By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — East Carolina’s all-everything man could be called “Big-Gain” Dwayne.
Dwayne Harris just seems to make big gains every time he touches the ball.
The East Carolina freshman was in exceptional form last Saturday during a 45-42 overtime victory against UTEP. In a span of 3 minutes, 39 seconds, Harris helped turn a 22-18 deficit into a 32-22 lead.
On his first big gain, Harris zipped 57 yards for a touchdown. The career-long run for Harris gave the Pirates a 25-22 lead.
Less than four minutes later, Harris pulled off another big gainer that pushed ECU’s lead to 10 points. This time, Harris did it with his arm. He took a pitch and then fired a strike to Jamar Bryant on a play that covered 80 yards.
Harris finished the game with a career-high 173 all-purpose yards (66 rushing, 30 receiving, 46 punt return and 31 kickoff return yards).
Despite getting just 11 carries, Harris ranks second on the team with 142 rushing yards, a wicked 10.9 yards-per-carry average.
Harris has hauled in 11 passes, sixth best on the team, for another 129 yards.
He has two receiving touchdowns, one rushing score and the TD toss.
Because of his versatility, the Stone Mountain, Ga., product has also been used to field kickoff and punt returns. He’s averaging 15.5 yards on kick returns and a team-best 7.7 yards on punt returns.
The quarterback/running back/wide receiver/punt returner/kick returner/special teamer will be looking to make more big gains when the Pirates (4-3, 3-1 C-USA) play host to the N.C. State Wolfpack (1-5, 0-3 ACC) in Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. kickoff at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.