By Staff
From ECU wire reports
GREENVILLE -- On the first full day of spring, East Carolina concluded its first week of spring practice with its first scrimmage at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Saturday morning.
East Carolina punched in eight touchdowns, six rushing and two passing. The longest was a 35-yard run by senior fullback Dominique Hatcher, who carried the ball 16 times for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Sakeen Wright also scored on a 25-yard run from the line of scrimmage.
On the day, Pirate running backs carried the ball 49 times for 235 yards. Sophomore quaterback Desmond Robinson picked up 45 yards on five carries, while junior Marvin Townes had 33 yards on three carries with a touchdown.
Senior Art Brown had eight carries for 29 yards, including a four-yard touchdown run. Senior fullback Vonta Leach rushed the ball three times for six yards. Sophomore fullback Jason Pender also scored from one-yard out.
ECU completed 16-of-30 passes for 198 yards with a pair of touchdown strikes by junior Paul Troth and Robinson. Troth was 5-of-8 for 73 yards, with a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior Terrance Cooper.
Robinson hit on 5-of-13 passes for 69 yards with a seven-yard score to sophomore Kevin Roach, a former standout at Williamston.
Red-shirt freshman James Pinkney completed 2-of-6 passes for 21 yards.
Cooper had the most catches and yards with three grabs for 39 yards and a touchdown. Roach caught two balls for 21 yards and touchdown, and junior Edwin Rios also made two grabs for 34 yards.
Junior Eric Butler was the leading tackler with five. Senior Travis Heath made four tackles, while senior Kent Nealy and sophomore Lorenza Pickett made three tackles each.
The Pirates will practice four times a week over the next three weeks, with spring practice culminating on April 12 with the Purple-Gold game.
East Carolina opens the season Sept. 1 at Cincinnati, while the Pirates are home for the first time on Sept. 6 against West Virginia.