finished his day with 88 yards and two scores. Jairus Mack owned the second quarter, hauling in three catches for 81 yards. The Niner defense intercepted two passes, with Stone Handy returning one of them for six.
Charlotte rushing attack imposing their will
In their post-game media availability, running backs Norton and Wilson accused the Pirates of "giving up" in the second half. "They start arm tackling. They get scared to tackle. They don't want to put their head in there no more. That's when it becomes fun."
"Sometimes you can see in their face, like, they don't want to be there no more. That's us imposing our will. Doing what we want."
The Niner backs imposed their will in the second half. Charlotte's deep stable of ball carriers ran for 197 second half yards, averaging a ludicrous 7.9 yards per carry on 27 totes. Deshawn Purdie looked ready to set program records for passing yards before halftime, but he only needed to attempt five throws after the break as Charlotte mangled the ECU defense on the ground in their dominant second stanza.
The Charlotte football program begins every fourth quarter by playing the song ‘Revival’ by Zach Bryan. In the popular country hit, Bryan says “we’re gonna have an all night revival.” In Jerry Richardson Stadium, Charlotte had an all night tail-whooping of their in-state “rivals.”
It had to be a cathartic night for head coach Biff Poggi. After a tumultuous first month and a half of the season that involved him calling out fans for leaving early, an assistant getting into a social media spat with a fan account, a near upset loss to an overmatched FCS opponent, three lopsided non-conference losses, a rash of injuries, three different starting quarterbacks, calls for his job, *takes a breath,* and all-around atrocious vibes surrounding the program he was brought in to save, his Charlotte 49ers are 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the AAC, sporting a real chance at making the second bowl game in program history.
Program defining afternoon
Saturday was a program-defining victory for the 49ers.
ECU was considered Charlotte’s most alike in-state competition on the gridiron. After Saturday? The program in Greenville looks more like the state’s JV football outfit.
Charlotte sold out Jerry Richardson Stadium for the third straight time. This program needs to continue growing its fanbase, and garner increased local support, and building up goodwill by annihilating a “rival” like they did today is a massive step in doing so.
The 49ers were at max capacity in their recruiting section. If you’re a local high school kid that was in the building today, why would you want to go anywhere else? The intimacy of the Charlotte program to its fans combined with the ability to put your city’s college program on the national radar by playing games like this in Charlotte consistently? Come on. It’s a no-brainer.
This afternoon in Charlotte was a blast, but it becomes difficult from here. Charlotte has a much-needed bye week followed up by trips to Navy and Memphis. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes.
For now? We’ll enjoy the biggest win Charlotte has come up with since they knocked off Duke at home in 2021. It’s a great day to be a Niner.
