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Independence Bowl 1978
East Carolina 35 Louisiana Tech 13
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It was the Pirates’ first bowl appearance since they defeated Maine, 31-0, in the Tangerine Bowl in 1965. Louisiana Tech’s return to the Independence Bowl was much different than their initial appearance in 1977, a stunning upset of Louisville.
After the game, ECU coach Pat Dye expressed hope of bigger and better bowls in the Bucs’ future. The victory wasn’t the only honor ECU garnered in the game. Fullback Theodore Sutton set an Independence Bowl record with 143 yards on 17 carries and was named the game’s outstanding offensive player by the press. End Zack Valentine, who led the ECU defense with seven tackles, received the award as the top defensive player.
“That’s the way to have fun playing the game,” Dye told his team in the locker room. “We may not have been the most polished team in the world, but we really got after them.”
The Pirates certainly did that. More than one Bulldog had to be helped from the field after a bone-crushing hit, and quarterback Keith Thibodeaux, who directed all three Tech scoring drives, had to be taken to the hospital after ECU linebacker Jeffrey Warren buried his helmet in the quarterback’s chin.
The East Carolina defense completely shut down the Bulldog rushing attack, limiting the Southland Conference champions to just 12 yards on the ground. The host Bulldogs were more successful through the air, passing a record 52 times for 263 yards.
“We knew Tech was going to throw the football against us,” Dye said, “and they got a lot of yards. They really had enough yards to score more points than they did. But our defense played well, especially inside the 20, and we came up with the big play when we needed it.”
Dye also has praise for his offensive unit. “I’m particularly proud of the offensive line. The offensive line has made tremendous progress and [quarterback Leander] Green is executing our offense as well as it can be executed.”
Sutton, who had the best day of his career, gave credit to the Pirate defense. “Our defense kept us in good field position all game,” the Kinston junior said. It was his 45-yard TD scamper in the third quarter that ended a Tech comeback bid by putting ECU up, 28-13. Sutton said the bowl trip “means a great deal to us. We finally got a chance to prove to people that we can play football.”
His record-breaking performance was a result of taking what the Bulldog defense would allow. “In our offense, one person might get a lot of yardage in a certain game. Tonight, the inside veer was really open and I just took advantage of it,” Sutton explained.
It was an afternoon of frustration for Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs left the football on the ground almost as many times as they put it in the air. Three Tech turnovers in the first half led to Pirate touchdowns and a 21-0 ECU lead early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs answered less than two minutes later with a 32-yard touchdown strike. Tech cut the lead to 21 to 13 with two field goals, but with just under seven minutes to go in the third quarter, Sutton broke away on his long touchdown run.
The lopsided outcome of the game, despite only a 332-275 Pirate advantage in total yardage, was the result of the Bucs being able to capitalize on Bulldog mistakes, while Tech was unable to take advantage of all of its opportunities. A goalline stand inside the ECU 5 late in the third quarter closed the door on the Bulldog hopes. In all, Tech turned the ball over 7 times, 6 in the first half.
Neither team was able to generate any offense early in the game; there wasn’t even a first down in the first five possessions. But the Pirates finally got away on their first scoring drive after defensive end Cliff Williams recovered a fumbled pitch at the Tech 16. Sutton broke loose for 13 yards on first down to put the ball at the 3 and, two plays later, Anthony Collins took a pitch over the right side for the score.
Bill Lamm, who kicked PATs after all five ECU TDs, made it 7-0. The Pirates set a number of records in the young bowl, including fewest yards allowed on the ground (12), most touchdowns (five), most points scored (35), most rushing first downs (15), most fumble recoveries (four), and most interceptions (three).
The game marked the end of the line for famed Tech coach Maxie Lambright who had coached Tech for twelve years, won three national championships, helped to make the transition to the Div. 1 level, and led the Bulldogs to two Independence Bowl appearances.
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| ECU's Zack Valentine (#75), defensive player of the game, being blocked in middle of picture. | |
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A day of celebrations for East Carolina. ECU's Willie Holley (24) celebrates on the right.
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The special Independence Bowl jersey's of ECU. |
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The Independence Bowl trophy (left) and Maxie Lambright congratulates Pat Dye (right). |
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Attendance: 31,054
Scoring Summary
First Quarter ECU - Collins 3 run (Lamm kick) ECU - Green 1 run (Lamm kick)
Second Quarter ECU - Collins 1 run (Lamm kick) LT - Spruiell 32 pass from Thibodeaux (Swilley kick) LT - FG Swilley 36
Third Quarter ECU - Sutton 45 run (Lamm kick) LT - FG Swilley 24
Fourth Quarter ECU - Hicks 2 run (Lamm kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing ECU- Sutton 17-143. LT- Clark 6-28
Passing ECU- Green 4-13-54 LT- Barkley 12-39-160, Thibodeaux 6-13-103
Receiving ECU- Gallaher 3-33 LT- Spruiell 7-130
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SHREVEPORT, La. - East Carolina’s football
team made the most of its first postseason opportunity in 15 years by
crushing Louisiana Tech, 35- 13, in the third annual Independence Bowl.
